CHAPTER 9:

FLASH

Name: Kakashi Hatake, aka the Copy Ninja, aka Sharingan Kakashi.

Notes: I have mixed feelings about our new teacher. On the one hand, he's an incorrigible pervert (reading Icha Icha books publicly with not a care in the world), lazy, perpetually late, and has a seemingly apathetic attitude. On the other hand, he cares a lot about teamwork, and praises our abilities at the right times. He's also a famous prodigy, the student of the Fourth Hokage, and was also former ANBU. You can't get into ANBU without being amongst the best of the best.

I have to give it to him, his laid-back attitude is sort of reassuring. He knows when to be stern, and when to be supportive. And he's not afraid to answer some questions I have about certain issues. He's also given me pointers on how to improve my taijutsu, and while the physical training is strenuous and tedious, I know it'll be worth it when we finally do other missions.

Distinguishing Marks and Characteristics: Perpetually wears a mask over his nose and mouth. Keeps his headband slanted over his left eye (I asked him, and he admitted it was to conceal the Sharingan underneath: it was apparently implanted, and can't be turned off like if he was an Uchiha, so he needs to starve it of vision in order to avoid chakra drain). Often reads Icha Icha books publicly.

Skills: According to the Bingo Book and the man himself, he has copied a multitude of jutsus with his Sharingan. However, he has two distinctive signature moves of extreme power, both related: the Chidori or 'Thousand Birds' (so named because the lightning chakra, gathered around the fist, sounds like a massive flock of chirping birds), and the Raikiri or 'Lightning Cutter'. Both are powerful lightning-based techniques. He is also knowledgeable in a variety of areas necessary for a jounin and a former member of ANBU.

Ah, D-Rank missions, amounting to little more than chores of varying arduousness. Sakura couldn't help but share her teammates' annoyance at these missions, even though she knew that their purpose was to help bind the team together, do training through some of the tougher physical challenges of these chores, and even earn some money. Naruto couldn't dispute with the latter, in any case.

It was the night a few days after the Bell Test that Sakura got an inkling of an idea. It was while she was studying books on chakra control techniques and ninjutsu, hoping to do them while waiting for the frequently-tardy Kakashi. She realised that, until she built up her chakra reserves, she may not be able to do as many of the flashy ninjutsu that Sasuke or Naruto could.

But there was something she had an idea for. She realised, during her fight with Kakashi, that she lacked many tools to make a quick getaway. True, she could have used a flash-bomb or a smoke bomb, but those were also commonplace, and could be anticipated. And a genjutsu wasn't guaranteed to work.

She happened to be looking through lists of various ninjutsu, when it occurred to her. Some ninja used chakra to light their way while infiltrating dark places. So chakra being able to create light was already known, even beyond the appearances of ninjutsu. And some genjutsu actually did the same thing, instead of being foreign chakra in the victim. They were constructs of light.

Suddenly, this was a revelation. If one exploited that ability of chakra to manifest as light, what could you do with it? She immediately hit upon two possible uses. The first was basically a chakra-made flash-bomb, designed to blind or at least dazzle the enemy. The second was an intense but directional light, designed to be used as a signal to fellow shinobi.

It hit her, as she tried to go to sleep that night, that she might be the founder of an entirely new branch of ninjutsu: Hikariton, or 'light release'. Sakura Haruno, the founder of an entire new branch of ninjutsu. She liked the sound of that, perhaps more so than being the future Mrs Sasuke Uchiha. If she founded an entirely new branch of ninjutsu, her name was guaranteed to go down in history, like the very woman she idolised, Tsunade.

She stayed up late, flicking between the nijutsu list, and her notes of handsigns. Maybe she would have something ready…

At the training ground where they were to meet Kakashi for the day's training (no D-Ranks, today), Sakura found Sasuke brooding, and Naruto doing some taijutsu practise. Rather sloppily, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Sakura greeted them, before she went to one of the nearby trees, concentrated, and then began walking up it. Sasuke and Naruto watched as Sakura walked up the side of the tree with only her feet, turned around, and then walked back down. "Well, that was easier than I thought," she mused.

"How did you do that, Sakura? That was amazing, dattebayo!"

"That was the tree-climbing exercise, dope," Sasuke said. "I've heard of it. It's a chakra control exercise."

"And I thought, since Kakashi's going to be late again, that I might try something productive. Hell, you guys could try it too."

Both of them rose to the challenge. Sasuke got a smirk, while Naruto cheered, and, upon being given basic instructions by Sakura, tried instantly to run up the tree…only for him to slip down and hurt himself. Not badly: in fact, the way he rolled around on the ground, clutching his head was actually quite amusing. Sasuke didn't get far up the tree either, before he was repelled from the tree by putting too much chakra into it. He scowled.

Sakura took it upon herself to try and tutor the two boys, and very gradually, they improved under her guidance. Soon, while they tried to make their way up the tree, Sakura began to walk up and down the tree, while making her notes on Hikariton. It was a good exercise to walk up and down the tree while trying to focus on something else: it probably meant her chakra control was getting fine-tuned.

It did depress her a little to consider that the reason behind the boys' relative lack of success at the exercise so far was that they actually had larger chakra reserves than she did. Sasuke could pull off fairly high-ranking jutsus already, and Naruto, of course, had both the Uzumaki trait of high chakra reserves, as well as the Kyuubi within him. But she also knew that by doing this exercise, she would be building up her reserves.

She had to take a couple of breaks when she began depleting her reserves of chakra. As she did those breaks, she worked on her new jutsus. Naruto was curious, and so was Sasuke, despite his usual apathetic attitude. They were bemused and astonished to learn that she was trying to develop a whole new branch of ninjutsu, though she didn't give them exact details. Sasuke looked both sceptical and intrigued at the concept. Naruto was supportive in his usual effusive manner.

By the time Kakashi finally arrived with a lazy 'yo!', she had finished her notes for the first jutsu. "You're late!" Naruto screamed.

"Well, I got lost on the road of life…" Kakashi began.

"You've used that one before, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura noted, as she kept walking up and down the tree.

"Well, at least you've made good use of your time," Kakashi said, with one of his distinctive smiles (the one where his eye seemed to smile, even with the rest of his face hidden). "I would have taught you tree climbing exercises before long, but it's good to see my cute little genin team taking the initiative. Well, today, we will continue with taijutsu training…"

"Umm, Kakashi-sensei, I wanted to ask a favour, actually. I know my taijutsu needs work, but I had some ideas for something, and I would like a second opinion."

"Oh? Very well then. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A pair of clones of Kakashi appeared, and took Naruto and Sasuke with them. "So, what can I help you with, Sakura?"

"It's like this. I know you've created your own techniques, like the Chidori and the Raikiri, and you know a lot about how jutsus work, having copied so many…"

"Oh, stop, Sakura," Kakashi said with a giggle. "You're making me blush."

Sakura gave him a brief glare, before saying, "Anyway, I had an idea for an original jutsu. In fact, I think I may be on the verge of founding an entire new branch of ninjutsu."

Kakashi suddenly became serious all of a sudden. Eventually, he said, "Are you sure, Sakura?"

"I think so. I call it Hikariton, or Light Release. Here are the notes for my first jutsu: Hikariton: Senkou(1)."

"Light Release: Flash, huh?" Kakashi said.

"Yes. It's meant to be an emergency substitute for a flash-bomb, or else it can be used to blind the enemy in order to either flee, or launch an attack while they're blinded."

Kakashi whistled, and took the notes, and perused them carefully. After a few minutes, he handed the notes back, his expression stern. "Well, unfortunately, that jutsu will never work. I see what you're doing there, but if you tried that, you'll just end up wasting a lot of chakra, and create little more than a slight glow."

Sakura sagged. "No…" she moaned. Had she failed completely before she could even properly start on her path?

"That being said," Kakashi said, before Sakura could get any more down, "if you altered this handsign here, and that one as well…" He showed her a couple of corrections, as well as one handsign that needed to be removed, and a couple added. "…and there you have it. With those revisions, it should work."

Sakura's eyes widened. How could she have not seen some of those corrections? She hurriedly edited her notes, making the necessary alterations.

"That was a very good first try, Sakura," Kakashi said with a reassuring, even paternal smile. "Very few ninjas have tried creating an entirely new jutsu at your age, and that you made it that far is commendable. True, it is not an offensive jutsu like my Chidori or my Raikiri, but I can see this being taught in the academy. Your jutsu may seem useless at first glance in a fight, but against a powerful foe, it can be the difference between life and death, giving you a chance to, as you said, either flee, or attack them while they are blind. The main drawback with it is that it requires fairly strong chakra control, at least high genin level. You have high genin level control, though. And if I'm right, it should be used as a last resort, as the sheer amount of light being released would draw attention from far away. But it's a very good concept, Sakura."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura looked thoughtful. "Hmm…should I test it to see if it works?"

"Sure. Do you have anyone in mind as a test subject?"

An impish smile came over her features. "Actually, I do…"

Naruto, accompanied by Kakashi's clone, came up to Sakura and Kakashi. "Hey, what gives? I hadn't even started much sparring."

"Sorry, Naruto, but Kakashi-sensei has helped me refine my new jutsu, and we needed your help in testing it."

Naruto blinked, before cheering. "Yeah! Okay, I'll help you test it!" Then, a thought occurred to him. "Umm…it won't hurt me, will it?"

"It's not lethal," Sakura said. "And it doesn't wound you."

He seemed a bit uncertain, probably sensing her evasion. "…Okay. Well, let's do it, dattebayo!"

Sakura took a couple of deep, calming breaths, before she went through the handsigns as quickly as she could, moulding her chakra. She'd have to make it as quick as possible if it was a battle situation. Then, cupping her hands in front of her body and shutting her eyes tight, she cried out, "Hikariton: Senkou!"

She could see the massive, strobing light even through her eyelids. Naruto screamed in pain and fright, and as the glare faded, Sakura opened her eyes to find Naruto rubbing his eyes. "Dammit, Sakura, what did you do?"

"Umm, I blinded you. Temporarily. I hope."

"Oh, he'll be fine, Sakura," Kakashi said, offhandedly. "I have to admit, that's a powerful technique. One day, we should test it on my Sharingan, see if it affects doujutsu more or less than normal eyes."

Eventually, Naruto regained his eyesight after a few minutes of blinking and snarling in annoyance. "Holy crap, that was bright!" Naruto complained. "Sakura, give me a bit of warning next time!"

"Umm, if I warned you, it wouldn't have been an effective test. Thanks for helping me, Naruto. You've helped with making an entirely new form of jutsu."

Naruto blinked, before leaping into the air. "Yes! I helped make a new form of jutsu! Yes!"

As he danced and capered around the training ground, Kakashi sighed. "One moment, he's annoyed with you, and the next, he's happy. Anyway, congratulations, Sakura, on a job well done. Now, we'll have to continue work on your taijutsu. It's good to play on your strengths, but overly specialising is not a wise course of action."

Sakura sighed resignedly. Even so, she couldn't help but cheer inwardly. She had managed to achieve something great: an entirely new jutsu! The start, she hoped, of something great…

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS NO JUTSU!:

And there you have it, the big reveal of the new jutsu I have created. As far as I know, nobody else has created this sort of release. Now, its usefulness in battle might seem to be less compared to more powerful jutsu, but sometimes, you don't need the big guns. And I have already devised at least one powerful move for it that will debut later in this story.

When I get to the next chapter, we will be starting the Wave Arc. Always assuming you guys don't take this as my shark-jumping moment.

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1. Hikariton: Senkou (or Senkoh, if you prefer that spelling) was, of course, inspired by the Taiyou-Ken or Solar Flare attack from Dragon Ball. It took a while to get the right name for it. I took the name from the Japanese title for the main battle theme for Final Fantasy XIII (in English, it is called Blinded by Light, but in Japanese, it is Senkou or Flash). Funnily enough, in Dragon Ball Z, the Masenkou means 'Demon Flash'.