I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 647: There may be scenery worth lingering over, but the beauty ahead holds an even greater allure of the unknown.

"Fourth Hokage, could you please give me some pointers on my ninjutsu?"

In the third training ground, it was already dusk. Naruto finally found his rhythm and went to train on his own, afraid that Tatsuma would see his clumsy technique and scold him again.

Sasuke then sidled back to Tatsuma, who had just calmed down, and asked, "Let's see." Tatsuma looked at Sasuke, thinking, "Sasuke should be a bit smarter than Naruto, right?" He nodded and said, "Let's see."

"OK!"

Sasuke formed hand seals, and then a burst of lightning and a cacophony of bird cries rang out. Holding up the lightning, Sasuke looked nervously at Tatsuma.

Tatsuma stroked his chin and asked, "Is this Kakashi's Chidori? I haven't seen it since he developed it."

Kakashi, who was tapping his thigh in the tree to relieve the numbness, also pricked up his ears upon hearing this, wanting to hear Tatsuma's evaluation.

"This is a technique with great potential, but it's clearly still a work in progress. Without using the Sharingan, are your eyesight and reflexes up to par with your activated body?"

Sasuke shook his head. Even as a member of the Uchiha clan, without using the Sharingan, it would be difficult for him to put this technique into actual combat unless there was a particularly good opportunity.

Of course, he can activate his Sharingan before using this technique in battle.

In the distance, Kakashi was somewhat surprised to see that Tatsuma had seen through the weakness of this technique at a glance. His teacher, Minato Namikaze, had given roughly the same assessment back then.

"The disadvantages of this technique are obvious. First, it overactivates the body, and the actual chakra consumed is far more than it appears to be consumed, which leads to a decline in stamina and affects the endurance of the battle."

The second point is that it is too conspicuous. This is not a flaw in itself. The Rasengan is similar, but the Rasengan is a hand seal-less ninjutsu, while the Chidori requires complicated hand seals. So you have to make up for it with proficiency or reduce the number of hand seals.

My suggestion is to shift the development direction, differentiating the development of this technique from the perspective of morphological and property changes.

In terms of form transformation, the focus was shifted from Chidori's activation of the body to the form transformation of Lightning Release, turning this technique from a thrusting technique while moving into a defensive counter-attack technique while stationary.

The development of chakra nature involves changing the lightning release technique used. When the nature of chakra changes to a certain extent, incredible changes will occur.

For example, Lightning Release can give rise to Black Lightning. The Black Lightning of Kumogakure far surpasses conventional Lightning Release in terms of form flexibility and controllability. You could try developing a Lightning Release chakra more suitable for Chidori.

On a distant tree, Kakashi looked down at his palm, where arcs of electricity crackled. However, he didn't use Lightning Blade, but instead said to Jiraiya:

"The Fourth Hokage's understanding of techniques is truly remarkable. My Lightning Blade is an improvement on the nature transformation of Lightning Release chakra, but I personally feel that this is not the end."

Perhaps there really is a peculiar lightning-style transformation form, like black lightning, that could better suit my Lightning Blade technique. However, I don't really understand the concept of form transformation.

Jiraiya nodded and said, "Think it over carefully. It's such a pity that you're so young and have stopped progressing. Don't end up like the rest of us, who forgot how to move forward when we were in our twenties or thirties."

Perhaps there are landscapes worth lingering over, but the beauty ahead holds an even greater allure, doesn't it?

Kakashi nodded without saying anything more, but another item on his mind was added to his schedule.

"Let's see what you can do."

Sasuke nodded, composed himself, and looked at Tatsuma, who was standing close by. Before hesitating, Tatsuma spoke first: "Go ahead and use it. If you can hurt me, then perhaps you'll have overcome the first hurdle in your life."

Yes, the Fourth Hokage is so powerful.

"Chidori Stream!"

Lightning flashed, but it no longer only condensed on the hands and activated the body. Instead, it spread outwards like the veins of snowflakes, and the arcs of electricity were like long whips, intending to lash out all approaching enemies.

"A good idea, but the chakra control is too weak, the form transformation is insufficient, and the extremities are all just the movement of lightning release on their own. The future is promising."

Sasuke was excited by Tatsuma's evaluation. As expected, he was much better than that loser, and he even received praise from the Fourth Hokage! Even if it was just a word like "promising future".

Seeing Sasuke withdraw his lightning, Tatsuma patted his clothes and said, "When you truly master the transformation of Chidori, and when Naruto is still able to use Rasengan under the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra, you will have the ability to survive in the ninja world."

If you can develop the Sharingan to its fullest potential, and Naruto can freely wield the Nine-Tails' power, then it will be difficult to find a match for you in the ninja world. Good luck!

"Thank you, Fourth Hokage!"

Sasuke said excitedly, and Tatsuma waved his hand and said, "Go train, and remember to eat."

"Yes, Fourth Hokage."

Sasuke ran up to Naruto and showed off his Chidori technique. Tatsuma looked at Jiraiya and Kakashi, nodded, and then disappeared in a flash.

On the banks of the Naka River, the Hokage's robes were pressed under a rock. Hashirama Senju, clad in red armor, sat on the riverbank, idly tossing a stone shard into the Naka River.

Occasionally, the stone pieces would skip across the water, but most of them would sink directly to the bottom of the river or be carried away by the current.

"Lord Shodaime."

Tatsuma appeared, sat down next to Hashirama Senju, and casually picked up a stone shard to play with.

"The Fourth Hokage?"

Hashirama Senju glanced at Tatsuma, then aimlessly skipped stones again. However, once he regained his senses, he skipped the stones exceptionally well, managing to make them jump to the other side of the river eight or nine times out of ten.

"I never imagined this."

Suddenly, Hashirama Senju spoke out of the blue, but Tatsuma seemed to understand, saying, "The lure of profit is stronger than the human heart. Even powerful people like you and the Uchiha don't accuse each other of changing their original intentions, do they?"

Hashirama Senju was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, tell me, was I wrong? Should I have insisted on making Madara Hokage? Perhaps the village and the Uchiha clan wouldn't be in this situation now."

"It's hard to say. Perhaps Madara Uchiha would be the one to confide in me in the forest? Of course, Madara Uchiha probably wouldn't confide in me."

"Haha~ If you had been born in our time, you might have been one of our friends too."

Hashirama Senju's laughter was not lighthearted; instead, he continued in a low voice, "How am I supposed to explain this to the village? How can the Uchiha clan simply disappear from Konoha?"

"Tell me, if I found that little Uchiha guy a few more wives and had a bunch of kids, wouldn't that count as restoring the Uchiha clan?"

"That's a great idea, I can't argue with it."

Hashirama Senju, seemingly oblivious to the absurdity in Tatsuma's words, stroked his chin and excitedly exclaimed, "That's a great idea! As long as the Uchiha clan doesn't die out, I can at least give Madara some closure!"

"Ahem, it's for Konoha."

"Yes, give it to Konoha too. That kid looks just like Izuna. Do you know Izuna? He's Madara's younger brother and Tobirama's good friend."

Upon hearing this, Tatsuma's eyes twitched. If it were someone else who had witnessed the friendship between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, and then heard these words, they might actually believe that Uchiha Izuna was Senju Tobirama's good friend.

"Ah~ Autumn!"

Inside the Hokage's office, Tobirama Senju rubbed his nose, looked towards the Naka River, and murmured, "Is Anika blaming me?"

Beside the Naka River, Hashirama Senju reminisced to himself, "That was truly a wonderful time. If Madara could see that kid, he would surely be very happy, wouldn't he?"

"I'm so happy, so incredibly happy! I can't wait for Sasuke to meet Izuna."

The thought of Sasuke being pierced by Madara Uchiha sent a shiver down Tatsuma's spine. Seeing that Hashirama Senju even considered resurrecting Madara Uchiha using Edo Tensei to allow him to meet Sasuke, he quickly interrupted:

"First Generation Lord, you must not desecrate the dead."

"Oh"

Hashirama Senju, who had just managed to lift his spirits a little, slumped down again, sighing, "Why didn't Orochimaru resurrect Madara as well? He's already desecrated the dead anyway."

Having such an elder brother must have been tough on Tobirama Senju. Tatsuma thought to himself, "First Hokage, we must still trust in the wisdom of future generations."

We have interfered too much in Konoha's present and future, and we cannot interfere any further. As for the events that occurred after your death, I believe future generations will set the record straight and give the village and the Uchiha clan an explanation.

"You're right. It's an era that no longer belongs to me, so I shouldn't struggle anymore. But... I still owe Mada too much."

Upon hearing Hashirama Senju's words, Tatsuma almost instinctively wanted to say, "Love is always about feeling indebted," but he ultimately held back.

"Let's go, I'm hungry."

Hashirama Senju stood up, dusted off his trousers, picked up the Hokage robe from the ground, draped it over his shoulders, and then said, "Perhaps... all I can do is apologize to this era."

Later that evening, in a private room at the restaurant, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Tsunade, and Tatsuma were having dinner. The room was very quiet, and each of them was preoccupied with their own thoughts and worries, so they weren't in the mood for a lively conversation.

After they had almost finished eating, Hashirama Senju asked, "Has the date for Tsuna's succession ceremony been decided?"

Tobirama Senju nodded and said, "After witnessing the ceremony the day after tomorrow morning, we can leave."

"it is good."

Hashirama Senju nodded, and Tsunade suddenly thought of something and said, "Grandpa, Second Grandpa, and Tatsuma, I think it's a bit hasty to let me take over as Hokage, after all, I have an illness that prevents me from becoming Hokage."

"What kind of illness could prevent you from becoming Hokage? Your lie is too outrageous. I see through it."

Hashirama Senju wore an expression that said, "I know everything," while Tobirama Senju frowned and asked, "What illness?"

"Hemophobia."

(End of this chapter)