"How could this happen?"
Kitayama Nao frowned.
"There are no physical injuries, and you said his mental state is unstable but not damaged. So why is he still unconscious?"
"I don't know."
Souma frowned as well.
At the hospital, after a thorough examination and his own sensory probing, he was certain of one thing—
Kakashi wasn't injured.
His body was fine.
His mind was only slightly turbulent.
It was… a very strange condition.
A possibility surfaced in Souma's mind.
Could it be—
That the clash between their spiritual forces had accidentally stimulated Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan?
After all, Kakashi's eye—just like Obito's—had awakened at a very young age.
The difference was that Kakashi had never truly known how to use it, remaining at the three-tomoe stage.
Moreover—
Based on Souma's research, the key to strengthening spiritual power was stimulation.
That stimulation could come from within, like the Yamanaka clan's methods—
Or from an external shock.
This time, Kakashi clearly fell into the latter category.
"If that's the case…"
Souma twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"Then Kakashi really is Touch porcelaining me."
The good news was that his spiritual attack technique worked, and its effect was likely far beyond expectations.
The bad news—
Chūnin Exam registration was happening over the next few days.
If Kakashi didn't wake up by tomorrow, Souma might have to help him register.
…This was ridiculous.
"Kitayama-sensei, go ahead and get back to your work," Souma said.
"Kakashi-sensei isn't injured. He should wake up soon."
"You're sure?"
Kitayama Nao looked deeply skeptical.
Then she snorted.
"Messing around in the mental domain… what if you'd actually hurt him?"
"Cough. I know I was wrong."
"If you really knew, you wouldn't have tried it."
She rolled her eyes.
Last time it was Guy.
This time it was Kakashi.
Next time… was it going to be her? Or Captain Yamato?
Just imagining it made her shiver.
"Enough. I'm not scolding you anymore," she said as she left.
"I only ask one thing—whatever strange techniques you invent next, don't use me as the test subject. I'm not as sturdy as the others."
"..."
Souma stared blankly.
I don't hit teachers, okay?!
And this was clearly an accident!
Once she left, Souma sat beside the bed and took out pen and paper to summarize.
Since this was the first test, he had deliberately held back most of his spiritual power.
There was still a gap between this and real combat.
But—
It had already reached combat-usable standards.
As for Breathing Activation—
Kakashi had only completed the most basic version.
Its effect didn't even reach Gairo's First Activation. At best, it matched lightning-chakra stimulation.
"I need to increase my oxygen intake…"
Without specific training, that wouldn't be easy.
Souma frowned, then extracted chakra and guided it into his lungs.
Instantly—
The cells around his lungs activated first.
Within a few breaths, blood surged through his body, and all his cells entered an activated state.
"If I don't combine this with Limit Break, it's roughly First Activation," he estimated.
"But with Limit Break, my strength and speed should reach Second Activation."
The problem was—
His lung capacity was only about twice his normal level.
If he could raise it to four or five times, there would likely be qualitative changes.
But how?
He sketched quickly.
Mouth.
Nose.
Lungs.
Then he paused.
What else can breathe?
Skin.
He wrote it down.
The skin can breathe—
Even if its oxygen intake was less than one percent of the lungs, when enhanced with chakra and cellular activation, it could still contribute.
Then another thought struck him.
When it came to breathing capacity, who surpassed the Akimichi clan after partial expansion?
Gairo was capped at Third Activation precisely because of oxygen limits.
Akimichi didn't have that problem.
"Feasible."
Souma murmured.
This technique had incredible versatility.
It raised the baseline for ordinary ninja, while the Akimichi clan pushed the upper ceiling.
The feedback amplification would be terrifying.
He rapidly wrote down projections.
First Activation: solved.
Second Activation: combine with Limit Break, increase oxygen intake.
Third Activation: further enhancement.
Anything beyond that depended on oxygen concentration.
Unless special high-oxygen air was used, only the Akimichi clan could go further.
There was, however, a hidden danger—
Oxygen toxicity.
Unlike the Eight Gates, Seven-Day Breathing couldn't be brute-forced.
Third Activation was likely the absolute limit.
Jumping higher without gradual adaptation could cause oxygen poisoning—or even lung failure.
Souma stopped writing and reviewed his notes.
All that remained was experimentation.
If Kakashi were awake, he could go test it with Chōza right now.
With nothing else to do, Souma turned to another idea—
An internal-external chakra circulation system derived from chakra membranes.
In normal conditions, it was meaningless unless merged with chakra absorption techniques.
But—
In Sage Mode, replacing chakra with senjutsu chakra, it might allow continuous absorption of natural energy.
Even if recovery lagged behind consumption, it would still extend duration.
That meant simplifying the technique.
In combat, there was no need to block aura or perception—
Just focus on gathering natural energy.
Even without Sage Mode, circulation and absorption could be tested.
Souma spent the entire afternoon refining it.
When Kakashi finally woke up—
He saw Souma pacing nearby, chakra flowing constantly.
When Kakashi activated his perception, he was stunned.
Natural energy was unusually active around Souma.
Even without deliberate sensing, it was noticeable.
More importantly—
The chakra layer around Souma was continuously absorbing natural energy, forming a complete internal-external cycle.
"…What?"
Maintaining a chakra layer consumes chakra.
Yet—
In return, it generated senjutsu chakra.
Kakashi's head spun.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Kakashi-sensei, you're awake? How do you feel?"
"I'm fine," Kakashi sighed, rubbing his eyes.
"Your attack was well controlled. I overused my dōjutsu and got backlash."
He shook his head.
"Being non-Uchiha… having a Sharingan isn't always a blessing."
Souma hesitated.
So Kakashi hadn't realized the Mangekyō yet.
After some thought, Souma chose not to mention it now.
It would be too targeted.
"Then let's get discharged?"
"Sure. How much did it cost?"
"I'm medical staff. Internal billing—barely anything. Let me treat you to a meal as an apology."
Souma avoided answering directly.
Even if the fainting wasn't entirely his fault, he was the trigger.
And—
He had questions.
For example…
Lightning Armor.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes as they walked.
Something felt off.
At the entrance to a barbecue restaurant, he stopped.
"Souma."
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Before we eat, I need to ask—do you have more questions?"
"…One," Souma admitted.
"About Lightning Armor. I want to create a defensive chakra-mode taijutsu."
That's it?
Kakashi visibly relaxed.
This meal was safe.
They sat down. Souma ordered quickly, then set up a sound-isolation barrier.
"Kakashi-sensei, did you ever copy Lightning Armor?"
"I saw it, but didn't learn it."
He explained why—
Lightning Armor required constant lightning-chakra stimulation, full-body activation, and dense chakra coordination.
The reason he never learned it was simple.
Not enough chakra.
"With that much chakra, I'd rather spam Raikiri and kill people faster."
"Can you explain how chakra and taijutsu synchronize?"
"Of course."
Kakashi thought for a moment.
"You're planning to replace lightning-chakra stimulation with breathing activation, right? That could work—but ordinary chakra lacks lightning's internal cohesion."
"I have a chakra membrane and internal-external circulation."
Souma explained.
Kakashi nodded slowly.
That was possible.
If it worked, defense would increase dramatically.
He pulled out Icha Icha Paradise.
"I'll write it up tonight. Are you free tomorrow?"
"Yes. I'm staying in the village."
"Good. I'll tidy everything and we'll review both breathing activation and your new technique."
"No problem."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
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