Chapter 6: Turmoil in the Shinobi World
The purest form of lightning chakra—
It surged into existence in Kakashi's palm, but lasted no more than three seconds before his expression shifted slightly.
"Snap!"
With a crackle, the lightning vanished from his hand.
Chidori—
Or more accurately, Raikiri.
This was the one technique in the original timeline that Kakashi could truly call his own, an ultimate jutsu created by fusing both form transformation and nature transformation of lightning chakra. For most shinobi, it represented the pinnacle of lightning-based ninjutsu.
And now, it was the technique Kakashi most urgently sought to master.
Its destructive force was overwhelming.
Its piercing speed, terrifying.
Not to mention all the derivative forms that Sasuke would later develop—
All of them could be seamlessly combined with Kakashi's swordsmanship.
The hardest part of creating any jutsu lies in the concept. It's the leap from "nothing" to "something." But this time, he had an immense advantage: a clear memory of that technique from his past life.
All he needed now was to materialize that image from his mind into reality.
Of course, this wouldn't be easy.
But compared to starting from scratch, it was already a massive head start.
Moreover, refining this jutsu would enhance Kakashi's control over his chakra, which would in turn help him master the technique of using lightning chakra to stimulate and activate his cells.
That fleeting, razor-sharp bolt of lightning in his palm just now—
Was the first result of those early experiments.
Before attempting the nature transformation, he needed to stabilize the form of Raikiri. Only then could he evolve the technique to its full potential.
According to the original timeline, the "original" Kakashi only fully mastered this technique after receiving Obito's Sharingan.
But whether that detail was true or not didn't matter.
This time, Kakashi had no intention of relying on the same path.
He refused to believe any jutsu could only be learned through some arbitrary condition or external power.
If there were limitations, they existed within himself—
A gap in understanding, a flaw in execution, or simply not being ready.
Form transformation was straightforward—it meant shaping chakra into a specific physical form based on the mental image of the technique.
The best example from the original was Jiraiya's training of Naruto with the Rasengan. That jutsu was the pinnacle of pure form transformation.
Every elemental chakra followed the same foundation when it came to form—but nature transformations? That's where the differences showed.
Wind cuts.
Fire burns.
Earth reinforces.
Water soaks and permeates.
Lightning spreads and radiates.
This was clearly demonstrated when chakra paper reacted to different natures—splitting, burning, soaking, crumbling, or wrinkling.
Mastery over lightning chakra's nature allowed it to be shaped and extended almost indefinitely within the user's capability.
Kakashi may have been a mere martial artist in his previous life, but he had solid theoretical grounding.
And now, with the full memory of his new body's past, he was no slouch—
A top-tier academic talent.
And he had a father whose strength rivaled the Five Kage.
The only thing missing now was practice—
Turning theory into reality.
Especially in mastering the nature transformation aspect of chakra, which was usually only tackled at the jōnin level and beyond.
His father hadn't taught much of it yet—Kakashi was still young, after all.
"Nature transformation will have to wait. First, I need to stabilize the form of Raikiri."
Kakashi exhaled deeply, clenching his right hand again, muttering quietly to himself.
But while he focused on training, the shinobi world was already on the verge of upheaval.
After all, Hatake Sakumo was not some minor figure—
He was a ninja whose strength had shaken the entire world for over a decade.
When news of his suicide spread, it wasn't just Konoha that trembled.
The entire shinobi world was rocked.
At first, no one believed it.
The leaders of the other hidden villages were skeptical.
They'd rather believe Sakumo was assassinated during a coup attempt by the Third Hokage than accept that he had taken his own life.
This was Konoha's White Fang!
Only after repeated confirmation from top-level spies embedded in Konoha did the other villages finally accept the truth—
And once they did, every one of them began to stir.
The other Four Great Nations started preparing for war.
Over ten years had passed since the end of the Second Great Ninja War.
Tensions between villages had never truly subsided.
Conflicts and skirmishes had only increased.
The world was a pot of oil, heated and bubbling, and all it needed was a single spark.
Sakumo's death—
Was that spark.
The most immediate responses came from Kumogakure in the northeast and Kirigakure in the southeast.
Barely a week after Sakumo's passing, elite Konoha scouts stationed along the borders began reporting signs of military buildup from both villages.
When those reports reached Konoha, the atmosphere turned tense.
Led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, Konoha's leadership convened immediately.
Present at the emergency council were, as usual, the "Konoha F4": Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, Danzo Shimura, and Hiruzen himself.
Only a few others were granted access to the table:
Choza Akimichi, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and a young Nara Shikaku—who, while only in his early twenties, had already begun assisting the Hokage in managing village affairs.
Among the Nara clan, he was the brightest rising star of his generation.
"These are the latest frontline reports from our ANBU regarding the movements of Kumo and Kiri. I'll have Shikaku distribute the information," Hiruzen said solemnly from his seat at the head of the room.
Most of those present already had their own sources and intelligence.
For people like Danzo, this was just further confirmation of what they already suspected.
"The storm is coming," Homura muttered, shaking his head, brows furrowed in concern.
"Hmph! This was inevitable," Koharu snapped coldly, eyes narrowing. "The past two years have been unstable. Minor clashes were already increasing.
War could break out at any moment!"
The room fell into a tense silence—
As if the whole world were holding its breath, waiting for the flames of war to ignite.