Chapter 87: The Railgun
Kakashi looked at Uchiha Douguang. In many ways, the two of them were quite similar—they both possessed the Sharingan, used Lightning Release as their primary offense, and had experience with sword techniques.
That was why Kakashi believed Douguang might have a method to help him grow stronger.
"Though you've used the Sharingan left by my cousin quite well," Douguang said, "you've become too dependent on the typical Uchiha fighting style. Using the Sharingan to copy jutsu is indeed useful—but your chakra reserves can't handle the cost of using unfamiliar jutsu on the fly. Even actual Uchiha only rely on a few well-practiced techniques when facing strong opponents."
"So what you need now," Douguang continued, "is better chakra control."
As he spoke, Douguang formed a hand sign.
Thick lightning crackled around him and condensed into the shape of a human figure. As its form solidified, Kakashi was stunned to see that it looked exactly like him—even its facial expression mirrored his own.
"…What?" Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector and widened his Sharingan in disbelief.
What Douguang had created wasn't a Lightning Clone, nor even a ninjutsu. It was a pure result of precise control over chakra's shape and nature. Though useless in direct combat, such precise manipulation far surpassed even Tsunade's renowned chakra control.
Douguang snapped his fingers, and the lightning figure vanished instantly. He smiled at Kakashi. "If you can do that, you'll be able to pull this off."
He drew a kunai from his pouch and charged it with a thin stream of Lightning Release chakra to create a magnetic field.
Kakashi watched in astonishment as the kunai floated in mid-air and began to spin rapidly. With a gesture, Douguang pointed in a direction and clenched his fist.
The kunai launched like a bullet—moving so fast that even Kakashi's Sharingan couldn't track it. In the blink of an eye, it struck a massive boulder a hundred meters away and shattered it into rubble.
Kakashi stared at him in disbelief. Sure, a Chunin-level jutsu could destroy a rock, but the speed of that kunai? At least three times the speed of sound. No Jonin relying on physical speed alone could dodge that.
And more shocking—Douguang had used barely any chakra. Less than it would take to form a basic clone.
"How… did you do that?" Kakashi asked.
"Have you ever explored what Lightning Release chakra really is?" Douguang smiled. "It can produce electricity similar to natural lightning. With enough control, you can generate a magnetic field—and with just a sliver of chakra, that field can accelerate metal objects to ridiculous speeds."
"I call it… Railgun."
"If you can master this, your chakra deficiency won't matter anymore."
He handed Kakashi a scroll. "Study this. So far, only you besides me can learn it. Without the Sharingan's dynamic vision, just aiming it would be impossible. And most of my clansmen aren't very gifted in Lightning Release."
"This is too valuable," Kakashi said, holding the scroll with reverence.
"Then trade it for your Chidori," Douguang grinned. "I'd like to teach Sasuke, but my own techniques are a bit too lethal for a beginner."
Kakashi chuckled helplessly. The Chidori he'd painstakingly developed was now being treated like basic training for kids. Still, it was a fair trade.
"I'll send you the scroll before I depart."
"Oh right—take this too." Douguang unsheathed his iconic blade, Jirai, and tossed it to Kakashi.
"…Is that necessary?" Kakashi asked, surprised. "I haven't practiced kenjutsu in years."
"This isn't for you to use," Douguang said with a grin. "Just letting rogue Mist-nin see it will be more effective than any jutsu."
"…Got it." Kakashi didn't fully understand the reasoning, but the fact that Douguang had entrusted him with a blade that never left his side spoke volumes.
---
The next day, Kakashi received his mission scroll. As Douguang had predicted, the team was made up of Fourth Hokage-era shinobi—Genma, Raido, and others close to Kakashi. Their assignment was to assist border units in eliminating the rogue Mist-nin near the southeastern edge of the Land of Fire.
That afternoon, Kakashi picked up Naruto from the academy and led him toward the Uchiha district.
"Kakashi-nii, where are we going?" Naruto asked curiously, realizing this wasn't the way home.
"I'm leaving for a long-term mission," Kakashi said. "So I'm asking Aunt Mikoto to look after you for a while."
"Eh?" Naruto blinked, surprised. "I can take care of myself."
"You mean eating ramen every day?" Kakashi said, side-eyeing him.
"Uhh…" Naruto stuck out his tongue. "So… I'm gonna live with Sasuke?"
"You don't want to?" Kakashi asked.
"That's not it!" Naruto quickly shook his head. Despite their daily fights, Naruto really liked Sasuke. Living together sounded… fun.
"But you'd better come back soon," he added, looking up with uncharacteristic seriousness.
Kakashi looked down at the boy, ruffled his hair, and smiled. "I will. As soon as I finish the mission."
They reached the Uchiha compound, and Kakashi knocked on Fugaku's door. Mikoto answered, surprised to see both of them.
"Kakashi? Naruto? What brings you here?"
"Hello, Aunt Mikoto!" Naruto greeted brightly.
"I've been assigned a long-term mission," Kakashi explained. "I was hoping I could entrust Naruto to you for a while."
Mikoto looked at Naruto. "That's fine… but…"
She didn't finish the sentence, but Kakashi understood. Letting Naruto stay in the Uchiha district—considering his status as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki—might ruffle feathers.
"It'll be fine," Kakashi said. "No one will question it."
"…Alright." Mikoto nodded, then smiled. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"
"No, thank you. I still need to pack."
He knelt and looked at Naruto. "Don't trouble Aunt Mikoto, alright?"
"Got it," Naruto nodded.
Just then, Sasuke peeked out from behind Mikoto. "Naruto? You're staying with us?"
"Yup!" Mikoto chuckled. "You two behave. Sasuke, show Naruto around."
"Okay!" Sasuke grinned and led his friend inside.
"Thank you, Miss Mikoto," Kakashi said sincerely.
"Don't mention it," Mikoto replied softly. "After all… he's Kushina's son."
---
As Kakashi left the Uchiha compound, he found Jiraiya waiting at his house.
"Jiraiya-sama?" Kakashi pretended to be surprised. "Is something wrong?"
"Is Naruto still not back?" Jiraiya asked directly.
"I'm about to head out on a long-term mission," Kakashi said. "So I've arranged for someone else to look after him."
"You sent him to the Uchiha clan?" Jiraiya's face darkened.
"Is there a problem?" Kakashi replied calmly. "If Kushina were alive, she would've made the same choice."
"He's the jinchūriki!" Jiraiya snapped. "You shouldn't just send him to the Uchiha!"
Kakashi's expression hardened. "I know he's the jinchūriki. But he's also a seven-year-old child. He's my sensei's son. Your student's son. Are you here for Naruto, or for the Nine-Tails?"
Jiraiya's face flushed, then paled, unable to respond.
"What if they try to control the Nine-Tails?" he muttered.
"Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said coldly, "at your rank, you should be careful with your words."
Realizing his mistake, Jiraiya looked around to ensure no one was nearby. Then he sighed heavily. "I didn't mean it like that…"
"I believe the Uchiha have more pride than to use a child," Kakashi said. "Can you say the same for the village council?"
Jiraiya was silent. He wanted to refute that, but… he couldn't.
After reading through the advisors' files, he'd seen that Danzo had orchestrated much of the Nine-Tails slander. The Police Force had never participated in that.
"I think you should leave, Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said. "If you want to visit Naruto, go to the Uchiha compound. I'm sure Lord Fugaku and Lady Mikoto won't mind."
With that, Kakashi turned and entered his home, closing the door behind him.
Jiraiya stood for a moment, then turned and walked toward the Hokage's office.
Pushing the door open, he walked in, dejected.
Hiruzen sighed. "Let me guess—Kakashi turned you down."
"Yeah," Jiraiya nodded. "And honestly, old man… you all went too far. Now he trusts the Uchiha more than he trusts us."
Hiruzen lit his pipe. "It was Danzo. By the time I realized what he was doing with Naruto's image, it was too late. If I had spoken out, it would've made things worse."
Jiraiya looked at his teacher for a long moment, then shook his head.
"…Forget it. The Uchiha probably wouldn't hurt a child."
He changed the subject. "Kakashi's left the ANBU. Who's taking over as commander?"
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