46: Black-Bellied Sasuke

[In the following days...]

[Sasuke pondered over how to increase his chakra reserves but came up empty-handed.]

[Frustrated, he decided to focus on making a breakthrough in ninjutsu.]

[Kakashi-sensei had previously taught him the famous Chidori, and Sasuke believed that this jutsu still had potential for development.]

[Chidori, an A-rank ninjutsu incorporating the lightning element, made use of Nature Transformation. Sasuke intended to add more intricate Form Manipulation to it.]

[After three days of research...]

[Sasuke had completed his study.]

["Kakashi-sensei, these are some advanced forms of Chidori I've developed."]

[Sasuke began demonstrating the results of his research.]

["This is Chidori Sharp Spear, which can be used for long-range attacks. The range depends on how well you control your chakra."]

[A blue lightning spear shot out from Sasuke's hand!]

["This is Chidori Stream, where you release Lightning Style chakra from your entire body, allowing you to attack all enemies within a 360-degree radius."]

[Lightning flickered all over Sasuke's body, spreading out like branching electricity.]

["This is Chidori Blade, which greatly enhances the piercing power of ninja tools."]

[Sasuke infused Chidori into a kunai, and after throwing it, the kunai easily penetrated a rock!]

["This is Chidori..."]

[One by one, Sasuke demonstrated his newly-developed techniques.]

[Kakashi stayed silent, activating his Sharingan to copy each one as he watched.]

[A strange feeling welled up within him.]

[Chidori was a technique he had developed himself, yet in Sasuke's hands, it had blossomed into so many different forms...]

[But Kakashi wasn't too surprised by Sasuke's quick development of these forms. After all, this child was a monster.]

[Pondering over the advanced forms of Chidori, Kakashi couldn't help but frown:]

["How do you even make hand signs for these techniques?"]

[The advanced forms of Chidori were valuable, but how was he supposed to use them?]

[Sasuke didn't need hand seals, but Kakashi did!]

[Sasuke paused for a moment and replied, "Why don't you figure that out for yourself, Kakashi-sensei?"]

[Hand seals? What an odd thing.]

[Ever since Sasuke's chakra control had reached a certain level, he hadn't needed hand seals for his jutsu...]

[Kakashi rolled his eyes.]

["Kakashi-sensei, I want to develop even more powerful techniques. Do you have any ideas?"]

[Sasuke asked seriously.]

["That's a great question—why don't you think about it yourself?"]

[Kakashi replied, rolling his eyes again.]

[What ideas could he possibly have? This student had surpassed him in so many ways already!]

---

Fourth Raikage: "Uchiha Sasuke's talent in Lightning Style is unbelievable!"

Iruka: "He developed all those ninjutsu so effortlessly!"

Senju Tobirama: "These are just form manipulations; they don't significantly increase Sasuke's strength."

Orochimaru: "Heh, it seems like Sasuke's progress has truly hit a bottleneck."

Uzumaki Naruto: "Yes! The me in that world will catch up to him soon!"

---

[The gold frame appeared on the screen.]

[In the following days...]

[Sasuke continued experimenting with new ninjutsu ideas but failed to make any breakthroughs.]

[His chakra problem remained unsolved, and he hadn't been able to develop any more powerful techniques.]

[His frustration grew.]

[If this continued, he would have to wait until he grew older to improve his strength.]

[However, Sasuke had always felt an overwhelming sense of urgency to grow stronger because of the hatred he harbored from the Uchiha clan's massacre.]

[One day...]

[Naruto ran over excitedly.]

["Hey Sasuke, check out my new Rasengan!"]

[Naruto formed a Shadow Clone, and after rubbing his hands together, a blue chakra sphere slowly appeared!]

[After nearly a month of hard work, he had finally learned Rasengan!]

[He couldn't wait to show it off!]

[Sasuke frowned, activating his Sharingan to carefully study the chakra sphere. He was a bit surprised.]

[This jutsu seemed quite interesting...]

[A large amount of chakra flowed in different directions at high speed, then compressed into a sphere!]

[This technique could be considered the pinnacle of chakra Form Manipulation!]

[Rasengan... It was said to have been developed by the Fourth Hokage. No wonder it was so powerful!]

[Following his understanding of the jutsu, Sasuke extended his hand, released chakra from different points in his palm, controlled its flow in multiple directions, and compressed it into a sphere...]

[Buzz!]

[An identical blue chakra sphere formed in Sasuke's hand!]

[Naruto: "..."]

[Naruto's jaw dropped, and the Rasengan in his hand dissipated as he forgot to maintain it...]

[His brain froze completely.]

["You—you actually..."]

[Naruto stammered, pointing at Sasuke, feeling utterly defeated.]

[He had spent a month learning Rasengan, and Sasuke had copied it after just one glance!]

[This wasn't fair!]

[Was there no justice in the world?!]

["It's definitely a powerful technique, and it has a lot of potential for development," Sasuke remarked, nodding thoughtfully.]

[Looking at Naruto, a mischievous thought crossed Sasuke's mind:]

["Naruto, one of the main features of this technique is that it doesn't require hand seals, so you should try using it without a Shadow Clone."]

["Also, the Form Manipulation is really advanced. If you add Chakra Nature Transformation to it, the power might reach the level of S-rank ninjutsu. You should develop it in that direction."]

[Naruto: "..."]

[Naruto's fingers trembled as he pointed at Sasuke, too stunned to speak.]

["Oh, I almost forgot. Congratulations, Naruto, you've successfully learned a really powerful technique," Sasuke said with a bright smile.]

["Aaaah!!!"]

[Naruto couldn't take it anymore, clutching his head and screaming.]

[Why did Sasuke's praise make him feel even worse?!]

[Seeing Naruto's reaction, Sasuke felt a bit of joy. The frustration and irritation from the past few days seemed to melt away.]

---

Uzumaki Naruto: "Aaaah, why is this happening?! I'm so mad!"

Inuzuka Kiba: "If I were Naruto, I'd be so furious that I'd challenge Sasuke to a fight to the death."

Nara Shikamaru: "Sasuke in that other world is too dark..."

Jiraiya: "I know that feeling. When I learned Rasengan and showed it to Minato, his expression was just as indifferent..."

Uzumaki Kushina: "Damn it! Mikoto, get control of your Sasuke!"

Uchiha Mikoto: "Kushina, calm down. That's from another world..."