Under Uchiha Sogetsu's careful guidance, Sasuke finally completed the basics of body refinement after enduring countless hardships—just in time before the Chunin Exams.
It might sound complicated the way he described it, but the modified version of "Shunko" was actually quite simple in essence.
By channeling lightning chakra into the body's meridians, it continuously stimulated and damaged the body's cells, bones, organs, and more—starting from small areas and gradually expanding.
The goal was to force the body to adapt to the electric current, triggering a full-body evolution of bones, muscles, nerves, and internal organs.
In a way, the "Shunko" that Sasuke trained in was a twisted version of the Lightning Chakra Mode passed down secretly in the Hidden Cloud Village.
And where did this Lightning Chakra Mode come from?
Well, a long time ago, Sogetsu had stormed into the Hidden Cloud himself and snatched the secret scroll right in front of the Third Raikage.
Sogetsu shook his head, brushing aside that memory, and refocused his attention on the "main character."
The early stages of "Shunko" training were pure torture.
Letting high-voltage lightning flow through your entire nervous system felt no different from being tortured.
Even when Sasuke passed out or convulsed from the shock, she never once asked to stop. She just clenched her teeth and endured.
Such iron will make Sogetsu raise his opinion of Sasuke.
"That's enough for today, Sasuke," he said softly, looking at the girl collapsed on the ground, foaming at the mouth and twitching uncontrollably.
But Sasuke, teeth still clenched, eyes bloodshot, stubbornly shook her head. "No, Uesugi-sensei, I can keep going. Please, continue!"
She wasn't about to give up that easily—not on the chance she had worked so hard to get!
Because Sasuke knew very well just how wide the gap was between her and Uchiha Itachi, she couldn't afford to quit halfway.
"Please, just one more time!"
Sasuke wiped the foam from her mouth, her eyes unwavering. "Don't worry—I know my body well."
"Why be so stubborn? This isn't your only chance."
Uchiha Sogetsu let out a sigh, looking at Sasuke with a complicated expression. This child's obsession ran far too deep.
"No!"
Sasuke suddenly raised her voice, clenching her fists tightly. The force was so strong that her knuckles turned white.
Her eyes lowered slightly as she spoke in a low, firm voice.
"I don't know if this is my last chance... but I do know this—if I miss it today, then I might never get another one like it.
Opportunities don't always appear. They only show up once, after you've tried a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times."
Uchiha Sogetsu smiled, a hint of appreciation showing in his eyes.
It seemed all her past failures weren't for nothing. At the very least, she now understood what it truly meant when something was "a rare opportunity."
"I stopped you for a reason."
He looked at Sasuke calmly. Before she could say anything in return, he raised his hand slightly to stop her.
"Tomorrow marks the beginning of the Chunin Exams. You wouldn't want to be covered in injuries and get eliminated in the first round, would you?"
To his surprise, Sasuke's response was even more rebellious.
"I can skip the Chunin Exams."
After all, the title of Chunin didn't mean much to her. It didn't actually improve her strength. If that was the case, she'd rather give it up and focus on training properly.
"There's no need to go that far. You still have to participate."
Uchiha Sogetsu gave a helpless laugh and shook his head.
"Besides, this year's Chunin Exams... a lot of people are coming just to see you—the last bloodline of the Uchiha. If you quit halfway through, those nobles might actually tear me apart."
Sasuke's cheeks turned slightly red. She lowered her head like a student who'd realized she'd said something wrong.
"I'm sorry, Uesugi-sensei. I didn't think about that part."
"It's fine. Besides, tomorrow is just the selection round. There's still some time before the main tournament."
Uchiha Sogetsu gently reassured her, "I'm not leaving so soon. I called for a break not just to give you time to rest and recover—there's another reason as well."
Hearing this, Sasuke immediately straightened her back from a kneeling position, ready to listen carefully.
"Over the past two days, while training in the basic form of Shunko, your body has strengthened a lot," Sogetsu said calmly. "But you're still missing one thing—a signature technique."
Sasuke's eyes lit up. Her breathing quickened as a bold thought entered her mind.
Could it be… is Uesugi-sensei finally going to teach me a ninjutsu?
"That's right. Just what you're thinking."
There was no hiding her excitement from Sogetsu. Smiling, he continued, "You're well-rounded, but you're lacking one crucial thing—a ninjutsu that can decide the outcome of a battle. Against weaker opponents, your overall advantage might secure a win. But when you're up against someone at your level—or stronger—that won't be enough."
Sasuke nodded. She had realized the same thing after her fight with Gaara.
She lacked that overwhelming, match-ending power. That was her biggest weakness right now.
As he spoke, Sogetsu pulled a scroll from his robes and said, "This ninjutsu is called Chidori. It requires both chakra nature transformation and shape transformation. You're already quite familiar with nature transformation. What's next is shaping the chakra. With your foundation in Shunko, it shouldn't be too difficult."
He wasn't exaggerating—he was simply stating the truth.
Shunko had extremely demanding prerequisites. It required precise manipulation of lightning chakra to stimulate the body's chakra pathways and chakra points internally.
Although Sasuke couldn't yet control it to that degree, the repeated electric stimulation had refined her chakra control to a level comparable to Hundred-Healing Sakura from the original series.
Something like Chidori? That should be within reach.
Sasuke took the scroll, studied its contents, and felt a rush of eagerness—she couldn't wait to give it a try.
"With me here, feel free to go all out."
Sogetsu looked at her eager expression and nodded with a smile. "Don't worry about getting hurt—I know a bit of medical ninjutsu too."
In the world of ninjas, medical ninjutsu had been fully analyzed by him long ago.
Essentially, it's a method that stimulates the regeneration of cells to heal, though the technique is somewhat crude.
After all, the number of times a cell's telomerase can divide is limited, and not everyone is like the First Hokage.
In fact, he seriously suspected that the First Hokage's early death was probably linked to his healing abilities.
While he was deep in thought, Sasuke had already begun her first attempt.
Following the sequence of hand seals written in the scroll—Boar, Rabbit, Monkey—she quickly completed the first phase, changing the nature of her chakra. The visible electric current gathered in her palm.
Next was the second step, where she needed to control the form of the chakra. Sasuke focused her mind.
However, an unexpected incident occurred.
Though Sasuke's control over her chakra was meticulous, learning Chidori was an A-rank difficulty technique. The gathered electricity exploded in her hand.
In an instant, the pale, delicate palm of the girl was covered in blood.
Perhaps it was the brutal training over the past few days, but Sasuke, looking at her hand, which had been torn by the electricity, didn't say a word. Instead, she fell into deep thought.
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