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Two years had passed. Two years of nonstop grinding.
The class, now all ten years old, had long since settled into the life of shinobi-in-training. The grueling physical routines were now just a warm-up.
The real work had begun: chakra manipulation.
They learned to draw out their chakra, to feel its flow, and, most difficult of all, to control it. They spent weeks learning to stick leaves to their foreheads, a simple exercise that was a source of massive frustration.
Those with too little chakra struggled to make the leaf stick at all. Those with too much, like Raiden, kept blasting the leaf off with uncontrolled bursts.
Once Yugiri-sensei was satisfied with their basic control, they moved on to the three foundational jutsu.
First was the Clone Jutsu (Bunshin no Jutsu). Yugiri explained it was a simple, illusory copy. "It has no physical form," she'd barked, creating three perfect duplicates of herself. "It is for distraction. For confusion. One hit, and it's gone. Master this, and you can make an enemy waste their strongest attack on a ghost."
This one was a nightmare for Raiden. His massive Uzumaki reserves, a blessing, were a curse here. His first attempts didn't create a clone; they created a deafening pop and a cloud of smoke as the jutsu overloaded and failed.
Next was the Transformation Jutsu (Henge no Jutsu). This allowed the user to transform their appearance into another person, object, or animal. It was the easiest of the three to perform, but the hardest to master. It was one thing to look like Yugiri-sensei; it was another to mimic her walk, her voice, her very presence.
Finally, there was the Substitution Jutsu (Kawarimi no Jutsu). This was a high-speed technique that let the user swap places with a nearby object, usually a log, to avoid an attack. It wasn't about the hand seal; it was about the timing. It required a shinobi to perceive an attack, perform the jutsu, and select a replacement object all in the fraction of a second before impact.
These three were the foundation. Yugiri-sensei drilled them relentlessly. The students who could perform all three jutsu with a certain mastery were finally allowed to begin their elemental ninjutsu training.
Raiden's friends, having all passed, were in this group. Their training was, predictably, "electric."
Raiden, having a rare break from his own lessons, watched them from the side of the training field. A Chūnin instructor, not Yugiri, was teaching the Lightning-affinity group.
"The Lightning element is about speed, penetration, and vibration!" the instructor shouted. "Your chakra must be as sharp and as fast as the lightning in the sky! We'll start simple. The Lightning Ball Technique."
Karui, predictably, went first. She sped through the hand seals, her red hair seeming to crackle with static. "Hah!" she yelled, thrusting her hand forward. A ball of white-blue electricity the size of her head formed, but it was wild. It sparked and hissed violently before lurching forward and exploding against the ground five feet in front of her, leaving a blackened, smoking crater. "More power!" she cheered. "More control, Karui!" the instructor yelled back. "You'll take your own arm off!"
Omoi, his silver hair ruffled, was next. He was sweating before he even started. "Oh, man. Okay. Ox, Rabbit, Monkey... or was it Monkey, Rabbit, Ox? What if I do it backward? Will the lightning come out of my... oh, no. Okay. Just gotta focus..."
He slowly, painfully slowly, went through the seals. He held out his hand, and a small, sputtering ball of energy, about the size of a walnut, appeared. It chirped weakly and then fizzled out. "Well," Omoi sighed, "at least I didn't explode."
Then Samui stepped up. She performed the seals with a calm, logical precision. No wasted movement. She held out her hand, palm flat. A perfect, stable, baseball-sized sphere of lightning chakra formed.
It hummed with contained power. "Target," she said, her voice flat. "Hit the post," the instructor said. Samui thrust her hand forward. The ball shot out in a straight, true line and struck the wooden training post, blasting a clean, fist-sized hole straight through it. She lowered her hand.
Karui and Omoi just stared.
As for Raiden, things finally progressed fast.
Just as Elder Fuso had advised, A let Raiden grow at his own pace with the class. He was still Raiden Uzumaki, a student. He still ate lunch with his friends. He still ran the same drills as everyone else. There was no special ANBU team, no pulling him from the Academy.
But that didn't mean they didn't help him grow.
Yugiri-sensei had pulled him aside one day. "Raiden," she'd said, her voice all business. "Your... situation... is unique. Standard training will not be enough. You will continue your lessons with the class, but you will have extra tutoring. Three affinities means three times the work. Understood?"
"Yes, sensei," he'd replied, a grin touching his lips.
Kumo had provided him with three different Chūnin teachers, each a specialist in one of his elements.
For Water Release, there was Chūnin Umi. She was an older woman, another descendant of the Uzumaki, with faded red hair and a calm, fluid demeanor. "Water is the element of adaptability, Raiden," she would tell him, making him practice the Water Bullet Jutsu at a high-altitude waterfall. "It can be a gentle stream, or it can be a tsunami that carves mountains. But it always flows. You have the power. Your reserves are massive. But you have no control. You must learn to be the stream before you can be the wave." He spent weeks just learning to shape the water, to make it obey.
For Wind Release, there was Chūnin Kaze. He was a quiet, sharp man who rarely spoke. His training was about precision. He gave Raiden a single leaf. "Cut it," he'd ordered. "With your wind chakra. Not your hand, not a katana. Cut it." Raiden spent days focusing, channeling that sharp wind nature, his analytical mind loving the challenge. He finally split the leaf, then two leaves, then a stick, just as Kaze had taught. He was learning to make his chakra a blade.
For Lightning Release, there was Chūnin Raita. He was the epitome of a Kumo nin, loud, boisterous, and obsessed with speed and power.
"Lightning is the will of Kumo!" Raita would shout, his own body crackling with energy. "It is speed! It is power! It is overwhelming! You'll learn the basics by doing!" Raita's training was brutal. He'd make Raiden run the thousands of mountain steps while trying to maintain a simple, C-rank Lightning Ball in his hand. "If you can't run and fight, you're useless! Faster, Raiden! Let the lightning flow!"
Raiden was exhausted, but he was thriving. His massive Uzumaki chakra reserves meant he could attend a full day of Academy, then train for hours with his three tutors and his mother's kenjutsu, and still wake up the next day ready for more. He was a sponge, and Kumo was feeding him an ocean.
But then, one day, it finally happened.
It was a week after his 10th birthday. It was a rare day off. No Academy, no tutors. He was just... being a kid. He was on a high plaza overlooking the sea of clouds, sitting on a stone bench with his friends. "I'm telling you," Omoi was saying, halfway through a lollipop. "It's a bad idea. That new barbecue place? What if they overcook the meat? I could get food poisoning. Then I'd be out of training, then I'd fall behind, then I'd fail the Genin exams, and I'd have to spend the rest of my life selling lollipops."
"You'd like that, idiot," Karui snapped, trying to snatch his candy. "And they won't overcook it! I'm starving!"
"It is illogical to assume the worst-case scenario for every new experience, Omoi," Samui said, staring at the clouds. "The probability of food poisoning is less than 4%."
Raiden just laughed, leaning back on his hands. It was a simple, unguarded moment. "You guys are ridiculous. Let's just go."
He started to stand up, and that's when it hit. It wasn't a sound. It was a feeling. A sudden, massive pressure inside his skull. He gasped, his hand flying to his head. "Raiden?" Samui asked, her head turning, instantly alert.
"Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Raiden screamed, his vision blurring. A searing, agonizing pain erupted behind his eyes. It felt like fire and acid being poured directly onto his optic nerves. "Raiden! What's wrong?!" Karui yelled, her playful mood vanishing.
"My... my eyes!" Raiden screamed. He fell to his knees, clawing at his face. The pain was blinding, all-consuming. His friends panicked. "He's... he's glowing!" Omoi shouted, stumbling back and dropping his lollipop.
It was true. A faint, golden aura was shimmering around Raiden.
"AHHHHH!" Raiden roared, a sound of pure agony. He arched his back, and then it erupted.
FWOOSH! From his back, his shoulders, and his arms, golden chains burst forth. They were not solid. They were made of pure, shimmering golden energy. They were the Adamantine Sealing Chains. But they weren't controlled. They were wild. They whipped through the air with a sound like tearing wind, lashing out at everything.
CRASH!
A chain smashed the solid stone bench they'd been sitting on, reducing it to rubble.
SCREEE!
Another chain carved a three-foot-deep trench in the stone plaza, sending sparks and shrapnel flying. Karui, Omoi, and Samui were frozen, their faces pale with terror. "Run!" Karui finally screamed, grabbing Omoi's arm. But they were too slow. One of the flailing, uncontrolled chains sensed their movement. It changed direction in mid-air and snapped toward Karui like a golden viper.
THWIP!
In a blur of motion, an ANBU in a porcelain weasel mask appeared. He landed between the chain and the kids, a tanto in his hand, but he didn't even need it. Another ANBU, this one in a hawk mask, had landed on the bench's rubble, grabbing Karui and Omoi by their collars and yanking them backward in a high-speed shunshin, pulling them clear just as the chain smashed the spot where they had stood.
FWOOSH!
A third ANBU grabbed Samui, vanishing with her to the edge of the plaza.
"Secure the perimeter! Protect the civilians!" the ANBU captain yelled.
Raiden's friends, safe but shaking, were shielded by the operatives.
Raiden was on his knees in the center of the destruction, his body trembling. The chains were still flailing, though slower now. He was still screaming, his hands clutching his burning eyes.
WHOSH
Two medical nin appeared at the edge of the plaza, their hands already glowing with green chakra. "We can't get close!" one yelled. "The chakra... it's too dense! It's repelling us!"
"RAIDEN!" A new, panicked voice screamed his name. Akane Uzumaki, his mother, who was on her way to call Raiden back for lunch, had a mask of terror. Right behind her, moving with a speed that defied his age, was Elder Fuso. His eyes were wide, fixed on the golden chains. "By the..."
Fuso breathed, his voice a mix of absolute shock and... awe. "My son!" Akane cried, starting to run forward. "AKANE, NO!" Fuso roared, grabbing her arm. "Don't touch him! His chakra... it's wild! You'll be caught in it!"
Raiden let out one last, shuddering gasp. The light from the chains flared, and then, as if a switch had been flicked, they dissolved into golden particles. His body went limp. His energy completely spent, he collapsed face-first onto the broken stone, unconscious.
The plaza was suddenly, terrifyingly silent. "Now..." Fuso said, his voice grim. The medical-nin rushed forward. Akane and Fuso were right behind them. "Get him to the hospital. Immediately," Fuso commanded the medical team. He then turned to the ANBU captain. "Notify the Raikage," Fuso ordered, his voice heavy. "Tell him... it's happening."
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