Chapter 12 – Lightning at His Fingertips
After casually knocking out the ANBU ninja who was supposed to be guarding him, Hatake Kyūjō turned around and began walking lightly through the air.
His body surged forward like a bolt of lightning in the night, heading straight toward the two Kumogakure shinobi—Sanki and Sando—who were about a hundred meters away!
The scene unfolded so abruptly and defied all logic that even Sanki, an Elite Jōnin from the Kumogakure ANBU unit, couldn't hide his shock. For a moment, he froze, stunned.
But only for a moment.
In the blink of an eye, the flash of lightning—Kyūjō's figure—appeared right at Sanki's side. Without saying a word, Kyūjō launched a straight punch!
His speed surpassed even the reflexes of seasoned Jōnin. Sando, also a Jōnin, didn't even have time to use Body Flicker to dodge.
Kyūjō's fist, coated in dense, refined Colorless Haki—honed since his childhood—smashed into Sando's temple. His knuckles gleamed with a faint jade glow as they collided with the side of his opponent's head like a hammer crushing a ripe watermelon.
In an instant, Sando's head exploded.
A mixture of red and white splattered like soybeans and milk, coating Sanki's stunned figure in a gruesome shower.
That was...
His own younger brother.
Wiping the thick liquid off his face, Sanki's eyes burned with madness as he glared at Hatake Kyūjō.
"You... you monster! You killed my brother!!" he roared, his entire body now crackling with blinding lightning.
Kyūjō only shrugged nonchalantly, though his mind was already busy dissecting Sanki's Lightning Release technique using his Infinity Analysis.
With a small smirk, Kyūjō taunted him.
"So... do you want to dance too?"
"Don't be naïve, alright? As a shinobi from Kumogakure, do you really think I'd be better off in your hands than dead by my own?"
"Ninja are meant to be prepared for death—especially at the hands of other ninja. If every shinobi from your village thinks like you, then forget about surpassing Konoha. You're just a joke."
By the time he finished analyzing the enemy's Lightning Release, Kyūjō didn't even give Sanki a chance to reply. Instead, he kept provoking him with a sharp tongue:
"Stop flaunting that third-rate Lightning Release of yours—it's pathetic. Show me the true might of Kumogakure! Come on! Show me what your village is really made of! Or are you content being looked down on by a brat like me?"
"AAAAARRRGHHHH!!!"
Sanki snapped.
His rage boiled over as he recklessly channeled all his chakra into his right arm, concentrating it into his palm without concern for the consequences.
Crack!
Zzzzzzt...
Blood vessels burst in his hand as unstable lightning surged around it. His expression twisted in agony, but he didn't falter—not even for a second.
Before the energy tore his arm apart, he thrust his glowing palm forward with everything he had. He was now less than five meters away.
"Lightning Release: Hell Piercing Four – Five-Finger Thrust!!"
(Raiton: Jigokuzuki Yonhon Yubi no Oshitsubushi!)
— — —
Watching this rather familiar jutsu unfold, Kyūjō let out a mental sigh.
Wasn't that the Third Raikage's signature technique?
Well... this version was clearly a lot weaker.
The speed was decent—expected of a Kumogakure shinobi who had mastered Lightning Release. The chakra control was fairly focused too.
And as for power?
Still above average... but this technique demanded extremely precise chakra control. On top of that, the user's body had to be incredibly durable, or at least highly resistant to the destructive backlash of Lightning Release.
And from the looks of it... Sanki fit the bill.
With the help of his Infinity Perception, Kyūjō rewound the technique several times in his mind. Once he fully grasped it, he turned around and raised his right index finger.
An idea sparked in his head.
Next, he carefully wrapped both Colorless Haki and Lightning Release chakra around his finger in perfect balance.
Approximately 6.7% Haki, 93.3% chakra.
Why the ratio? Because Kyūjō's chakra reserves were still far lower than his Haki, and to stabilize the flow, he had to amp up the chakra proportion significantly.
Zzzzzzt!
A single strand of bright yellow lightning crackled around his finger, sending an intense tingling sensation coursing through his arm.
Then—he vanished.
A split second later, he reappeared right in front of Sanki and drove that charged index finger straight into his opponent's palm, which was surging with Lightning Chakra.
In less than a breath, yellow met blue—
And blue shattered instantly.
BOOOOOM!!!
The explosion ripped through the silence of the night, shaking the village and drawing the attention of nearly every shinobi in Konoha.
Kyūjō glanced down at his smoking finger, unharmed.
He then looked at what was left of his enemy.
Sanki's upper body had been reduced to a pile of mangled flesh. His lower half was lying separately, blown away in the blast.
Yep. Dead. No way even Tsunade could save that.
With Infinity Perception scanning the battlefield for loose ends, Kyūjō made sure to leave no trace... and vanished.
Exactly one minute later, an elite ANBU squad from Konoha arrived.
Leading them was a white-haired shinobi whose presence was unmistakable.
The legendary "Konoha's White Fang"—Hatake Sakumo.
And more importantly... Kyūjō's older brother.
He'd been planning to take a short leave, since his wife was due to give birth any day now. But clearly... that wasn't going to happen tonight.
Sakumo's expression turned grim as he surveyed the scene.
It only took one look for him to realize this wasn't an ordinary fight. The scale, the devastation, the chakra residue... This had to be a clash between two Jōnin-level combatants or higher.
And the affinity?
Definitely Lightning Release.
Which could only mean... one of them came from Kumogakure.
After a quick sweep, Sakumo leapt onto a large tree nearby.
But when he spotted a familiar ANBU passed out on one of the branches, his expression darkened.
He recognized the man. The same ANBU who had just been assigned to protect Kyūjō by the Third Hokage.
Now he was unconscious.
Which meant...
Where the hell was Kyūjō?!
— — —
Meanwhile, Kyūjō himself had taken refuge at the house of his classmate—the blond-haired boy, Namikaze Minato.
He really had no choice.
The butterfly effect he'd triggered had spiraled out of control.
If he didn't intervene now, Minato might miss a once-in-a-lifetime chance to deepen his bond with Kushina...
And if that happened—
Then Naruto...
might never be born?!
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