The Lightning King Who Was Strangled

"To comprehend it, you need to sense the power within nature?"

At that moment, a great doubt surfaced in little Sasuke's mind.

Was this really feasible?

Instinctively, he looked towards the lightning in Jin's hand.

A flicker of longing passed through his eyes.

Crackle.

But the lightning's radiance was too dazzling; just a few seconds of staring made Sasuke's eyes sting.

He had to turn his head away, unable to look anymore.

Yet—his craving for the power of lightning only grew stronger!

Seeing this, Jin raised an eyebrow and asked with a smirk, "Want it?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yes!"

"Want to become Konoha's Dharma God of lightning?"

Sasuke nodded vigorously. "Yes!"

"Then shout it out loud!"

Sasuke nodded frantically. "I want to become the Lightning King—"

Whoosh!

Just then, the bedroom door suddenly slid open.

A bamboo rod engraved with "Seven Wolves" was hurled out.

It struck Sasuke's backside with pinpoint accuracy.

"Want it, my ass! What the hell are you trying to pull this early, Sasuke?!"

From inside the room, Fugaku's voice came through, barely suppressing his anger.

It was clear that the esteemed Clan Head was in a truly foul mood.

Like someone who'd been startled mid-act and lost all interest.

Nothing left but rage.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have thrown things.

Thud!

With that, the wooden door slammed shut again.

Outside, the two brothers stared at each other.

Jin looked at his younger brother with concern. "Your path to becoming the Lightning King isn't getting nipped in the bud, is it?"

Clearly, he underestimated what true emotional stability meant.

Sasuke merely patted his backside calmly.

Through the gap, Jin could see two red welts beginning to swell.

That strike was no light one.

But Sasuke acted as if he felt nothing, the fire in his eyes burning ever brighter.

"Sense the natural power of lightning..."

"If I'm to sense nature, it has to be during a storm with thunder and lightning, or somewhere high up..."

With that thought, he slowly turned his gaze to the thickest tree in the yard.

If he could comprehend lightning and master Lightning Release, he'd definitely make Jin beg for mercy!

Thinking this, he leaped up without a word and started climbing.

Thanks to Jin's intervention, Sasuke had already trained with Fugaku for a while and learned quite a few skills.

Like—Konoha's basic course: running up trees.

Tap tap tap.

He took the steps two at a time, charging up the tree as if on flat ground.

And then...

He saw two mysterious figures wearing Cat Masks.

Six eyes met.

Sasuke's eyes lit up even more. "You're here to sense the lightning too? I knew my idea was right!"

"Hahahaha! I, Lightning King Sasuke, have arrived!"

With that, he quickly rushed to the treetop.

Spreading his arms to embrace nature.

His movements were as nimble as a monkey with a mohawk.

Inside the branches, two Anbu who had been dozing off were startled by the sight.

But now, looking at the logbook and the pens in their hands, they found themselves in a bind.

One of them asked, "How do we record this? Are we really going to fail our first mission back in Logistics?"

"This... over fifty surveillance seniors before us have all failed—we absolutely can't fail again!"

The other hesitated for a long time before his gaze gradually hardened.

He nodded firmly and said, "Just write: Third Son of Uchiha Clan Head, sudden morning illness!"

"How about adding—Uchiha Clan Are All Mad?"

Just then, a voice suddenly reached their ears.

It startled them both into a shiver.

Turning around, they realized that somehow, an extra person had appeared beneath the tree.

A person who had arrived without a sound.

The two Anbu shinobi were shocked. When?

When had this young Second Young Master climbed the tree?

"Damn, we must've been so distracted by what just happened that we didn't notice."

After exchanging a glance, they silently attributed the fault to themselves.

Then they looked towards Jin and waved, saying, "What a coincidence, Second Young Master."

Huh? A rookie?

A total newbie?!

The moment he heard their greeting, Jin's lowered eyes lit up with excitement.

In six years, not a single Anbu sent to surveil him had lasted more than three months.

Not one had ever willingly greeted him!

Later on, they'd even bolt the moment they saw him.

But here, these two not only didn't run—they actually greeted him.

"Since that's the case, I won't hold back!"

"This time, I'll take my time shearing the sheep—sustainable development, right?"

Jin rubbed his hands together, and when he lifted his head again, his face carried a rare hint of shyness and embarrassment.

Under his deliberate manipulation, the blood in his face gradually shifted.

Soon, a flush of red spread from his cheeks to the roots of his ears.

Watching this, the two Anbu who had just ended their undercover careers shook their heads.

"Who'd have thought the Uchiha family could produce such an adorable kid."

Ten minutes later.

Jin hopped down from the tree, thoroughly satisfied.

He had gained two more Green Traits.

[Ten-Minute Talk: Successfully copied Elite Trait Light as a Swallow (Green) x2.]

See, newbies are so easy to fool!

He chuckled, then immediately said, "Merge into Swift Shadow!"

As a trait upgraded to Blue long ago, Swift Shadow had devoured no fewer than ten Light as a Swallow and thirty Nimble Body traits over the years.

But there had been no reaction.

Though he could feel improvements in agility, reaction speed, and even stamina.

The trait itself had remained unchanged.

But this time, just as he was lost in thought.

The prompt before him suddenly shifted.

[Stacking in progress. Congratulations, host has obtained Epic Trait: Phantom Trace (Purple).]

[Body Flexibility: 75% → 100%, Speed: 75% → 100%.]

[Additional Effect: Can consume 1000 Chakra to generate an afterimage at the current location. Afterimage detonates after 1 second. Explosion power depends on Chakra consumed.]

Jin's black pupils lit up once more.

Toughness doubled, speed doubled!

These were base stats!

Nothing beats improving the fundamentals.

Especially...

He shifted his attention to what came next.

"Additional Effect... isn't this afterimage basically leaving behind a crazy Ivan on the spot?"

"If I had enough Chakra, could it even rival a self-destruct truck?"

Boom!

Just then, a sudden thunderclap rang out from the sky!

The unexpected noise startled him.

He looked up and saw the boy in the blue stand-up collar spreading his arms toward the sky, shouting loudly.

And above Second Pillar's head, a bolt of lightning was slowly taking shape.

Jin was shocked: "Wait, he actually managed to summon lightning?!"