Grit 2.7

[Shishigami Residence, Konohagakure]

[June 13, 2bNb]

I rise at 5 in the morning, as always, not needing an alarm. My morning routine continues as normal; stretching, meditation, hygiene, and breakfast are all on the agenda, however, I elect to forgo body conditioning as I have to train with Sensei in 2 hours.

The house is empty as I complete my routine tasks, my father still has another 3 months left in his deployment to the western front. With my deployment starting in a month, it seems I might go a whole year and a quarter without seeing my father.

I do miss him, but the time spent with my team serves to alleviate much of that burden. In the original timeline, the war ended right around a year from now, or maybe a couple of months after that.

The original conclusion was caused by the Kannabi Bridge, Iwagakure's main route into the Land of Grass, being destroyed and Minato decimating an Iwagakure battalion. This led to a Konoha-Iwa ceasefire, which then caused a ripple effect, leading to the other three great nations also withdrawing from the war.

I wonder if I could make a change in that sense. Right now, Konoha has minimal foothold within the Land of Grass, making it difficult to reach the bridge. For Team 7 to have been that deep within the Land of Grass, Konoha must have made a giant push into the territory between now and the end of the war.

Despite my extensive knowledge, I find myself stumped on just how I would speed up this process. Sure, our team was good, but we couldn't singlehandedly accelerate our village's war effort on a whole front, could we?

Thoughts for later, as it was now time to meet up with my teammates and head to the Third Training Ground.

As I approach our designated meeting place, a square that sits close to the training ground, I can feel the chakras of my Genin Teammates. "Hey guys, you ready to go?"

"You bet. I was just talking to Shisui about what Sensei said yesterday, but he refuses to tell me what he found," Kenji replies.

The Uchiha boy shoots both of us a smile, before saying, "It's a secret, but I know the both of you will be impressed."

I begin to think about what Shisui could have possibly found among his grandfather's things before electing to wait and see. "If you say so, Shisui. Let's get going."

As we get closer to the training ground, I can feel Sensei's chakra, but he's not alone. A Wind-Natured Jonin with more chakra than even Sensei, a Lightning-Natured Chunin, a Fire-Natured Chunin, and finally, a Fire-Natured Genin whose chakra control rivals mine.

"Sensei is with people, speed up."

My teammates obliged my statement, and we soon arrived at the clearing to find none other than Team 7. I guess my estimations were off, it's surprising to see that Obito has as much chakra as Kakashi, despite their massive difference in skill.

Nevertheless, I suppress the urge to geek out upon seeing this notorious team. I grew up idolizing these characters and here they were in the flesh, I wonder why though.

Mukai-Sensei greets us with a smile. "Ah, right on schedule. Team, meet Minato Namikaze, The Yellow Flash of the Leaf, and his students, Chunin Kakashi Hatake, and Genins Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara."

We each introduced ourselves before I decided to speak, containing my excitement. "Sensei, it's nice to meet them and all, but why are they here?"

The blonde Jonin decides to give my question a response, "Well, both our teams being here at the same time was purely coincidence but, it's a good thing, nonetheless." The man then takes a pause, and holds his hand out, forming a Rasengan, before once more speaking. "Show it to me."

I look at him, then give a nod to Shisui. We both form one.

Minato dissipates his own Rasengan, inspecting both mine and Shisui's. "Incredible. It's the same jutsu and mastered as well. There's little waste as far as I can tell. Tell me, young Ichiro, how were you able to develop it."

"After reading a few books on chakra theory and jutsu creation, I pondered on what the ultimate combination of shape manipulation and elemental chakra would look like. So, I started by trying to pop a water balloon with just my chakra, to train its rotation. I then moved on to training with a rubber ball training my power."

I note the man looking at me with wide eyes, and his students with confusion. They seem to be lost as I explain my process, with Kakashi seeming to be the least confused. I decided to ignore their reactions and continue.

"Finally, I decided just to try a balloon filled with air. However, the goal was to keep the first 2 steps contained within this balloon without popping it, training my containment. The result was the Rasengan."

Upon my conclusion, Mukai-Sensei shoots Minato a smile. "See, I told you, Minato. He's just that good, reminds me a little of you, honestly."

"You're right about that. I can't even be mad at the kid, he developed it with no outside influence. Even I had to witness a Tailed-Beast Bomb to get inspiration. Not to mention the training method he developed and the willingness to teach his friend."

Minato turns his attention from Sensei to me before once again speaking. "Ichiro, your Sensei has probably forbidden you from teaching the jutsu to anyone else but as its first creator, I allow you to use it as you see fit. You did make it as well, after all, and you have already used it in battle."

"Thank you, Sir. It's an honor to be commended by someone of your caliber."

I decided to use my next statement to showcase even more of my 'genius' to Minato. "I do have a concern, though. When attempting to add lightning release, I find myself unable to. I would describe it as trying to look left and right at the same time. It just doesn't work."

The man's face lights up at my words, "Incredible one again. That's exactly how I would describe it as well. It's why I haven't been able to complete the technique as well. Kakashi has tried as well but only managed to create a Jutsu of relatively equal power, not stronger."

I already knew that of course, but I used that statement as a springboard to set up what I was going to do next. I'm certain Minato has access to the Shadow Clone Jutsu, if I can plant the idea of using shadow clones to develop the jutsu in his head, I'm sure I'll be rewarded somehow.

"If only there was a jutsu that allowed you to look left and right at the same time. That way, half of you could focus on power, rotation, and containment, while the other half focused on elemental manipulation and control. Some solid clone, perhaps."

At my statement, three heads crane to look at me with renewed intensity. Kakashi, Minato, and Mukai sensei all seemed to be in complete shock at my statement. A smile then appears on Sensei's face, followed by Minato, who begins to speak.

"That- that's genius, Ichiro. The Shadow Clone Jutsu would work perfectly for that. I can already see it. I could make a Rasengan and then have a clone inject wind chakra into it. How could I not have thought about it before?"

Kakashi decides to interject, "Sensei, with an intellect like this, there's no wonder this little kid managed to kill a Jonin. He was also the one to detect Kushina months ago if I'm not mistaken, I want to fight him."

"Are you proposing a joint training session, Kakashi," asks Mukai-Sensei.

"I wouldn't be opposed," I reply, casting my gaze upon the silver-haired boy. Fighting Kakashi would give me an insight into where I was compared to a true genius. This guy was a Chunin at my age and from what I can remember, is currently on the cusp of a Jonin promotion.

The loudmouth Uchiha, Obito catches wind of this and begins bellowing, "Hey! If Kakashi gets to fight Ichiro, then I want to fight Shisui!"

"What do you say to a joint training session, Minato" asks Mukai-Sensei. He's excited at the prospect, seemingly forgetting that he gave us an assignment yesterday. "By the way, you boys need to tell me what you came up with yesterday."

I guess he didn't forget. Kenji begins by telling him about his idea of using gauntlets and out of left field, following it up by saying, "Medical ninjutsu also seems fascinating. I know my chakra reserves won't allow me to specialize in ninjutsu, but I do have decent control."

He pauses, looking towards me. "Plus, we need a medic on the squad after…"

Sensei shoots him a smile, "Good thinking, Kenji. You don't need to worry about the gauntlets, I'll get them for you. Also, Rin here is a medical shinobi so she might be able to give you some pointers."

At the mention of her name, the girl perks up. "I would love to help a fellow Genin, us civilian-borns need all the help we can get."

"Thank you for considering helping my student, Rin. Now what about you, Shisui?"

"Well, I did some digging into my grandfather's old stuff and found this."

My teammate, mid-sentence proceeds to pull a scroll from his pouch. Of course, the Crow Summoning Contract. It was a staple of Itachi and Shisui's arsenals in the series. A small part of me had thought that I might have butterflied away the possibility of him getting it but now I can see that wasn't the case.

In any case, it's a wonderful addition to his arsenal, and would only serve to diversify his move set. I would love to get my hands on a summoning contract one day, but such boons were rare.

If I were able to obtain one, it could even open up the possibility of harnessing natural energy and subsequently, Sage Mode. The power of a sage, even an incomplete one, had almost no equal on any battlefield.

A person who masters the use of natural energy could be comparable to even perfect jinchuriki, people who were able to 'tame' a tailed beast's volatile but powerful chakra.

Kenji abruptly interrupts my musings, seeming quite impressed. "No way, is that what I think it is? Man, Shisui, you clan shinobi sure are lucky."

Sensei laughs at Kenji's words, giving Shisui an approving nod before saying, "That sure is impressive, Shisui. Even I don't have access to a summoning contract, not to mention one as versatile as crows. Ichiro, do you think you can top your teammate here?"

"Honestly Sensei, I couldn't come up with anything. You know how full my training sessions already are with me trying to create that undetectable jutsu, complete the Rasengan, reverse engineer the lightning armor, and that other lightning technique I told you about."

Truth be told, I would love to learn the Sealing Arts, but I simply had no room to fit anything else into my plans, at least not until at least one of my ongoing projects is completed. I know how each of those techniques I am trying to (re)create works but putting it into practice is a different story altogether.

However, with my current proximity to Minato, I would be a fool to not mention the Sealing Arts. "If I had the time for it, I would begin trying to learn about seals, but sadly that won't be for now."

Minato and Kakashi, who were already looking at me while I talked, once again cast an interested look towards me. I knew I could lure Kakashi in with the mention of advanced lightning techniques, and I already knew that Minato himself was a seal master who was dating another.

It's no surprise that the blonde Jonin is next to speak, followed by his student.

"I must say, Ichiro, I am impressed by your strong work ethic. Most shinobi die without ever creating a single jutsu and here you are, actively in the process of developing multiple at such a young age. I'm somewhat of a seal user myself and so is my girlfriend, Kushina whom you've met, feel free to seek us out once you begin your journey, we'd be happy to help."

This was massive news to me, learning from Minato, who learned from both Jiraiya and a member of the Uzumaki clan could accelerate my progress exponentially. Despite my extensive reading habits, I have yet to dabble in seals.

However, from all that I've heard from other shinobi and small mentions in books that I've read, it was incredibly difficult to become a master. Sure, I could just learn enough to be able to make my own explosion tags and storage seals, but I was a perfectionist.

I wouldn't start learning perhaps the hardest and simultaneously most rewarding branch of shinobi arts just to mediocre. If I'm going to do this, I'll do it the right way. "Thank you, sir."

At that moment, Kakashi decides it's his time to chime in. "You mentioned the lightning armor and other techniques, I'd like to hear about them."

Surprisingly, Obito is the one to reprimand his statement with a loud outburst, "Hey, Kakashi! You know it is not polite to ask a shinobi about his techniques, idiot."

However, his interruption was unneeded as I fully intended to explain my techniques to the Hatake boy. The look on his face, when I describe his Chidori and other variants that I supposedly brainstormed, will be gold.

"Hm, well the first is the lightning armor used by the Raikages. The jutsu at its base is very simple, the user enhances their nervous and skeletal muscular system with lightning chakra to increase their speed, reaction time, attack power, and durability. However, it requires a level of pure elemental mastery that most shinobi never bother to shoot for. To achieve this level of mastery, I developed a multi-step plan."

I observe my companions before continuing with my explanation. My teammates already knew the things I was going to discuss but I could almost guarantee this would be the final thing that blows Team 7's head out of the water.

"First, master constant lightning flow, I did this by training the Lightning-Style: Chakra Flow on my non-chakra-conductive blade. Second, increase my body's resistance to lightning; this part is twofold as it requires a base level of physical resilience, which I aim to attain through body conditioning, and a gradual exposure of my body to minuscule amounts of lightning-natured chakra, building up resistance over time."

So far, my exposition seems quite normal to my audience. They were the basic steps any shinobi worth their salt would take in recreating such a jutsu, but this is where it takes a turn. Where most would try to learn and master as much justu as possible to train their manipulation, I would go the route of creation.

"Third, I plan to train my overall manipulation of the element by creating a lightning-based Rasengan, and the few other jutsu I have thought of. The jutsu are as follows: one that focuses lightning chakra into the hand, turning the user's arm into a lightning blade of some sort (Chidori)."

I note the subtle widening of Team 7's eyes as seem to come to the same conclusion. Rin and Obito cast their gazes upon their silver-haired teammate, who, in turn, casts a questioning look toward his sensei. The Jonin shakes his head as if saying, "Let him continue," and I proceed.

"Next, a variant of this jutsu that extends into a stream of lightning, allowing the user to shoot a concentrated beam of lightning towards their enemy (Chidori: Sharp Spear). Another that uses the inevitable stray bolts to create needles of lightning to be directed away from the environment and towards the enemy (Chidori: Senbon)."

By this point, I am suppressing the urge to burst out a toothy smile. Kakashi's eyes widen as I discuss versatile ways to apply his future signature technique and I can almost see the gears turning within his mind.

Obito is of course having the time of his life watching his arrogant teammate get one-upped by a boy half his age. It wasn't too often that he saw his teammate get humbled, and today was one of those days. The Uchiha boy's excitement was unmatched as I carried on with my exposition.

"And finally, another that releases the energy of the jutsu from the hand into the surrounding environment as a way to combat multiple enemies at one, basically turning a small portion of the battlefield around me into a kill zone (Chidori: Stream)."

Truth be told, I don't feel bad ripping off the jutsu I've seen in the series as they provide a steady path to growth by simply mastering them in succession before branching out. That is not to say I won't ever come up with a truly original jutsu, as I had ideas stirring within my brain as well.

I could have included the Kirin in my list of jutsu I intended to create but I decided not to. I had already potentially given Kakashi enough ideas to keep him busy for at least a year, and adding a technique on Kirin's level would be overkill.

Maybe once he has gotten through with the completed Rasengan or the Chidori variants, but for now, that jutsu would stay between myself and my team.

Minato, seemingly in a state of astonishment at my words decides to open up the floor. "They say great minds think alike but this is incredible. That first jutsu you described sounds a lot like the one Kakashi here created while trying to make an electric Rasengan. Show him, Kakashi."

My team and I watch the boy in earnest, and he takes a few steps back and turns to a post off to the side. The seal sequence of monkey, dragon, rat, bird, ox, snake, dog, tiger, and monkey is completed in quick succession. I pay close attention to the signs woven and the way the boy's chakra fluctuates, committing them to memory.

A continuous, ear-piercing sound reminiscent of a chirping bird, only a thousand times louder and higher pitched assaults the ears of all those present within the training ground. Unable to contain such a high concentration of lightning chakra in such a small area, stray bolts of lightning arc from the boy's hand, assaulting the natural environment around us.

"Lightning-Style: Chidori!"

I struggle to maintain a visual as the boy almost disappears from view, his speed just outside the threshold of what I can comfortably track. In a fraction of a second, he's in front of the tree, hand pointed forward just before the tree explodes.

Splintered shards of blackened wood are flung away from the body as the tree is obliterated. Kakashi stops to pant for a second, clearly out of breath. I'm taken aback by this display as despite knowing of the jutsu's power and effect, I can't help but be in awe of its form.

Sensei, who had activated him Byakugan for the display, seemed to be in a small state of awe as well, giving Kakashi a look that was much like the one I received after my first Rasengan showcase. He gives the boy a small round of applause before speaking.

"He just lost a third of his chakra from that one attack. This jutsu seems way less efficient than the Rasengan though I must admit, it is just as powerful. There also exists the issue of its maneuverability, I could see it's like the Body Flicker in that it gives the user a tunnel vision effect upon use. Nevertheless, it is impressive, as expected of the son of the White Fang and student of the Yellow Flash."

Sensei was right, there's no way I'd be using that jutsu in an actual battle, but it is impressive to see what Kakashi could create, nonetheless. Six years of training under a Jonin of Minato's caliber will do that, I guess. It's a testament to both of their skills that Kakashi was able to develop an A-Rank Jutsu at such a young age without cheating like I do.

The boy in question decides to thank my Sensei for his kind words, "Thank you, sir. I wish to improve on the efficiency issue as well as cut down the number of required hand signs, but otherwise, I am quite proud of what I have created."

I can see that he took the compliment in stride, speaking in a less reserved manner than before, but still polite and formal. The boy's jutsu has given me exactly what I needed to accelerate my lightning manipulation.

This chance meeting with Team 7 has possibly propelled me months forward in terms of my training and I couldn't be more grateful and that is without mentioning the insights I will be able to attain from fighting against them later on.

"Wow, Kakashi, that's almost exactly what I had in mind. Your display has given me a wealth of knowledge I could use on my lightning chakra mastery, thank you. Feel free to use the ideas I shared with you earlier and I do wish you the best of luck in your jutsu."

In return, the boy gives me an approving nod and what looks to be a smile. Huh, never thought I'd see that so fast. I look toward the rest of his team, only to notice Obito with a frown. I guess now that Kakashi was getting praised he was back to his usual self.

As if on cue, the boy begins to speak. "Hey! Enough of this jutsu talk, let's get some training done. I can't become Hokage by sitting around and watching everybody praise this stuck-up idiot," he says, pointing a finger at his male teammate.

Kakashi shoots Obito an irritated look but before he can speak, Mukai-Sensei cuts him off.

"Such a fiery spirit and a novel goal. In any case, Obito is right, we've stalled for long enough. We did come here to train, no?"

Minato seems to agree before saying, "All right, let's get to sparring. I'll evaluate your Genin, and you evaluate mine, Mukai. Rin will be up against Kenji, Obito against Shisui, and finally, Kakashi against Ichiro. All techniques are permitted but no aiming or killing goes without saying."

I watch in real-time as everyone present begins to get fired up. I know Kakashi will hand my ass to me, and I had my money on Kanji, but Obito and Shisui could go either way. While Obito was older and thus, stronger, more durable, and more experienced, Shisui may very likely be more skilled and faster. Not to mention the Sharingan which Obito lacks.

Either way, I can't wait to see what this session has to offer. The best of the Genin Acceleration Program versus the newcomers making waves. My skin tingles just thinking about it.

Happy New Year to all of you who it will be a new year for. I hope you all have something you're working towards achieving this year. I wish you all luck in your endeavors.

A new college semester is starting up and I'm taking 6 math courses (engineering sucks) along with the fact that I work on campus. In addition to this, I'm also very involved in campus so updates will slow down. However, I do intend to complete this story by the end of the year.

Thank you to those of you who have been reading and leaving comments, your suggestions and criticisms help me to get better at writing everyday. Once again, Happy New Year.