Chapter 263: Almost There
At the same time—
Hatake Residence.
The Lightning Clone sat in his room in the same meditation posture as Fire Clone–Fugaku, except instead of flames, he was focused on lightning.
Two spheres of chakra, one black and one white, collided with one another, occasionally producing faint arcs of gray lightning.
Each time those gray arcs appeared, the lights in the room flickered ominously, and a sense of desolation and decay filled the air.
In the neighboring room, Kakashi suddenly jolted awake, feeling a chill run down his spine.
Instinctively, he curled up under the blanket—but quickly stopped himself. The temperature in the room was normal. His body wasn't cold at all; the chill had been purely psychological.
"What kind of jutsu is Father developing?"
Kakashi glanced toward his father's room. This wasn't the first night he'd been "woken by the cold."
He knew his father was working on a new technique, but every time he asked, he got no answers.
That only made Kakashi more eager to find out.
What kind of jutsu could create a chill that affected the mind, not the body?
He was intensely curious about the final result.
"Almost there!"
"The fusion between Black Lightning and White Lightning is starting to show signs of success," thought the Lightning Clone.
Once a fusion begins to take shape, all that remains is time and refinement.
He was confident that soon, the newly fused Lightning Release chakra—born from Black and White Lightning—would be ready.
…
Land of Earth.
Inside a rocky mountain cave near Iwagakure.
Flickering candlelight illuminated the modest chamber.
Li Yao's Earth Clone—Iwa—sat cross-legged on the stone floor, eyes closed, utterly focused.
His facial features had matured completely.
The once-young boy had become a striking young man—and had even captured the heart of Iwagakure's most beautiful kunoichi, Haitsuchi.
Tap tap tap… All around the clone, marble-sized pebbles danced across the ground, as if influenced by some invisible force.
A powerful, heavy aura emanated from the Earth Clone's body.
Without noticing, the jumping stones were all gravitating toward him.
Outside the cave.
Feeling the tremors in the earth, Haitsuchi turned her head, eyes full of anticipation.
"Almost there!"
"When my junior brother finishes developing his new technique, those fools who called him timid will see what it means to turn the tide of battle."
Her bright eyes sparkled. Just thinking about those who mocked her junior brother for hiding away to "develop jutsu" made her blood boil.
Idiots!
They didn't understand that the ultimate outcome of a shinobi war was never decided by ordinary ninja—but by those at the very top.
In the First and Second Ninja Wars, it wasn't the masses who brought peace, but the rise of exceptional figures: the Second and Third Kage, the Legendary Sannin, Sakumo , the original Seven Ninja Swordsmen…
These powerhouses held the lines that determined the fate of nations.
Now, with Iwagakure under siege by three other Hidden Villages—especially Konoha and Kumo focusing all their efforts on one front—the pressure was greater than ever.
Her father's Dust Release was powerful, yes, but he was still only one man.
The village had other strong ninja, but none on his level.
Thankfully, they had two jinchūriki. That, more than anything, was why Iwagakure still stood.
But sooner or later, even that fear would fade. The enemy would press the attack.
If that happened, the village would truly be in danger.
The only solution? A new top-tier fighter—one equal to or greater than her father.
Such a figure could stabilize their line—or even break through an enemy front.
That alone would end the crisis. After that, they could grind out the war—no village could destroy them outright anymore.
And right now, the only one with that potential in the short term was her junior brother.
"Even Father said that if my junior brother's jutsu succeeds, he wouldn't be able to defeat him."
"When that day comes… hehe…"
Haitsuchi smirked to herself, eagerly anticipating the expressions on the faces of those who had once looked down on him.
That moment would be priceless.
…
Land of Water.
On a small, moonlit island.
The pure white moonlight filtered through the trees and bathed a lone wooden cabin.
On the rooftop sat Li Yao's Water Clone—Hozuki Mugetsu—both hands cupped around a transparent sphere of water. Inside the sphere floated a kunai.
At this moment, the kunai's once-smooth metal surface had turned grainy—like a blade made of sand submerged in water.
Grain-sized metal particles began falling away from the kunai's body.
The entire blade looked like it had soaked in water for ages. Its internal structural tension was breaking down—but without any signs of rust.
Splash!
The water sphere dispersed. The kunai dropped—but it didn't make the usual metallic clink. Instead, it crumbled like wet sand sliding onto a wooden surface.
The once-solid blade had disintegrated into metallic dust.
"Almost there!"
The Water Clone stared at the pile of metal dust and smiled inwardly.
His Water Release was nearing Kekkei Tōta level. It could now penetrate materials like metal—but the process was still slow. It took about an hour to fully disintegrate a metal object into iron sand.
The penetrative property still wasn't strong enough. It needed enhancement.
But the hardest part—breaking through metal penetration—had already been achieved. The rest was a matter of refinement and time.
With this, of Li Yao's five elemental clones, Water, Fire, Earth, and Lightning had all made breakthroughs toward single-element Kekkei Tōta–level jutsu.
It wouldn't be long before all five basic chakra natures were elevated to the Bloodline Elimination level.
Once combined with Rinnegan-tier Yin Release chakra, he would be only one element short of achieving the Kekkei Mōra-tier fusion of all seven foundational chakra types.
That one remaining element?
Yang Release.
Ironically, it was Li Yao's main body—currently researching the Dragon Vein—that was lagging behind.
But that was fine. Dragon Vein chakra was far more important.
While his main body focused on replicating the Dragon Vein chakra, his five elemental clones were pulling the strings of the Third Great Ninja War, keeping everything on track.
Konoha couldn't be allowed to have it too easy.
If Obito didn't awaken Kamui, what then?
Besides, Fire Clone–Fugaku needed a grand war to establish his authority.
Konoha also needed to weaken the power of its other clans to smooth Fugaku's ascent.
Everything was now awaiting the moment when all five clones completed their respective chakra developments.
And when that time came—Wind Clone, who had already reached Kekkei Tōta level—would be the first to take the stage.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997