"A whole arsenal of forbidden techniques?"
"That's amazing!" Sakura was clearly the most knowledgeable of the three kids.
She naturally knew what forbidden techniques meant.
Sasuke frowned.
"Even if he created it based on an existing technique... it suits Naruto because of his Shadow Clones?"
Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Awesome! A chakra nature-less technique, hahaha!"
"Hey, Sasuke, did you hear that? My talent is way better than yours!"
At that, Sasuke rolled his eyes. When had Cangwu ever said that this idiot was more talented than him?
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Soon, their attention was drawn to the blue orb that appeared in Cangwu's hand.
More precisely, it was a ball of chakra.
"Once you understand chakra nature transformation... you can develop a chakra nature of your own."
"You can think of it as light-nature chakra."
As soon as he finished speaking,
the Rasengan in Cangwu's hand changed from blue to gold.
The three kids instinctively took a step back.
The aura coming from the golden Rasengan made their hearts pound.
"This technique is powerful, and once you've mastered it, you can use it instantly."
"Oh, and one more thing: this technique doesn't require hand seals."
Hiss—!!!
All three kids sucked in a breath at the same time.
Even Tazuna, who wasn't a ninja, looked shaken after hearing Cangwu's explanation.
That attack looked incredibly powerful.
If it hit someone... wouldn't they end up in pieces?
"Th-that's an amazing technique!"
"Teacher Cangwu, what's this new technique called?"
"If I learn it, can I beat up that bandaged guy's real body?!"
Naruto excitedly ran over to take a closer look.
"This technique is called the Rasengan." Cangwu slowly withdrew the Glint-Glint Fruit's power.
The Light Rasengan turned blue again.
"Naruto."
"Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!" Naruto hurriedly nodded.
Sakura and Sasuke came over, too.
But what Cangwu said next left them all stunned.
Even Tazuna was taken aback.
"This is one of the legacies your father left behind."
"My father left it for me, so I definitely have to learn it... Huh?!" Naruto still had a smile on his face.
Then the words sank in, and his expression froze.
After thinking for a moment, Sakura asked,
"Do you mean the Fourth Hokage?"
Her words exploded in Naruto's heart like a bomb.
"How could that be...? It's one thing for Teacher Cangwu to joke around, but Sakura, why are you joking, too?"
His voice trembled slightly. Looking closely, his eyes were already a little red.
Sasuke said nothing. He only watched Naruto, his thoughts unclear.
"The Rasengan was created by the Fourth Hokage to protect his wife."
"It was based on the Tailed Beast Ball used by tailed beasts."
"Tailed beasts?" Sakura murmured.
Then she and Sasuke both turned to look at Naruto.
At the three unmistakable whisker marks on his cheeks.
"Protect his wife..."
Naruto hadn't paid attention to the rest of the sentence. His focus was entirely on the words "protect" and "wife."
They felt unfamiliar, yet somehow strangely familiar.
The atmosphere fell silent.
Only the sound of the Rasengan spinning erratically remained.
The Fourth Hokage was a name both familiar and unfamiliar.
The hero who had once saved the village.
"All right, we'll talk about the rest later."
"The key to this technique is releasing chakra and controlling the chakra you've sent outside your body."
"It's an A-rank technique, and you can use it with one hand."
Sasuke took a deep breath and said,
"Teacher Cangwu, this technique is very difficult... and it has no hand seals. How are we supposed to learn it?"
"Yeah, Teacher Cangwu," Sakura quickly added.
Naruto gave an awkward smile. "I'll learn it no matter what!"
"Don't be discouraged if you can't learn it."
"The principle behind this technique isn't especially complicated."
"But you do need to reach a certain level of mastery in chakra shape transformation."
"Otherwise, it'll look like this."
As he spoke, Cangwu manipulated the Rasengan in his hand.
"Watch carefully. If you haven't mastered shape transformation, you won't be able to compress the Rasengan."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!!
As soon as he finished speaking, the Rasengan in Cangwu's hand began to grow. Its sound turned shrill.
The Rasengan visibly darkened.
Layers of dust swirled up around their feet.
"The core of the Rasengan is the chakra inside, which moves in an irregular pattern."
"If you can't compress it, its power drops sharply."
To make it easier for them to understand,
Cangwu attacked a tree trunk with the uncompressed Rasengan.
Boom—
After a loud blast,
the surface of the tree trunk was covered in scratches.
Its power didn't match the spectacle it had made.
"This, on the other hand, is what it can do when compressed."
Hum—!!!
There was no huge commotion this time.
The sound was comparatively muffled.
"Th-this... Teacher Cangwu, it doesn't look as powerful as the last one—huh?!" Sakura had only made it halfway through her sentence before she covered her mouth in shock, her face full of disbelief.
Sasuke's pupils abruptly contracted.
The damage to the tree trunk's surface wasn't extensive.
But beyond the surface, the trunk had been pierced straight through.
Rumble—
Then the large tree toppled straight to the ground.
Naruto watched, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Awesome!"
"I've decided. I'm definitely going to be the first to master it!"
"I see... The truly terrifying part of this technique is the irregular chakra inside it..." Sasuke murmured as he studied the marks left in the tree trunk.
"Teacher Cangwu, please teach me this technique!"
Cangwu waved a hand. "Don't rush. This time, you get to choose between the new techniques."
He had started preparing the Rasengan on the day he regained his memories.
And after he gained the Sharingan,
copying techniques became much easier.
For example—
Crackle—!!!
Whoosh—
Cangwu raised his other hand.
In an instant, lightning-nature chakra appeared, crackling with a piercing roar.
Then dazzling lightning gathered in his hand.
When it finally took shape, it sounded like a thousand birds chirping.
"This technique is called Chidori."
"It's a technique used by a certain scarecrow."
"It's a Lightning Release technique I created based on the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan."
"It requires hand seals, though you won't need them once you've mastered it."
Cangwu thought for a moment, then added,
"The Rasengan is about shape transformation."
"The Chidori is about nature transformation."
"Master one, then learn the other, and you'll get twice the result for half the effort."
"You can choose between these two techniques."
The three kids were all stunned.
There were two techniques this powerful!
Cangwu's question—
"We want both!" x3
All three kids answered in unison.
"The Chidori looks so cool~!"
"The Rasengan suits me better, since I have tons of chakra~"
"But, Teacher Cangwu, you once said that you don't have to use something, but you can't go without it, right?"
After Naruto spoke, Sakura suddenly realized something.
"But... I don't think I have Lightning Release chakra..."
Before you continue