However, he did not refuse.
Recently, he just happened to need a strong enough opponent to test the actual combat effects of Lightning Mode, basic Kenjutsu, and Lightning Sphere practice.
Those ordinary students at the Ninja Academy were not worth looking at.
Might Guy was suitable for Taijutsu training, but it was not yet time to casually expose his Lightning attribute abilities.
Kakashi was different.
This guy was a universally recognized genius, with fast reactions, strong Kenjutsu, and combat awareness that far surpassed his peers.
Using him to test moves was just right.
Haruto reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out a Kunai.
Kakashi watched his movements.
“Not using the Lightning Sphere?”
Haruto clenched the Kunai.
“It depends.”
Kakashi’s short blade pressed down slightly.
“Then I won’t hold back.”
Lightning began to flow within Haruto’s body.
Instead of a violent full-body outburst, he followed the optimized method from the past few days, focusing on activating his ankles, calves, waist and back, shoulders and elbows, and wrists.
Dense electric arcs lit up beneath his skin, and blue-white sparks crept up the Kunai along his arm.
Lightning Mode, activated.
Kakashi’s exposed eye instantly turned serious.
“As expected.”
The next instant, the soil beneath Haruto’s feet was blasted with black spots by the electric arcs.
His body suddenly rushed out, his speed even more abrupt than an ordinary Body Flicker Technique.
The Kunai thrust straight toward Kakashi’s chest.
Kakashi held his short blade horizontally.
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal exploded.
The Kunai and the short blade collided, and sparks mixed with electric arcs bounced off.
Kakashi’s arm went numb, and he immediately turned his body to disperse the force, his short blade smoothly slashing diagonally toward Haruto’s wrist.
Haruto took a misstep, lightning stimulating his calves, and his body forcibly became half a beat faster.
The blade edge brushed past his cuff.
He pressed down the Kunai with a backhand, aiming straight for Kakashi’s shoulder.
Kakashi retreated half a step, his short blade flicking upward.
Clang, clang, clang!
In the blink of an eye, the two clashed three times in a row.
Kakashi’s Kenjutsu was very steady, and every parry was locked into the most effortless position.
Haruto’s outburst was faster, and Lightning Mode constantly pushed his attack speed higher.
“It’s more refined than in the alley.”
Kakashi said in a low voice.
Haruto spun the Kunai in his hand, electric arcs dancing.
“You are also harder to deal with than I thought.”
Kakashi did not speak again.
He suddenly exerted force with his feet, his short blade sliding away along Haruto’s Kunai, the back of the blade striking straight at Haruto’s ribs.
Lightning flashed brightly across Haruto’s waist and back, his body bending sideways to dodge, while simultaneously lifting his knee upward, forcing Kakashi to retract his blade to parry.
The knee strike slammed into the side of the short blade.
Kakashi was shaken back a step.
Haruto did not give him the chance to create distance, bursting with his feet once more, his entire person pressing forward with sparks and lightning.
Kakashi held his short blade horizontally, advancing instead of retreating.
The Kunai and the short blade collided once again, the harsh sound of clashing metal bursting forth accompanied by lightning, and the two figures became completely intertwined in the center of the riverbank.
Clang!
The Kunai and the short blade collided once again.
Electric arcs burst along the metal edge, Kakashi’s wrist sank, and his feet immediately slid backward by half a step.
Haruto did not chase to force the attack; with a stomp of his right foot, his body moved sideways by half a foot taking advantage of the stimulation of Lightning Mode, and the Kunai scooped upward from bottom to top, aiming straight for Kakashi’s blade-wielding wrist.
Kakashi turned his short blade, the back of the blade pressing down.
Clang!
Another crisp sound rang out.
The Kunai in Haruto’s hand was pushed aside, and the blade edge smoothly slashed along his arm.
This strike was very fast.
If it were an ordinary student, their arm would have already been sliced open.
Lightning flashed brightly at Haruto’s waist and back, his whole body pulling back as if dragged by a thread, the blade edge brushing past his sleeve, slicing off only a small piece of fabric.
Kakashi’s eyes widened slightly.
“You’re not just simply using a Kunai.”
Haruto’s feet did not stop, delivering a diagonal slash with his backhand.
“Noticed it?”
Kakashi blocked horizontally with his short blade, his arm numbed by the shock.
“This is the power generation method of Kenjutsu.”
His tone was much more serious than before.
“You’ve also studied the sword?”
Haruto did not answer; the Kunai slid along the edge of the short blade, his steps pressing forward, with his shoulders, elbows, and wrists exerting force simultaneously.
A mere Kunai was forcefully used by him with the posture of a short sword slashing.
Kakashi did not dare to be careless.
He had originally thought Haruto relied on the outburst of Lightning Mode.
But after truly exchanging blows, he found out that it was more than that.
Haruto’s close-quarters combat was not the random stabbing and blocking common among Ninja Academy students.
His footwork had lines.
His attacks had a method.
Every attack vied for distance, and every retreat left an angle for a counterattack.
The movements were not smooth enough, and there were quite a few loopholes in the details, but the framework had already been established.
This was the entry level.
Kakashi felt somewhat surprised inwardly.
Haruto had clearly been just at an ordinary level in school before.
Lightning Mode could be said to have been researched after suddenly awakening the Lightning attribute.
But what about Kenjutsu?
Kenjutsu was not something that could be easily hidden.
Whether one had practiced it or not could be seen the moment the blades touched.
Clang, clang, clang!
The short blade was longer, and Kakashi’s Kenjutsu was steadier.
The Kunai was shorter, but Haruto forcefully pulled up his speed relying on Lightning Mode.
For a moment, the riverbank was filled entirely with the sounds of metal colliding.
Blades of grass were crushed underfoot, and charred footprints continuously appeared on the soil.
Haruto’s right arm was numb.
Kakashi was likewise having a hard time.
Every time the short blade and Kunai collided, tiny lightning would drill over along the blade body; although it wouldn’t cause him to lose his mobility, it would make his fingers go numb and his reactions slow down by half a beat.
This kind of half-beat delay was fatal in close-quarters combat.
Dozens of meters away.
On a large tree, Sakumo Hatake stood in the shadows of the branches and leaves, quietly watching all of this.
He did not make a sound.
From the moment Kakashi followed Haruto, he had been following from even further away.
Kakashi said he wanted to spar, and as a father, he did not object.
But sparring between children also required someone to watch the boundaries.
Especially since Haruto’s changes recently were too fast.
Sakumo Hatake also wanted to see with his own eyes just what level Naoto’s child had reached.
As a result of this look, he was also somewhat surprised.
“Lightning attribute Nintaijutsu, Lightning Release Ninjutsu, and Kenjutsu.”
Sakumo Hatake’s gaze fell upon the Kunai in Haruto’s hand.
A Kunai was not a sword.
It was too short and too light, making it impossible to fully utilize many Kenjutsu techniques.
Yet every time Haruto turned his wrist, pressed his steps, and reined in his force, it carried obvious traces of Kenjutsu.
It was not random learning.
He had truly touched the threshold.
“The foundation is not deep, but the direction is very correct.”
Sakumo Hatake evaluated quickly in his mind.
“The timing of his attacks is still green, and his judgment of distance also has discrepancies, but the path of power generation is already correct.”
“If this really was self-taught…”
The look he cast toward Haruto gained a bit more seriousness.
That would be quite rare.
Getting started in Kenjutsu was not earth-shattering.
But for a Ninja Academy student without a teacher’s guidance to practice to this extent entirely on his own showed extremely high comprehension.
Especially since Haruto wasn’t only practicing the sword.
He was also practicing Lightning Mode, practicing Lightning Release, and practicing the Three Techniques.
Even with his energy divided, he was still able to get started in Kenjutsu.
This talent was already enough for Sakumo Hatake to take seriously.
“If he has a renowned teacher to polish him, his future in Kenjutsu won’t be bad.”
In the center of the riverbank, the battle was still continuing.
Kakashi suddenly accelerated.
The short blade slid along the Kunai, the tip bypassing the front and directly slashing toward Haruto’s shoulder.
The angle of this strike was very tricky.
Just as Haruto wanted to use the Kunai to block, he found that the short blade was only a feint.
The real attack was Kakashi’s knee strike after closing in.
Bang!