King of Tricks

After Shuichi finished speaking, he continued to eat and drink as if no one else was around, which made his friends next to him uneasy.

"Could Shinobi World war really be happening?" Rin asked with a worried look in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Rin. Even if a great battle breaks out, I will definitely protect you!" Seeing the expression on his goddess's face, Uchiha Obito immediately patted his chest and assured her.

"Really? I think you'd be so scared you'd wet your pants if you went to the battlefield." Kakashi regained his composure; he figured his teammate's idiotic behavior would probably make him the first one to die on the battlefield.

"What did you say? Kakashi, you..."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing for no apparent reason, Namikaze Minato waved his hand in time to comfort them, saying, "Alright, alright, you don't need to worry too much. It's far from war yet. If it does happen, I will definitely protect you both, don't worry."

After this bickering between the two, the atmosphere improved again.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the large group of them left the barbecue restaurant together. They said goodbye at the intersection and then went home.

"Kakashi," Shuichi called out to Kakashi before they parted, "I have some things about Ninjutsu I'd like to discuss with you. Are you free tomorrow?"

"Hmm?" Kakashi was a little confused, not understanding why Shuichi had specifically called him, but since he had time, it wouldn't hurt to go. "Okay."

The following afternoon, at Konoha Training Ground 26, Shuichi and Kakashi met at the agreed-upon location on time.

"What do you want to discuss about Ninjutsu?" Kakashi asked with a deadpan expression.

"Hehe." Shuichi smiled mysteriously, "You must use Lightning Element quite often, right? I studied your Ninjutsu quite a bit last time. Recently, I've been practicing Lightning Element Nature Transformation for a long time, and I've also learned some advanced techniques, so I plan to develop an S-rank Lightning Element S-rank Ninjutsu."

Kakashi was stunned after hearing his words. Two children under the age of nine were preparing to develop S-rank Ninjutsu in broad daylight. It didn't sound normal at all.

"You're not kidding, are you?" Kakashi felt like Shuichi was teasing him.

Even if he thought Shuichi's talent was indeed incredibly strong, even surpassing his own, an S-rank Ninjutsu was still too exaggerated. He might have been able to accept C-rank Ninjutsu.

Shuichi stopped being mysterious and took a step forward, turning around. "Watch closely!"

"Chou-Mao-Shen." He formed three hand seals to help gather Lightning Release Chakra, and all the chakra in his body surged wildly to his right hand, while his left hand gripped his right wrist tightly to increase the output force.

"Clatter..."

A dazzling white light shone in the center of the forest. A large amount of chakra was gathered in Shuichi's hand, and silver-white lightning was continuously released from it. The noisy and violent sound was like countless birds chirping in one's ear.

"This..." Kakashi's eyes widened as he stared intently at Shuichi's right hand. "Such astonishing chakra! Could this really be an S-rank Ninjutsu?"

"Whoosh!" After a while, Shuichi started to feel the strain, so he flicked his hand and a large amount of lightning disappeared.

"Huff, huff..." After catching his breath, Shuichi looked at Kakashi and asked, "How is it? Looks pretty powerful, right? I named it Lightning Cutter, but it's still a work in progress; there are many problems to solve."

"Amazing!" Kakashi was genuinely shocked when he saw it. Just looking at the effect, the power of this technique seemed incredible. If it were successfully developed, it could very well be an S-rank Ninjutsu. Shuichi wasn't joking.

After thinking about Shuichi's demonstration, Kakashi's expression returned to normal. He couldn't seem to help Shuichi much; he was completely incapable of doing that right now.

"You gathered a large amount of Lightning Release Chakra in your hand, presumably to attack the enemy. Why do you say this technique is still unfinished?"

"Because I'm currently only gathering chakra into my hand, a lot of it is wasted in the process. In my vision, this technique should have many other effects," Shuichi explained.

His eyes darted around, and he spoke earnestly to Kakashi about his thoughts, "So I have three important points I'd like to discuss with you, and I'd like to see what your thoughts are."

"The first issue is the condensation and conduction of Lightning Release Chakra. Forming Lightning Cutter from just one hand would put too much pressure on the meridians. Lightning Release Chakra is special; in nature, lightning attracts each other, and I think the lightning transformed from chakra should do the same."

"Based on this characteristic, by drawing together the small amounts of Lightning Release Chakra released from all parts of the body and concentrating them in the hand, not only can the sprint speed be increased, but the pressure of single-handed output can also be reduced."

"The second point is the issue of Lightning Element stimulation of cell activity. If the Lightning Cutter can effectively stimulate cells throughout the body, its power can be greatly increased. This would significantly improve our Taijutsu skills when using it, allowing us to catch the enemy off guard."

"But if the stimulation is too strong, it can be very harmful to the body, so I'm hesitant to try it right now. I'd like to hear your opinion."

"The third point is the way Lightning Release Chakra is output. I think simply condensing chakra in your hand like before is far from the limit. If you add Shape Transformation to make it into a blade, the piercing ability will be greatly improved."

After Shuichi finished explaining the three key points, he noticed that Kakashi was listening with a blank expression, so he patted him on the shoulder. Kakashi looked up at him blankly.

"I need your help, Kakashi." Shuichi's large eyes were filled with sincerity. "I've always thought you were a genius with Lightning Element; you're sure to be able to help me."

"I..." Kakashi's head was spinning. The three points Shuichi mentioned sounded strangely familiar to him.

"Why are these requirements so similar to what my father taught me? Is it all just a coincidence? Shuichi's development of Lightning Element reached a level close to what he was like in his lifetime? And in the end, their thoughts are exactly the same?"

Shuichi mentioned that the techniques required for Lightning Cutter were all from the White Fang Swordsmanship Technique, involving advanced applications of Lightning Element. Kakashi hadn't fully grasped many of these techniques yet, but he had already memorized them. He immediately understood them upon hearing this.

Without giving Kakashi a chance to speak, Shuichi said directly, "Come, I'll tell you about the chakra condensation technique I developed. After learning it, not only will the power of all Ninjutsu be enhanced, but it will also make up for the lack of chakra output ability, allowing us to complete this technique at a young age."

Then Shuichi, without holding anything back, told him in its entirety the chakra techniques he had diligently studied.

Kakashi's expression turned serious upon hearing this. This was extremely useful to him. For the past two years, he had been somewhat lost about his training direction and could only passively wait for his body to grow.

The information that Shuichi told him immediately pointed him in the right direction for improvement. The earlier he started practicing, the more his body would improve as it developed. It was a very important secret technique.

"It seems it was all a coincidence. Shuichi is indeed a top genius, having mastered advanced Lightning Element techniques so quickly," Kakashi thought to himself.

The two then had a very pleasant conversation, with ideas for improving the Lightning Cutter constantly emerging. They also agreed to practice together frequently in the future.

"Once development is complete, we'll both be the developers of this technique," Shuichi declared definitively. "This will serve as a testament to our friendship!"