Hagoromo's eyes lit up. He had been waiting for this exact moment.
"Kushina-sensei, what if I actually manage to take the bell?"
Kushina gave Hagoromo a small smile and said, "Actually take it? Hagoromo, while you're certainly strong, that's only relative to others your age. Snatching this bell from me is going to be quite difficult. You should understand—I'm a Jonin. That's a completely different world from the classmates you spar with at the Academy."
Kushina was reminding him not to underestimate the vast chasm between a Jonin and a Genin.
"I know you're a Jonin and I'm a Genin, but a ninja is still a ninja. In a battle between shinobi, no one can be certain of the outcome until the dust settles," Hagoromo said rather boastfully. In truth, he was betting on the fact that Kushina wouldn't go all out against him; if she did, he wouldn't even have the chance to fight back, rendering the test meaningless.
"...You have a point. If you manage to take the bell, what is your request?" Kushina asked. She found herself having a high level of tolerance for her first student.
"If I win, then Kushina-sensei, please teach me new ninjutsu as soon as possible."
Kushina finally understood what he was after. "No problem. I was going to teach you new techniques anyway; that's a teacher's duty."
Many fresh graduates had this "sickness"—the desire to master as many techniques as possible as quickly as they could. Wanting more, bigger, and flashier jutsus was a common trait among kids, and Kushina assumed Hagoromo was no different.
In reality, if he had replaced the word "ninjutsu" with "Fuinjutsu" (Sealing Techniques), his true motive would have been revealed. But he knew things had to be taken one step at a time. Haste makes waste, and he knew how to hide his intentions when necessary.
Kushina tied the bell to her waist and said, "Any more questions? If not, let's begin."
"No questions."
"Good. Then start. I know you can use Lightning Style, so don't hold back."
Taking the bell from Kushina wasn't actually an impossible task. Hagoromo didn't need to truly defeat a Jonin; he just needed to snatch an object from her. With the element of surprise, it was entirely feasible.
Hagoromo let out a slow breath. For anyone else fresh out of school, their attacks wouldn't even register against a Jonin. But he was different. His mastery over Lightning Style was already at a professional grade.
Lightning Style chakra began to surge through his body. Gradually, arcs of electricity started flickering across his skin.
"No-seal ninjutsu?" Kushina was immediately taken aback. she had never seen a ninja who could manifest such powerful Lightning Style without performing hand seals.
She realized she might actually have to use a bit of real skill.
"Yes. My body is a bit unique; I have an extremely high affinity for Lightning Style. Regardless of the rank of the technique, I can basically release it without seals," Hagoromo explained.
As soon as he finished speaking, he charged straight at Kushina.
"Fast!" Kushina was surprised by his speed—it far exceeded the level of a Genin.
However, it was only a minor surprise. Compared to the world's fastest man, Minato Namikaze, Hagoromo's speed was nothing.
"Choosing a frontal breakthrough against a Jonin isn't exactly the right tactic!"
In an instant, Hagoromo disappeared from his spot and threw a straight punch at Kushina!
Naturally, such a direct attack was easy to handle. Kushina caught Hagoromo's fist with one hand.
But in that moment, a sudden change occurred!
The piercing sound of a thousand birds chirping began to ring out!
The weak electrical arcs on Hagoromo's skin instantly transformed into an intense, blinding radiance!
Chidori Nagashi (Chidori Current)!
The intensity of Hagoromo's Lightning Style multiplied several times over in a heartbeat!
The stimulation and erosion of the lightning caused the hand Kushina was using to grip Hagoromo to feel a sharp, continuous pain and numbness.
She frowned, realizing she couldn't stay in contact with Hagoromo while he was using this technique. Instinctively using about 70% of her strength, she hurled Hagoromo forward.
Kushina raised her hand to look at it. Just those few seconds of contact had caused the skin on the back of her hand to curl up like scales; she knew those cells were likely dead. Flipping her hand over, the palm was worse, showing charred black skin from the electrical burn.
Kushina realized she had been careless. She shouldn't have taken that punch head-on.
"Very strong Lightning Style chakra. Did you create this technique yourself?" Kushina asked Hagoromo, who was now several meters away.
"Yes." Hagoromo said it without so much as a flinch. After all, Kakashi couldn't use Chidori yet. According to patent law, this was Hagoromo's invention.
Although Kushina had thrown him away quite forcefully, he had landed smoothly and suffered no real damage.
"A very dangerous ninjutsu, and it seems to consume quite a bit of chakra... This Lightning Style is far beyond my imagination. Based on its power, it's at least A-Rank," Kushina said. The issue wasn't just that he could use an A-Rank jutsu at such a young age, but that he had created it.
What did this prove? It proved that she, Kushina, was an excellent judge of talent!
The chirping of the birds continued, but the palm of Kushina's hand—burned by the lightning—had already begun to heal itself. Hagoromo might not have known the details, but that was the power of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
"This technique is called Chidori Nagashi. In my own estimation, it is an A-Rank jutsu. Its power is obvious, but the chakra consumption is massive. At my current level, I can probably only maintain it for two to five minutes," Hagoromo said.
"Oh? So you mean you intend to settle this within those two minutes?" Kushina was surprised again. Being able to maintain such high-intensity chakra for two minutes meant Hagoromo's chakra reserves already exceeded those of an average Chunin.
Hagoromo had been fast before, but with Chidori Nagashi, he could be even faster. Lightning speed is light speed—while stimulating his cells with Lightning Style wouldn't literally make him move at the speed of light, he was now fast enough to have "no friends."
Yet, Hagoromo stayed where he was. He didn't attack again; instead, he let the Chidori Nagashi dissipate.
His actions confused Kushina. "Why did you stop the jutsu? Didn't you say you could hold it for two minutes?"
Hagoromo's claim was true, but he had ended the technique after less than ten seconds.
"Chidori Nagashi is indeed taxing, but the reason I stopped isn't because of chakra. It's because our battle is already over."
Saying this, Hagoromo opened his hand. A single bell lay quietly in his palm.
Kushina instinctively glanced at her waist. Sure enough, the bell that had been there was gone.
She realized it instantly. "While I was focused on your fist and your new ninjutsu, you took the bell?"
"Yes. It was actually a small feint," Hagoromo said with a smile, tossing the bell back to Kushina.
"You really surprised me." Although the bell had been taken in such an unexpected way, Kushina didn't look the least bit unhappy.
It was simple: she felt that this time, she could finally win against Minato.
(End of Chapter 9)