Chapter 482: Kakashi Successfully Develops Purple Lightning
"Remember, only use Shadow Clones."
Konohamaru nodded seriously and immediately began forming hand seals according to what Naruto had just started teaching him.
Konohamaru could be considered to have finally broken free from the power limitations of the original story.
In the original timeline, it wasn't until the start of the Fourth Great Ninja War arc, when he was around twelve or thirteen and Naruto returned to the village, that he began learning the Shadow Clone technique while studying Rasengan.
Now, not only had Konohamaru learned Shadow Clones ahead of time, he was also about to master Sage Mode.
At this moment, a classic question naturally arose.
But at what cost?
Although this classic question sounds pretty stupid in most contexts, in this case, it actually wasn't wrong.
Less than half an hour later, Konohamaru was already twitching on the ground like he'd been electrocuted.
Indeed, Konohamaru had strictly followed the rule of only using Lightning Release on his Shadow Clones, but the feedback of sensations from the clones still triggered his body's reflexes, which he couldn't resist.
Konohamaru's Shadow Clone dispels weren't ordinary dispels. Kakashi was using a method similar to "low-temperature slow cooking", gradually increasing the electrical current step by step from the weakest level to help Konohamaru adapt.
Sage Mode had not yet even been successfully attempted, but Konohamaru's clone tolerance threshold had already been fully tested.
After determining that threshold, Kakashi kept the output just below it, relentlessly shocking Konohamaru's Shadow Clones until Konohamaru ended up in his current state.
"Kakashi-sensei… can't you just develop a Lightning Release ninjutsu?"
Konohamaru asked weakly.
"Konohamaru, you should understand. Even if I develop one, with your Fire and Wind nature chakra, you still won't be able to learn it."
"If I use the simplest form of lightning chakra stimulation, you could at least ask others nearby to help you."
"But if I develop a brand-new ninjutsu, then it won't be something that just anyone with Lightning Release chakra can instantly learn."
Kakashi frowned as he explained.
It wasn't that he didn't want to develop it, rather, even if he did, Konohamaru wouldn't be able to use it, and other Lightning Release users wouldn't be able to instantly learn it either to assist him in entering Sage Mode.
"Then… then what about Fire Release and Wind Release? I heard from Grandpa that you, Kakashi-sensei, are like him, someone with all five chakra natures."
Konohamaru changed direction and looked at Kakashi.
"Yes, but setting aside the fact that I'm not very skilled with Wind Release, more importantly, Fire Release and Wind Release have fundamentally different properties from Lightning Release."
"Fire Release is burning. Wind Release is cutting."
"Neither of them can be carefully controlled at low intensity in a way that triggers Naruto's shortcut method."
Kakashi shook his head slightly.
"I see…"
Konohamaru collapsed weakly onto the ground and closed his eyes.
While relaxing, he continued thinking about possible solutions in his mind.
Meanwhile, Kakashi also prepared to begin his own training.
Konohamaru's words had reminded him that there was no need for him to rely on ordinary Lightning Release chakra, he could fully tailor and develop a new Lightning Release ninjutsu specifically for this purpose.
So Kakashi also fell into deep thought.
Naruto had been wandering in the river for a while when he suddenly noticed that things on the shore had gone quiet. He panicked, thinking Kakashi and Konohamaru had died, and hurriedly climbed out of the water.
But when he looked, he saw the two of them sitting there with their eyes closed, resting peacefully.
Naruto was a bit displeased.
It was fine if he was slacking off, but why were even Konohamaru and Kakashi-sensei slacking off too?
He was still waiting for them to help him figure out a complete training method.
"I've got it!"
"I've got it!"
Just as Naruto approached, about to wake them up, the two suddenly opened their eyes at the same time and shouted in unison, startling him.
"Got… got what?"
Naruto looked at them in confusion.
"We've figured it out! Naruto-nii-san, wait a moment—I'm going back to get something!"
Konohamaru said excitedly and immediately ran back toward the village without another word.
Naruto couldn't tell whether Konohamaru had actually found a solution or was just using an excuse to run away.
So he turned his gaze to Kakashi.
"Naruto, move back a bit. I'm going to try developing a new ninjutsu."
Kakashi said, grabbing his right wrist with his left hand as lightning chakra crackled violently.
"Okay, okay."
Naruto quickly stepped back, his eyes locked onto Kakashi.
Whether Konohamaru had run away or not didn't matter, Kakashi-sensei was still here.
As for developing a new ninjutsu…
He needed to watch carefully and learn from it. Maybe he could even develop something new himself.
After some time, Konohamaru returned, though no one knew what he had gone to fetch.
But he didn't immediately begin his training. Instead, he joined Naruto in watching Kakashi's ninjutsu development.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to witness the "Konoha Technician" developing a jutsu.
Even though Konohamaru had an idea now, he wasn't fully confident he could succeed. He needed to absorb as much experience from his seniors as possible.
As time passed, Kakashi no longer needed to hold his right wrist with his left hand to control the chakra. He could now condense it with just his right hand alone, and the color of the lightning chakra gradually shifted toward purple.
In the original story, after the end of the series, Kakashi lost his Sharingan and developed a new technique called Purple Lightning, which did not require the Sharingan.
Compared to Raikiri, Purple Lightning was slightly slower in speed, but it was otherwise a complete upgrade in every aspect.
It combined both shape transformation and nature transformation, had stronger destructive power, could perform large-scale attacks, allowed more precise control, and didn't even require hand seals.
However, the current Kakashi was not inspired by losing his Sharingan as in the original ending.
Kakashi's inspiration came from a certain shop he had once visited, where they sold a magical ninja tool that produced a slight electrical stimulation.
It seemed to be called "Purple Mood".
Another inspiration came from his teacher Namikaze Minato's Rasengan, which could be used without hand seals.
And finally, there was necessity.
It had to allow precise control, and be freely adjustable in both shape and nature.
As for speed, there was no real need for that.
After all, this technique was never primarily developed for attacking enemies.
Thus, although the process was somewhat complicated, Kakashi still successfully developed Purple Lightning ahead of time.
With its precise control and shape transformation, Purple Lightning could be used for large-area attacks.
Kakashi didn't even need Shadow Clones to use Purple Lightning on themselves. He could directly use it with his main body, target all Shadow Clones at once, and shock them into entering Sage Mode through electrical stimulation.
"Kakashi-sensei… is developing a ninjutsu really that simple?"
Konohamaru was completely stunned.
So this is what Grandpa meant when he said he was a genius?
Immediately afterward, Konohamaru's eyes sharpened with determination.
He absolutely could not lose! He had to develop a new ninjutsu too!
Thinking of this, Konohamaru pulled out the items he had secretly taken from the village earlier.
A lighter and a pack of cigarettes.
(End of this chapter)