Kakashi: Is My Chakra Level Low?

"Such a level of chakra fluctuation!"

Kakashi opened his eyes and looked toward Kazuhiko's tent, feeling somewhat suspicious and uncertain.

He was certain that Kazuhiko had not been invaded by any external enemies.

The S-rank top-secret mission made Kakashi afraid to slack off in the slightest, keeping him in a state of constant vigilance.

Yet, this powerful chakra that had suddenly surged forth made him afraid to be careless.

Kakashi stood up, pushed his forehead protector up, and his Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated.

He needed to confirm whether there was only one ninja inside the tent.

Then, he was shocked by the scene before his eyes.

"This amount of chakra!?"

A guy who was only listed as a medical genin in the files actually possessed the same level of chakra as himself.

You're telling me this is a genin?

Kakashi couldn't help but fall into self-doubt:

Could it be that my chakra reserves are low?

No!

I am an elite among jonin; my chakra levels are already at the top tier of the ninja world!

It must be that this genin is simply too outrageous!

"He's probably practicing some kind of ninjutsu."

After Kakashi confirmed that nothing was happening in the tent, he moved his forehead protector back down and continued to close his eyes to rest.

Being unable to deactivate the Sharingan not only caused his chakra to be consumed every moment, but his spirit and focus were also quite exhausted from the effort of refining and replenishing his chakra.

If it weren't for the need to maintain his condition to complete the escort mission, Kakashi's pace would have been enough to bring Kazuhiko to Tanzaku Town in a single day.

But in that situation, if an accident occurred while treating Tsunade, he would be unable to ensure Kazuhiko's safety.

This was something Kakashi absolutely could not allow to happen.

At this moment, another anomaly came from Kazuhiko's direction.

In Kakashi's perception, Kazuhiko's chakra fluctuations were boiling over!

A blinding light, invisible to the naked eye, made Kakashi's perception as bright as day, piercing through the darkness of the forest.

He opened his eyes again; the entire camp was deathly silent, with only a faint, ethereal light faintly penetrating through the tent fabric.

Kakashi felt somewhat suspicious and uncertain.

"A high-level Lightning Release ninjutsu?"

"But this light doesn't seem right!"

"Could it be that an accident occurred during his training?"

He moved his forehead protector aside and immediately used his Sharingan to confirm the situation.

The azure chakra on Kazuhiko's body had turned black at some unknown point.

"This is..."

Kakashi opened his mouth wide, staring blankly at the scene.

The next moment, a black light sword appeared, waving and gesturing in the air.

"Black chakra lightning!"

"No!"

"Black lightning that can manipulate its shape!"

Kakashi was dumbfounded.

A genius was actually by my side?

Inside the tent.

Kazuhiko felt that he had already thoroughly grasped the Storm Release.

Lightning Release: speed, penetration, paralysis, cutting, conductivity.

Water Release: flexibility, binding, shaping, quantitative change, infiltration.

Possessing the perfect chakra nature transformations of both lightning and water allowed the black lightning produced by the Storm Release to become a power that could be manipulated at will and used to attack in various chakra forms.

Guided tracking, light-speed attacks, the ability to bypass obstacles...

Possessing the Storm Release allowed Kazuhiko to jump outside the Five Elements, no longer bound by their mutual restraints.

"Two blues turned into one purple; this wave was a huge profit!"

After carefully sensing the Storm Release, Kazuhiko began to check the conditions for permanentizing the entry.

[Permanent Condition: Perfect mastery of Lightning and Water chakra nature transformations. Research and develop a complete set of Storm Release ninjutsu (one each of A, B, C, and D rank).]

Developing ninjutsu was not difficult for Kazuhiko.

He could manifest a D-rank Storm Release ninjutsu on the spot right now:

Lesser Storm Ball Technique!

The C-rank Greater Storm Ball Technique was naturally no challenge either.

As for high-level Storm Release ninjutsu, with Darui and Madara as precedents, developing them would not be difficult.

The train of thought was already laid out; he only needed to follow the steps.

However.

Perfectly mastering chakra nature transformation was not easy.

Take the Lightning nature transformation as an example:

To perfectly master its nature transformation meant that when performing Lightning Release ninjutsu, one had to simultaneously possess the properties of extreme speed, penetration, paralysis, cutting, and conductivity.

Kakashi had reached this stage, which was why he could develop the characteristics of Lightning Release to the extreme, creating a ninjutsu capable of severing lightning—

Chidori.

Kazuhiko looked at the remaining entries from the Jonin-level ten-draw and fell into thought.

[Lightning Release: Chidori (Purple)]

[Water Release: Water Wave (Green)]

[Lightning Release: Lightning Dash Technique (Green)]

[Kunai Shadow Clone Technique (Green)]

[Earth Release: Earth Flow Bullet Technique (Green)]

[Sealing Jutsu: Evil Sealing Method (Purple)]

Through the ninjutsu Chidori, mastering the Lightning attribute chakra nature transformation was not a problem.

But what about the Water attribute?

Which ninjutsu should he learn to perfectly master its nature transformation?

"The Senju Old Ghost's signature Water Release techniques like Hard Whirlpool Water Blade and Water Shockwave would certainly work if learned."

"But I cannot obtain these ninjutsu for the time being. The Konoha higher-ups would never allow an Uchiha to learn high-level Water Release from the Scroll of Seals."

"There are many Water Release ninjutsu recorded within the clan; I can study those when I return this time."

The Uchiha clan was proficient in Fire Release, and therefore, they also had deep attainments in the Water Release techniques that countered it.

Those who truly understand you are often your enemies.

In front of a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, any ninjutsu was destined to be copied.

Every Jonin of the Uchiha clan was a Kakashi in their own right.

Although the copied Water Release techniques could not be learned, researching them within the clan to formulate countermeasures was an unavoidable responsibility for every Uchiha clansman.

At this moment, Deep Blue sent a notification:

[Kakashi's favorability toward you has increased]

"Hm?"

Kazuhiko's Double-Tomoe Sharingan activated instantly, and he looked toward the direction where Kakashi was.

And then.

He saw:

On a blue humanoid chakra silhouette, a familiar red Three-Tomoe light orb was slowly rotating.

Peeping, of all things!

Shameless!

After giving the other party a look of disdain, Kazuhiko deactivated his Sharingan and immediately stood up to walk out of the tent.

Kakashi, perched in the tree, looked embarrassed.

Being caught in the act of using the Sharingan by a ninja of the Uchiha clan made his ears burn.

Thinking of his own reputation, he felt even more awkward.

What if the other party misunderstood and thought I was using the Sharingan to copy his ninjutsu?

Kakashi's toes gripped the tree trunk tightly as he attempted to explain:

"Uh... I was just trying to confirm the situation; I didn't actually see anything."

Such a lame excuse would surely be mocked.

"Although the Sharingan doesn't have X-ray vision, you saw all the chakra I just used, didn't you?"

Kakashi nodded awkwardly.

Not only did he see it, but he had also guessed what the black lightning represented.

Black lightning capable of manipulating its form was, without a doubt, some kind of unknown Kekkei Genkai.

"Prying into others' secrets at will is hardly the behavior of a comrade."

Kazuhiko wore a grave expression.

He did not want Kakashi reporting his mastery of Storm Release to the Third Hokage.

After all, any secret that reached the Third Hokage was equivalent to being exposed to Danzo.

Kazuhiko could not predict how Danzo would react to this information, so he needed Kakashi to keep the Storm Release a secret.

Helping Shota awaken the Sharingan had already made him a focal point in Danzo's eyes.

If he added Storm Release to the mix, Kazuhiko could not predict what Danzo might do.

Monthly ticket votes are doubled during the May Day holiday; dear readers, please vote quickly so the author can add more chapters.

Thank you to the readers who have been following and voting; thank you all for your support, and I wish everyone a happy May Day!

I arrived home quite late, so the next chapter will be updated a bit later.