Yoruha didn't notice Kakashi's expression of pride and relief.
After gathering his chakra, he followed the method he envisioned, concentrating the energy into a single point and then firing it outward.
"Lightning Style: Chidori Sharp Spear!"
A golden beam of light shot out from Yoruha's hand in an instant.
The golden lightning streaked across the distance, piercing through the forest several hundred meters away and carving a gap tens of meters wide on the opposite side of the lake.
The trees within the gap were all severed by the lightning.
Dozens of large trees collapsed to the ground, their cut surfaces as smooth as mirrors.
"This jutsu is unexpectedly powerful."
Kakashi genuinely hadn't anticipated such destructive force.
The long range was one thing, but the impact at the far end of the attack had managed to clear a vacuum zone tens of meters wide in the forest.
Originally, Kakashi had assumed that the Chidori Sharp Spear's range would be about ten meters at best.
But Yoruha had achieved a range of several hundred meters, while still maintaining S-rank destructive power at the farthest point.
What's more, the speed of the attack was astonishing—on par with natural lightning.
Ordinarily, the speed of lightning created with chakra couldn't match that of real lightning in nature.
But the lightning Yoruha had just unleashed could definitely rival natural lightning in speed.
In terms of destructive potential, Yoruha's modified Chidori Sharp Spear had undoubtedly reached the level of an S-rank jutsu.
And it wasn't just powerful—it was incredibly practical.
Its range was immense.
Hundreds of meters, fired instantaneously.
And judging by Yoruha's condition, it didn't seem to consume much chakra.
Even Yoruha himself was surprised by the strength of the jutsu.
He even felt that its utility far surpassed that of the original Chidori.
After all, if you could attack from a distance, why bother with close combat?
"The power is beyond what I expected," Yoruha muttered, frowning.
Kakashi chuckled. "You don't seem very happy about it."
Yoruha shook his head. "I'm happy, but it feels... surreal."
"My control over my power is still too weak. I can't fully grasp the exact strength of the jutsu I release."
"In a battle, that kind of weakness could be fatal."
Kakashi was momentarily taken aback.
Looking at Yoruha's troubled expression, he didn't know what to say.
If any other ninja had this kind of power, their ego would probably be through the roof.
But not only was Yoruha not arrogant, he was already keenly aware of his own weaknesses.
"No wonder you were so quiet during your six years at the academy."
"Mastering control isn't something that happens overnight. You've got plenty of time—don't rush yourself."
Yoruha nodded, realizing he had been overthinking things.
There was no way he could master all his power instantly.
"Do you still have enough chakra? The next jutsu is going to require a lot too," Kakashi asked with concern.
After all, Yoruha had already unleashed two jutsu with S-rank power, both of which were highly chakra-intensive.
If it had been Kakashi, just one of those techniques would have drained his chakra reserves completely.
Yet Yoruha didn't look the least bit tired.
Kakashi couldn't help but marvel at Yoruha's immense chakra reserves.
"Your chakra reserves might rival Naruto's," Kakashi remarked with amazement.
While channeling chakra, Yoruha responded, "That's unlikely. After all, Naruto has the Nine-Tails sealed inside him."
The fact that Naruto was the Fourth Hokage's son was known to only a select few in the village.
However, the entire village was aware that he was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, which was the main reason he was ostracized.
Almost every Jinchūriki faced similar treatment.
Until a Jinchūriki gained full control over their tailed beast, villagers would always keep their distance.
After all, a Jinchūriki losing control could result in a catastrophic rampage, leading to widespread destruction.
An unmastered Jinchūriki was akin to a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment.
Hearing Yoruha casually factor the Nine-Tails' chakra into Naruto's strength, Kakashi sighed.
The Nine-Tails was an unparalleled source of chakra.
Who could possibly rival that?
Not even the entire ninja world combined had chakra reserves greater than the Nine-Tails.
Kakashi wasn't sure exactly how much chakra the First Hokage had possessed, but he doubted it exceeded the Nine-Tails.
(In truth, the First Hokage's chakra reserves did match those of the Nine-Tails.)
As soon as Yoruha finished speaking, lightning began to coalesce in his hands.
"Lightning Style: Chidori Senbon!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
In an instant, Yoruha's lightning transformed into hundreds of golden needles before him.
At Yoruha's command, the needles shot forward, piercing through the air like a torrential downpour.
The golden lightning needles traveled hundreds of meters, vanishing into the forest on the opposite side of the lake.
Unlike Chidori Sharp Spear, Chidori Senbon relied on its piercing power rather than explosive damage.
Yoruha suggested, "Let's head over and check the results."
He sprinted across the lake as he spoke.
Kakashi followed close behind, curious about how this technique compared to Chidori Sharp Spear.
Upon reaching the forest on the other side, the two examined the tree trunks.
Each tree was riddled with numerous small, charred holes.
Yoruha inspected the damage and nodded with satisfaction.
"The piercing power is pretty good. It can still penetrate through trunks this thick even from several hundred meters away. If it were a human body, the result wouldn't be much different from these trees."
Having already witnessed the devastating power of Chidori Sharp Spear earlier, Kakashi wasn't as surprised by the damage caused by Chidori Senbon.
After inspecting more than a dozen trees, Yoruha determined the technique's upper limit.
"It can pierce through about fifteen trees. Not bad for piercing power," he concluded with a nod.
Kakashi gave a wry smile. "'Not bad'? Yoruha, you do realize this is a lightning-based senbon attack fired from hundreds of meters away, and it can still punch through over a dozen massive trees? The destructive power is downright terrifying."
"If you can master these two jutsu and use them flexibly in combat, even elite jōnin won't stand a chance against you."
"A twelve-year-old elite jōnin... The thought alone is astonishing."
"I wasn't exaggerating before, was I? Your talent far surpasses mine. At this point, your raw strength already exceeds Kihon Tōichi's."
Yoruha shook his head. "These are just jutsu. I wouldn't say my combat experience can match Tōichi-sensei's."
Even though he had mastered three S-rank jutsu, Yoruha remained level-headed. Kihon Tōichi was an ANBU jōnin, and his combat experience far surpassed Yoruha's.
Kakashi looked at Yoruha's calm demeanor and sighed in exasperation.
"Your biggest flaw is that you're too cautious. Even if your combat experience doesn't match Tōichi's, your raw strength has already surpassed his to the point where his experience can't make up the difference."
"It won't be long before you surpass even me," Kakashi said with a touch of melancholy.
Still, he felt no jealousy toward Yoruha.
On the contrary, he felt immense pride.
After all, Kakashi viewed Yoruha as a personal disciple and held high hopes for him.
His aspiration was for Yoruha to grow into a ninja as powerful and remarkable as the Fourth Hokage.
And with Yoruha's temperament and talent, Kakashi had no doubt that he would achieve it.
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