Naruto: Stormbreaker

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Old World Resonance

I was sitting in the woods. I picked a dense area full of trees to practice using my lightning release. If something burned, I preferred it to be the forest not my flat. After what happened with the bear, I took it personally and decided to do as much damage to nature as possible.

The process was brutal. Matching the chakra vibration to what was described in the scrolls was already hard enough. The tips of my fingers were blackened from repeated failures. My palm had a small burn through it. I knew it would be hard, but the pain didn’t help. The failures didn’t help. It was difficult to find the right feeling at first, but I had a hunch that once I nailed it, it would stick forever. Like riding a bike. you eat dirt a few times, then you just get it, and you never forget how to do it again.

My right hand was glowing now, which was progress from earlier.

It wasn’t glowing in the cool ”I have power” kind of way, but more in the ”I’m about to accidentally electrocute myself and become a roasted orphan” kind of way.

”Okay,” I muttered, exhaling slowly. ”Buzz. Not punch. Buzz.”

I focused, trying to make my chakra vibrate just right. A low hum. A soft static tingle on my skin. Not too fast. Not too wild.

The moment it sparked, my hand jerked like I’d slapped a wet power socket.

I hissed and yanked my arm back.

”Almost had it.”

I was close now.

Taking a breath, I couldn’t help but drift into old memories.

***The courtroom was silent.

The kind of silence that follows a death sentence and comes right before the guards drag you out.

I remember staring at the judge as he said it. No remorse. No hesitation.

”Death by electric chair.”

I didn’t flinch. My fists were clenched, my jaw was locked. I already knew the price.

I looked at the girl in the photo my lawyer used to try and gain the jury sympathy in a last-ditch effort, my sister. She was gone. And I made sure every last bastard responsible followed her into the dark. That way, she could take her revenge herself.

Justice wasn’t clean. It was messy. It burned.

Just like that chair would.

I snapped back to the present and laughed at myself. I’d told myself I was done with the past, but apparently, my soul didn’t get the memo. I chuckled in pity and shook my head.

In this world, I was electrocuting myself on purpose.

Personal growth, right?

I rubbed my hand. It hurt like hell, but it still worked. So far, so good.

I tried again.

Focusing chakra into my fingertips, I let it hum. Lightly. Like the static buzz before a TV turns on. Just a faint crackle.

Then I pushed.

Not too much. Just enough.

A tiny arc flickered between two fingers.

”Ohhh! Even more progress!”

It fizzled a second later, but I counted that as a win. Maybe I wouldn’t die of stupidity today.

The sting in my fingers told me I needed a break, so I leaned back against a tree and closed my eyes.

*** the room was cold.

Sterile. Bright lights. A metal chair. Leather straps.

They didn’t say a word as they strapped me in. It was like I was already a ghost. The chair was just there to complete the transition. A prophecy in progress.

I closed my eyes and thought of her. Her laugh. Her dumb hair clips. The way she used to scold me for skipping meals she worked so hard to provide.

I didn’t regret a damn thing. Not one drop of blood.

But in that moment, I wished, just once, that I’d been strong enough to stop it all before it ever happened.

I forced myself back again.

Trying to control the thing that killed me was clearly messing with my head. It kept dragging me into memories I didn’t ask for. But part of me felt like they weren’t just memories. They were messages. From myself. From something deeper.

I thought about lightning.

It’s fast. Ruthless. Unforgiving. It doesn’t ask for permission. It doesn’t wait.

It just hits.

And if I could master it. If I could shape it. I’d never be powerless again.

No one I cared about would die Because of my weak self. I’d never be useless again.

I looked down at my hand. Tiny flickers danced on the skin. Barely visible, but real.

I took a deep breath. Slower. More deliberate.

Then I started pulsing the chakra instead of streaming it. Like a heartbeat. Each one tighter. Sharper. More deliberate.

Buzz. Pause. Buzz. Pause.

”Alright,” I whispered. ”Now make it sting.”

**Right before they flipped the switch, I smiled.

They didn’t understand why.

I’d already won. I’d already finished what I wanted to do.

That world didn’t need me anymore.

But maybe this one did.

And then the switch flipped.

A sharp pulse surged from my hand.

A clean arc of lightning jumped between two fingers, crackling in the air for just a second.

I stared at it.

Then I smiled.

”Round one goes to me.”

It was still weak, but the basics were there. Now I needed to scale it up. Increase the amount of chakra I could convert into lightning without frying myself.

Right now, it might be strong enough to kill a mosquito. A really dumb one. But I’d get there.

At last, those annoying mosquitos in my flat will know true fear.

I’d also need to start doing the water-on-a-leaf exercise to refine my lightening chakra nature control. Together, those would give me the power and precision to turn lightning into a weapon worth wielding.

I was excited for what came next. And tomorrow, I had plans. At the Academy, I was going to strike a deal to improve my studies. After all, a sharp mind was going to be just as important as sharp chakra. I needed to start exercising my lazy, fat brain.

And hopefully, that means I won’t be insulting myself in exams ever again. After all, I’m competing against literal children. Not getting the highest score just adds salt to my already injured pride.