"Let's practice swordplay today!" Saitama said as they reached deep into the training ground. He pulled out his blade and swung it several times, slicing through air with a "hoo-hoo" sound.
"No way!" Nagare frowned unhappily. Standing opposite Saitama, he reluctantly drew his own sword.
"Zzzz!" Electricity arced across the blade. Saitama gave Nagare a warm, family-like smile.
"Huh?" As soon as he got into position, Nagare sensed something unusual—until he noticed the electric arcs flickering along Saitama's sword.
"Saitama, I don't think I've done anything to offend you. Are you trying to kill me?" Nagare panicked, starting to stomp his feet in protest.
"Not at all! I'm creating a battlefield simulation for you. Your enemies won't always accommodate you nicely!" Saitama replied with righteous determination. Lifting the sword to his face, he carefully examined its electrical condition—looking for an arc intensity that would hurt Nagare but not kill him.
"Come on! Show me what you've learned!" Saitama signaled Nagare forward with his left hand.
Nagare: "..."
Seeing how dead serious Saitama was—no trace of joking—Nagare realized he must've gotten out of bed on the wrong side today, or maybe walked under a black cat.
But the moment battle was decided, Nagare stopped smiling. Returning to the Uchiha clan's typical cold demeanor, he narrowed his eyes.
After taking a deep breath, Nagare rushed forward quickly with steady steps and thick chakra surrounding him.
"Ding!" Blocking the attack, Saitama kicked Nagare in the chest and sent him flying.
"I want to see real improvement. If you keep faking it like this, I'll stop pulling my punches entirely!" Saitama adjusted his stance—the [Arcs of Electricity] intensifying on his sword, making Nagare's face briefly pale.
"If Saitama insists on being like this, then I can't afford to slack off either," Nagare said seriously, raising his sword vertically in front of his chest.
His hair, which reached just below his ears, began to float on its own as he activated his internal chakra. Thin streams of blue chakra began spreading onto the blade in his hands.
Saitama didn't attack immediately; instead, he held his position and calmly observed how Nagare executed the scroll's technique.
Seeing that Nagare was still building up, Saitama wasn't in a hurry—after all, he'd only given it to him yesterday.
"Hey!" Nagare grunted under his breath, as if holding something back. As he crouched lower, the smooth distribution of chakra covering his ninja sword began showing fluctuations—quickly shifting positions.
The blue light spun rapidly along the blade edge, resembling a rotating gear moving clearly before their eyes.
"That looks interesting!" As he watched the [Chakra Gears] form along Nagare's blade, Saitama recalled a similar move once used by Asuma in battle.
"Hmm, not quite as sharp as Asuma's was… why?" Focusing intently on Nagare's blade, Saitama instinctively activated his Sharingan, hoping for clearer observation.
"I'm coming, Saitama!" Nagare called out, sweat appearing on his forehead—heavy pressure evident from this technique.
"Alright, let's see it!" Saitama responded calmly, remaining fully alert.
[Chakra Nature Transformation] — Wind. Nagare's attack already showed a basic understanding, although it wasn't skillful or strong yet. Still, he had taken that crucial first step.
Wind was the sharpest element — nothing could beat its cutting edge, not even Saitama's Lightning!
But Saitama's Lightning had raw power and speed that Wind just couldn't keep up with. Each nature had its strengths, and while Saitama naturally possessed both, his dominant personality led him toward Lightning — the one that produced immediate, visible results.
"Deng!" With a twist of his footwork, Nagare charged forward, eyes locked on Saitama. Since he hadn't activated his dōjutsu yet, his vision clearly lagged behind.
"Clang!"
Two ninja swords with different elemental attributes clashed — this was the first clash between Lightning and Wind on this training ground.
"Crackle! Crackling!" Arcs of electricity danced as Saitama narrowed his eyes, watching the point of contact through his Sharingan.
Though sparks flew, they struggled to penetrate Nagare's blade. His sword carried chakra waves constantly progressing in one direction — like an industrial crusher, crushing everything it touched, including chakra itself!
*Gear?* Saitama nodded approvingly.
"That's right. After studying your Scroll, I learned this [chakra sharpening technique] demonstrates improved sharpness in chakra application — basically my first practical attempt at Chakra Nature Transformation."
"Not bad!" Saitama increased his chakra output, and the arcs around his blade became high-voltage sparks, emitting a buzzing sound.
Nagare's chakra flow hesitated momentarily on his sword before resuming after he pushed more chakra in — though not quite as smoothly as before.
"Boom!" Nagare's blade got deflected, crackling with electricity, and astonishment flashed across his face.
"That's already impressive enough. Just think how far you've come in such a short time?" Without criticizing, Saitama sheathed his sword and patted the younger boy's shoulder.
"Hmph." Naturally aware of his own shortcomings, Nagare understood it wasn't really mistakes — just lack of mastery.
He picked up his blade and stood tall before Saitama — no hesitation, only resolve.
"All right, no need for you to hang around here. I'll train by myself today. Why don't you go somewhere cool and rest?"
Waving dismissively as if shooing away a fly, Saitama sent him off.
"Eh?" Nagare's confidence crumbled instantly. He dropped his head and shuffled off without daring to say another word.
"Keep practicing," Saitama said to Nagare's retreating back.
"Yes!" Nagare's voice called from behind Saitama before footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
"Phew, want to try out that idea from earlier today?" Gripping his sword, Saitama stood at the center of the training ground.
A man of action, when inspiration struck, he acted immediately.
[Chidori Current]? Nodding to himself, Saitama realized he could already channel electricity through his blade and most parts of his body — but that resulted from the Lightning Release — Chakra Mode rather than being an independent offensive technique like Sasuke's original Chidori.
In other words, currently Saitama needed to first materialize electrical currents on his body before slowly transferring them elsewhere.
Now came the real challenge for Saitama — making the Chidori Current surge exactly where he willed, like his arms or legs.
It might sound difficult, but relying on his previous chakra experience, Saitama familiarized himself with this usage pattern in no time and soon fully mastered it.
"Zap!" Electricity coiled around his arm, crackling loudly.
"Whoosh!" He lashed out with a straight-footed kick, his calf and foot also wreathed in electric currents.
"Hmm! Not bad," Saitama muttered satisfactorily, apparently achieving what he'd aimed for.
The moment the chakra stopped flowing, all electricity vanished, leaving his clothes undamaged.
So casually absorbed was Saitama in this training that he completely lost track of time. Though he believed he'd picked it up fast, nearly two hours had already slipped away. The sun now blazed overhead, and though the snow had stopped falling, the air remained bitterly cold.
Since arriving at the frontline, Saitama had frequently used lightning-element chakra to stimulate his cells — for two reasons: to keep his body in peak condition and to let him burst into acceleration mid-battle, leaving enemies unable to grasp his true capabilities.
However, from memories of his past life, this method wasn't really advisable — after all, cells definitely have their limits, whether regarding energy supply, storage, or division.
Therefore, currently Saitama generally avoided employing this 'harm enemy a thousand, damage self eight hundred' technique. After all, the pain his body experienced afterward never lied.
Glancing at the sky, Saitama thought it was still early, so he continued practicing against the training dummies.
Ever since learning the Shifting Body Technique from Shisui, he had never stopped training.
This kind of sudden dashing maneuver blended perfectly with his innate speed advantage!
Facing over ten dummies, Saitama narrowed his eyes and started training. His mastery of the Shifting Body Technique had truly reached an exceptional level — perhaps not quite as formidable as Shisui himself, but certainly not far behind.
Maybe this is what they call talent? Sometimes Saitama smugly mused to himself, though he would never voice such thoughts aloud — after all, saying that out loud would totally shatter his carefully built image.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
His figure flickered between the dummies. Saitama had already left fatal wounds on every target, eliminating them all in under five seconds — incredibly fast, precisely hitting the goal he'd set for himself.
Time passed in solitary practice until lunchtime arrived.
Since he had decided to visit Captain Fugaku in the afternoon, he simply ate lunch within the Clan Guards.
After devouring a large pot of braised beef and following it with nearly ten substantial rice balls alongside seaweed soup, ignoring the strange glances from other members, he strode straight toward Fugaku's office.
He had seen Fugaku enter his usual office early this morning, so he should still be there now.
Wandering through the Clan Guards' office area, Saitama didn't spot Fugaku anywhere, so he headed toward the nearby Security Force offices. The distance between the two offices was short; the buildings stood facing each other across the compound.
Showing the Security Force badge he had received but never once used, under the watchful eyes of fellow clan members, he walked up to the door of Fugaku's office.
"Hem-hem!" He knocked twice, then stood waiting at the doorway, anticipating being called inside.
Saitama had just confirmed that Fugaku was in his office right now, so there wouldn't be another wasted trip.
"Come in!" Fugaku Uchiha's voice remained as steady as always. Maybe that was just something all older guys had in common—even though Fugaku was barely thirty.
"Creak!"
"Bang!"
Saitama pushed the door open and shut it behind him with one smooth motion.
"Eh? It's you, Saitama!" Fugaku hadn't expected Saitama to show up here at HQ.
"What's up?" Fugaku seemed forgetful, apparently having already forgotten the mission he'd mentioned to Saitama not long ago.
Fugaku placed the documents on the table—he'd just been going over a report on the clan's business matters. Normally there wasn't much for him to handle personally at the Security Force—minor matters had already been delegated to his assistant.
"It's about that mission, Captain." Standing properly in front of the desk, Saitama reminded Fugaku.
"Oh! Right, I remember now." Fugaku tilted his head back slightly, leaning against his chair.
"You're already ready, aren't you?" Fugaku added, looking at the 'boy' in front of him—though Saitama was only seven, not even eight yet, his build made it seem passable to call him a boy.
"Yes. The captain could tell me more details about the mission first," Saitama nodded, expression focused.
"The mission itself is pretty straightforward—we need to escort an important individual back to the capital city. However, due to this person's special status, there are considerable dangers involved."
Fugaku thought for a moment before continuing.
"That's it?" Saitama couldn't believe this would be the kind of mission that troubled Fugaku previously.
"Well, during the mission process, we might draw the attention of quite a few Jonin trying to eliminate our target. Other than that, nothing else particularly unusual," Fugaku said casually, as if discussing everyday household affairs.
"Hmm," Saitama muttered, rubbing his chin—the mission did sound a bit tough.
"There's still time yet. Our client is currently still in Konoha Village and seems to want to wait until after New Year celebrations before departing. So you've still got time to prepare. You can even take the opportunity to attend Mori's coming-of-age sake ceremony this time," Fugaku smiled slightly with a teasing tone.
"This mission will be assigned solely to you! Can you really handle it?" Fugaku's tone grew serious as he repeated—after all, no matter how much talent Saitama had, raw skill didn't always mean real battle experience.
"Then notify me when the time comes!" Saitama turned and waved slightly before walking out.
"This kid!" Watching Saitama open the door and leave, Fugaku scratched the back of his head.
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