"Focus… and sense the power of nature?"
At that moment, a massive question mark appeared in young Sasuke's head.
Does that… actually work?
Instinctively, he looked at the lightning dancing around Uchiha Kai's fingers.
Desire flashed in his eyes.
Crackle—
But the lightning was far too dazzling. After staring for only a short while, Sasuke's eyes began to ache.
He had no choice but to turn his head away.
And yet—
His longing for lightning only grew stronger.
Seeing this, Kai raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"Want it?"
Sasuke nodded. "I do!"
"Want to become the one who governs lightning in Konoha?"
Sasuke nodded even harder. "I do!"
"Then shout it out loud!"
Sasuke took a deep breath and yelled—
"I want to become the Lightning Dharma K—"
CLATTER!
The bedroom door suddenly flew open.
The next second, a bamboo rod engraved with 'Seven Wolves' came flying out.
It struck Sasuke squarely on the butt.
"Want what?! Are you trying to rebel this early in the morning, Sasuke?!"
From inside the room came Fugaku's voice, tightly restrained rage barely held in check.
It was obvious—
The clan head's mood was terrible.
The kind of terrible that came from being startled halfway through something important.
Annoyed.
Irritated.
Enraged.
Bang!
The wooden door slammed shut again.
Outside, the brothers stared at each other.
Kai looked worried.
"…Did the Dharma King path just get forcibly terminated?"
Clearly—
He had underestimated what true emotional stability meant.
Sasuke calmly patted his butt.
Through the gap, Kai could see two red welts swelling rapidly.
That hit had not been light.
And yet—
Sasuke seemed to feel nothing.
The fire in his eyes only burned brighter.
"Sense… natural lightning…"
"If it's nature, then it must be during storms… or from high places…"
As he spoke, his gaze slowly drifted toward the tallest tree outside the courtyard.
If I can sense lightning and master Lightning Release…
I'll definitely make Kai kneel and beg!
With that thought, he didn't hesitate.
He jumped—and started climbing.
Thanks to Kai's interference over the years, Sasuke had begun training with Fugaku earlier than in the original timeline.
He'd already learned several basic skills.
For example—
Konoha Mandatory Curriculum: Tree-Walking.
Tap tap tap.
In just a few steps, he dashed up the trunk as if running on flat ground.
And then—
He saw two figures wearing cat-faced masks.
Six eyes met.
Sasuke's eyes lit up.
"Oh! You're here to sense lightning too?! I knew my idea was right!"
"Hahahaha!"
"I—Lightning Dharma King Sasuke—have arrived!"
With that, he sprinted to the treetop.
Arms spread wide, embracing nature.
Fast.
Agile.
Like a delinquent macaque with a punk haircut.
Hidden among the branches, the two ANBU who had been napping were jolted awake.
Their souls nearly left their bodies.
Now, staring at their notebook and pen, they hesitated.
One whispered, "How do we record this? Are we going to fail our first mission after transferring to logistics?"
"The last fifty-plus surveillance teams already failed. We cannot fail too!"
After a long pause, the other clenched his jaw.
"…Write this down."
"'Third son of the Uchiha clan head suddenly developed a severe illness at dawn.'"
"…Or maybe add—'The Uchiha are all insane.'"
Just then—
A voice suddenly sounded beside them.
Both ANBU flinched violently.
Turning around, they saw—
At some point, a person had appeared beneath the tree.
Silent.
Motionless.
Their hearts skipped.
When did he get there?!
When did the second young master climb the tree?!
"…Must've been distracted by what just happened," they reassured themselves after exchanging glances.
Then they waved awkwardly.
"What a coincidence, Second Young Master."
Hm?
Newbies?
Pure rookies?!
The moment they greeted him, Kai's lowered eyes lit up with excitement.
For six years, not a single ANBU assigned to monitor him had lasted more than three months.
None of them dared greet him.
Most ran on sight.
But these two—
Not only did they stay—
They said hello.
"Since that's the case…"
"Then I won't hold back."
"This sheep wool? I'm shaving it slowly. Sustainable development."
Kai rubbed his hands together.
When he looked up again, his expression had shifted.
Shy.
Reserved.
Almost bashful.
Under deliberate control, blood rushed to his face.
A soft blush spread from his cheeks to his ears.
The two ANBU shook their heads unconsciously.
"Who would've thought the Uchiha clan could produce such a cute child…"
Ten minutes later.
Kai landed lightly from the tree, fully satisfied.
Two new green traits glowed quietly.
[Conversation for ten minutes. Successfully copied Elite Trait:
Light as a Swallow (Green) ×2.]
As expected—
Newbies were easy to farm.
Grinning, Kai said casually, "Fuse into Swift Phantom Dash."
That trait had reached Blue rank long ago.
Over the years, it had absorbed more than ten Light as a Swallow traits and over thirty Agile Movement traits.
Yet—
Nothing had ever happened.
The stats improved, sure.
Speed.
Reflexes.
Endurance.
But the trait itself refused to evolve.
This time—
Just as Kai fell into thought—
The system prompt changed.
[Stacking complete. Congratulations, host has obtained Epic Trait:
Phantom Without a Trace (Purple).]
[Flexibility: 75% → 100%. Speed: 75% → 100%.]
[Additional Effect: Consume 1,000 chakra to create an afterimage at the current location.
Afterimage detonates after 1 second.
Explosion power scales with chakra consumption.]
Kai's black pupils gleamed.
Double flexibility.
Double speed.
Base stats.
Nothing beat upgrading fundamentals.
Especially when—
His gaze lingered on the last line.
"An exploding afterimage…"
"This isn't an afterimage—this is basically a stationary lunatic, right?"
"With enough chakra, this could rival a suicide truck…"
BOOM—!!
A deafening thunderclap suddenly erupted overhead.
Kai jumped in shock.
Looking up, he saw a blue-collared少年 standing with arms spread wide, shouting at the sky.
Above Sasuke's head—
A bolt of lightning was slowly taking shape.
Kai's expression froze.
"…Wait."
"…Did he seriously summon lightning?!"
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