"What do you mean by this?"
Kakashi looked at him in puzzlement, unable to figure out the other party's intention.
A gesture of goodwill?
Or another form of pressure or showing off?
Shinichi let out a faint sigh, and his tone turned more serious. "What I said to you that day on the training ground may have been too harsh. I apologize to you, Kakashi."
Meeting Kakashi's suddenly complicated gaze, Shinichi continued, "At the very last moment just now, you instinctively wanted to redirect the course of your Chidori. That shows that, even if you see me as an opponent, in your heart you still regard me as a comrade rather than an enemy. Toward comrades, what we should do is not just compete, but also help each other, learn from each other's strengths, and make up for each other's shortcomings."
Kakashi fell silent for a moment, then turned his head slightly. "Help each other? My Chidori was utterly unable to withstand a single blow in your hands. What could I possibly help you with?"
"Don't belittle yourself, Kakashi." Shinichi shook his head, and the Rasengan in his hand quietly dissipated. "I've also been deeply researching chakra nature transformation lately, especially the deeper control and application of the fire attribute. Your Chidori, in the way it displays a highly activated state of Lightning Release nature transformation and its high-frequency stimulation characteristics, has given me a great deal of inspiration."
Shinichi pointed at the ground, at the traces Kakashi had left behind during his charge just now. "For this technique of yours, when launching a thrust, you have to use highly activated, compressed Lightning Release chakra to forcibly stimulate and envelop specific chakra pathways and muscle groups in the arms and legs, in exchange for instantaneous explosive acceleration, right? That's why your charging speed just now reached that level."
At that point, Shinichi pointed at himself and said with a smile, "And I'm also exploring how to integrate fire-attribute chakra more safely and efficiently into every stage of bodily force generation, trying to build a complete Fire Release nin-taijutsu system."
"In the cutting-edge field of deeply combining a specific chakra attribute with the body and drawing out potential, your Chidori has already completed one successful attempt. The experience it involves, the problems you encountered, and even the detours you took are all extremely valuable references and sources of ideas for me."
At that, Shinichi looked at Kakashi and said frankly, "Well, Kakashi? Interested in researching it together? Perhaps we can complete each other and find that missing piece that will make both of us stronger."
Kakashi was silent for a moment before finally speaking. "Your chakra attribute is pure fire, right? Without a Lightning Release attribute, even if you know the principle, there's no way you could possibly learn Chidori."
Good grief, he even knows that.
So he investigated me, huh?
Shinichi raised an eyebrow inwardly, but his expression did not change as he replied, "Not having a ready-made lightning attribute doesn't mean I can't try to develop it in the future. Attribute nature transformation can be acquired through later training to begin with. Besides, compared with the completed technique Chidori itself, what I value more is the line of thinking you used while developing it, the wisdom you used to solve difficult problems, and that concept of combining the characteristics of Lightning Release with taijutsu-based charging."
Kakashi fell silent once again. Several seconds later, he turned his head aside and said in his usual flat tone, impossible to read for emotion, "Do whatever you want."
Hearing that, the corner of Shinichi's mouth curved into an almost imperceptible arc.
…
Three days later, Land of Iron, Sekikōjō, a remote courtyard.
Chiiiiii—!!!
A familiar sharp sound, like a thousand birds crying together, exploded through the courtyard. But compared with the one in Kakashi's hand, the sound now seemed even more condensed, with less savagery and a bit more of a metallic chill.
Isshin had his right palm spread open, and in his palm a mass of dazzling lightning, highly compressed and constantly flickering, was hissing and gathering, stable in form and brilliant in radiance.
The uniquely activated energy of Lightning Release chakra, carrying a faint numbing sensation, was spreading upward along the chakra pathways in his arms and thighs, stimulating his muscle fibers and bringing with it a feeling of speed and strength.
"Tch."
Isshin sized up the dangerous cluster of lightning in his palm and sensed the distinctive activation effect it had on his limbs. A signature smile appeared on his face, touched with a trace of wildness. "It's not that hard. Three days was enough to master it skillfully."
This clone of his, forged from the fusion of his own origin with the bloodline genes of the Monkey King, had developed an interesting divergence in chakra attributes.
It had not inherited the main body's pure fire attribute. Instead, it had awakened the nature transformation of lightning-attribute chakra.
Over the past year, aside from tempering his swordsmanship in the Land of Iron, challenging dojos everywhere, and putting the principles of armed combat into practice, Isshin had devoted all of his remaining energy and time to exploring and training in Lightning Release ninjutsu.
With an attribute specialty independent of the main body, naturally it had to be put to full use.
Maybe one day, he could even carve out a name like Lightning Blade Sword Saint or Raiden Shogun.
Besides, it would also create superior conditions for Shinichi's main body to quickly learn and master Lightning Release in the future.
The core principle of Kakashi's Chidori was to activate and compress Lightning Release chakra to the extreme and use it to stimulate the body for explosive charging. For Isshin, who had already built a certain foundation in Lightning Release training, whose physical body was exceptionally powerful, and whose control over power was extremely keen, understanding and reproducing that form was not a difficult task.
"Perhaps I can use Chidori as the foundational concept and create a Lightning Release chakra mode that belongs exclusively to this clone body of mine."
Isshin dispersed the lightning in his palm, his eyes flashing with sharp light.
Among the five basic attributes, Lightning Release was already known for its strong offensive power and astonishing penetrating force. But what he valued even more was its characteristic of activating and stimulating bodily cells through chakra, bringing powerful increases in strength and speed. For someone like him, who followed a path of pure bodily tempering and fierce martial techniques, it was simply the perfect aid and elevation.
Granted, this method of directly stimulating cells with violent Lightning Release was extremely dangerous. An ordinary shinobi could suffer scorched chakra pathways, muscle dissolution, or even be left with permanent hidden injuries from the slightest carelessness. But this body of his, fused with the Monkey King bloodline and enhanced by all kinds of Entries, had a tolerance far beyond imagination.
What was more, he was already planning to reassign Entries again in the near future, transferring the blue Entry Unceasing Vitality, which the main body possessed and which granted powerful recovery, onto this clone body.
When that time came, its powerful self-healing and restorative ability would provide him with solid protection for trial and error, enough to support his exploration of that more dangerous yet more powerful path of Lightning Release body tempering.
Kakashi, you really are my lucky star.
How is it that the more I fleece you, the more there is to fleece?
A slight curve appeared at the corner of Isshin's mouth.
"Shishō."
At that moment, the figure of Yamagami Motoya appeared at the doorway. After giving a bow, he said, "President Yagyū sent someone with a message. He asks that you go to the discussion hall at the Swordsmanship Association headquarters right away."
The discussion hall at the Swordsmanship Association headquarters?
Who went to complain this time?
Wasn't it just firing a few shots during a sword match?
Was it really that serious?
Isshin stroked his chin, then said indifferently, "All right, I got it."
"Yes, Shishō." Motoya lowered his head in acknowledgment and then withdrew.
At the entrance to the ancient and solemn discussion hall of the Swordsmanship Association headquarters, two samurai in standard Land of Iron armor stood rigidly on either side like sentries.
"Aren't you two even planning to search me first, to see whether I'm carrying any weapons?"
Looking at Isshin standing before them, holding a sword, carrying a halberd over his shoulder, and with a fire gun hanging openly at his waist without the slightest attempt at concealment, the corners of the two guards' mouths twitched.
"Isshin-sama, please stop joking with lowly men like us and hurry inside. The president and all the shihan are waiting for you."
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