Chapter 187: The Second Step: Power. The Third Step: Stability.
Kakashi Hatake stood in the Hokage's office, the weight of the new assignment settling on him. "I understand, Hokage-sama."
He knew this was more than just a teaching role. It was a mission of trust. The Chidori... it was his jutsu, his one true, original creation.
"Good," Uchiha Akira nodded, his gaze steady. "The Chidori was designed for one purpose: assassination. Its flaw, as you well know, is the tunnel vision created by its linear speed."
[Inorin's Note: The Chidori (One Thousand Birds) is an A-rank, assassination-focused ninjutsu created by Kakashi Hatake. It involves channeling a high concentration of Lightning Release chakra to the hand, making it a deadly thrusting weapon.]
Akira leaned forward. "A flaw that is perfectly nullified by the precognition of the Sharingan. It is a jutsu made for an Uchiha, even if it wasn't created by one."
Kakashi's single visible eye widened slightly. Akira wasn't just giving him an order; he was explaining his logic. He was acknowledging the jutsu's synergy.
"You are its creator," Akira continued. "You are the only one who truly understands its applications and its dangers. You are the perfect teacher for him."
This was also an unspoken gift to Kakashi himself. Since losing Obito's eye, Kakashi had felt... incomplete. Adrift. This assignment—teaching his signature jutsu to a pure-blooded Uchiha prodigy under the Hokage's direct orders—was a new purpose.
"I guarantee, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, his voice firm, "I will complete the mission. Sasuke will master it."
Uchiha Akira nodded with satisfaction.
His gaze returned to the other man in the room, Fugaku Uchiha.
"Fugaku, do you have any other questions?"
Fugaku, who had stood silently, was very satisfied with this arrangement.
Chidori paired with the Sharingan. It was an incredibly potent combination.
To have the developer of the Chidori, the famed "Copy Ninja" Kakashi, personally teach his son... this was an honor.
This was already the best resource Sasuke could possibly get, far beyond what Fugaku himself could offer.
"No, Hokage-sama," Fugaku stood and bowed deeply to Akira. It was a bow of a clan head to his leader, and of a father. "Thank you, Hokage-sama, for your concern and... for your personal investment in Sasuke."
"He is also a member of the Uchiha," Akira said, waving his hand dismissively. "It is my duty to see our clan's potential cultivated."
Akira stood, his voice turning cold. "I hope he won't disappoint me."
Uchiha Clan Territory, Private Training Ground
Thwip. Thwip. THWIP.
Sasuke had just finished a round of high-intensity, moving-target shuriken training.
He knelt on one knee, his chest heaving, his black shirt plastered to his skin with sweat.
Uzumaki Naruto...
The name echoed in his mind, a mantra of humiliation.
I will... definitely... surpass you!
Just then, a steady, imposing figure appeared at the edge of the training ground.
"Father." Sasuke quickly stood up, his breathing still ragged, but his posture immediately respectful.
"You've finished," Fugaku stated, his voice flat. "Starting tomorrow, your training will be taken over by someone else."
Sasuke's head snapped up. He was stunned.
"Someone else will... take over? What does that mean?"
His first thought was a spike of fear and anger. He's abandoning my training. After I failed. After I lost.
"Who is it?" Sasuke asked, his voice tight, his frown deep.
"Jōnin Kakashi Hatake."
"Him?!" A hint of pure, unadulterated disdain flashed in Sasuke's eyes.
He almost spat the name. "That Copy Ninja? The one who lost his Sharingan?"
Sasuke had no good impression of Kakashi. In his mind, Kakashi was just an outsider, a thief, who had built his entire reputation by relying on a stolen Uchiha eye.
Now that the eye was gone, he was just an ordinary Jōnin. What right did he have to teach an Uchiha genius?
"Impudent!" Fugaku's voice was a cold reprimand. The temperature in the training ground seemed to drop.
"That is Lord Hokage's direct arrangement!"
"Hokage-sama...?" Sasuke was startled. Akira-sama?
"Starting tomorrow, Jōnin Kakashi will teach you a specific, high-level Lightning Release ninjutsu. It is his signature technique."
Fugaku stepped closer, looking down at his son. His expression became extremely serious.
"This is an opportunity Lord Hokage has given you. And it is also a test for you."
"Akira-sama is watching. He wants to see if you are a true Uchiha, or just a petulant child whining about his pride."
Fugaku's voice was merciless. "Sasuke, remember this. Put away your pointless arrogance. Whether you can seize this opportunity... whether you can prove you are worthy of his attention... is up to you."
After speaking, Fugaku turned and left, his black robes sweeping the dust.
He left Sasuke alone, stunned in place, his heart a storm of mixed, conflicting feelings.
Hokage-sama's arrangement...
A test... from him.
A new Lightning Release ninjutsu...
Sasuke clenched his fists, his knuckles white.
Although he thought little of Kakashi, the words "Hokage-sama" carried too much weight. Akira was the god of his clan, the one who had saved them.
I don't care who the teacher is. No matter what ninjutsu it is, I will master it. I will master it faster than anyone.
Uzumaki Naruto, just wait! Next time... next time, I will definitely let you see a stronger, a completely different, me!
On the other side, Naruto's training had also entered a white-hot stage.
The training ground was a scene of utter chaos.
Dozens of Naruto shadow clones were scattered across the field, all sitting, all concentrating, and all failing.
Poof! A clone on a tree branch squeezed too hard. The rubber ball splashed in his face, and he vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Gah! Cold!"
Poof! Another clone, trying to spin the chakra, lost control. The ball shot out of his hand, hit another clone in the back of the head, and both vanished.
"This is stupid! I'm not getting it!" one clone yelled.
"Shut up and focus, idiot!" another clone yelled back at himself.
In the center of it all, Naruto's main body sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, his face pale and beaded with sweat.
Poof.
He winced as the experience and fatigue from another failed clone flooded his mind.
Poof.
He groaned.
"Aaaargh!" Naruto frustratingly tugged at his yellow hair. "This is impossible! The water balloon was easy! This is just... ARGH!"
This feeling was too difficult to bear.
From under a large, shady tree, Jiraiya watched. He leaned leisurely against the trunk, drinking sake from a small bottle, and watched the "performance" of Naruto's army. A smile played on his lips.
This kid... he's a bit slow-witted, no doubt about that. But his perseverance... that's all Kushina.
He took a swig. He's not wrong, though. This is much harder. The second stage of the Rasengan isn't just about rotation. It's about power.
If the water balloon was Step 1, teaching him to spin his chakra... this rubber ball is Step 2. It's teaching him to apply force to that spin, all at once. To make it explode.
But his chakra... it's all power, no control. He keeps overpowering the rotation and just... squeezing. He can't find the balance.
Jiraiya was not in a hurry.
He knew that for Naruto, a spoon-fed, logical explanation would be useless. Minato was a genius; he could think his way through a jutsu.
Naruto was all instinct. He had to feel it.
The only way for him to learn was by letting him hit a wall, over and over, until his body, not his brain, figured it out.
And this... this monstrous, luxurious, brilliant use of shadow clones... it was compressing weeks of failure into mere days.
Time passed by minute by minute.
The pile of shredded black rubber at the clones' feet grew higher.
Naruto's main body's face also became somewhat pale, a deep-seated fatigue from constantly receiving the mental strain of his clones.
But he still didn't give up.
This process continued for three whole days.
For these three days, from sunup to sundown, Naruto was at it. He was almost like this every day, a small army constantly struggling with the rubber balls.
Finally!
On the afternoon of the third day, just as the sun began to dip...
One of Naruto's Shadow Clones, sitting on a rock, suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
"Hey! Hey, guys! Look! I think... I think I'm getting a feeling!"
All the other Narutos stopped. The main body's eyes snapped open. The entire training ground fell silent, all attention focused on that one clone.
They saw that in the palm of that clone, the black rubber ball was changing at a visible speed!
The surface of the rubber ball first showed a small indentation, as if it were being crushed.
Immediately after, with the indentation as the center, tiny, web-like cracks began to spread outwards!
"Sizzle sizzle—"
A piercing, high-pitched tearing sound came from inside the rubber ball.
"This is it! This is the feeling!" That clone shouted excitedly, his face a mask of pure, sudden understanding. "It's not just spin! It's not just power! It's both... at the same time! You have to... burst it from the inside!"
"Power and rotation... simultaneously... BURST!"
BOOM!
A loud, sharp bang echoed through the trees!
The rubber ball exploded in response, reduced to shreds!
And just as the rubber ball exploded, with a "pop," the successful clone turned into a puff of white smoke, a triumphant grin on his face.
The successful experience—the feeling, the knack, the how—instantly flooded into Naruto's main body's mind!
"So that's how it is!"
Naruto's eyes were wide. He finally understood!
"I UNDERSTAND! PERVY SAGE! I GOT IT!"
Naruto shouted excitedly, and with a wave of his hand, all the other Shadow Clones turned into white smoke at the same time.
He walked over to the crate and picked up the last intact rubber ball. He held it in his palm.
He took a deep breath, immersing his entire mind in it.
Rotation...
Power...
Merge!
Chakra, under his guidance, began to rotate at high speed. At the same time, a powerful, crushing force erupted from his palm!
Rotation! Power!
Two completely different forces, under Naruto's new, exquisite control, perfectly merged together!
The surface of the rubber ball instantly dented. Cracks spread rapidly!
"BREAK... FOR ME!"
BOOM!
A deafening explosion, far louder than the clone's, echoed over the training ground.
Black rubber fragments scattered like shrapnel.
"I... I did it..."
Naruto stared at his empty, tingling palm.
"I SUCCEEDED! I FINALLY SUCCEEDED! YAHOO!"
He jumped up excitedly, waving his fist at Jiraiya under the tree.
Jiraiya jumped down from the tree and walked in front of Naruto, a rare, genuinely satisfied smile on his face.
"Hmm, not bad, brat. Much faster than I expected."
"Hehe!" Naruto, praised, scratched his head proudly, his grin splitting his face. "Of course! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage, believe it!"
Jiraiya chuckled and patted Naruto's head.
"Don't get too happy too soon."
"You've only completed the second step. There's still one last step."
"The last step?" Naruto's eyes instantly lit up, his victory forgotten.
"That's right." Jiraiya's expression became serious, the Sannin returning. "The last step of the Rasengan. And also, the most difficult step."
"Maintenance."
Jiraiya spread his palm. There was no water balloon. There was no rubber ball.
Buzz—
A high-pitched, whining sound filled the air.
A highly condensed, rapidly rotating, perfectly stable blue chakra ball appeared out of thin air in his palm. It didn't waver. It didn't disperse. It just spun.
"Perfectly compressing the rotation and the power, and then maintaining it in a stable form. This is the true Rasengan."
[Inorin's Note: This is the third and final step of Rasengan training: Containment. The user must mold the power and rotation into a perfect sphere and hold it, the most difficult step in shape transformation.]
Jiraiya explained, his voice low.
"This... this is... SO COOL!" Naruto's eyes were pure sparkles as he looked at the Rasengan in Jiraiya's hand.
"Come on! Pervy Sage! Quickly! Teach me the last step!" He was already impatient.
Jiraiya smiled and dispersed the Rasengan in his hand.
"There are no tricks to the last step. No clones, no shortcuts."
"You can only rely on yourself, practicing and feeling it over and over again."
"Gather the chakra in your palm. Imagine an invisible sphere, a thin shell... enclosing all of that violent power within it. And hold it."
Naruto, his face set in concentration, imitated Jiraiya. He spread his palm and began to try to condense the chakra.
Rotation. Power. Merge.
He could barely manage that already.
However, when Naruto tried to compress this wild, explosive power into a stable sphere, the problem arose.
Buzz!
A chaotic, unstable wisp of blue chakra appeared, vibrating violently.
Fwoop.
As soon as the chakra condensed into shape, it immediately dispersed like a deflating ball, with a sad "pfft" sound. It couldn't be maintained at all.
Naruto stared at his empty palm.
Jiraiya grinned. "This... is going to take a while."
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