Remembering how she’d mistaken Haruto for a little pervert earlier, Yūgao Uzuki’s cheeks flushed once again.
Once everything was settled, Kakashi used the seasoned skills of a former ANBU captain to easily disguise the scene as evidence of Yūgao’s desperate life-and-death battle.
Haruto then returned home with Pakkun.
That night, he couldn’t sleep.
He sat on the veranda, staring blankly at the moon overhead.
Pakkun lay beside his feet and let out a yawn.
“Pakkun, do you think it’ll cause a lot of trouble if my strength gets exposed?”
The ninja hound lazily lifted an eyelid.
“There’ll definitely be trouble. Otherwise, Kakashi wouldn’t be protecting you like the apple of his eye.”
“But don’t worry too much. He may look unreliable, but he’s very dependable when it comes to things like this.”
Haruto sighed and rubbed his chin.
“At least tonight wasn’t a total loss.”
“I learned a pretty incredible sword style.”
“If I hadn’t copied that technique, I really wouldn’t have been able to kill that jōnin.”
Pakkun’s ears shot upright.
His dog face filled with shock.
“Wait.”
“You copied it? Yūgao didn’t teach it to you?”
Haruto nodded matter-of-factly.
“Yeah. I just watched her use it once. It looked cool, so I memorized it.”
“If she’d been able to bring out even half of that sword style’s true power, I wouldn’t have needed to step in.”
Pakkun’s jaw dropped, revealing a row of canine teeth.
“You’re saying…”
“You learned it after seeing it once?”
“Mhm.”
“What a monster…” Pakkun muttered.
“Kakashi always said your talent was even more terrifying than his. I thought he was exaggerating.”
“Now I believe him.”
“No wonder he’s so protective of you.”
Haruto smiled.
“Maybe he just doesn’t want me to become another tool that only knows how to kill.”
The next day.
Haruto arrived at school with dark circles under his eyes.
He’d expected ANBU or Root operatives to burst into the classroom and drag him away.
Instead, everything was completely peaceful.
Not a ripple.
“Looks like Kakashi-sensei really does know what he’s doing.”
On the way home after school, Pakkun poked his head out of Haruto’s backpack.
Hinata and Ino immediately gathered around.
“Haruto… do you like raising dogs?” Hinata asked softly.
Ino, meanwhile, reached out and squished Pakkun’s wrinkled face.
She looked thoroughly unimpressed.
“Haruto, your taste is really unique.”
“If you wanted a dog, why not get one from Kiba’s family?”
“This one looks way too… abstract.”
Pakkun was so angry he started huffing.
If Haruto hadn’t stopped him, he’d have bitten someone.
Chuckling, Haruto pushed the girls’ hands away.
“Don’t judge a dog by his appearance.”
“Pakkun’s a highly intelligent ninja hound.”
“He’s just very reserved.”
“Ninja hound?” Ino scoffed.
“Akamaru’s a ninja hound too. He’s adorable.”
“This one looks like somebody punched his face and it never recovered.”
Pakkun felt as though he’d taken critical damage.
After parting ways with the girls, Haruto headed straight for the back mountain.
Kakashi was leaning against a tree, thoroughly engrossed in one of his decidedly-not-for-children novels.
“Sensei, everything taken care of?”
Closing the book, Kakashi smiled lazily.
“Taken care of.”
“Yūgao knows how to keep her mouth shut.”
“Besides, the missing-nin really did die from Moonlit Haze. Even the autopsy team didn’t find anything suspicious.”
Pakkun immediately jumped out of the backpack with a resentful look.
“Can I go home now?”
“If I stay any longer, I’m going to develop depression.”
Kakashi blinked.
“What happened?”
Haruto shrugged.
“Ino and Hinata said he was ugly.”
“It hurt his feelings.”
Kakashi couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Pfft—”
He burst out laughing.
“Alright, alright.”
“You can go.”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
Pakkun looked as though he’d just been pardoned from death row.
With a poof, he vanished.
After Pakkun left, Kakashi’s expression grew serious.
“Haruto.”
“I’m genuinely curious.”
“Moonlit Haze is Yūgao’s signature technique.”
“How many times did you watch it before learning it?”
Haruto thought for a moment.
“Once.”
“And honestly, I felt she mishandled a few details.”
“So I improved it a bit.”
“I was actually planning to find a chance to give her some pointers.”
Kakashi’s mouth twitched.
“You want to give her pointers?”
“Are you trying to make her die of frustration?”
“Copying someone’s ultimate technique is one thing.”
“Showing up afterward to critique it is another.”
“That’s how you get beaten to death.”
Haruto looked innocent.
“I’d only be trying to help.”
Kakashi shook his head helplessly.
This kid’s thought process really was unique.
“Enough chatting.”
Straightening up, Kakashi’s visible eye sharpened.
“Considering you killed a jōnin yesterday, I think we need to revise the training plan.”
“Today, I’m teaching you an A-rank jutsu that I created myself.”
Haruto’s eyes lit up.
He already knew what it was.
Kakashi raised a finger.
Lightning crackled around the tip.
“This technique is called…”
“Chidori.”
“It sounds like a thousand birds chirping.”
“It’s an extreme piercing-type ninjutsu.”
“I wasn’t planning to teach it to you this early.”
“The side effects are severe.”
“If used improperly, it can get you killed.”
“But if it’s you…”
“You should be fine.”
For the next thirty minutes, Kakashi thoroughly explained the principles behind chakra nature transformation and physical activation.
Haruto listened with complete focus.
This was the taste of power.
As the sun dipped toward the horizon, the shadows of teacher and student stretched long through the forest.
A new phase of training had begun.
After finishing his lengthy explanation, Kakashi walked toward a large boulder about chest-high.
“I really wasn’t planning to teach you this so soon.”
“To use it properly, you need exceptional dynamic vision.”
“Otherwise, you’ll never hit your target.”
“The reason I can bring out its full power is because of this Sharingan.”
His tone was completely serious.
Without the Sharingan, the technique wasn’t merely difficult.
It was dangerous.
“Without the Sharingan’s support, this jutsu’s practical combat value drops dramatically.”
“It can even backfire and put the user in danger.”
As he spoke, the final seal clicked into place.
Kakashi’s right hand formed a claw.
Chakra erupted from his palm.
“Chidori!”
A piercing electric shriek exploded into existence.
It sounded exactly like a thousand birds crying out at once.
Wild blue lightning wrapped around his hand.
Even the surrounding air began to distort.
Countless sparks converged toward a single point.
At that moment, it looked less like lightning and more like an indestructible blade forged from thunder.
Bzzzzzz—
The high-frequency vibrations made ears ache.
Kakashi launched forward.
His body became a blur.
The lightning-covered hand plunged into the massive rock as effortlessly as a knife through tofu.
BOOM!
Blue light erupted.
The entire boulder shattered instantly.
Stone fragments and dust blasted outward.
When everything settled, only a huge crater remained.
The destructive power was astonishing.
Its area of effect couldn’t compare to something like Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
But in terms of concentrated penetration and lethality?
Only the legendary Rasengan could truly rival it.
Watching from nearby, Haruto nodded in approval.
“Incredible piercing power.”
“But I can see the problem.”
“This technique requires absurd speed.”
“And because it’s so fast, ordinary eyes can’t keep up.”
“No wonder you keep emphasizing the importance of the Sharingan.”
“Without that level of perception, you’d just be charging in as a living target.”
Kakashi’s dash had been ridiculously fast.
Almost comparable to the Body Flicker Technique.
At that speed, normal vision would be reduced to little more than blurred afterimages.
Forget aiming for vital points.
You’d struggle to distinguish friend from foe.
You could run straight into a trap or expose your back to a counterattack.
In short—
Without the Sharingan, Chidori was an incomplete weapon.
No wonder Kakashi only taught it to Sasuke in the original story, Haruto thought.
Anyone else would just be courting death.
Kakashi pulled his hand from the rubble.
Then walked back over.
“Give it a try.”
“If you feel like you’re losing control, stop immediately.”
“No jutsu is worth risking your life.”
“Without the Sharingan, the danger level is extremely high.”
Haruto nodded seriously.
Taking a deep breath, he gathered chakra.
Chidori’s hand seals weren’t complicated.
In fact, there were only two.
Within moments, he completed the nature transformation.
“Chidori!”
Lightning exploded from his palm.
For safety’s sake, he intentionally reduced his speed as he charged another massive boulder.
BOOM!
Even without maximum speed, the destructive power remained terrifying.
His hand pierced cleanly through the stone.
Violent electricity erupted.
The five-to-six-meter-tall boulder instantly disintegrated.
Not merely cracked.
Pulverized.
When the lightning faded, only dust remained.
The power actually exceeded Kakashi’s demonstration.
Haruto shook his tingling hand.
Frowning slightly.
“My hand feels numb.”
“Looks like Lightning Release really does put strain on the body.”
While he was reflecting on his performance—
Kakashi stood nearby in complete shock.
This was his first attempt.
Not only had he mastered it immediately—
He’d somehow strengthened it.
That attack wasn’t merely Chidori anymore.
It was already approaching the level of the S-rank Lightning Cutter.
Lightning Cutter wasn’t classified as S-rank simply because it was difficult.
Its destructive power was genuinely monstrous.
Suppressing his shock, Kakashi spoke calmly.
“Learning it is only the first step.”
“Being able to use it effectively in real combat is what matters.”
“Chidori is loud.”
“That sound is its greatest weakness.”
“You need to be so fast that the enemy hears it but can’t react.”
“That’s the true essence of Chidori.”
The name itself came from that overwhelming noise.
When Kakashi originally developed the technique, he’d intended to compensate for the flaw through pure speed.
What concerned him wasn’t Haruto’s movement speed.
It was whether his perception could keep up.
Haruto considered it.
“My dynamic vision is better than average.”
“But compared to the Sharingan?”
“Not even close.”
That wasn’t false modesty.
Compared to the Uchiha’s cheat-code bloodline, ordinary eyesight was trash.
Kakashi rubbed his chin.
“Then let’s test your limits.”
Haruto nodded.
“No problem.”
Before the words fully left his mouth—
Kakashi vanished.
Haruto’s pupils contracted.
No seals?
An instant Body Flicker?
The next second, Kakashi appeared atop a tree dozens of meters away.
“That’s Body Flicker too?” Kakashi asked.
Even he was surprised by Haruto’s reaction speed.
Haruto nodded.
“The technique barely needs seals to begin with.”
“Maybe even used without seals.”
“I figured it out yesterday.”
“The range is shorter now—under a hundred meters.”
“But the activation is much more sudden.”
Since Body Flicker was fundamentally high-speed movement rather than true space-time ninjutsu, there was room for optimization.
Kakashi looked thoughtful.
“The speed is impressive.”
“But the important question is whether you can maintain that reaction speed while moving under Chidori.”
That was the life-or-death issue.
If he couldn’t change direction or stop instantly during a high-speed charge—
Chidori would become a death sentence.
Haruto lowered his head briefly.
Then nodded firmly.
“Let’s find out.”
Lightning erupted once more.
“Chidori!”
Blue arcs danced around him like predatory serpents.
If his control slipped, the first victim would be himself.
Kakashi casually scooped up a handful of gravel.
“I’ll throw stones in random directions.”
“Use Chidori to intercept them.”
Haruto gripped the lightning tightly.
“Go ahead, Kakashi-sensei.”
A flick of the wrist.
The first stone shot left.
Haruto moved instantly.
Blue light flashed.
The stone exploded into dust.
The second came from behind.
Without hesitation, Haruto twisted through the air and intercepted it.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
The stones flew one after another.
Haruto transformed into a bolt of blue lightning racing across the training ground.
Every strike landed perfectly.
Then—
Just as he moved toward the final stone—
A figure suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
Kakashi.
Without warning.
Haruto’s lightning-covered hand stopped mere centimeters from Kakashi’s chest.
At the last possible moment.
His body froze.
His eyes hadn’t even fully registered who stood before him.
Yet he’d stopped.
Because his sensory perception had gone wild.
That instinctive radar had detected Kakashi before his vision could.
Kakashi looked at the Chidori hovering before his chest.
A bead of sweat slid down his temple.
Then he smiled.
“Incredible.”
“That wasn’t your eyes.”
“It was your sensory ability.”
“I completely forgot.”
“Your innate perception is extraordinary.”
“That’s a talent even rarer than the Sharingan.”
“That kind of all-direction awareness can be even more useful than dynamic vision.”
If eyesight wasn’t enough—
Then prediction through sensory perception could replace it.
And because sensory abilities covered every direction, they were actually harder to counter than vision.
Dispersing the lightning, Haruto exhaled.
“Looks like I can use my sensory abilities to compensate for my visual shortcomings.”
“In that case…”
“I’ve officially mastered Chidori.”
With Chidori added to his arsenal—
Alongside numerous B-rank and C-rank ninjutsu and his refined swordsmanship—
Haruto’s combat power had officially crossed into jōnin territory.
A six- or seven-year-old jōnin.
Such a concept would shock any ninja village.
At this age, Kakashi himself had only recently become a chūnin.
Haruto’s talent was simply inhuman.
He learned techniques after seeing them once.
Then adapted them into something uniquely his own.
Watching this little monster, Kakashi felt complicated emotions.
Patting him on the shoulder, he spoke with genuine emotion.
“When I used to say you’d one day catch up to the Fourth Hokage…”
“That was encouragement.”
“But now?”
“I actually believe it.”
“As long as you don’t die young, reaching—or even surpassing—Minato-sensei’s accomplishments isn’t impossible.”
There was one thing Kakashi deliberately withheld.
He didn’t teach Lightning Cutter.
There was no need.
For someone like Haruto, Chidori was merely a foundation.
The skyscraper would be his own to build.
Haruto laughed and waved a hand.
“Sensei, you’re overestimating me.”
“The Fourth Hokage was a legend.”
“How could I compare?”
Of course, that was complete nonsense.
His real goal was far higher.
Uchiha Madara.
Hashirama Senju.
Even the Sage of Six Paths himself.
The Fourth Hokage was powerful.
But still only the peak of mortal ninja.
At the same time, Haruto understood something clearly.
Without Kakashi’s wholehearted guidance, his path would have been much longer and far more difficult.
That bond between teacher and student—
He would remember it.
Kakashi, however, took the humility at face value.
Looking completely serious, he declared:
“Don’t underestimate yourself.”
“Until you’ve fully grown, I’ll shield you from every storm.”
Seeing the sincerity in Kakashi’s visible eye, Haruto actually felt a little embarrassed.
“Don’t worry, Sensei.”
“I can protect myself now.”
“The ninja world is dangerous.”
“Power alone isn’t enough.”
“There are darker things out there.”
“Things you’re still too young to understand.”
Haruto rubbed his nose and wisely stayed silent.
If I told you half the schemes running through my head, you’d probably faint.
Still, there was no denying it.
Thanks to Kakashi’s systematic teaching, his growth had accelerated by at least three years.
This kind of professional ninja education was something no amount of reading library scrolls could replace.
After mastering Chidori, Kakashi didn’t immediately dump a thousand more techniques on him.
Everyone knew the principle:
Trying to learn too much at once only ruined everything.
Over the following year and a half, Kakashi focused on teaching him advanced ninjutsu from all five chakra natures.