Kakashi looked down at the desk.
“I feel like it’s more like something he created himself.”
Sakumo Hatake looked at him.
Kakashi continued, “His movements are quite crude, without the traces of having practiced for many years.”
“Yet he adjusted very quickly, and his combat judgment is much stronger than what he showed at the Ninja Academy.”
“If he hasn’t been hiding it for a long time, then he suddenly became strong recently.”
“Father, why would someone who used to be completely ordinary suddenly master this kind of Lightning attribute Nintaijutsu?”
Sakumo Hatake did not answer immediately.
Kakashi looked up, the single exposed eye holding clear interest.
“I want to find an opportunity to spar with him.”
“To see just how much he is hiding.”
“And to prove that I am the most talented one.”
Sakumo Hatake looked at his son and suddenly smiled.
“Sure.”
Kakashi was taken aback.
Sakumo Hatake said, “Meeting a peer worth caring about and wanting to fight to confirm it is a Ninja’s instinct.”
“Remember, though, Haruto is your classmate, not an enemy.”
“Sparring is fine, but don’t launch sneak attacks, don’t use heavy blows, and don’t ruin your relationship over victory or defeat.”
“You must maintain the proper etiquette.”
Kakashi nodded.
“I know.”
The next day, when the after-school bell rang, the students in the classroom left one after another.
Haruto put away his textbooks and shouldered his schoolbag.
Kurenai Yuhi glanced at him.
“Are you going to train again?”
“Yeah.”
Haruto nodded.
“Going to the riverbank on the west side of the Village to practice Ninjutsu for a bit.”
Kurenai Yuhi felt somewhat helpless.
“You really haven’t been lazy at all lately.”
Haruto smiled.
“I can’t afford not to work hard.”
“Lightning Body Tempering consumes too much physical strength, and my appetite gets bigger day by day.”
“I’ll also check the river to see if I can catch a couple of fish to supplement my ingredients.”
Kurenai Yuhi couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You’ve really got both cultivation and meals all planned out.”
Haruto spread his hands.
“No choice, a poor person practicing cultivation has to know how to budget.”
Kurenai Yuhi reminded him, “Then don’t go to too dangerous places.”
“Rest assured.”
Haruto said, “A place like the Death Forest, I won’t wander into blindly right now.”
“Once my strength is a bit stronger, I’ll consider hunting inside.”
Only then did Kurenai Yuhi nod.
“Then see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
After bidding farewell to her, Haruto left the Ninja Academy and walked towards the outer periphery of the west side of the Village.
The riverbank quickly appeared in his field of vision.
The river wasn’t wide, but it was very clear, and one could occasionally see the shadows of fish darting underwater.
Haruto placed his schoolbag aside and first inspected the surroundings.
Confirming he didn’t see anyone, he walked over to the riverbank.
“Practice Ninjutsu first, then fish.”
His current food consumption was too large.
Lightning Body Tempering, taijutsu training, and swordsmanship practice were all burning through physical strength.
Relying solely on buying meat to eat put too much pressure on his wallet.
Although the fish in the river couldn’t completely solve the problem, they could supplement a bit.
As for the Death Forest, there were many beasts and plenty of meat inside, but the danger was equally not small.
Before having sufficient strength, he wouldn’t gamble his life on it.
Haruto pulled back his thoughts and raised both hands.
Lightning Release: Lightning Sphere.
He had already practiced this Ninjutsu to a proficient level; once the three hand seals were completed, a lightning sphere could be stably condensed in his palm.
But Haruto was not satisfied with this.
His goal was to compress the lightning sphere from a three-seal Ninjutsu little by little into two seals, one seal, and finally achieve seal-less release.
This wasn’t purely to look cool.
Instead, it was to more meticulously grasp the process of Chakra converting into lightning.
The lightning of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit came from the Fruit’s ability.
The lightning of Lightning Release came from Chakra nature transformation.
If he wanted to study the mutual conversion between Chakra and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit’s abilities in the future, he had to start from the most basic Lightning Release Chakra Control.
Haruto formed hand seals with both hands.
The three seals were completed, and Chakra flowed along the meridians into his palm.
Crackle!
A fist-sized blue-and-white lightning sphere rapidly took shape.
The lightning sphere rotated in his palm, electric arcs dancing and emitting a dense, subtle sound.
Haruto didn’t rush to throw it out, instead staring at the structure of the lightning sphere.
“Chakra is first condensed, then transformed into Lightning attribute, and finally stabilized into a sphere using shape transformation.”
“The function of the hand seals is to help me fix these steps in place.”
“To release it without seals, I have to make the body remember this set of procedures by itself.”
He flicked his wrist.
The lightning sphere flew out and crashed into a rock by the river.
Boom!
A scorched mark exploded across the rock surface, and debris splattered everywhere.
Haruto glanced at the effect and had a clear idea.
The power was stable, and the consumption was acceptable.
For the second time, he formed one fewer seal.
The circulation of Chakra immediately became unsmooth.
As soon as the lightning light emerged in his palm, it became somewhat scattered.
Haruto didn’t panic, immediately slowing down the Chakra output, and used his spiritual energy to suppress the restlessness of the Lightning attribute Chakra little by little.
A few breaths later, a lightning sphere a size smaller than before took shape.
Although it wasn’t as stable as the three-seal one, it didn’t collapse.
“There’s progress.”
Haruto threw the lightning sphere toward another rock.
Boom!
After the lightning light dissipated, Haruto did not continue forming seals.
He stood in place, his ears twitching slightly.
The river wind blew through the grass, and under the tree on the left, a patch of grass blades swayed very unnaturally.
At that very instant, he caught sight of a figure.
Silver-white hair.
A black face mask.
Haruto turned his head and spoke directly.
“Kakashi, come out.”
The bushes fell silent for a second.
Afterwards, Kakashi walked out from inside.
He had one hand in his pocket, a section of the short blade’s hilt exposed behind his back, his tone lazy.
“Found out, huh.”
Haruto looked at him.
“Followed me all the way here from the Academy?”
Kakashi said, “Sorry.”
Those two words were said with not a shred of sincerity.
Haruto raised an eyebrow.
“Your apology is even more perfunctory than the stalking.”
Kakashi did not refute.
“I just wanted to confirm something.”
“Confirm what?”
“Confirm just how much strength you’re hiding.”
Kakashi looked at Haruto, his voice a bit more serious than before.
“The other day when you taught those three punks a lesson in the alleyway, I saw it.”
“The seal-less lightning Nintaijutsu—its speed, power, and paralysis effect were all not weak.”
“Your performance in school before was completely different from that day.”
“Haruto, you’ve been hiding your true abilities all along.”
Haruto did not deny it.
“It’s not strange for a Ninja to have some trump cards, right?”
“Not strange.”
Kakashi reached out and grasped the hilt of the short blade behind his back.
“So I want to try it out.”
The short blade was unsheathed.
The blade gleamed with a cold light in the setting sun.
Kakashi held the short blade horizontally in front of him, his tone calm.
“Fight me.”
Haruto looked at the short blade in his hand.
“The Ninja Academy does not encourage private fights.”
“A spar.”
Kakashi said, “Just a light spar.”
With that, he added.
“My father said that we must pay attention to etiquette.”
Haruto looked at him, then looked at the flattened patch of grass nearby.
“You finish stalking and peeping, and then you talk to me about etiquette?”
Kakashi fell silent for a second.
“I already apologized.”
Haruto was almost amused to the point of laughing by him.