Chapter 9: A Study of the Blood Type of the Crimson Pepper (Part 2)
Hagoromo's eyes lit up. That was exactly the line he'd been waiting for.
"Kushina-sensei, what if I really do manage to take the bell from you?"
Kushina smiled, giving him a quick glance before replying, "If you actually manage that? Hagoromo, your skills are impressive, sure—but only relative to your age group. Taking this bell from me won't be easy. You do know I'm a jōnin, right? I'm not like those classmates you sparred with back at the academy."
It was a gentle but clear reminder: the gulf between a jōnin and a genin wasn't something to take lightly.
"I know you're a jōnin, Sensei, and I'm just a genin—but a genin is still a ninja. And when it comes to a real fight between ninja, you can never be sure of the outcome until it's over." Hagoromo's tone was calm but bold. Deep down, he knew Kushina wouldn't go all-out on him. If she did, he wouldn't stand a chance—and more importantly, the whole exercise would lose its point.
"…You make a good argument," Kushina said with a smile. "Alright, if you manage to take the bell, what do you want in return?"
"If I win, I want you to start teaching me new jutsu right away."
Kushina finally caught on to what he was really after. "No problem. I was planning to teach you new jutsu anyway—that's part of my job as your teacher."
Like many newly minted genin, Hagoromo seemed eager to cram as many jutsu into his brain as fast as possible. A common rookie mistake, Kushina thought. They all wanted more—more jutsu, more power, more everything.
What she didn't realize was that for Hagoromo, the word jutsu was really code for sealing techniques. But he knew better than to reveal his hand too early. Some things had to be approached step by step.
Kushina tied the small bell to her waist and asked, "Any questions? If not, let's get started."
"No questions."
"Great. Let's begin. I know you can use Lightning Release, so don't hold back."
Stealing the bell from Kushina wasn't impossible. He didn't need to overpower her—just catch her off guard. And with his particular skill set, he might just pull it off.
Hagoromo let out a slow breath. If it were any other freshly graduated genin, there'd be no chance. But he wasn't like the others—his mastery of Lightning Release was on a whole different level.
Lightning chakra began coursing through his body, and faint arcs of electricity danced across his skin.
"No hand seals?" Kushina was taken aback. It wasn't every day you saw someone pull off high-level Lightning Release without a single seal.
"Yes," Hagoromo answered. "My body is a bit special—extremely compatible with Lightning Release. Most techniques, regardless of rank, I can execute without hand signs."
Without another word, he charged straight at her.
"So fast!" Kushina's eyes widened. That speed was well beyond what she expected from a genin.
Still, she barely flinched. Compared to Minato—the fastest shinobi in the world—this was child's play.
"A head-on assault against a jōnin? Not the wisest strategy!"
In a blink, Hagoromo vanished and reappeared in front of her with a straight punch.
Of course, a direct punch wasn't going to land. Kushina caught his fist with one hand.
And that's when it happened.
The shriek of birds filled the air.
The faint arcs of electricity around Hagoromo exploded into blinding blue lightning.
Chidori Stream.
The power of his Lightning Release surged severalfold in an instant.
The searing chakra spread up Kushina's arm, bringing sharp pain and numbing paralysis.
Her brow furrowed as her hand instinctively tightened, then—before she could stop herself—she used about seventy percent of her strength to hurl him away.
Hagoromo hit the ground but landed gracefully, unharmed.
Kushina looked down at her hand. The skin on the back had begun to blister and peel like scorched scales. Flipping it over, she saw the center of her palm had already turned black from the burn.
She had let her guard down.
"Such powerful Lightning chakra... did you create this technique yourself?" she asked.
"I did," Hagoromo replied coolly. After all, Kakashi hadn't invented Raikiri yet, so as far as copyright was concerned—this was all his.
Despite being thrown, he landed without a scratch. The smile on his face remained.
"What a dangerous jutsu. And it's clearly chakra-intensive… the power puts it easily at A-rank," Kushina observed. She wasn't just impressed that someone his age could use an A-rank technique—she was stunned that he had invented it.
It only confirmed what she already suspected: she had chosen the right student.
The sound of birds chirping still echoed around them. Meanwhile, the burns on Kushina's hand were already healing—thanks to the Nine-Tails' chakra, though Hagoromo didn't realize that.
"This technique is called Chidori Stream," he explained. "By my estimation, it's an A-rank jutsu. The power speaks for itself, but it's extremely chakra-intensive. With my current reserves, I can maintain it for two to five minutes."
"Oh? So you plan to decide the fight within that window?" Kushina raised a brow. For him to maintain such a powerful jutsu for even two minutes—let alone five—meant his chakra capacity already exceeded that of many chūnin.
His speed before was already impressive. But with Chidori Stream, he could move even faster. While nowhere near light-speed, the cellular stimulation from Lightning Release gave him insane bursts of speed.
Yet instead of pressing the attack, Hagoromo stopped.
The lightning flickered out, and the Chidori Stream faded.
Kushina frowned. "Why stop? Didn't you say you could keep it up for minutes?"
"I did," Hagoromo replied. "But the reason I stopped has nothing to do with chakra."
He raised his palm. A small bell sat silently in the center.
Kushina's eyes darted to her waist. The bell was gone.
"You took it… when I was distracted by your jutsu?"
"Exactly. That last strike was just a diversion," Hagoromo said with a grin. He gently tossed the bell back to her.
"You really surprised me," Kushina said with genuine admiration. But she wasn't angry at all—if anything, she was excited.
Maybe this time… she'd finally outshine Minato.