After saying goodbye to Uzumaki Kushina, Chiba walked home in silence.
Truth be told, loneliness had followed him for so long that part of him ached for a friend. Someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't look at him with pity or fear.
But just as he told Kushina earlier — anyone who stood beside him would only be dragged into the same isolation.
In Konoha, people who avoided him were considered normal. Those who didn't were treated as strange.
So when Chiba turned Kushina down, it wasn't out of coldness — it was because he didn't want her to suffer like he did.
By the time he reached his small, worn-out house — patched up so many times it barely held together — he felt the tension pressing on his chest.
Still, his tone stayed calm as he spoke aloud, "System, when you take over my body and simulate the changes in the form and nature of lightning chakra — and the full sword form of Thunder Breathing — will it make too much noise?"
[It is recommended that the host find an open space. The place where the host lives now has a 99.99% chance of being destroyed.]
Chiba's eyelids twitched. Good thing I asked first. Otherwise, I'd be sleeping under a bridge tonight.
Without hesitation, he left the house and headed for the edge of the village — to a quiet riverbank where he usually trained.
The place was desolate, surrounded by trees scarred with deep cuts — traces of his previous practice.
He took a steady breath. "System, start. Collect the reward."
[Reward received. System will take over host's body in three seconds. 3… 2… 1… takeover complete.]
Suddenly, everything sharpened. Chiba could feel his blood surging, every pulse clear as lightning humming through his veins.
[Simulation begins. First: form change of lightning attribute chakra.]
His right hand lifted on its own as the system took control. Chakra swirled at his palm, forming a bright sphere.
Though his mind remained aware, his body moved independently — a strange dual sensation. It felt like watching his own soul from the inside out.
The chakra began to condense further, dense enough to sting his meridians. His arms trembled with pain. Still, the system pushed on.
Then, lightning burst across his skin — dazzling, wild, and alive.
Chiba's teeth clenched from the searing shock, but his heart leapt with excitement.
He'd done it — lightning attribute chakra form change achieved.
[Form change simulation successful. Proceeding to nature change of lightning attribute chakra.]
Now came the hard part — giving that lightning its true nature.
Currently, it was all flash, no power. To weaponize it, the lightning had to bite, paralyze, and amplify his body's output.
The system began its next phase.
Chiba felt agony unlike anything before — like a thousand ants crawling through his veins while his skin crackled from inside.
His magnified senses made every jolt excruciating, yet he couldn't scream or move. His body was a prisoner of the process.
Each second dragged like a lifetime.
Then finally—
[Simulation of lightning chakra nature change successful. Proceeding to Thunder Breathing: Full Sword Type. Warning: Host lacks sword. It is recommended to purchase one for optimal results. Would you like to buy?]
"Yes!" Chiba gasped instantly.
A translucent panel opened before his eyes — the system store.
He had only 100 witness points left. Not much.
He purchased the cheapest standard sword for 10 points.
A flash of light appeared — and in his hand materialized a one-meter katana, its steel faintly reflecting the blue of his chakra.
[Initiating simulation: Thunder Breathing — Full Sword Type.]
Chiba's stance shifted naturally, knees bent, posture low.
Blue lightning coiled around the blade, wrapping his right leg like a living current.
Even his breathing rhythm changed — sharp, steady, deliberate. The air misted from his exhale despite the warmth.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form — Thunderclap and Flash!"
With one explosive step, lightning detonated beneath his foot. A blinding streak ripped across the air as he vanished from sight.
In the next heartbeat, he stood before a tree thicker than two of his own bodies — and with a single swing, the trunk split clean in half.
He didn't pause.
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form — Rice Spirit!"
In a single breath, five consecutive arcs of lightning slashed outward, slicing the falling trunk into dozens of fragments before they hit the ground.
Then came the third, the fourth — one after another.
Each strike burned through his body like fire. The system might control his movements, but the pain was all his. Every tendon screamed, every muscle tore.
The forest around him became chaos — trees scorched, bark peeled, the air itself trembling with ozone.
This noise… there's no way the village won't sense this, he thought in panic, as lightning scorched another tree to ash.
When he reached the fourth form, his chakra finally ran dry — but the system forced a recharge, spending 30 witness points to refill his reserves.
[Chakra replenished. Continue simulation.]
From the fifth form onward, each strike demanded more chakra — more witness points — pushing him closer to collapse.
Finally came the last.
[30 witness points consumed. Commencing final form.]
"Thunder Breathing, Seventh Form — Flame Thunder God!"
Chiba's body became pure speed. His blade blurred through the air, faster than the eye could follow.
Every rock and tree in his path split instantly, a dark-blue thunder dragon erupting from the slash, roaring across the clearing.
The river exploded in steam and light.
When the thunder faded, the forest lay silent — cut clean through by a single man and his storm.
Chiba stood trembling, sword crackling faintly in his grasp, his eyes wide with awe and exhaustion.
Even with his body screaming in pain, a single thought burned in his mind—
So this is… Thunder Breathing's true power.