Red Hot Habanero's Blood Type Research (Part 2)

Hagoromo's eyes lit up. This was exactly what he had been waiting to hear.

"Teacher Kushina, what if I really manage to take the bell?"

Kushina smiled at Hagoromo before saying, "Really take it? Hagoromo, while you're quite capable, that's only compared to people your age. Taking this bell from me will still be very difficult. You should know that I'm a Jonin. I'm not like the classmates you spar with at the Ninja Academy."

Kushina was reminding Hagoromo not to underestimate the gap between a Jonin and a Genin.

"I know you're a Jonin, Teacher, and I'm a Genin. But a Genin is still a ninja. Before two ninjas fight, no one can say for certain what the outcome will be." Hagoromo spoke shamelessly. In truth, he was certain Kushina could not possibly fight him seriously. Otherwise, he would have no chance to fight back, and this contest would be meaningless.

"...You have a point. If you can take the bell, what do you want?" Kushina asked. She had a high degree of tolerance for her first student.

"If I win, then Teacher Kushina, please teach me new ninjutsu as soon as possible."

Kushina finally understood what Hagoromo was after. "No problem. I was going to teach you new ninjutsu anyway. That's a teacher's duty."

Many Genin who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy had this problem: they wanted to master as many new ninjutsu as possible, as quickly as possible. Greedily seeking more, bigger, and more comprehensive techniques was a common flaw among kids. Kushina assumed Hagoromo was the same.

In truth, if the words "ninjutsu" in Hagoromo's statement were replaced with "Sealing Technique," that would be his real goal. But he also knew that everything had to be done step by step. Haste made waste. When it was time to hide his intentions, he had to hide them properly.

Kushina tied the bell to her waist and said, "Any other questions? If not, let's begin."

"No more questions."

"Good. Begin. I know you can use Lightning Release, so don't hold back."

Taking the bell from Kushina's hand was not actually that difficult. Hagoromo did not need to truly defeat a Jonin; he only needed to snatch something from her. If he caught her off guard, it was entirely possible.

Hagoromo slowly let out a breath. If it had been anyone else who had just left the Ninja Academy, fighting a Jonin would have accomplished nothing. But he was different. His control over Lightning Release was absolutely professional-grade.

Lightning Release Chakra began coursing through his body. Gradually, Electric Arcs began flickering across Hagoromo's skin.

"Sealless Ninjutsu?" Hagoromo had startled Kushina right from the start. She had never seen a ninja capable of using such a powerful Lightning Release technique without hand seals.

She felt that she might have to use some real skill.

"Yes. My body is naturally a little unusual and extremely compatible with Lightning Release. No matter the rank of a Lightning Release technique, I can basically cast it without hand seals," Hagoromo explained.

After saying that, Hagoromo charged straight at Kushina.

"So fast!" Kushina was astonished by Hagoromo's speed. It far surpassed the level of a Genin.

But she was only mildly surprised. Compared with Minato Namikaze, the fastest ninja in the shinobi world, Hagoromo's speed was nothing special.

"Choosing to break through head-on against a Jonin isn't exactly the right tactic!"

Almost instantly, Hagoromo vanished from where he stood, then threw a straight punch at Kushina!

Of course, such a direct attack was difficult to make effective. Kushina caught Hagoromo's fist with one hand.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

A piercing birdsong rang out!

The faint Electric Arcs around Hagoromo's body instantly became intense Lightning Glow!

Chidori Current!

In that instant, the intensity of Hagoromo's Lightning Release multiplied several times over!

The stimulation and erosion of the Lightning Release brought continuous, intense pain and numbness to the hand Kushina had used to grab Hagoromo.

She frowned slightly, realizing she could not remain in contact with Hagoromo while he was using Chidori Current for long. Her arm unconsciously used Seventy Percent of its strength and flung Hagoromo forward.

Kushina raised her hand and saw that after only a few seconds of contact, the skin on the back of her hand had peeled up in layers like scales. She knew that the cells in that area might already be dead. When she turned her palm over, the condition was even worse. A scorched black layer had formed from the burns.

Kushina realized that she had been somewhat careless. She should not have taken that punch head-on.

"Very powerful Lightning Release Chakra. Did you create this technique yourself?" Kushina asked Hagoromo from several meters away.

"Yes." Hagoromo did not even bat an eye as he said it. After all, Kakashi could not use Lightning Blade yet. According to patent law, this invention belonged to Hagoromo.

Although Kushina had somewhat roughly thrown him away just now, he landed steadily and suffered no actual injury.

"A very dangerous ninjutsu, and it looks extremely chakra-intensive... This Lightning Release far exceeds my expectations. Judging by its power, it's at least A-rank." Kushina said. The issue was not that Hagoromo could use an A-rank technique at such a young age, but that he had created it himself.

What did that mean? It meant that Kushina had excellent judgment when it came to people!

The piercing birdsong continued, while Kushina's palm, burned by the Lightning Release, had already begun to heal itself... Hagoromo might not understand, but that was the effect of Nine Tails Chakra.

"This technique is called Chidori Current. If I were to judge it myself, it's also an A-rank ninjutsu. Its power goes without saying, but it consumes an enormous amount of chakra as well. With my current strength, I can probably only maintain it for two to five minutes," Hagoromo said.

"Oh? So you'll decide the outcome within those two minutes?" Kushina was surprised again. Being able to maintain such powerful chakra for two minutes meant that Hagoromo's chakra reserves surpassed those of an average Chunin.

Hagoromo had been very fast just now, but after activating Chidori Current, he could become even faster. Lightning speed was light speed. By using Lightning Release to stimulate his cells, Hagoromo's movement speed could not compare to the speed of light, but it was already fast enough to leave everyone else in the dust.

Yet Hagoromo remained where he was and did not attack again. Instead, he dismissed Chidori Current.

His action left Kushina somewhat puzzled. "Why did you dismiss the technique already? Didn't you say you could maintain it for two minutes?"

Hagoromo's claim that he could maintain Chidori Current for two to five minutes was indeed true. Yet this attack had lasted less than ten seconds before he ended the technique.

"Chidori Current does consume a great deal of chakra, but I stopped the technique not because of chakra. It's because our battle is already over."

As he spoke, Hagoromo spread open one hand. A bell lay quietly in his palm.

Kushina instinctively glanced at her waist. Sure enough, the bell that had been there was gone.

She understood at once. "While I was focused on your fist and that new ninjutsu, you took the bell?"

"That's right. It was just a little feint." Hagoromo smiled, then tossed the bell back to Kushina.

"You've really surprised me." Although her bell had been taken unexpectedly, Kushina was not unhappy in the slightest.

It was simple. She felt that this time, she could beat Minato.