Beyond the Railgun

"Hokage-sama, here's the report on this mission. Please take a look."

"Thanks for all your hard work, Kakashi. If it weren't for you protecting the village, it wouldn't be nearly this peaceful."

"It's my duty." Kakashi had long since gotten used to Hiruzen Sarutobi's usual brainwashing.

Hiruzen smiled, then said, "About your younger brother—have you considered letting him become a ninja early?"

Kakashi's head shot up in surprise at the sudden mention of Gu Qi.

"I saw Gu Qi's match with Anko a couple of days ago, too. I think he's strong enough to become a capable Genin now. Of course, I wouldn't object if you wanted him to attend the Ninja Academy first."

Kakashi didn't ask how Hiruzen had watched the match. Some people knew all too well about the old man's peeping jutsu.

Kakashi thought it over, then replied, "Please let me ask Gu Qi what he thinks."

Hiruzen nodded. "Of course. It's his right to choose."

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back."

"Mm. Thanks for all your hard work."

"What? You want me to become a ninja early?"

In a forest in Konoha, Gu Qi had been training three Ninja Dogs when he heard the news. He was shocked.

Kakashi nodded. "That's the Hokage's suggestion. Of course, you can also choose to attend the Ninja Academy next year."

Gu Qi rubbed his chin. "Let me think about it."

"It's your choice. Whatever you decide, I'll support you." Kakashi patted Gu Qi on the shoulder and left.

He had delivered the message. Now it was up to Gu Qi to decide.

After watching Kakashi leave, Gu Qi turned to the three lazy Ninja Dogs and shouted, "You three slackers! You couldn't even beat one boa constrictor. How can you be proud to call yourselves my underlings?"

The three Ninja Dogs rolled their eyes at Gu Qi's words.

The boa Anko had summoned had been bigger than a person, and they were still just pups. Of course they couldn't beat it.

But under Gu Qi's tyrannical rule, they could only whimper and get back to training.

Once the three Ninja Dogs were working hard again, Gu Qi sat cross-legged and considered Kakashi's offer.

Becoming a ninja had always been Gu Qi's goal, but the prospect of doing so this early left him uncertain.

Becoming a ninja early would let him grow stronger on the battlefield sooner. Of course, that was assuming he survived.

Gu Qi had calculated that only seventeen years passed between the beginning of the story and the Fourth Shinobi World War.

And the Fourth Shinobi World War itself lasted only three days.

To avoid becoming cannon fodder during those three days, Gu Qi would have to master Senjutsu and reach Super Kage Level within the next seventeen years.

In other words, Gu Qi still had a long way to go.

Although the idea of becoming a ninja now was tempting, Gu Qi thought it over and ultimately decided against it.

With his current strength, becoming a ninja now would make him little more than an elite piece of cannon fodder.

If he died on the battlefield, that would be the end of everything.

Besides, Gu Qi's system increased his strength through learning, not killing.

Once he became a ninja, he wouldn't have nearly as much time as he did now to study and develop ninjutsu.

In the end, Gu Qi decided that becoming a ninja now would do more harm than good.

Having made up his mind, Gu Qi stopped dwelling on it and turned his attention to the three Ninja Dogs who had started slacking off again.

Under Gu Qi's sinister gaze, the three Ninja Dogs shivered and hurriedly buckled down to train.

"I can't slack off, either. Time waits for no one!"

Seeing that the three Ninja Dogs were working hard again, Gu Qi decided he would finish turning the Railgun's coilgun into a ninjutsu today.

Ever since he had completed his research on adapting the railgun into a ninjutsu, Gu Qi had hit a bottleneck with the coilgun.

The hard part was figuring out how to make rings of Lightning Release Chakra form in sequence from his arm to the tip of his hand, so the projectile would get enough acceleration.

Previously, Gu Qi had managed to use the coilgun by wearing several mithril rings around his arm.

But since he had relied on an external tool, the system hadn't recognized it.

Now, thanks to Kakashi, the brother who specialized in giving his sibling a hard time, Gu Qi had developed an astonishingly precise control over chakra.

And since he had already fired the coilgun with the help of a tool, Gu Qi was confident he could complete his research into adapting it into a ninjutsu without using any equipment.

Gu Qi held out his fair right hand and manipulated Lightning Release Chakra to form a ring of lightning around his arm.

The ring's crackling arcs made the fur of the three curious Ninja Dogs standing nearby stand on end.

The three Ninja Dogs didn't like the sensation and backed away a few steps.

Gu Qi only glanced at them before turning his attention back to his right arm.

"Hey, is Gu Qi working on a new jutsu again?" Pakkun asked Kakashi from the branch of a large tree.

Kakashi leaned against the trunk with his arms crossed. "Looks like it."

"You're just going to watch him? You won't stop him?" Pakkun tilted his head.

Kakashi shook his head. "Even if I stop him today, so what? I can't watch him every moment."

"Haha, true enough." Pakkun knew Gu Qi well enough to understand that he would never simply obey.

Kakashi looked down at Gu Qi, the Tomoe in his left eye spinning rapidly. "With Gu Qi's chakra control, he'll be fine even if something goes wrong.

"But I'm curious where he got the idea for this jutsu."

Pakkun asked, puzzled, "Wasn't this jutsu left behind by Lord Kawao?"

"No." Kakashi shook his head. "My uncle didn't know Lightning Release Ninjutsu, so this can't be his research."

"If it wasn't Lord Kawao's, then Gu Qi must have come up with it himself. Looks like the Hatake Clan will have another genius." Pakkun smiled.

Kakashi's expression remained blank. "A genius has to be alive to count as one. I just hope Gu Qi understands that."

"Someone's coming. They seem to be from Root." Pakkun sniffed and spoke to Kakashi.

Kakashi lowered his Forehead Protector to cover his Sharingan. "Let's go. Don't let those guys disturb Gu Qi."

"Okay!"

Gu Qi had no idea what was happening nearby. He was at a crucial moment.

Three rings of lightning circled Gu Qi's arm, shining with a pale blue light.

Three electromagnetic rings were the most Gu Qi could control at the moment. Any more, and he probably wouldn't be able to maintain them. Still, three were enough to fire a bullet.

So Gu Qi prepared to move on to the next step of his training: the real thing.

He quietly took out a solid bullet and held it lightly, then aimed at a tree in the distance.

Then another ring of Lightning Release Chakra appeared near the elbow of his arm, sparks of lightning flashing around it.

A second ring appeared, then a third, in succession along Gu Qi's arm.

The three rings flashed in sequence. At first, they pulsed every two or three seconds, but then their speed steadily increased.

When they were flashing so fast that they were almost impossible to see, Gu Qi gathered Lightning Release Chakra in his thumb and gently flicked the base of the bullet in his hand.

A soft "ding" rang out as the bullet shot from Gu Qi's hand like an arrow loosed from a bow.

[Ding!]

As soon as the bullet was fired, the system's long-silent voice appeared in Gu Qi's mind.

[Mission 5 complete. Congratulations, you've obtained technical data: C4 manufacturing process.]

[Ding! Mastered Railgun Ninjutsu. Reinforcing knowledge...]

As the system's voice faded, Gu Qi's mind filled with new knowledge about how to use the Railgun.

Gu Qi took out another bullet and gently tossed it into the air.

Lightning flashed along his right arm as ring after ring appeared and vanished.

When the bullet was level with his arm, Gu Qi flicked it lightly with his thumb.

"Super, Railgun!" Gu Qi blurted out the line for no particular reason, sounding like a chuuni.

"Bang!"

As the words left his mouth, a hole appeared in the trunk of an unlucky tree!