The gold-grade skill card, Lightning Style: Plasma Beam Punch, allows the user to release a specialized layer of plasma radiance.
Not only can it unleash ultra-high-speed plasma strikes, but it also imbues all conventional attacks with the properties of a Lightning Style Armor.
Even Shiraishi's signature Cyclone Blade could be infused with the lightning attribute, increasing its explosive power by several orders of magnitude.
Rather than a simple Lightning Style ninjutsu, this technique was more of a combined reinforcement art.
It paired high-speed offensive maneuvers with the intense piercing power of plasma, creating a display that was as lethal as it was breathtakingly radiant.
A cold glint flashed in Shiraishi's eyes. The environment around him shifted instantly, transporting him to a specialized underground training hall.
As numerous sand towers rose from the floor, they formed a unique electromagnetic containment field to ensure the sheer power of the test wouldn't breach the facility.
The prerequisite for the Plasma Beam Punch was a specific level of purity in lightning-attribute chakra. Thanks to the existence of his split consciousness, Hagoromo Matou, Shiraishi easily bypassed these restrictions.
Guided by Shiraishi's will, the lightning energy within his body generated countless miniature particles of light. These particles illuminated the hall, refracting into a dense, shimmering spectrum of colors.
Shiraishi levitated slowly into the air. The moment he raised his hand, the surrounding light particles converged into a torrential rain of brilliance.
Thousands of electric fist-shadows swept across the room, forming a domineering storm of projectiles.
Amidst the blinding radiance, arcs of electricity enveloped Shiraishi's entire body, giving him a look of divine purity.
Since he had already mastered Lightning Strike energy, this move naturally integrated it, creating a subtle genjutsu effect within the barrage of light.
Regarding genjutsu, Shiraishi had long ago stored a segment of specialized memory data in his subconscious to guard against brainwashing techniques like Kotoamatsukami.
Should such a genjutsu attempt to rewrite his mind, this data—combined with the power of the Azure Flame—would trigger an immediate "system restore" effect.
However, the current Shiraishi no longer needed such measures; with his massive chakra reserves and the Blue Flame acting as a cognitive barrier, he possessed the confidence to simply tank such high-level illusions.
The small triangular sand towers that had been caught in the wake of the Plasma Beam Punch were now utterly decimated.
But Shiraishi wasn't finished. Following the plasma barrage, wind blades coalesced around him, forming a massive electromagnetic storm.
The Cyclone Blade, originally a neutral-type skill, had evolved through Shiraishi's wind nature. Now, augmented by the Plasma Beam Punch, its lethality had increased tenfold.
The terrifying electromagnetic storm in Shiraishi's hand transformed into an appalling force of nature, sending massive energy shockwaves through the testing grounds.
Suspended metallic pyramids surrounding the arena hummed as they collected, analyzed, and summarized the data of the impact.
At the same time, in a training ground on the outskirts of the Hidden Cloud Village, Hagoromo Matou condensed a similar plasma radiance.
However, unlike Shiraishi's holy golden light, Matou's particles were a chilling silver. This reflected their different approaches: Matou's lightning was fused with Frozen Volt properties, while Shiraishi's was rooted in pure Lightning Strike.
"Young Master, a letter has arrived from the village. They wish for you to represent us at the Chunin Exams jointly hosted by the Leaf, Stone, and Cloud."
Several Hagoromo clansmen stepped forward as Matou finished his training to hand over the mission scroll issued by the Raikage.
Despite his status as a genius of the Cloud, Matou was well aware that the village leadership viewed the Hagoromo clan with deep suspicion.
The scars left by the Gold and Silver Brothers' incident were too deep; the Raikage's lineage treated anything related to the Hagoromo with extreme caution.
This mission was a strategic necessity—the Cloud wanted to strengthen its ties with the Leaf and showcase the power of its younger generation.
"I doubt there will be any particularly noteworthy opponents at this exam," Matou remarked. "Even if it's a three-way collaboration, the venue is set in the Land of Frost.
Aside from the three Jonin squad leaders, there won't be any true powerhouses present."
"I understand, Young Master."
The shinobi world appeared calm, but beneath the surface, the undercurrents were raging. Many believed the friction between the Leaf and the Uchiha would be the fuse for the Fourth Shinobi World War.
The Third Hokage had attempted peace talks with Uchiha Fugaku, but the dissenting voices within both sides caused the negotiations to stall.
Within the Uchiha district, seeing that Uchiha Kaede had no intention of honoring their meeting, an impatient Uchiha Obito decided to ambush him and forcibly pull him into the Kamui dimension.
Under pressure, Uchiha Itachi reluctantly agreed to assist in the plan.
At nightfall, as Kaede was making his way home, he sensed two mysterious figures tailing him.
"Who goes there?"
"Uchiha Kaede, pay the price for your broken promise!" Obito struck first, preparing to unleash his space-time ninjutsu to seize Kaede. To his surprise, Kaede simply looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"What's with that look?" Obito snarled.
Kaede spoke calmly. "The current trend in the shinobi world is peace. Every side is trying to avoid an escalation of the conflict between the Leaf and the Uchiha."
"And your point is?"
The point is... you're going to take the fall for this.
Before Obito could respond, a pair of grim Three-Tomoe Sharingan emerged from the shadows. Uchiha Fugaku stepped forward, his voice laced with suspicion. "Are you the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails incident years ago?"
Behind Fugaku appeared Hiruzen Sarutobi, the two village elders, and Shimura Danzo. They had all arrived at the scene.
Obito ignored Fugaku. Though he hadn't fully processed the situation, he realized one thing: Itachi hadn't moved to help him. In fact...
Black flames erupted from Itachi's eye, streaking directly toward Obito!
Amaterasu!
Obito had no time to dodge and was forced to use Kamui to phase away. However, his every move was now being scrutinized by the Leaf's top brass.
"The disaster of the Nine-Tails years ago... was orchestrated by this conspirator claiming to be Uchiha Madara," Itachi declared.
From the very beginning, Itachi had planned to set Obito up. He knew that to save the Uchiha, he had to resolve the distrust between the clan and the village leadership.
To do that, he needed a scapegoat—and Obito was the perfect candidate.