Inevitability

After a warm lunch, Gengetsu sent a Shadow Clone to Orochimaru's Laboratory Base while his Main Body sat cross-legged in the courtyard, hands pressed together, his entire body wrapped in crackling lightning.

Lightning Release Chakra Mode was a secret technique of the Cloud Ninja. While Konoha had no shortage of ninja skilled in Lightning Release, not a single one had mastered Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

As a result, there was very little experience Gengetsu could draw upon. He could only rely on the scraps of memory he retained from the original story and figure it out himself.

Fortunately, his Chakra control was astonishing, and his understanding of the human body far surpassed that of ordinary people. Even if he stumbled along the way, he would not seriously injure himself or cause irreparable consequences.

"Lightning Release Chakra Mode can't be achieved overnight. It has to be done step by step. Neural Cell activation in particular must be left until the very end, and only after cell activation has been mastered to perfection!"

Though he was figuring it out on his own, Gengetsu was not acting recklessly. He began experimenting with ordinary Cells, such as skin and nails, which renewed themselves quickly. Once he became proficient, he would move on to activating Neural Cells, starting with peripheral nerve endings, then the surrounding nerves, and finally the central nerves in the brain and spinal cord.

As Gengetsu cautiously probed and experimented, he analyzed, "Judging from the Fourth Raikage in the original story, his Lightning Release Armor should have been obtained by activating skin Cells, muscle Cells, and bone Cells. As for his extraordinary neural reactions and extreme speed, they involve sensory nerves, motor nerves, and intermediary nerves!"

"Perception, information processing, motor nerve reflexes..."

An hour later, Gengetsu stopped his experiments. Once the numbness in his hands and feet faded, he immediately took out a notebook and recorded his firsthand experiences, subsequent theories, and feasible steps one by one before continuing his attempts.

That evening, the Shadow Clone at Orochimaru's Laboratory Base dispelled. After receiving its memories, Gengetsu began summarizing and analyzing them, then continued working on developing Ice Release. He did not rest until midnight.

The next day, at the Training Ground, the team cultivated together for the first time.

Gengetsu created four Shadow Clones. One sought guidance from Sarutobi Kazuhara on Wind Release ninjutsu, one taught Kanzuki Chiba his Water Release training experience, one went to Orochimaru's Laboratory Base, and the last developed Ice Release. His Main Body continued developing Lightning Release Chakra Mode.

Two hours later, Gengetsu's Main Body stopped to rest. Watching Uchiha Shinsui spar with Sarutobi Kazuhara in the distance, he could not help but sigh. "The Sharingan is seriously broken. Two-Tomoe in both eyes is enough to surpass the vast majority of Chunin. Once the Three-Tomoe awakens, it's practically one foot into Jonin territory. As long as they become familiar with that power, they'll definitely possess Jonin-level combat strength—and they'll be versatile Jonin proficient in genjutsu, taijutsu, and Fire Release!"

Sure enough, nothing beats having a powerful bloodline...

Gengetsu could not help complaining inwardly. Then he thought, They say anyone who awakens the Sharingan is crazy. That's a little excessive, but their extreme personalities are real enough. Itachi Uchiha, known in the original story for his calmness and intelligence; Obito Uchiha, the dead last; Madara Uchiha, that monster—they were all extremely radical. In fact, the higher the level of their ocular techniques, the more extreme they became. Obito, for one, could fairly be called insane.

After all, by normal logic, once he obtained the Rinnegan, shouldn't he have gone to revive his beloved? But Obito Uchiha did the opposite. Even though he knew who his true enemy was, he stopped caring and instead escalated things to the point of wanting to destroy the entire world. If that wasn't insanity, what was?

And what about Itachi Uchiha?

He had been too confident in his own abilities, believing he could change the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha through his own efforts.

Would a normal person slaughter their entire clan, even their own parents? Probably not. Was that the difference between ordinary people and geniuses with high IQs?

And Shisui Uchiha had been adorably naive!

So the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had been right to be wary of the Uchiha.

"Still, that was only the original story. What the reality is like can only be confirmed by seeing it with my own eyes. Speaking of which, Shisui Uchiha should only be four or five years old now, and Itachi should be about to be born..."

As he thought, Gengetsu's attention returned to Uchiha Shinsui. At twelve or thirteen, he already possessed a pair of Two-Tomoe Sharingan. That talent was certainly not bad.

He could not help recalling Uchiha Shinsui's reaction when they had previously been surrounded by Mist Ninja.

He's too obsessed with the glory of the Uchiha Clan. I'm afraid that in the future...

Gengetsu shook his head inwardly, then recalled a discovery he had made while cultivating the Yin Seal. Stimulating the Pineal Gland with Chakra can evolve the Sharingan, but the Pineal Gland is also involved in emotional changes. It would probably affect one's temperament too, though it seems far better than the method the Uchiha Clan currently uses to raise the Sharingan's level.

Should I give Orochimaru a hint and let him research it?

After hesitating inwardly for a moment, Gengetsu ultimately dismissed the idea.

The matter of the Sharingan can wait!

Shaking his head inwardly, Gengetsu continued training.

The day passed in steady cultivation. On the second day, Gengetsu's Main Body brought the organized materials on Mind's Eye of the Kagura to the village in exchange for three techniques: Water Body Flicker Technique, Lightning Release: Ground Walk, and the genjutsu Hell Viewing Technique.

Water Body Flicker Technique was meant to increase his speed and improve his Water Release combat style. After all, Lightning Release Chakra Mode could not be completed in a day or two. Lightning Release: Ground Walk was meant, first, to be used together with Water Release and, second, to lay the groundwork for developing later Lightning Release ninjutsu.

As for the genjutsu Hell Viewing Technique, Gengetsu wanted to use it to better understand genjutsu, improve his resistance against it, and prepare for future research into genjutsu.

He handed the task of learning Water Body Flicker Technique and Hell Viewing Technique to his Shadow Clones. Gengetsu's Main Body did not continue developing Lightning Release Chakra Mode either, instead personally practicing Lightning Release: Ground Walk.

After repeatedly reviewing the hand seal sequence and Chakra control precautions three times, Gengetsu finally began forming seals and attempting to cast Lightning Release: Ground Walk.

The first attempt failed. The lightning went straight from his body into the ground!

The second attempt still failed!

The third attempt succeeded. However, its power was small; it only scorched a little of the bark on the tree in front of him.

After gathering himself for a moment, Gengetsu formed hand seals, dropped to one knee, and used the technique for the fourth time, targeting a small tree two meters away.

As his hands pressed against the ground, lightning shot forth and arrived in an instant, striking the small tree two meters away. Its bark immediately exploded away, leaving a charred patch on the trunk.

"It worked..."

Gengetsu rose to his feet with a smile. "Still, Lightning Release: Ground Walk can only deal with cannon fodder. Next comes Chidori—or rather, Raikiri. That's the real trump card!"

Lightning Release: Chidori was similar to Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, possessing both shape transformation and nature transformation at the same time.

"It seems that many ninjutsu have an inevitability to their existence... Brother Minato developed the Rasengan, but Ōtsutsuki Asura had actually used it a thousand years ago. The same goes for Chidori. It seems the Sage of Six Paths had used it too, so it wasn't created by Kakashi alone."

Gengetsu rubbed his chin. "The Rasengan is the ultimate expression of Chakra shape transformation. In truth, no matter who it is, once they study shape transformation to that level, they will inevitably develop the Rasengan."

"As for me, the key to Chidori lies in the shape transformation of Lightning Release. Lightning is famously difficult to control, and its extreme conductivity makes it inherently difficult to restrain and gather in the palm!"

With that thought, Gengetsu formed hand seals. They were still the seals for Lightning Release: Ground Walk, but instead of releasing the technique directly, he used his powerful Chakra control to forcibly restrain the lightning that was bursting outward.

In an instant, his right hand was enveloped in electric light. Strands of lightning radiated outward like tentacles. Moreover, as he increased his Chakra output, more and more lightning gathered, and the piercing sounds merged together, like countless birds chirping at once.

Thus, everyone in the Training Ground could not help turning their attention toward him.