Chapter 94: A Demonstration of Lightning
Kagenori's eyes remained fixed on the small, silver-haired figure of Kakashi amidst the crowd of new Genin. His initial plan to select a civilian wavered, then solidified into a new, more calculated strategy.
Originally, he had wanted to avoid the complications that came with a shinobi clan heir. Their loyalties were divided, their lives entangled in political webs. But Hatake Kakashi was a different case. Next year, his father, the White Fang, would fail his mission and be broken by the village's scorn. Kakashi himself would be caught in the backlash. That moment of profound disillusionment, that shattering of a boy's world, was a pivotal event Kagenori knew was coming. It was a vulnerability.
If he could secure Kakashi as his disciple now, he could position himself as a pillar during that crisis. He could mold the boy's bitterness and confusion into loyalty. Furthermore, the Hatake clan was now just two people—Sakumo and Kakashi. They lacked the sprawling influence of the Uchiha or Hyuga. Kakashi was, for all intents and purposes, a clan of one. He was the perfect candidate.
The Vice-Principal's voice droned on, announcing the team assignments. He reached the list for Minato Namikaze.
"The Jonin, Namikaze Minato. The Genin assigned to his team are: Uchiha Obito, Nohara Rin, Hatake—"
"Wait."
Kagenori's voice cut through the formal proceedings, silencing the Vice-Principal. Every eye turned to him as he strode purposefully across the training ground until he stood before Kakashi.
Kakashi looked up, his single visible eye narrowing in confusion. The assignment had been clear; his team leader was to be Namikaze Minato. What was this about?
"I want you to be my disciple," Kagenori stated, his tone flat and direct. "What is your answer? Do you agree?"
Kakashi was taken aback. The offer was as sudden as it was unexpected. He had come here today at his father's insistence, a formality to be placed on a team. He didn't care about teammates or camaraderie; he cared about mission efficiency and becoming stronger. But a master-disciple relationship was a profound commitment in the shinobi world. He couldn't possibly agree to bind himself to a complete stranger.
Yet, his curiosity was piqued. This Jonin had singled him out instantly. Why?
"How can you make me stronger?" Kakashi countered, his voice young but already carrying a cool, analytical tone. "This is our first meeting."
Kagenori's gaze dropped to Kakashi's hands, noting the distinct calluses formed from relentless sword practice. "You've been training in the Thunder Breathing, haven't you? I was the one who provided that scroll to Konoha. My mastery of it is beyond anyone else's. And my sensei is Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin. Would becoming my disciple be an insult to you?"
A disciple of Orochimaru? That certainly changed the calculus. It was a prestigious offer. But it was still too abrupt.
Seeing the boy's hesitation, Kagenori didn't press. "You don't have to decide now. Make your choice after you've seen my strength. Come to the forest east of the village to find me. I will wait for two hours."
Without another word, Kagenori's eyes flickered over to Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin, who were buzzing with excitement at being placed on Minato's team, and then he turned and walked away, leaving the academy grounds.
The moment he was gone, the Vice-Principal spoke up. "Kakashi? What is your decision? Will you pursue this discipleship with Kagenori, or shall we finalize your assignment to Minato's team? If you go to him now and later choose to decline, you may return here to be placed on Minato's squad."
Kakashi didn't need more than a second to think. "I'll go find him now."
He caught up to Kagenori just outside the academy gates. Kagenori hadn't been worried; a shinobi like Kakashi, driven by a need for strength and efficiency, would inevitably be drawn to the source of a more powerful technique.
Kakashi wasted no time. "The Thunder Breathing technique… it's incomplete, isn't it?"
The question earned a look of genuine surprise from Kagenori. The boy was sharper than he'd anticipated.
"When I practice it," Kakashi continued, his tone clinical, "there's a sense of frustration. An awkwardness. As if a crucial component is missing."
"The version I donated to Konoha," Kagenori replied, "can be considered an unfinished draft. I have since perfected it. But I will not share those details with you."
The implication was clear. Kakashi understood immediately. "You will only teach the complete form to your disciple."
Kagenori gave a single, firm nod. "It is my secret art."
Kakashi fell silent, his mind racing. He would follow and see this demonstration. The proof would be in the technique itself.
They arrived at the eastern forest, a place Kagenori knew well. It was here, years ago, that the system had simulated the cataclysmic power of the Thunder Breathing for the first time. Nature had reclaimed the scarred land, but the memory was etched into the soil.
"Show me your Thunderclap and Flash," Kagenori commanded.
Kakashi obliged without hesitation. He dropped into the starting stance, a coiled spring of potential energy. "Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
Lightning chakra surged into the sole of his foot and was released in a burst. There was a crackle of electricity, and he shot forward, a blur of motion that ended with his practice sword biting deeply into a tree trunk.
Kagenori had seen many Konoha shinobi attempt the technique on the front lines. Most were clumsy, their forms pathetic. Kakashi's was the most polished he'd witnessed—efficient, direct, and powerful by conventional standards. But it was still just that: using lightning chakra to enhance speed. The "thunder" was merely the sound of the chakra, not the true, air-rending peal of the perfected form.
Kakashi looked back, a hint of expectation in his visible eye. "Well?"
"It's… serviceable," Kagenori said, his tone utterly unimpressed.
Kakashi's shoulders slumped slightly, his pride clearly stung even behind the mask. "Can you show me yours? The real one?"
Kagenori nodded. This was the entire point. He settled into the same starting stance, but the aura that gathered around him was fundamentally different. It wasn't just chakra gathering; it was the atmosphere itself growing heavy, charged.
Dazzling arcs of white lightning erupted from his entire body, so bright they cast sharp shadows across the forest floor. The ground beneath his feet cratered slightly from the contained pressure.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form," he intoned, his voice a low hum of power. "Thunderclap and Flash."
There was no mere crackle of electricity. There was a deafening BOOM that tore through the quiet of the forest, the sound of air being violently parted. Kagenori didn't become a blur; he became a bolt of living lightning, a straight-line catastrophe that vanished from one point and appeared at another in the space between heartbeats.
The movement was too fast for Kakashi's eyes to track. One moment Kagenori was there, the next he was standing two dozen meters away, his ninjato casually resting on his shoulder. Behind him, a massive oak tree—one so thick it would take three men to circle it—let out a groaning creak before sliding diagonally from a perfectly clean cut, crashing to the earth with a ground-shaking thud.
Kakashi's jaw went slack behind his mask. His single visible eye was wide, utterly transfixed by the display of raw, sublime speed and power. This wasn't just a technique. It was an art. It was everything he had felt was missing.