Konoha, inside a small training ground.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
One after another, shuriken crackling with lightning traced beautiful arcs through the air, striking the targets hidden in various blind spots with pinpoint accuracy.
Perhaps because they were infused with Lightning Release chakra, the shuriken had become far more destructive. The wooden targets were either pierced straight through or split in two!
"Whew."
Sasuke let out a quiet breath and slowly closed his Sharingan.
After all this training, he had made great strides in both Ninja Tool Throwing and his use of Lightning Release chakra.
As things stood, Sasuke had already surpassed Kakashi in developing the Chidori.
Clap, clap, clap.
At that moment, a round of applause came from a nearby tree branch.
Sasuke glanced over and saw that the one applauding him from the branch was none other than his instructor, Kakashi.
But Kakashi's expression looked somewhat perfunctory. It seemed he was clapping mostly as an excuse to start a conversation.
"Sasuke, when it comes to Ninja Tool Throwing, you've already surpassed many of the Jonin in the village. You really are a Dojutsu Bloodline Ninja!"
As he spoke, Kakashi dropped from the tree to the ground.
Sasuke asked, "Have you deciphered the encrypted scroll?"
"Yeah!"
Kakashi nodded.
Sasuke immediately grew anxious. "Was the information really sent by that guy? Why would he be so kind as to send information to the village? It has to be a trap!"
Kakashi waved a hand. "Don't get worked up yet! Nothing's been confirmed. The village will verify it carefully!"
Sasuke's expression darkened. "Why weren't any of you surprised? When Shinji took out the scroll in the hospital room, you all acted as if you'd expected it. Why? Was Itachi sent by the village to infiltrate the Akatsuki Organization? Then why did he