"Using your mind means sensing the power of nature?"
At that moment, a huge question formed in little Sasuke's mind.
Could this really work?
Subconsciously, he looked at the lightning in Jin's hand.
Longing flashed in his eyes.
Crackle, crackle.
But the lightning's power was far too dazzling. After looking at it for only a little while, Sasuke's eyes began to ache.
He had no choice but to turn his head away.
But now he longed for the power of lightning even more!
Seeing this, Jin raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "You want it?"
Sasuke nodded. "I do!"
"Do you want to become Konoha's Dharma God, the master of lightning?"
Sasuke nodded vigorously. "I do!"
"If you want it, shout it out loud!"
Sasuke nodded frantically. "I want to become the Lightning King—"
Whoosh!
Just then, the bedroom door suddenly swung open.
A bamboo pole marked "Seven Wolves" came flying out.
It hit Sasuke squarely on the butt.
"What do you mean, you want it?! Sasuke, are you trying to rebel this early in the morning?!"
Fugaku's voice came from inside, barely containing his anger.
It was clear that the dignified Clan Head was in a truly terrible mood.
As if something had startled him so badly that he'd shuddered.
All the fun had vanished.
All that remained was anger!
Otherwise, he wouldn't have thrown something out.
Bang!
When he finished speaking, the wooden door slammed shut again.
Outside, the two brothers stared at each other.
Jin looked at his younger brother with concern. "Has the path to becoming the Lightning King been snuffed out just like that?"
Clearly, he'd underestimated what it meant to be truly emotionally stable.
Sasuke merely brushed off his backside.
Through the gap in his clothes, Jin could see two red welts beginning to swell.
That blow had clearly landed hard.
But Sasuke acted as though he couldn't feel a thing. The fire in his eyes only grew brighter.
"Sense the natural power of lightning..."
"If I'm going to sense nature, it has to be during a thunderstorm—or somewhere high off the ground..."
As he thought this over, his gaze slowly settled on the thickest tree outside the courtyard.
Once he sensed the power of lightning and mastered Lightning Release, he'd make Jin beg for mercy on his knees!
With that thought, he leaped up and started climbing without a second thought.
And because Jin had gotten involved, Sasuke had started training with Fugaku early.
He'd already learned quite a few skills.
Such as the Leaf's mandatory lesson: walking up trees.
Tap, tap, tap.
He took the steps three at a time, racing up the tree as if he were walking on flat ground.
And then...
He spotted two mysterious figures wearing cat masks.
Six eyes met.
Sasuke's eyes lit up even more. "Are you here to feel the lightning too? I knew my idea was right!"
"Hahahaha! I, Sasuke, the Lightning King, have arrived!"
With that, he dashed to the top of the tree.
He spread his arms and embraced nature.
He moved with the agility of a Mohawk Monkey.
Among the branches, the two Anbu who'd been dozing were so startled by the sight that they nearly jumped out of their skin.
But now, looking at the Logbook and the pen in their hands, they found themselves at a loss.
One of them asked, "How should we write this up? Is our first mission after returning to Logistics really going to end in failure?"
"This... More than fifty seniors were assigned to watch him before us, and they all failed. We absolutely can't fail too!"
After hesitating for a long time, the other man's gaze gradually grew resolute.
He nodded emphatically. "Let's just write that the Clan Head's third son suffered a sudden illness at dawn!"
"Should we add... 'The Uchiha Clan Are All Mad'?"
Just then, a voice suddenly sounded in their ears.
The two men shuddered in fright.
When they turned around, they discovered someone had appeared beneath the tree without them noticing.
Someone completely silent.
The two Anbu were shocked. When had he—
When had this little Second Young Master climbed the tree?
"Whew, we must've been so distracted by what just happened that we didn't notice him."
They exchanged a glance, silently blaming themselves.
Then they looked at Jin and waved. "What a coincidence, Second Young Master."
Hm? New recruits?
Total rookies?!
The moment he heard them greet him, Jin lowered his eyes, barely able to contain his excitement.
In the six years he'd been watched, not one of the Anbu assigned to monitor him had lasted longer than three months.
And none of them had ever greeted him of their own accord!
After that, the moment they caught sight of him, they'd run away.
But these two didn't run. They'd even greeted him.
"In that case, I won't hold back!"
"I'll take my time fleecing these sheep. Gotta make it sustainable!"
Jin rubbed his hands together. When he raised his head again, his face wore an unusually bashful, shy expression.
With a little effort, he made the blood flow in his face shift.
Soon, a blush spread from both cheeks to his ears.
The two Anbu, who'd just finished their undercover stint, could only shake their heads at the sight.
"Who would've thought the Uchiha family could have such an adorable child?"
Ten minutes later.
Jin descended from the tree, fully satisfied.
He now had two more green traits.
[After talking for ten minutes, successfully copied Elite Trait Light as a Swallow (Green) ×2.]
"Merge into Swift Shadow!"
Swift Shadow had reached blue a long time ago. Over the years, it had absorbed no fewer than ten Light as a Swallow traits and thirty Agile traits.
But it still showed no change.
He could feel that his agility, reaction speed, and even stamina had improved.
Yet the trait itself remained unchanged.
But this time, just as he was lost in thought,
the prompt before him suddenly changed.
[Stacking in progress. Congratulations, host! You have obtained Epic Trait Phantom Trace (Purple).]
[Limbs' flexibility: 75% → 100%; speed: 75% → 100%.]
[Additional effect: Spend 1,000 Chakra to create an afterimage on the spot. It detonates after 1 second. The explosion's power depends on the amount of Chakra spent.]
Jin's dark eyes lit up once more.
His flexibility had doubled, and his speed had doubled!
These were foundational stats!
Nothing beat improving the fundamentals!
Especially...
He focused on the text below.
"Additional effect... Does this afterimage leave behind a Mad Ivan?"
"With enough Chakra, could it even rival a suicide truck?"
Boom!
Just then, a thunderous crash rang out from the sky!
The sudden noise made him jump.
When he looked up, he saw the boy in a blue stand-up-collar shirt spreading his arms toward the sky and shouting at the top of his lungs.
Above Uchiha Sasuke's head, a bolt of lightning was slowly taking shape.
Jin was stunned. "Wait, he really managed to draw lightning down?!"
Before you continue