Kurenai hugged Shintaro tightly, and it took more than ten minutes before she let him go.
Kurenai opened her eyes and, after looking around, noticed something. "Why are you still wearing this outfit? Isn't this the one I bought for you before?"
Shintaro was still wearing the light clothes she had bought for him in early spring, which was still cold.
Shintaro smiled and said, "Yes, it's just because you bought it, I couldn't bear to take it off."
"Hah, you really know how to talk. I'll take you shopping later." Kurenai pouted, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.
While walking down the main street, Shintaro was often recognized by people.
"Ah, that's Uchiha Shintaro, he's a very talented young man!" Similar words came out continuously.
Every time Shintaro was recognized, he would greet them gently and humbly.
Gentle and humble, this was the personality he had developed since childhood.
As long as he wasn't at a disadvantage, he could usually pretend.
Moreover, ever since making contact with Minato on the Northeastern Defense Line, Shintaro had begun to mimic him intentionally or unintentionally, always with a gentle and harmless expression on his face.
Shintaro walked with Kurenai for a long time and also enjoyed this long-lost leisurely time. The contrast between the bustling streets of Konoha and the brutal battlefield on the border was like two different worlds.
Currently, the war in the Northeast had subsided, but the western part of Konoha was still suffering from the invasion of Sunagakure.
Due to the gap in war preparation between the two countries, even though Konoha's overall national strength was much stronger than Sunagakure's, it was being pressured by Sunagakure's adequate war mobilization and fierce attacks that were not afraid of death.
No, right after the war in the Northeast ended, the Hokage deployed a large number of troops that had just been withdrawn to the western defense line.
The Hokage also wanted Orochimaru to go to the Western Defense Line, but Orochimaru refused on the grounds of developing ninjutsu.
Shintaro was thinking about when to go find Orochimaru when a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Shintaro, long time no see."
"Kakashi, it's been a while." Shintaro knew the identity of the person behind him before turning around.
Kakashi's appearance hadn't changed much, but his temperament had become colder and more mature.
"I've developed a new ninjutsu, do you want to see it?"
Kakashi shared the latest news about his ninjutsu as soon as they met.
Shintaro smiled brightly and said, "So fast, I want to see your new ninjutsu."
He turned to Kurenai and said, "Kurenai, I'm leaving now. Let's go for a walk again later."
Kurenai pouted and reluctantly agreed.
Shintaro pinched her red cheeks and comforted her, "I'll be back soon, you go home first."
Kurenai then left, not forgetting to complain along the way, "Damn Kakashi, I just met Shintaro."
Kakashi smiled bitterly and said, "Sorry, I disturbed you and made Kurenai angry."
Shintaro patted his shoulder and said, "It's okay. She'll stop being angry after a while. At worst, I'll bring her some gifts later."
"Come on, I'm eager to see your new jutsu."
Kakashi complained, "Don't be too strong, it hurts."
Shintaro laughed heartily and said, "Sorry, sorry, I just came off the battlefield, and my hands are a bit heavy."
Kakashi put on his characteristic dead-fish eyes, and his cold and mature appearance immediately turned into an expression of helplessness.
He was a genius unreachable by others, but in front of Shintaro, he was just an ordinary friend.
But Kakashi was also happy to be like this, at least the distance wasn't too far.
He knew in his heart that the gap in strength between him and Shintaro was widening.
That's why he couldn't wait to show him the new ninjutsu he had developed, as if he wanted to prove to him that he wasn't falling too far behind.
The two came to Konoha's third training ground together.
Kakashi stopped about twenty meters in front of a wooden stake.
"Show it here?" Shintaro asked.
"That's right." Kakashi nodded.
He then began forming seals.
Shintaro opened his Six Eyes and observed carefully.
After Kakashi formed three seals, a large amount of Lightning Chakra began to condense in his hand. Blue arcs continuously flickered and gathered in his palm, emitting a loud screeching sound.
The Lightning Chakra stimulated his body, and Kakashi suddenly rushed towards the wooden stake.
BOOM
The wooden stake was easily penetrated by him.
Kakashi retracted his chakra, and this new technique was finally revealed.
Shintaro thoroughly analyzed this new technique with his Six Eyes and said, "This is a good technique, it truly combines the shape transformation and nature transformation of Lightning Element Chakra."
Kakashi pulled his hand out of the wooden stake and said, "It can be considered inspired by Minato-sensei's [Rasengan]."
"What's the name of this technique?" Shintaro asked curiously.
"[Chidori]." Kakashi walked towards Shintaro and said, "Because the sound when this technique is performed is like a thousand birds chirping simultaneously."
"Exactly." Shintaro clapped his hands and said, "This technique should be above level A in difficulty."
"Hokage-sama personally approved it, it's an A-level ninjutsu." Kakashi nodded.
"Alright, Kakashi is indeed a genius." Shintaro said with a smile.
Kakashi self-deprecatingly smiled, "Oh, how ironic coming from you."
Shintaro waved his hand and then changed the subject.
"When you use this technique, do you feel the speed is too fast? It's fine for stationary targets, but not for moving targets."
Kakashi was stunned, then he reacted and said, "You noticed this. Yes, there is indeed this problem. Do you have a way to solve it?"
"Yes, just give yourself a pair of Sharingan." Shintaro joked with a smile.
Kakashi rolled his eyes and said, "Stop joking, be serious, I'm troubled by this problem."
Shintaro then hid his smile and became serious.
"The method is very simple, which is to strengthen the nature transformation of the Lightning Element and use the enhanced nature transformation's power to replace the force brought by high-speed thrust."
Kakashi seemed to be in deep thought.
This method sounded easy, but it placed high demands on the practitioner.
He didn't get any hints in a short time, so he could only remember the method to enhance in this direction.
Shintaro formed three seals, condensing [Chidori] in his palm.
Kakashi was shocked by this, and an even more surprising scene occurred next.
Shintaro released blue light from his other hand, and then the wooden stake that Kakashi had just pierced rose from the ground and flew towards him rapidly.
He took advantage of this situation and stabbed [Chidori] forward, piercing the wooden stake again.
"It's a pity I can't teach you [Blue], otherwise, letting the enemy approach you at high speed instead of stabbing is also a solution."
Kakashi was very surprised to hear this. "It seems… You've become even stronger on the battlefield… Shintaro."