When Kakashi pushed aside the bushes,
the scene before his eyes—
—made him choke on his breath.
The river current surged like a violent wave, overflowing both banks as it crashed toward the great waterfall between the statues of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
The falling waterfall collided with the raging torrent.
Boom!!
The roar shook heaven and earth.
Waves tumbled, spraying high into the sky.
Water droplets fell like a rainstorm, drenching the surrounding forest in a storm-like downpour.
Kakashi's gaze dropped.
A figure flickered rapidly across the river's surface—
Nagano Yuichi, unleashing Water Style ninjutsu without pause.
"Water Style: Water Chaos!"
Puff!
A mass of water spewed from Yuichi's mouth, spiraling through the air and slamming into the waterfall.
Kakashi's expression stiffened.
This kid… He's not even using existing water flow. He's creating it directly!
For the same ninjutsu, the difference in chakra consumption was like heaven and earth.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A towering surge of water erupted, twisting into the shape of a massive dragon. It coiled once in the sky before hurling itself at the waterfall.
"Water Style: Water Fang!"
Yuichi bombarded the waterfall again and again with unrelenting Water Style techniques.
Kakashi stood frozen, his eyes widening.
A mere Genin was casting advanced Water Style jutsu continuously, without the slightest sign of chakra exhaustion.
Even as a Konoha Jōnin, the famous Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi—
—he had to admit his chakra reserves couldn't compare to this boy's.
Pakkun glanced up at him.
"Oi, Kakashi… is this kid some kind of monster your village's been secretly raising?"
"Uh…" Kakashi could only bite the bullet and nod.
How could he admit this was just an ordinary Genin?
But before he could gather his thoughts, powerful chakra fluctuations burst out below.
Invisible shockwaves rippled from Yuichi.
The water trembled.
The air distorted, forming a cyclone that sucked in the surrounding wind.
Trees shuddered violently.
Leaves scattered like a storm.
Pakkun's fur bristled as he latched onto Kakashi's leg.
"What the hell is happening?!"
Kakashi's heart tightened. His eyes locked onto Yuichi.
What kind of ninjutsu is he preparing?
Those hand seals… more than twenty?!
No matter what it was, Kakashi's face paled.
With chakra fluctuations this massive, the resulting technique would be devastating.
"Water Style…"
Yuichi suddenly leaped into the air. His right hand stretched out toward the pool below, fingers curling as if grasping something invisible.
And then—he pulled.
BOOM!!
The water pool exploded upward.
Streams of liquid surged toward Yuichi's arm, spiraling into a violent rotation.
The high-speed vortex screeched, slicing through the air like grinding steel.
Kakashi's pupils shrank.
A Water Style technique I've never seen before?!
Did he… invent this himself?!
The sheer momentum was terrifying.
Yuichi's sharp gaze snapped toward the waterfall.
His left hand formed the final seal.
His body vanished in an instant.
Swish! Swish!!
After two blinding flickers, Yuichi appeared before the roaring falls.
With a motion like hurling a spear, he launched the water vortex entwined around his arm.
"Hard Vortex Water Blade!!!"
The spinning torrent detonated, transforming into a massive waterspout that drilled violently into the waterfall.
Roooaaar!!
Water exploded skyward, the impact thundering like ten thousand charging horses.
When the rain finally settled, Kakashi wiped the water from his forehead. His gaze fell upon the massive hole gouged into the cliffside behind the waterfall.
The sheer destructive force had pierced rock like paper.
Kakashi swallowed hard.
This wasn't simply ninjutsu.
This was a natural disaster given form.
He glanced back.
Yuichi now stood still, head bowed in thought.
What Kakashi had assumed to be a routine reconnaissance mission for the Third Hokage—
—had instead revealed a true monster.
That technique… Hard Vortex Water Blade. Its destructive power easily reaches S-rank.
Kakashi inhaled deeply, unable to believe that such a powerful jutsu might have been created by Yuichi himself.
But whether it was self-developed or inherited, one fact was undeniable—
Yuichi's chakra reserves and mastery of Water Style were already on par with elite shinobi.
This must be reported to the Third Hokage immediately.
Kakashi tore Pakkun off his leg and sprinted back toward Konoha without looking back.
Meanwhile, Yuichi—completely unaware that anyone had been watching—smiled faintly.
"Hard Vortex Water Blade, combined with the Body Flicker Technique… not bad."
Exhaling, he looked down at the ground beneath his feet.
"Time to start brushing Wood Style."
As Wood Style chakra spread outward, the vegetation around him erupted into life.
Saplings burst from the soil, growing into towering trees in moments.
[Wood Style proficiency +1]
[Wood Style proficiency +1]
[…]
The system prompts rang endlessly.
[Congratulations! Wood Style: Tree-Binding Eternal Burial upgraded to Intermediate.]
[Congratulations! Wood Style: Silent Binding Technique upgraded to Intermediate.]
[Congratulations! Wood Style: Wood Ingot Wall upgraded to Intermediate.]
[Wood Style (Stage One Inheritance: 3%)]
[Basic Wood Style advanced to Intermediate. New Wood Style techniques unlocked.]
Wood Style: Great Forest Technique – Extend giant wooden vines to entangle enemies.
Wood Style: Thorn Killing Technique – Summon thorny vines to restrain and pierce foes.
Wood Style: Tree Boundary Wall – A massive wooden barrier that grows instantly from the earth.
Yuichi's face, however, darkened slightly.
"…Still no Wood Clone. Is it really this hard to unlock?"