Chapter 730 : Guidance by the Expert!

"Among all the elements, Lightning is the most destructive and has the highest penetrative power. Hence, Lightning jutsus are extremely difficult to defend against. Neither Earth nor Water jutsus can stop it. Only Wind jutsus can counter it, but there aren't many defensive Wind jutsus."

Ignoring the reappearance of Wind Cloak around Fujin, Sakumo explained while Kakashi continuously dodged and defended against his assault. He continued, "This is common knowledge. However, the advantage that this destructiveness provides is rather minimal. Even though Lightning jutsus are fast, any good ninja wouldn't have any difficulty dodging them.

That said, there are ways you can use Lightning manipulation to take your skills to the next level. More specifically, there are two ways.

The first is using Lighting to enhance your physical abilities. Even here, there are two aspects, though both are closely related to each other. I'm sure you know how the Third Raikage and his son fight, right Kakashi?"

Kakashi blocked another attack and replied, "Yes, Father. Both create a Lightning armor that enhances their speed, strength and defense by a huge degree."

Sakumo replied, "Yes. The first aspect is using Lightning to enhance your physical attributes temporarily. When I was younger, I found the Third Raikage's technique quite fascinating. With Third Hokage's assistance, I researched his technique for several years. Unfortunately, we weren't able to replicate it. It's still a mystery to us how he was able to create such a technique.

However, the research bore some fruits. We were able to replicate certain aspects of the technique like improving speed momentarily, granted none were good enough to be used at the highest level independently.

What we succeeded in was the second aspect. Unlike the first aspect, where you have to actively use Lightning to enhance yourself, the second aspect focuses on permanently improving your strength."

A smile appeared on Sakumo's face as he said, "I can see that you have already had some success in this aspect."

Kakashi was surprised, but immediately understood what Sakumo was referring to. He asked, "You mean my Chidori?"

Sakumo replied, "So that jutsu is called Chidori? That's an appropriate name. Your Chidori is quite similar to the Raikage's Lightning Chakra Mode, just that it is limited to a very small part of your body. However, due to using Chidori with your right hand, I can feel that your right hand is far stronger than the rest of your body.

This is the second aspect. You have to use Lightning to temper your body and make it stronger. This is why the Third Raikage's body was so much stronger than a normal ninja.

Of course, while it sounds easy, it isn't that straightforward. Tempering your limbs is easy and so is tempering your flesh. However, in order to completely master this aspect, you need to temper your entire body, including your internal organs, with Lightning. Needless to say, this is very dangerous and can result in death. That is why, I didn't leave any scrolls regarding this to you.

The Third Hokage should still have those scrolls though. Once this war is over, you should ask him or the Elders for it. It'll increase your strength considerably and make it easier for you to explore the second way."

In an inconspicuous corner of the arena, one of Fujin's clones was staring at Sakumo. Considering the distance between them, he shouldn't be able to hear Sakumo's words. Thankfully, the encounter with the Oto ninjas had provided him with some inspiration to use Winds to control and manipulate sound.

While he still wasn't an expert at it, he could control the winds enough to be able to hear Sakumo's words clearly. Due to the war and how little chakra he needed to do this, no one noticed him using winds to eavesdrop on Sakumo's conversation. Under normal circumstances, Sakumo and Kakashi would have instinctively felt that they were being spied upon, but there were already too many eyes on them. So, neither focused on such instincts.

The clone thought, 'Hmm, tempering the body with Lightning… Not bad, Sakumo's thinking is on point. From the Third Raikage's scroll, tempering the body is a requirement to master the Lightning Chakra Mode. Without it, mastering it is impossible.

Luckily, even though the scroll doesn't have all the details about the Lightning Chakra Mode, it has a very detailed explanation about how to temper your body with Lightning. I've already verified that it is safe to practice thanks to the weeks I spent learning Medical Ninjutsu. I don't need the scroll. However, there will be an issue…'

Sakumo had been dead for a couple of decades. Yet, he identified that Kakashi's arm was far stronger than the rest of his body. If Fujin tempered his body with Lightning, other strong ninjas would be able to see the changes in his physique. Even if he somehow found a way to hide it, Guy will easily realize it when they spar.

Fujin's clone thought for a bit before giving up and deciding, 'Ah, screw it. I'll just tell whoever asks that I achieved a similar effect by tempering my body with sharp winds. If Hiruzen lives and asks me for it, I'll just say that it is too dangerous to ever be taught to anyone. If he pushes for it, I'll ask for all the forbidden jutsus in the Scroll of Sealing in return.'

Kakashi asked, "What is the second way?"

Lightning flowed through Sakumo's white tanto and began emitting a white light. He moved towards Kakashi while swinging his tanto at Kakashi, launching countless sparks of white lightning at Kakashi. Due to their density and the bright light they were emitting, it looked like Sakumo unleashed light at Kakashi instead of Lightning.

Kakashi immediately flickered away and the white light landed on the ground, burning the top layer of the soil in the blink of an eye. Sakumo continued unleashing more such attacks, forcing Kakashi to dodge continuously and increasing the burnt surface further. Suddenly, sparks appeared around Sakumo's body, increasing his speed considerably. He appeared in front of Kakashi and jabbed the tanto at his heart!

Realizing that he couldn't keep dodging, Kakashi used Chidori to block the tanto. In terms of chakra, both jutsus were equally matched. However, Kakashi immediately felt a burning sensation in his right hand! Despite being tempered by Lightning countless times and covered by his Chidori, the White Lightning moved through his Chidori and burned his hand!

Sakumo quickly began resisting and stopped using Lightning to enhance his speed. He said, "The second way is to use Yin & Yang manipulation to improve the strength of your Lightning jutsus. Kumogakure managed to successfully fuse Yang chakra into Lightning chakra and created Black Lightning. Merging Yang Chakra into it made it much stronger than normal Lightning.

I couldn't fuse Yang chakra into Lightning, but managed to fuse Yin chakra instead. Hence, the form of my Lightning is very different from yours and my control over Lightning is very high. This is also why my Lightning could move through your Lightning."

Sakumo paused for a few seconds before letting out a sigh. He continued, "I wanted to teach you this technique when you became a Jounin. Unfortunately…"

Sakumo didn't complete his sentence. He was just thankful that he received an opportunity to interact with Kakashi even after his death. He said, "With your Sharingan, you can see the secrets of my technique very easily, but merely looking at it with Sharingan won't allow anyone to copy a technique this complicated. You'll have to train to infuse Yin chakra into Lightning chakra. However…"

A smile appeared again on Sakumo's face as he said with pride, "I have no doubt that you'll master it, Kakashi."

As Sakumo said, Kakashi had memorized the technique with his Sharingan. Even though he couldn't copy it on the spot, he could use it as a reference while training. For a ninja of his caliber, it was more than enough. Not to mention, he also received several other paths to explore.

For Kakashi, who had started to take his training seriously after his clash with Kabuto, this was a timely and godly assistance. It was something that didn't miss the eyes of Fujin's clone, who immediately fell into thoughts, 'Strange… Since when did Kakashi become this serious about becoming stronger?'

He analyzed it for some time, 'It shouldn't be me. The fact that I'm rank S has been propagated for a while. While others could have been doubtful, he should have known the truth through Guy. Similarly, it can't be Guy either. Was it just because of Sakumo?'

Fujin's clone wasn't sure and felt that it might not be the case, but he didn't dare to overlook this small detail. At that time, Fujin's strength was considerably higher than Kakashi's strength. In fact, the difference was so huge that Kakashi didn't even have a chance of competing against Fujin. However, Fujin didn't dare underestimate Kakashi's talent.

If someone like him was to train seriously for several years, it'd result in a change that couldn't be ignored by anyone. A smirk appeared on Fujin's clone's face as he muttered to himself, 'Interesting…'

[A/N: Next Chapter: The Momentum of a Kage!]

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