Born To Rise In Konoha
Chapter 69

Chapter 69 - 69

"Morning, everyone!" Saitama greeted casually with a nod. Though unspoken, everyone acknowledged his strength. He was the de facto leader among the guards—not by title, but by sheer presence. No one questioned it.

"Nagisa, come here!" Saitama called out, waving the boy over as he turned and walked toward the deeper part of the training grounds.

"Huh? Me again?" Nagisa sighed, smiling bitterly as he pointed at himself. Still, he followed. Behind him, a group of Uchiha boys chuckled among themselves.

"We're practicing swordsmanship today." Saitama unsheathed his blade with a sharp motion. As he swung it through the air, it produced a crisp whoosh, slicing through with ease.

"Please no..." Nagisa muttered, a look of resignation on his face as he took his position opposite Saitama and reluctantly drew his own blade.

"Zzzt!" Sparks danced on Saitama's sword. He smiled at Nagisa—pleasant, almost familial.

"Wait, what?" Nagisa blinked, his instincts warning him something was off. Then he noticed the electric arc crawling along Saitama's blade.

"Did I do something to offend you? Are you trying to kill me?" he asked, panic rising.

"Nope. I'm just simulating a real battle. Your enemies won't hold back," Saitama said matter-of-factly. He examined the arcs on his blade, adjusting the current to find a level that wouldn't be lethal—just painful enough to motivate.

"Come on. Show me what you've got." Saitama motioned for Nagisa to attack.

Nagisa stood frozen for a moment. With Saitama looking this serious, it clearly wasn't a joke. He sighed inwardly—clearly, he hadn't checked his horoscope this morning or had accidentally stepped on something cursed.

But when it came time to fight, the grin disappeared. His expression hardened, his posture changed. He wore the cool, calculating look of an Uchiha.

Nagisa narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and surged forward, his steps steady and body flaring with chakra.

"Clang!" Saitama deflected the strike with ease, then delivered a swift kick to Nagisa's chest, launching him backward.

"Don't disappoint me. If you keep holding back like that, I won't either," Saitama warned, posture tightening as the electricity on his blade crackled even more violently.

Nagisa exhaled slowly, now completely serious.

He had shoulder-length hair that fluttered slightly even in the absence of wind. As he focused, blue chakra surged through him and began coating his blade.

Saitama watched silently, his Sharingan now activated—he wanted to observe every detail of Nagisa's chakra control.

Nagisa was still preparing, and Saitama didn't rush him. After all, he had only handed Nagisa the scroll on wind-style manipulation yesterday.

"Hngh..." Nagisa groaned under his breath, clearly struggling to maintain control. The chakra, once smooth and dense, began to fluctuate. Then, slowly, it began to rotate—spiraling along the edge of the blade.

Blue light spun along the weapon like a gear, rotating with visible momentum.

"Interesting," Saitama mused. The technique resembled Asuma Sarutobi's chakra blade attacks—a tangible, rotating enhancement to the weapon. But...

"Not as sharp as Asuma's. Why?" Saitama squinted, trying to analyze the structure with his Sharingan.

"I'm ready, Saitama!" Nagisa shouted, sweat beading on his forehead from the strain.

"Show me," Saitama replied simply.

Nagisa had taken his first real step into elemental chakra transformation. Wind Release was among the hardest to master, yet the most deadly in close combat. Unlike Saitama's Lightning Release—which excelled in speed and stimulation—Wind Release offered unrivaled cutting power.

Although Saitama also had an affinity for both elements, he had focused on Lightning for its explosiveness and utility in rapid movement.

"Tch!" Nagisa darted forward, blade raised. He hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, so his perception couldn't match Saitama's.

"Clang!" Their blades collided—lightning and wind meeting in a dazzling arc of blue and white energy.

"Zzzt!" Lightning surged, but Nagisa's blade held firm. A layer of spinning chakra along its edge repelled the current like a grinder shredding stone.

"Gears?" Saitama echoed aloud.

"Exactly. I studied the scroll you gave me. This is my first attempt at wind nature transformation—compressing chakra into rotating blades to increase cutting power," Nagisa explained through gritted teeth.

"Not bad." Saitama grinned. He increased his chakra output—his blade humming like a high-voltage line.

Nagisa's blade flickered. The wind faltered briefly under the increased pressure but soon regained form as Nagisa poured in more chakra.

"Bang!" The force of the clash finally disarmed Nagisa, his blade flung backward, arcing through the air. Static still crackled from its surface.

Nagisa stared in disbelief.

"You've done well. It's only been a day," Saitama said, sheathing his sword and patting Nagisa on the shoulder.

"Yeah..." Nagisa picked up his weapon, nodding. He understood—it wasn't a mistake; he just hadn't fully mastered the technique yet.

He returned to stand before Saitama, resolve shining in his eyes.

"Alright, stop crowding me now. I'm going to train solo for a while. Go find somewhere else to cool off." Saitama waved him off like an annoying mosquito.

"Huh?" Nagisa's aura deflated instantly. He slunk away, not daring to protest.

"Train hard!" Saitama called after him.

"Got it!" Nagisa's voice echoed back, fading with his footsteps.

Saitama exhaled and stepped into the center of the training ground.

"Time to test that idea..." he muttered, gripping his blade.

He believed in taking action. And today, he would try something new.

"Chidori Stream?" he mused. While he could already envelop his body and sword in lightning—a kind of pseudo-Lightning Chakra Mode—it wasn't a true externalized attack technique like Sasuke's Chidori Nagashi.

Right now, he had to first generate lightning internally, then push it outward—a slow process in battle.

What he wanted was the ability to summon lightning directly at the point of use—his arm, leg, or weapon—instantly and independently.

Difficult, yes. But with his foundation, he felt confident.

"Zzzt!" Lightning began to wrap around his arm.

"Hup!" He kicked out sharply, electricity trailing down his leg and foot.

"Nice..." he murmured, pleased by the result.

As the chakra receded, the lightning vanished, leaving no burn marks—his control was precise.

Time had flown. Though it felt quick, two hours had passed. The sun now hung high in the sky. Snow had stopped falling, but the air remained cool.

Ever since joining the frontlines, Saitama had frequently used Lightning Release to stimulate his cells—keeping his body in peak condition and granting bursts of speed in combat.

Now, he was refining it even further.

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