Chapter 128: Fūinjutsu and Chidori Current
Outside Kushina Uzumaki's house, Hoshikawa stood watching Kakashi Hatake from a distance. As Kakashi formed hand signs, a sharp, piercing sound of lightning filled the air, like the chirping of countless birds at once.
A massive amount of chakra covered the surface of his body, and then lightning flashed, enveloping him. In an instant, thunder and lightning crackled around him, making Kakashi look like a god of thunder.
After a month of research, he had finally created the jutsu Chidori Current.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" Hoshikawa formed hand signs, gathering chakra in his throat, and a massive fireball shot out from his mouth. Although this jutsu was the signature technique of the Uchiha clan, many non-clan ninja had learned it.
It was a fire-style jutsu with great power and simplicity, making it incredibly cost-effective. Of course, Hoshikawa hadn't stolen it; Shisui Uchiha had taught him. The large fireball appeared in the air, sending waves of heat rolling out.
But Kakashi stood his ground, not dodging or flinching, allowing the fireball to hit him. With a loud bang, fire and lightning flew in all directions. When the flames had completely dissipated, he was still standing unharmed within the lightning.
"The defense is pretty good," Kakashi nodded in satisfaction. He didn't have many defensive jutsu, only Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall, and now he had Chidori Current.
After testing the defense, it was time for the offense. Kakashi's mind stirred, and the lightning covering his body shot out in all directions. A series of crackling sounds instantly echoed. Under the assault of the lightning, the nearby ground was scorched and cracked, trees were broken and caught fire, and the weeds were incinerated into dust. Kakashi's eyes lit up. He felt that this was already more powerful than most Lightning Release jutsu.
"Congratulations, Kakashi," Hoshikawa said, walking over.
"Thank you," Kakashi said, dispelling Chidori Current. "Without your suggestion, I wouldn't have been able to create this Chidori."
"I think it should have a new name," Hoshikawa said with a smile. "How about Chidori Current?"
"Sounds good," Kakashi agreed without a second thought. The name wasn't the most important thing.
"Kakashi!" Just then, Minato's voice came. Hoshikawa and Kakashi exchanged a glance and turned to walk back. Besides Minato, Obito Uchiha and Guy were also there. Kushina was there too, looking reluctant.
Kakashi had a bad feeling.
"The Hokage has given an order for us to go to the border," Minato said with a serious expression.
"Can't those scoundrels from the Cloud Village just stay put?!" Kushina asked, clearly displeased.
"The Cloud Village has always been ambitious," Tsunade said, her face solemn.
"Is there going to be a war?" Obito asked with concern. If there was a war, he wouldn't be able to see Rin for a long time.
"I don't know," Minato shook his head. "The Cloud Village is making moves, but they're just probing. Maybe it's just a training exercise."
"Training always ends in war," Tsunade sighed. Having been through the Second Great Shinobi War, she knew how cruel war was. Anyone could be sacrificed, even a Kage.
"Konoha will definitely win!" Kushina said, clenching her fist.
"We will," Minato said with a smile. "I'll take them to the Hokage's office first."
"Hoshikawa ," Kakashi suddenly remembered something. He took out a scroll and gave it to him. "This is the training method for Chidori Current."
"Thank you," Hoshikawa said after a pause. "Be safe."
"Don't worry," Kakashi said with a slight nod. "I'll see you at the Chūnin Exams."
"Don't worry too much. A war won't break out just yet," Tsunade said, watching them leave before offering words of comfort.
"Okay," Kushina exhaled. She was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, only appearing in times of extreme crisis for the Leaf Village. But it was different for Mihō and Hoshikawa . In short, they had to increase their strength while they had the time.
"You've both pretty much mastered the sealing formulas, so we can move on to the next phase of training," Kushina said to Mihō and Hoshikawa . "But your situations are different, so we'll have to train separately."
Because Mihō was an Uzumaki, she was born with a large amount of chakra and a natural talent for fūinjutsu. But she had been neglecting her training for too long and wasn't even a proper ninja, let alone a sealing ninja. Kushina's plan for her was to first improve her chakra control by walking on water and climbing trees.
Hoshikawa , although his fūinjutsu talent wasn't as good as Mihō's, was a medical ninja and had an excellent grasp of chakra. He could skip the chakra control exercises and go straight to the final stage: learning the sealing jutsu.
"Fūinjutsu is divided into single-person sealing jutsu and multi-person sealing arrays," Kushina said with a smile. "We'll teach you single-person jutsu first."
Hoshikawa nodded slightly. As for Mihō, she had already started climbing a tree.
"Most fūinjutsu are quite difficult," Kushina said, thinking for a moment before her eyes lit up. "I've got it! The Finger Carving Seal!"
Hoshikawa was taken aback, his heart feeling a little strange. He knew this jutsu. Jiraiya had used it right before he died. He had carved information onto the back of Fukasaku the toad to pass the intel to the Leaf Village and Naruto Uzumaki.
"The Finger Carving Seal, simply put, is a way to carve text or symbols onto an object using your finger," Kushina explained. "Among fūinjutsu, its difficulty is relatively low. The only requirement is good chakra control."
Although the Finger Carving Seal was a little inauspicious, he still had to learn it. Two weeks later, Hoshikawa had successfully mastered it. However, he didn't see much use for it. He couldn't just go around carving words on people for fun, could he? Well, maybe I could...
Get a full body of kanji? Hoshikawa quickly chased the strange thoughts out of his mind.
"What do you think of this mission?" Tsunade asked, pointing to the bulletin board. As ninja, they couldn't just keep learning and training; they had to gain combat experience, especially with war potentially breaking out at any moment.
After Hoshikawa learned the Finger Carving Seal, Tsunade announced that their fūinjutsu lessons would be temporarily put on hold. After all, they had been in the Leaf Village for a month and a half and it was time to go on a mission.
Hoshikawa regained his senses and looked up. It was a B-rank mission to travel to the northern part of the Land of Fire and clear out a group of rogue ninja. The leader was identified as a rogue ninja from the Sand Village with the strength of a chūnin.
"Why don't we take an A-rank mission?" Hoshikawa asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You could, but Kurenai and Rin can't," Tsunade said, raising her hand and flicking his forehead. "You can't just think about yourself; you have to help them get stronger. You're a team."
"Then we'll take this one and let them get some practice in," Hoshikawa said, nodding in agreement. His two teammates were actually quite good. Although they weren't as strong as him, with more training, becoming jōnin shouldn't be a problem. As for the mission, it wouldn't be an issue. Hoshikawa could continue to practice his Chidori Current on the way.
Chidori was no easy feat. In the original series, it took Sasuke Uchiha a month to barely learn it with Kakashi's tutelage. And Sasuke had the Sharingan as a cheat code. After all, Kakashi had learned over a thousand jutsu with the help of his Sharingan.
"You two, come here!" Tsunade yelled as soon as she returned home. Kurenai and Rin immediately stopped their training and jogged over to her.
"Get ready. In an hour, we'll meet at the Konoha Village gate. We're going on a mission," Tsunade said, no nonsense, her tone decisive.
Rin and Kurenai were both stunned for a moment because it was so sudden. But they didn't say anything and turned to leave. Going on a mission required a lot of preparation, such as clothes, rations, ninja tools, and a tent. An hour wasn't a long time, so they had to hurry.
Hoshikawa didn't need to prepare anything. He always carried a summoning scroll for storage. Although these scrolls were expensive, he had money, so he wasn't afraid of using them up.
Speaking of money, Hoshikawa remembered Tsuchihashi. It had been a while since he had gone to see him after publishing Redo of a Healing Mage. No matter what, he still had to write a novel. Hoshikawa fell into deep thought. It was difficult to choose what to write about next.
"What are you thinking about?" Tsunade asked, noticing his daze.
"Nothing," Hoshikawa said, his face unchanging. "I was just thinking about training Chidori Current."
"It's true that Kakashi is a genius to have created Chidori Current," Tsunade said after a pause. "But don't forget your Yin Seal."
"Of course I haven't forgotten," Hoshikawa said with a smile. "I feel like I've already mastered a third of the Yin Seal."
"A third?" Tsunade looked skeptical. "Are you lying to me?"
"See for yourself," Hoshikawa said, walking over to her. He grabbed her wrist and placed her hand on his forehead. His sudden action made Tsunade freeze for a moment. She looked at Hoshikawa , who was so close to her, and felt a little overwhelmed. This brat is getting more and more handsome. Tsunade steadied herself, and her chakra flowed from her fingertips into Hoshikawa 's forehead. Her face immediately showed surprise. Hoshikawa hadn't been lying; the chakra reservoir on his forehead was already a third full. This progress was far beyond her expectations.
At his current pace, he would probably complete the Yin Seal training in just one more year. She had originally estimated two and a half to three years, but she never expected him to shorten the time by almost half.
"Not bad," Tsunade said, pulling her hand away and taking a half-step back. "You really haven't been slacking off."
"After all, I'm a medical ninja," Hoshikawa said with a smile.
"..." Tsunade wanted to complain but didn't know how. You've learned so many things, and you still call yourself a medical ninja? It's hard to believe.
"Alright, let's go," Tsunade said, walking to the entrance and putting on her shoes. Hoshikawa followed her, closing the door behind him.
The two of them arrived at the Konoha Village gate to wait. Not long after, Rin and Kurenai arrived on time.
"There's a group of rogue ninja in the area between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice that frequently harasses and robs the residents of the Land of Fire," Tsunade said as they ran. "Our mission is to eliminate them."
"Are there many ninja?" Rin asked.
"Not many," Tsunade said, shaking her head. "According to the mission brief, there's one chūnin and two genin. The rest are ordinary bandits."
"That's easy!" Kurenai said confidently.
"It might be easy, but don't get careless," Tsunade said, glancing at her. "You and Rin will be responsible for this."
"Huh?" Kurenai was stunned. "What about Hoshikawa ?"
"If you can't handle it, he'll rescue you," Tsunade said casually.
"No way!" Kurenai said with a light huff. "We definitely won't need his help!"
Compared to her, Rin was not as confident and seemed a little worried.
"Just stick with me," Kurenai said, patting her shoulder with a smile.
"Okay," Rin said, feeling a little more at ease after seeing her smile.
The four of them started in the morning and reached their destination in the evening.
"Find a place to rest," Tsunade said, stopping. "We'll set out at 5 a.m. tomorrow." Dawn was a time when people were tired and less alert, making it perfect for a sneak attack.
After dinner, Hoshikawa sat in the tent, pulling out the Chidori Current training guide that Kakashi had written. Kurenai and Rin weren't as strong as him; after running all day, they were exhausted and already fast asleep in their sleeping bags.
A pair of bare, pale feet suddenly appeared in Hoshikawa 's line of sight. He subconsciously looked up and saw Tsunade's face—no, he couldn't see it; most of it was blocked.
"Go to sleep," Tsunade said, reaching out and patting his head. "We have to get up early tomorrow."
That's strange. Hoshikawa noticed that Tsunade had become a lot gentler recently. He closed the scroll and said, "I'll go to sleep now."
The next morning, before the sun had even risen, Tsunade and the others were already on the mountain. It wasn't a tall mountain, so they quickly reached the top. Not far away was the bandit camp. Besides the two bandits at the entrance, the entire camp was extremely quiet.
"Go," Tsunade said. Kurenai and Rin nodded and quietly approached the camp.
Body Flicker Jutsu! Kurenai's body flashed, and she was behind the bandit at the gate. Her kunai easily slit his throat. She looked at the other side, where Rin had done the same. They weren't used to killing, so they felt a little uncomfortable, but they were fine. They exchanged glances and continued forward.
But soon, a scream woke up the entire camp. Rin had encountered a strong bandit and failed to kill him instantly, causing him to scream.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Seeing this, Kurenai immediately gave up on stealth and went into a rampage. A water dragon roared out, hitting the largest building in the camp. With a loud bang, the building shattered, and a figure rushed out.
The middle-aged man was the leader of the group, a chūnin-level rogue ninja from the Sand Village.
"Just two little brats!" He glanced around, saw only Kurenai and Rin, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm!" The middle-aged man formed hand signs instantly, and with a clap of his hands, a blast of wind swept toward Kurenai.
"Water Release: Water Wall Jutsu!" Kurenai's reaction was fast, and a water wall rose in front of her in an instant. The wind hit the wall and stopped.
"How is that possible?" the middle-aged man said in surprise.
Kurenai was also surprised. Is he really that weak? Her confidence soared. She formed hand signs.
"Demonic Illusion: Fox-Hearted Technique!" As the jutsu was released, she leaped into the air. The middle-aged man subconsciously looked at her and fell into a daze. Kurenai, holding a kunai, descended from the sky and slit his throat.
"Kurenai has improved a lot," Tsunade said, nodding in approval. While the middle-aged man was very weak, being able to deal with him so quickly was a great improvement from before.
She then looked at Rin. She was in a dangerous situation, being attacked by two genin. Tsunade looked thoughtful. It seems I need to strengthen her taijutsu.
After Kurenai took care of the middle-aged man, she rushed to help Rin. In less than half an hour, the rogue ninja group was completely wiped out.
"Let's go," Tsunade said, quite satisfied with their performance.
Time flew by, and it was now New Year's. In two months, they had completed four C-rank missions and one B-rank mission. But Tsunade and Hoshikawa had not participated. They had let Kurenai and Rin handle them on their own, and the two had grown a lot.
Of course, the person who had grown the most was Hoshikawa . He had successfully mastered Chidori Current. Now that he had it as a cover, he could use his Lightning Release Body Flicker. Unfortunately, he couldn't learn the next step, Lightning Release Chakra Mode, for now.
Hoshikawa was thinking about something. He didn't have to sell intel about the Leaf Village; he could sell intel about the Sand Village. For example, the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. In the original series, it was the disappearance of the Third Kazekage that caused internal strife in the Sand Village. The acting Kazekage, Rasa, who was Gaara's father, decided to declare war on the Leaf Village. While the specific details were not mentioned much, there was a famous battle: the Battle of Kikyo Pass. Kikyo Pass was not far from the Leaf Village, so the battle had reached deep into the Land of Fire. Of course, it wasn't that the Leaf Village couldn't beat the Sand Village, but the Leaf Village was under siege at the time. Not only was the Sand Village attacking it, but the Cloud, Mist, and Stone Villages were also attacking it. It was at Kikyo Pass that Nono Yakushi took in Kabuto Yakushi, one of the main antagonists of the later part of the series.
After some thought, Hoshikawa decided to give it a try. The Leaf Village was already in a bad state anyway. Selling the intel about the Third Kazekage might make the Cloud Village shift their target to the Sand Village. If that happened, he would be doing a good deed.
Besides Chidori Current, Hoshikawa 's fūinjutsu had also progressed.
[D-rank Talent Title: Sealing Genin.]
[Trigger Condition: Possess three fūinjutsu titles.]
[Effect: All fūinjutsu power is increased by 30%.]
[Note: Learning more fūinjutsu can be upgraded to the C-rank title Sealing Chūnin.]
Hoshikawa had painstakingly gathered three relatively basic fūinjutsu: Finger Carving Seal, Binding Array, and Memory Seal. It was worth mentioning that these three fūinjutsu were not unique to the Uzumaki clan. The Binding Array had been used by Iruka Umino in the original series to bind a target's movements with four sealing tags.
With the New Year approaching, Hoshikawa and the others stopped taking missions. Besides the holiday season, they were also preparing for the upcoming Chūnin Exams. Not only them, but Kakashi Hatake, Asuma Sarutobi, and Shisui Uchiha had also returned to the Leaf Village.
...
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