Konoha's Hextech Ninja

Kakashi Hatake's shadow clone rushed forward extremely fast, arriving in front of Yoruichi Yagami in the blink of an eye, his right hand holding a ball of lightning, intending to stab Yoruichi Yagami in the chest.

Just then, Yagami Yoruichi completed the last '卯' hand seal.

Chakra, almost tangible, gathered around Yagami Yoruichi and transformed into a large amount of water at a visible speed.

Nine jets of water shot out, blocking the path of Kakashi Hatake's shadow clones from all angles.

Stimulated by the lightning chakra, Kakashi Hatake's shadow clones moved at an astonishing speed, but his awareness and reaction speed were clearly not keeping up with the surge in speed.

Faced with such a close-range water burst, he had no time to react before being struck by nine water jets, and his shadow clone instantly vanished.

After defeating the shadow clones, the nine water pillars merged into one and swept towards Kakashi Hatake's main body.

"Earth Release-Earth Flow Wall!"

An earthen wall rises from the ground, with three cute dog heads carved on top.

The seemingly thin layer of earthen wall was incredibly sturdy, remaining unmoved by the impact of the water flow and perfectly withstanding Yagami Yoruichi's attack.

"My speed has improved a lot, but my reaction speed is not fast enough. I can't react in time to the enemy's counterattack."

"If we could react a little faster and dodge the turbulent water, we could have won in one fell swoop."

Kakashi Hatake absorbed the memories transmitted back after the shadow clones dissipated, still pondering the scene of their earlier battle.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that after the water hit the earthen wall and spread to both sides, the trajectory of its flow seemed somewhat abnormal.

It doesn't look like it spread out naturally.

Furthermore, the dense chakra fluctuations within the water were clearly perceptible to him at this distance, even though he wasn't a sensory ninja.

"not good!"

Kakashi Hatake's eyes widened instantly, realizing what was happening.

But it was too late.

the other side.

Yagami Yoruichi formed a strange hand seal, making a fist with one hand and raising her thumb, while the palm of her other hand wrapped around the fist from below.

It is the 'front' seal in the Nine Syllable Mantra.

Yagami Yoruichi studied the Nine Syllable Mantra seal for several months. Although she didn't achieve anything particularly remarkable, she could at least manage to use it to some extent.

As she formed the 'forward' hand seal, Yagami Yoruichi clearly felt that the connection between herself and the chakra contained in the 'Water Release: Water Chaos Wave' that she had already released was becoming clearer. She could even control this part of the chakra that had been transformed into ninjutsu to a certain extent, causing it to change its form further.

"Water Chaos Waves, Second Stage!"

Without hesitation, Yagami Yoruichi manipulated the water that had already spread to both sides, causing it to regroup into two jets of water that swirled towards the back of the earthen wall.

Despite the earthen wall blocking her view, Yoruichi Yagami could not see the location of Kakashi Hatake's true form.

But that doesn't matter. As long as the area behind the earthen wall is completely covered, Kakashi Hatake will have nowhere to hide.

Such a short time is not enough for him to use another defensive ninjutsu.

As expected, when faced with the oncoming water column, Kakashi Hatake did not choose to block it head-on, but instead jumped onto the earthen wall to avoid it.

However, leaving the ground with both feet is an extremely risky move in itself.

If the enemy launches a pursuit at this moment, there will be nowhere to gain leverage in mid-air, and there will be no way to dodge.

Yagami Yoruichi maintained the 'forward' hand seal and once again mobilized the chakra contained within the chaotic water wave.

Three waves of turbulent water!

A column of water shot up from the ground, chasing after Kakashi Hatake in mid-air.

Just before it was about to hit Kakashi Hatake, the water automatically dispersed, and it didn't actually hit him.

Although the Water Release: Water Disorder Wave technique isn't particularly powerful, if you were to be hit head-on, you'd inevitably end up in the hospital for a few days.

Since the outcome has already been decided, there's no need to go to such lengths.

Kakashi Hatake, still shaken, stepped onto the tree trunk and used the momentum to leap back to the ground.

"I lost again." Kakashi Hatake looked at Yoruichi Yagami and said with some disappointment, "I thought my new ninjutsu would defeat you before you could even react."

“Your intentions are too obvious.” Yagami Yoru bluntly pointed out Kakashi Hatake’s mistake: “Now that I’ve noticed you’ve hidden your Shadow Clone Jutsu, I certainly won’t follow your lead. Besides, this ninjutsu of yours is a close-combat type. Although it’s fast and powerful, your reaction speed is not fast enough. If the enemy has the strength to counterattack, it will put you in danger.”

"So I chose to use Shadow Clone Jutsu to cast this technique." Kakashi Hatake didn't hold back much, sharing his thoughts with Yoruichi Yagami: "Using Shadow Clone Jutsu, even if it fails, at most I'll lose some chakra. However, it's difficult for me to keep this technique stable in the hands of Shadow Clone Jutsu. This time it was an exceptional performance; usually, the Shadow Clone Jutsu would dissipate on its own halfway through."

"actually……"

Kakashi Hatake hesitated for a moment before saying, "Even in the most perfect situation, I can only keep the shadow clones for a maximum of two seconds. Beyond two seconds, no matter how perfectly I control the ninjutsu, the shadow clones will inevitably dissipate."

Chapter 34 The Flaw of Chidori

Hearing Kakashi Hatake's words, Yoruichi Yagami was not surprised at all.

The unique feature of the Shadow Clone Technique is that the shadow clone will dissipate as soon as it suffers a certain degree of injury.

The criteria for judging this 'certain degree of injury' are very low; basically, a minor scrape is all it takes.

The technique 'Chidori' uses lightning-attribute chakra to stimulate cells, thereby unleashing astonishing speed, which in itself causes some damage to the body.

For a ninja, such damage is negligible and can be ignored.

But when it comes to Shadow Clone, the problem becomes much bigger.

If you lose control even slightly and exceed the limits of the shadow clone, the shadow clone will simply dissipate.

No matter how perfectly controlled, it is impossible to maintain this state for a long time.

Kakashi Hatake's shadow clone only maintained the 'Chidori' for less than a second.

Although it was dispersed by Yagami Yoruichi's Water Release ninjutsu, even without Yagami Yoruichi's attack, that shadow clone could not have maintained the 'Chidori' state for more than three seconds.

three seconds.

Judging from the speed that Kakashi Hatake's shadow clone just showed, it could only travel a few hundred meters.

If you want to avoid enemy attacks, this distance will be even shorter.

“Using your main body is the best option, but your reaction speed can’t keep up with your body speed,” Yagami Yoruichi said. “You have two choices: either find a way to improve your reaction speed or change the direction of this ninjutsu, such as making it a long-range attack type, so you don’t have to worry about the enemy’s counterattack. Alternatively, you can spread the lightning chakra throughout your body, which will increase your speed and defense at the same time, and you can also avoid the enemy’s counterattack to some extent.”

Yagami Yoruichi was referring to the idea behind the series of 'Chidori Stream' ninjutsu that Uchiha Sasuke would develop in the future.

As for improving reaction speed, that's very difficult to achieve.

Reaction speed is largely determined by genetics, and training can have very limited effect.

As for using ninjutsu, at least among the ninjutsu that Yagami Yoruichi knew, there were none that could significantly improve reaction speed.

"Change the form of ninjutsu?" Kakashi Hatake pondered.

He was aware of the problem with his reaction speed, but he was more focused on how to improve it.

After listening to Yagami Yoruichi's words, he realized that since the biggest fear when using 'Chidori' is that he can't react in time when the enemy counterattacks, he could simply approach it from another angle and make the enemy's counterattack less threatening to him.

Relying on reaction to avoid it is one method.

But why not improve your defenses and withstand the enemy's counterattack?

Alternatively, if Chidori were modified into a mid-to-long-range ninjutsu for long-range attacks, wouldn't that give the user more room to react?

In an instant, countless ideas popped into Kakashi Hatake's head, and he couldn't wait to verify them.

Coming to his senses, he realized that he was still sparring with Yagami Yoruichi. He paused for a moment before quickly saying, "I lost this time."

Although Yagami Yoruichi's ninjutsu did not actually hit him, Hatake Kakashi knew that Yagami Yoruichi had deliberately dispelled the ninjutsu.

Kakashi Hatake would never deliberately find an excuse to be stubborn and refuse to admit defeat at this point.

Given his pride, he must win fair and square.

If you lose, admit defeat gracefully.

"Since I lost to you, it means I still have a lot to learn at the Ninja Academy. I will postpone my graduation application." Kakashi Hatake looked at Yoruichi Yagami and said, "You'd better train hard, or I'll surpass you."

"Haha, I'll try my best." Yagami Yoruichi laughed and changed the subject, inviting, "How about we train together during the holidays? I'll be working during winter break, but I'll have time during the day."

"Shall we train together?" Kakashi Hatake nodded and said, "I'll be there on time."

He doesn't think much of his classmates.

However, Kakashi Hatake was quite interested in training with Yoruichi Yagami and sparring with her from time to time.

……

the other side.

Inside the Hokage's office.

"Kakashi lost as expected." Maruboshi Kosuke wasn't surprised by the result at all, but he was quite surprised by Yagami Yoruichi's performance: "Yoruichi, this child, has actually started researching the 'forward' hand seal? Last time, she didn't show it. Being able to perform three transformations of a ninjutsu, even some special jonin who are proficient in a single attribute can only do that with their most proficient ninjutsu, right?"

Special Jonin, although not officially Jonin, still carry the title of 'Jonin' and are considered to be in a relatively high rank in the village.

They even had the qualifications to attend the Jonin Conference, which meant they possessed a certain amount of power.

Such a status would naturally be valued by the village, and they would be very careful in both allocating quotas and conducting assessments.

For a student at the Ninja Academy, especially a first-year student, to reach this level is unprecedented since the founding of Konoha.

"Kakashi Hatake is not bad either. To be able to create his own ninjutsu at such a young age, even though it's just a prototype, has great potential if it continues to be improved," Minato Namikaze commented.

Although he also thought Yagami Yoruichi was a genius, he preferred Kakashi Hatake, who was a 'speed type' and had a similar personality to him, making him a better fit to be his student.

Seeing that both Kosuke Maruboshi and Minato Namikaze had high hopes for Yoruichi Yagami and Kakashi Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed his advantage, urging, "How about it, you two, why don't you consider taking these two disciples on?"

“I do like Kakashi quite a bit, but at my age, isn’t it a bit too early to take him on as a disciple?” Minato Namikaze hesitated. “If I were to train a disciple, my own training time would be reduced, and I don’t know when I would be able to master the Flying Thunder God Technique.”

Minato Namikaze has acquired the Flying Thunder God Technique, but he hasn't fully mastered it yet and needs a lot of time.

Even if Minato Namikaze was a top genius, he couldn't master forbidden techniques at the space-time level in a short period of time.

"We can finalize it first, and then take him on as an apprentice after he graduates," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile.

Minato Namikaze hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "In that case, as long as Sakumo-senpai agrees, I will become Kakashi's mentor after he graduates."

Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction, looked at Kosuke Maruhoshi, and asked, "Kosuke, what do you say? Is Yoruichi Yagami being handed over to you?"

Given Maruhoshi Kosuke's seniority, even Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't force him to take on a disciple. He could only offer indirect advice: "Danzo has also taken a liking to this child. You know him. I can stop him for a while, but I can't keep an eye on him every second..."

Danzo Shimura?