Kakashi looked up at the young boy sleeping soundly on the branch, momentarily at a loss for words.
Finally, he leaped up, reached out, and gently shook Sasuke's shoulder.
"Hey, Sasuke."
The boy on the branch twitched his eyebrows and slowly opened his eyes.
There was a trace of confusion upon waking, but upon recognizing Kakashi, his usual cool detachment instantly returned.
Sasuke sat up. He glanced around at last night's 'masterpiece', his face showing no emotion.
"You're here." Sasuke said flatly.
Seeing his calm demeanor only made Kakashi feel more unsettled.
He pointed at the scorched earth, his voice somewhat strained.
"Did you do this?"
Sasuke's gaze swept over the scorched land, then he raised his eyes to meet Kakashi's complex stare.
"Yeah."
'It really was him.'
Kakashi's expression became one of utter shock.
"Have you already completed the Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation training?" He asked tentatively, a tremor in his voice he hadn't noticed himself, "Is this a powerful new Lightning Release Ninjutsu you developed?"
In his understanding, no Lightning Release technique could cause such terrifying destruction. Developing such a Ninjutsu required achieving ultimate mastery over rampant Lightning Release Chakra.
However, Sasuke shook his head, then slowly lowered his gaze, seemingly focusing on a particular spot.
This movement stirred something in Kakashi's heart.
He followed Sasuke's line of sight downward.
There, two swords were planted quietly in the ground.
One was the sword Sasuke commonly used, while the other was a sword he hadn't seen before.
Kakashi's voice grew even quieter.
"Was it that sword?"
Sasuke remained with his head bowed, neither admitting nor denying it.
Kakashi's feelings grew even more complicated.
These two swords were both rare, powerful blades.
It was likely impossible to find finer swords in all of Konoha.
And based on his previous encounters with Sasuke, while Sasuke's swordsmanship couldn't be called perfect, it was at least highly proficient.
That level of skill wasn't achieved overnight.
But before becoming Sasuke's Jonin Instructor, he'd never heard that Sasuke practiced Kenjutsu.
Countless questions swirled in his mind, almost making him unable to resist pressing further.
But in the end, he held back.
Kakashi looked at the young boy before him and sighed deeply inwardly.
'Everyone had their own secrets.'
'Especially this child. The burdens he carried were already too heavy.'
'As a teacher, perhaps what I should do now wasn't to dig for the truth.'
"I see."
Kakashi finally said, deliberately changing the subject and reverting to his usual lazy tone, "So, how is your Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation training coming along?"
He scratched his signature silver hair, pretending to be relaxed, "If it's complete, then we need to start preparing to learn 'that technique'."
"That technique?"
Sasuke was momentarily puzzled, but then he remembered what Kakashi was referring to.
The S-Rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu, Raikiri.
They had agreed he would learn it, but his trip to the other world had made him forget about it.
However…
"I don't know."
Sasuke shook his head lightly, "I don't know what stage my Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation training is at."
Hearing Sasuke's almost 'humblebrag' of an answer, Kakashi's mouth twitched under his mask.
'Didn't know what stage he was at?'
He glanced at the scorched earth beneath his feet and grumbled inwardly.
'And you call this 'not sure'?'
But grumbling aside, as an experienced Jonin, he immediately understood Sasuke's meaning.
Sasuke probably didn't have a clear grasp of the precision and control of his power.
"Well, that is a problem." Kakashi said, shoving his hands back into his pockets and putting on a 'what a headache' expression.
"However, for this exact situation, I just so happened to prepare a little gadget for testing."
He spoke as he rummaged slowly through his Ninja Tool Pouch.
Finally, just as Sasuke's patience was about to run out, Kakashi produced something from his pouch as if presenting a treasure.
It was an ordinary piece of copper wire and a few equally ordinary small light bulbs.
Kakashi waved this so-called 'testing gadget' in front of Sasuke, a thoroughly punchable grin on his face.
"This is it! The 'Kakashi Special: Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation Precision Control Tester'!"
"..."
Sasuke stared expressionlessly at the light bulb before him, his eyes dead-fish-like, a vein seemingly throbbing at his temple.
"This is the testing gadget you mentioned?"
'Who knew which dusty corner of his house he'd dug this out from.'
"Don't you think it's brilliant?" Kakashi completely ignored Sasuke's 'are you an idiot' look and explained on his own, "You just slowly channel your Lightning Release Chakra, like this, into the copper wire."
He connected the wire to the bulb, then gathered a faint wisp of Lightning Release Chakra at his fingertip and gently touched the copper wire.
A faint electric sizzle later, the small bulb in Kakashi's hand instantly emitted a steady white light.
Throughout the process, the bulb's filament didn't flicker at all… the light was even and soft.
"See? Just like that." Kakashi withdrew his finger, and the bulb went out. He handed the other end of the copper wire to Sasuke, smiling, "As long as you can light this bulb, Sasuke, and do so without damaging the bulb itself, then your Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation can be considered completely successful."
"…"
Sasuke looked at the tiny light bulb, then at Kakashi's mocking face, and felt a wave of inexplicable anger rise within him.
'Using this child's plaything to test me?'
He snorted coldly, said nothing more, and directly took the copper wire from Kakashi's hand.
He'd see just how difficult this could be.
Sasuke took a deep breath and began to gather Lightning Release Chakra.
However, the moment he tried to channel chakra into the copper wire…
Bang!!!
A crisp explosion sound.
The small bulb in his hand flashed once, then directly exploded into a brilliant shower of electrical sparks, glass fragments scattering everywhere.
The air instantly fell into a deathly silence.
Kakashi, holding the remaining intact bulbs in his hand, tilted his head.
"Ara ara..."
He said in an exaggerated tone, "It seems your Chakra is really full of 'vitality', Sasuke."
'...This annoying look is just as punchable as Urahara's.' Sasuke cursed inwardly, snatching the remaining bulbs from Kakashi's hand.
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