"Phew..."
After seeing Kakashi nod, Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief.
Using his brother Itachi as an excuse this time left Sasuke feeling a little helpless.
With Kakashi pressing him for answers, Sasuke couldn't very well say outright, I'm a transmigrator who watched the Naruto anime and know every jutsu inside out. And even if he did say it, no one would believe him.
As for Itachi copying his Chidori, broad-minded Kakashi had no intention of pursuing the matter. The jutsu was going to be passed on eventually, and Sasuke was his student now, so teaching it to him early was just a fortunate coincidence.
Once he understood what had happened, Kakashi looked at Sasuke with a faint smile. "Sasuke, you still haven't mastered the Chidori, have you?"
"Right. That's why I came to see you, Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke nodded and continued, "I can gather chakra in my palm, but I can't make it produce lightning."
Kakashi immediately saw what Sasuke's problem was, but instead of answering, he brought his hands together and quickly formed Hand Seals.
"Chidori!"
At Kakashi's shout, brilliant, dazzling lightning instantly enveloped his right hand, crackling with a sharp, chirping sound.
Then Kakashi's eyes suddenly narrowed. He stamped his foot and shot toward a nearby giant tree as fast as lightning.
Boom!
The moment Kakashi struck the tree, dazzling lightning burst outward. The extremely sturdy tree crashed to the ground, and a cloud of wood chips exploded from its center.
"So this is the power of the Chidori?"
Sasuke rubbed his chest, still shaken. He was stunned by what he'd seen.
He'd only ever seen the Chidori's terrifying destructive power in the anime. Seeing it in person left him awestruck.
"Chidori is a Lightning Release Ninjutsu that combines chakra nature transformation with shape transformation. If you really want to master it, you'll have to train in chakra nature transformation."
After successfully demonstrating the Chidori, Kakashi spoke softly as he looked at Sasuke's astonished face.
"Kakashi-sensei, then please teach me! I'll do whatever it takes!"
Sasuke clenched his fists and spoke urgently.
He'd been practicing the Chidori for nearly a month, but he'd only worked on shape transformation, not nature transformation. As a result, his Chidori had no power at all.
From watching Naruto's training in the anime, Sasuke had a rough idea of how to train in Wind Release nature transformation. But he had no idea how to train in Lightning Release nature transformation.
Kakashi was impressed by how eager Sasuke looked to learn. He thought for a moment, then said, "I can teach you, but you have to agree to one condition..."
"What condition, Kakashi-sensei? As long as it isn't too unreasonable, I'll agree."
Sasuke blinked, and his eyes lit up as he looked at Kakashi.
"My condition is simple: you can't use the Chidori until you've awakened your Sharingan."
Kakashi answered plainly, without hesitation.
"The Sharingan?"
The Sharingan was the Uchiha Clan's ocular jutsu. It could let its user see chakra pathways, discern an opponent's every subtle movement and Hand Seals, and cast Genjutsu to control the opponent.
Of course, the more advanced Sharingan could grant even greater abilities, such as Susanoo, Amaterasu, and Izanami.
Members of the Uchiha Clan were born with the potential to awaken the Sharingan, but they still had to go through the process of "opening their eyes." It usually took an extremely dangerous situation to trigger it, often when their lives hung in the balance.
"Why do I have to wait until I awaken the Sharingan before I can use it?"
Looking at Kakashi's serious expression, Sasuke couldn't help asking again.
"You saw me use the Chidori just now. It's powerful, but it's so fast that it's extremely difficult to notice an opponent's counterattack. Without the Sharingan, using the Chidori recklessly is very dangerous."
Thinking of what his teacher, the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato, had told him, Kakashi explained slowly.
"Oh..."
Kakashi's words also reminded Sasuke of the Chidori's many weaknesses.
Even so, Sasuke still wanted to learn it. His chakra had the strongest affinity for lightning, so training in Lightning Release Ninjutsu would let him unleash its full power.
"All right, Kakashi-sensei. I agree!"
Although he had no idea when he would awaken the Sharingan, Sasuke planned to master the Chidori first, so he'd have time to develop new jutsu.
"In that case, let's begin training!"
Seeing that Sasuke had agreed, Kakashi smiled.
"Yeah!"
Sasuke nodded, already impatient to get started.
Thud!
A dull sound suddenly rang out across the quiet Training Ground by the river. Sasuke collapsed to the ground, completely spent.
An afternoon of chakra nature transformation training had left him exhausted.
"What an incredible kid!"
Seeing Sasuke finally fall, Kakashi, who had been guiding him, sighed in admiration.
Sasuke's stamina had already begun to give out an hour earlier, and Kakashi had originally planned to end the training then. But when Sasuke insisted on continuing, he gritted his teeth and held on for another hour. Kakashi was deeply moved by such astonishing perseverance.
"Sasuke, want me to carry you home?"
Knowing Sasuke had reached his limit, Kakashi walked over and asked with a faint smile.
"N-no, I'm not that weak yet..."
Sasuke shook his head and smiled.
"Sasuke, that's enough training for today. Go home and get some rest. We have a mission tomorrow!"
After hearing Sasuke's reply, Kakashi reminded him.
"N-no problem..."
Sasuke smiled.
"Good. I'll be going, then!"
Kakashi still had to report the results of the test to the Hokage. He nodded and disappeared.
After Kakashi left, Sasuke slowly took a red Military Ration Pill from his pocket. Uchiha Mikoto had made it especially for him. It would fill his stomach and restore his chakra and stamina in a short time.
Eating too many of these compressed rations could cause indigestion, so Sasuke usually avoided them. But in his current state, he couldn't afford to be picky.
After swallowing the Military Ration Pill and closing his eyes, Sasuke, utterly exhausted, could clearly feel his strength gradually returning.
"Having Mom is the best!"
Once he'd recovered a little, Sasuke grinned.
"Caw~"
Just as Sasuke slowly got to his feet and prepared to head home, a black crow suddenly flew out of the woods and landed on his shoulder.
"Crap, I forgot..."
At the sight of the crow, Sasuke remembered that he'd arranged to meet Shisui at their usual spot that afternoon.
Knowing Shisui had probably been waiting for him for a long time, Sasuke didn't care how much strength he'd recovered. He stamped his foot and hurried toward the Uchiha Clan's district.