Chapter 105

Chapter 105

Leaving the Hokage Tower, Haneda walked along the bustling streets of the village.

He originally thought of either finding Sakumo for some sword training or heading to Minato and Kushina to learn more about sealing techniques. But recently, Kakashi had been practicing one-on-one with Sakumo, and Obito and Rin were training under Minato. As for Kushina, meeting with her now might raise suspicions among the higher-ups in Konoha.

Haneda's own training had also reached a higher level, where only one-on-one sessions would be truly effective. His footsteps stopped in front of Ichiraku Ramen.

Feeling a bit hungry, he decided to sit down and called out to the shop's owner, Teuchi, who was busy inside.

"One order of pork bone char siu ramen, Teuchi-san."

"Got it!"

While waiting for his meal, Haneda thought back to the Hokage's words. War is no trivial matter; it's triggered by multiple factors. The Third Hokage's hope of easing tensions with Sunagakure was bound to fail. After the Chunin Exams, the war would likely break out. And the war between Konoha and Sunagakure would ignite the explosive powder keg that is the ninja world.

Haneda couldn't help but think about the tragedies that would befall Dai, Rin, and Obito. Reflecting on this, he quietly opened his system interface.

[Uchiha Haneda]

[Rank: Jonin (78/100)]

[Chakra: 15.6 cards, Attributes: Water, Earth, Wind, Fire, Lightning, Yin, Yang]

[Kekkei Genkai: Three Tomoe Sharingan (Mangekyo 82%), Basic Sage Body (Intermediate Sage Body 24%), Wood Release]

[Special Abilities: Eight Gates, Pain Gate (75/100), Proficient in Hatake Swordsmanship (78/100), Flying Thunder God Technique (3/100)]

"Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu—my skills are all high-level, and lately, I've been working on Flying Thunder God and sealing techniques. But I'm spread too thin, and it's preventing me from improving quickly."

Haneda recalled his recent fight with Sasori. The wide-range control of the Iron Sand by the Third Kazekage's puppet had put him in a tough spot. If it weren't for the natural counterbalance between lightning and magnetism, he might have lost from the start.

Sasori's control was powerful, and his battle experience, ability to manage the battlefield, and keen judgment of the situation… these were areas where Haneda was still lacking.

That made Haneda think of another genius from the Land of Earth: Deidara. His situation was similar to Sasori's, both being vulnerable to lightning-based attacks and immune to genjutsu, which happened to be Haneda's strongest skill.

Deciding to set genjutsu aside for now, Haneda shifted his attention to the Eight Gates. From what he knew of Guy and Dai in the original story, the Eight Gates were undoubtedly powerful but required an immense amount of time to master. Even with intense training, breaking through to the fifth or sixth gate would take at least three years. To reach Kage-level strength, one needed to open the seventh gate.

Swordsmanship and taijutsu followed a similar pattern—both required long-term dedication to show significant improvement.

"15.6 cards of chakra…"

"Maybe I should have focused on ninjutsu from the start."

Haneda murmured to himself.

His strongest area right now was lightning release, which was undoubtedly formidable. Aside from not having developed the Kirin technique yet, his lightning abilities were already at the level of 16-year-old Sasuke. And at that stage, Sasuke was nearing Kage-level strength.

Kirin was a definite killing move—so powerful that even Itachi's Susano'o was nearly destroyed by it.

"Kirin harnesses the power of nature. Its range is vast, its attack power overwhelming, and its speed nearly impossible to evade."

Haneda thought back to Sasori's Iron Sand defense, which had no blind spots. If he had known Kirin during that fight, the outcome could have been very different.

Then he considered Wood Release. Wood Release came with strong sealing abilities and was well-suited for chakra-rich users like himself. Moreover, its wide-range offensive and defensive capabilities were exactly what Haneda lacked. Up until now, he had been a high-offense, low-defense type of ninja.

"I should start learning Wood Clone and some other wide-range attack and defense techniques. The rest can come later."

"But I can't reveal Wood Release just yet."

With these thoughts, Haneda had a clear plan for his future training.

At that moment, Teuchi brought out his ramen.

"Here you go, one Ichiraku Ramen."

"Thank you," Haneda smiled as he gratefully accepted the bowl.

…

Later that afternoon, at the Ninja Academy, someone unexpected came to see Bunta Takakura.

It was none other than his most exceptional student—Uchiha Haneda!

This student, who filled Bunta with both pride and frustration, brought back memories of a particularly difficult teaching experience. Haneda, despite being his best student, frequently skipped class over the past five years. On his better days, he would at least ask for permission; on his worse days, he would just disappear. Yet, despite his absences, Haneda remained the most outstanding student in the history of the Academy.

Reining in his surprise, Bunta smiled and asked, "Haneda, you're probably getting ready to register for the Chunin Exams, right? Do you have something you need help with?"

"Sensei," Haneda greeted him respectfully, feeling a bit sheepish as he continued, "I wanted to ask you about something... um, specifically about the principles behind lightning formation."

"Lightning?" As a teacher at the Academy, Bunta had delved into various natural phenomena, including scientific principles. The Ninja Academy didn't just teach ninjutsu but also covered biology and basic scientific knowledge. In fact, some of their exams included questions related to physics. For example, students were required to calculate the initial velocity needed for a kunai to hit a target's head, factoring in air resistance, the target's movement, distance, and acceleration.

And those were just intermediate-level questions.

As a teacher, Bunta had a much deeper understanding of physics, which is why Haneda sought him out.

"There are many factors that contribute to the formation of lightning… Hmm…" Bunta thought for a moment before explaining.

"The most widely accepted theory is that different temperature air masses collide in the atmosphere, causing charge separation. This creates a static electric field between the clouds and the ground."

"When the potential difference between the negative charge in the atmosphere and the positive charge on the ground reaches a certain level, lightning is produced."

"Potential difference?" Haneda recalled that lightning rods could draw lightning and asked, "Sensei, how can lightning be drawn down from the sky?"

"Are you developing a new jutsu?"

Bunta, remembering how Haneda had developed the A-rank jutsu Chidori, quickly connected the dots. But natural lightning wasn't as easy to control. A single bolt was fast, with a temperature reaching tens of thousands of degrees Celsius. A mere human would be instantly vaporized if struck.

Concerned, Bunta warned, "Haneda, you need to be careful when developing new jutsu! Natural lightning isn't something you can control easily."

"I just want to understand the principles, Sensei. Honestly, I could just look it up in a book, but it's easier to ask you directly."

Haneda playfully tried to ease the tension, though he was serious. If he was determined to develop a dangerous jutsu, there wasn't much Bunta could do to stop him.

With a sigh, Bunta relented, "It's similar to how lightning rods work. By gathering a large amount of positive charge, when the negative charge density in the clouds becomes high enough, an ionized path forms between the rod and the clouds, creating a conductive channel to draw the lightning."