The decoy mission had ended several days ago.
Karma had spent more time thinking about it than he expected.
Not the fighting.
The fighting itself had been simple.
What stayed with him was everything that had happened behind it.
His squad had been bait.
Ren's ANBU team had been hunting the people watching them.
The enemy had thought they were observing Konoha.
In reality, Konoha had been observing them.
'Information really is another kind of weapon.'
Karma liked that.
It was another piece of being a shinobi that he hadn't fully appreciated before.
But now his attention had returned to something else.
A technique.
Karma stood alone in the training ground.
He raised his right hand.
He already knew exactly what he wanted to make.
Chidori.
He remembered it from his previous life.
He remembered its basic form.
He remembered its variants.
He remembered how dangerous it was.
But remembering a technique and performing it were two different things.
Karma still needed to build it with his own chakra.
His current control wasn't enough to simply reproduce the finished version perfectly.
And he certainly wasn't at the point where he could activate it without preparation.
Karma formed the hand seals.
"Rat."
"Rabbit."
"Monkey."
Lightning chakra gathered in his hand.
He concentrated.
The chakra began to compress.
A sharp crackling sound filled the training ground.
Karma's eyes brightened.
'There.'
He tried to increase the density.
The lightning suddenly became unstable.
Karma released it.
A small explosion of electricity scattered across the ground.
He stepped backward.
'Too much.'
He looked at his hand.
No injury.
Good.
Again.
The hand seals.
The chakra.
The compression.
The lightning.
This time it lasted longer.
Three seconds.
Then five.
Then the chakra dispersed.
Karma frowned.
"Still not enough."
He knew what Chidori was supposed to become.
But his body wasn't there yet.
His chakra pathways needed to handle the concentration.
His hand needed to withstand the output.
His movement needed to match the technique.
And there was another problem.
Speed.
Karma knew Chidori was designed to be used at high speed.
That was part of what made it dangerous.
He also remembered the weakness.
At extreme speed, the user's perception could become overwhelmed.
Karma had an advantage.
His Kanzen Saimen enhanced his perception.
But even his eyes couldn't completely solve the problem.
His body still had to react.
"Again."
Karma formed the seals.
Lightning gathered.
This time, he didn't immediately increase the output.
He stabilized the chakra first.
Then compressed it.
The sound became louder.
Sharper.
Karma smiled.
The lightning remained around his hand.
It was unstable.
But it was there.
He held it for ten seconds.
Then fifteen.
His arm began to ache.
Karma released the technique.
He breathed heavily.
'Getting closer.'
A voice came from behind him.
"What are you making?"
Karma turned.
Madara stood at the edge of the training ground.
Karma smiled.
"A new technique."
Madara looked at the scorched ground.
"I noticed."
Karma raised his hand.
"Lightning Release."
"Obviously."
Karma laughed.
"I haven't named it yet."
Madara walked closer.
"What does it do?"
"Concentrated Lightning Release."
Karma paused.
"And speed."
Madara studied him.
"Show me."
Karma nodded.
He formed the hand seals again.
"Lightning Release."
Chakra surged through his arm.
Lightning gathered around his hand.
This time, Karma moved.
He accelerated toward a training post.
His body blurred.
His hand struck.
The lightning screamed.
The technique pierced straight through the post.
Karma landed several meters away.
The training post remained standing for a moment.
Then collapsed.
Karma turned around.
Madara stared at the destroyed post.
"Interesting."
Karma grinned.
"I know."
Madara's eyes moved toward Karma's arm.
"Your shoulder."
Karma looked down.
His arm was trembling.
He flexed it.
"Fine."
"You're forcing too much power through your body."
Karma nodded.
"I'll fix it."
Madara looked at him.
"You already know how?"
Karma paused.
"I have an idea."
That was true.
He remembered how the technique should work.
But he couldn't simply skip the process.
He had to adapt it.
Madara crossed his arms.
"Then do it."
Karma smiled.
The next several weeks became dedicated to Chidori.
He practiced the hand seals until they became natural.
He practiced forming the Lightning Release without wasting chakra.
He practiced compressing it.
Then maintaining it.
Then moving with it.
Then stopping.
The technique slowly became more stable.
But Karma wanted more.
He drew his tanto.
The weapon Madara had given him on his fifth birthday rested comfortably in his hand.
Karma formed the hand seals.
Lightning gathered.
He directed the chakra toward the tanto.
The blade began to crackle.
Karma swung.
The training post split apart.
Karma stared at the blade.
'So I can channel it through the tanto.'
That changed things.
He tried again.
This time he accelerated first.
Then activated Chidori.
The combination was much smoother.
Lightning surged through his arm and into the blade.
His tanto flashed.
The post was cut cleanly in half.
Madara watched.
"You're combining the technique with your swordsmanship."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Karma looked at his tanto.
"I don't want Chidori to replace my fighting style."
He smiled.
"I want it to improve it."
Madara nodded.
"Good."
Karma grinned.
"That's another compliment."
"No."
"It definitely was."
Madara sighed.
Karma continued practicing.
Eventually, the basic form became stable enough for actual combat.
He still needed hand seals.
He still needed a moment to form the technique.
He still couldn't maintain it indefinitely.
But it worked.
And that was enough.
Karma finally gave it a name.
"Chidori."
Madara looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because it sounds good."
Madara stared at him for several seconds.
Karma smiled.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Karma knew exactly what Madara didn't.
He hadn't invented the concept in his previous life.
But nobody here knew that.
To Konoha, Chidori was something completely new.
A technique created by a seven-year-old.
And that was going to attract attention.
It happened sooner than Karma expected.
Hashirama stared at the report.
"You developed this?"
Karma nodded.
"Yes."
Tobirama took the scroll from him.
"Lightning Release. High-speed movement. Extreme penetration."
He looked at Karma.
"Who taught you this?"
Karma shook his head.
"Nobody."
Tobirama's expression became serious.
"I developed it myself."
Silence.
Hashirama looked at Tobirama.
Tobirama looked back.
Then he returned his attention to Karma.
"Perform it."
Karma formed the hand seals.
"Lightning Release."
Chakra surged.
The sound of crackling lightning filled the room.
Tobirama's eyes widened slightly.
Karma moved toward the training target placed outside the office.
His hand pierced through it.
The technique disappeared.
Karma landed and turned around.
Hashirama stared.
Then laughed.
"You're seven!"
Karma smiled.
"I've been told."
Tobirama walked toward the damaged target.
He examined the wound carefully.
"This isn't a simple B-rank technique."
Karma raised an eyebrow.
"How high?"
Tobirama looked at him.
"Potentially A-rank."
Hashirama's smile widened.
Karma felt a little proud.
'Not bad.'
Tobirama looked at him seriously.
"Don't become careless because you created something powerful."
"I won't."
"Good."
Tobirama handed the report back.
"And don't show this technique to everyone."
Karma nodded.
That made sense.
A technique like this was valuable.
Karma had no intention of handing it out freely.
He walked out of the office.
His mind was already somewhere else.
Chidori was done.
Not mastered.
Not even close.
But the foundation was there.
And Karma knew what came next.
The variants.
Chidori Senbon.
Chidori Sharp Spear.
Chidori Current.
Chidori Blade.
He remembered them.
But he wasn't going to create them all at once.
One at a time.
He smiled.
And there was another technique waiting in his memories.
A technique that required no elemental transformation at all.
Rasengan.
Karma looked at his hand.
'That one will be fun.'
For now, however, there was something else he needed to learn.
What it actually felt like to use Chidori against a real enemy.
He didn't know it yet.
But that lesson was coming soon.