Naruto: The Sarutobi Who Can't Spark

The air in the assembly hall was tense as the village elders and clan heads gathered for an emergency meeting. The sharp silence was heart-wrenching as the air grew more tense with each passing second. Hiruzen Sarutobi sat with his hands clasped tightly, his knuckles white, the usually ever-present pipe notably absent from his lips.

Finally, he spoke with a heavy voice, "Orochimaru has abandoned the village." He paused, the weight of what he had to say next visible in his eyes, "I… discovered his experimental laboratory with ANBU forces."

Hiruzen glanced at village elders and all the clan elders before continuing, "The experiments we found there... they were beyond inhumane. Several ANBU were killed when he fled, and he took most of his research materials and evidence with him."

Danzo Shimura leaned forward, narrowing his single eye. "He must have taken forbidden jutsu scrolls with him." Danzo looked deeply at his old friend and added with a deep slow voice, "This is what comes of mercy, Hiruzen."

"This is what comes of mercy, Hiruzen." It was well known among village elders – Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane – that Hiruzen highly favored his students and kins, much like how he had shown mercy to Danzo even after his assassination attempt. Ironically, it was Danzo who muttered those words of mercy.

Hiruzen remained silent, not because those words stung, but due to the situation which was too grave and needed immediate attention. This wasn't the time nor the place to bicker with Danzo on personal grievances.

The Hyūga clan head, Hiashi Hyūga swept his white pale eyes over the assembled elders, "Orochimaru's defection implies Konoha's intelligence breach. He knows classified information about our village's defenses, ANBU protocols, forbidden techniques, and political relationships."

Homura Mitokado, adjusting his glasses, the lenses catching the light. "Orochimaru… he might sell all the information to other villages, and those ogling for weakness might attack us from all fronts."

Shikaku Nara, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke. "Our priority first should be strengthening internal security and reforming our intelligence protocols."

Shikaku's words rather weighed heavy on all the elders present in the hall. Intelligence protocols developed over the years couldn't be reformed overnight. It needed intricate knowledge about all the ins and outs of the village's functioning.

The assembled elders (excluding Danzo) looked to Shikaku, the Nara Clan's representative, with a pleading look. If the workload was about to fall into the Konoha village –the Village Hidden Under the Leaves– much of this burden would fall to him. Despite his clan's reputation for laziness, Shikaku was one of the village's pillars of strength.

After a moment of silence, Shikaku cleared his throat, drawing attention back to the critical issue. "We need to operate under the assumption that Orochimaru has already shared sensitive information." The council proceeded to discuss interim policies and reforms created by Shikaku and the council and finalized/passed by the Hokage.

Danzo spoke with urgency. "We must assign some ANBUs to track Orochimaru, secure any remaining research sites, and prevent potential sleeper agents from following him."

Koharu Utatate looked between Hiruzen and Danzo. "But we need to move fast. The longer we wait, the colder his trail becomes."

Hiruzen responded, his voice measured. "Kakashi and his team are pursuing Orochimaru as we speak. I have also sent information to Jiraiya through our secure channels."

"How certain are you that Jiraiya won't let go of Orochimaru like you did?" Danzo asked sarcastically from across the table.

Koharu Utatane voiced sharply. "This is not the time for your usual provocations, Danzo."

Hiruzen rose slowly, his authority filling the room. "Here are my decisions: First, we implement new security protocols for all research facilities and classified information. Second, we increase protection for our young shinobi. And finally..." he paused, his expression grim, "we place Orochimaru in the Bingo Book as an S-rank missing ninja."

The weight of that last statement hung in the air. A student the Third Hokage had personally trained, was now officially marked as a dangerous criminal.

"This meeting is adjourned," Hiruzen concluded. "Remember – this information is classified. We cannot afford panic spreading through the village. Dismissed."

As the council members filed out, Danzo lingered behind, his eye fixed on Hiruzen. "Your sentiment has cost us dearly, Hiruzen. Let us hope it doesn't cost us more."

…

Meanwhile, in the forests beyond Konoha's walls, Kakashi Hatake and his ANBU team had picked up Orochimaru's trail. The pursuit led them through shadow-dappled woods until they finally confronted the Sannin in a small clearing. But as Kakashi faced his target, he found himself frozen, overwhelmed by a killing intent so powerful it manifested as paralyzing fear. The legendary Copy Ninja, who had faced countless dangerous enemies, could barely move as Orochimaru's serpentine eyes fixed upon him.

Orochimaru's laugh echoed through the trees as he slipped away, leaving behind only the lingering smell of snakes and decay. At that moment, Kakashi understood why Orochimaru was called one of the Legendary Sannins and the direct disciple of Lord Third.

…

As weeks passed, Raijin discovered that his chakra responded differently to Alternating current (AC) and Direct Current (DC). Direct current provided a steady foundation, making it easier to replicate with his chakra. Alternating current, however, taught him about frequency and wavelength, helping him generate sustained electrical effects rather than just creating small sparks.

He gradually increased the voltage, carefully maintaining a balance between pushing his limits and avoiding injury. Channeling the lightning chakra while exposed to electrical current made it easier to transform his chakra nature to lightning – as if the two forms of energy were harmonizing. This discovery led to a breakthrough in his training.

With full chakra reserves, Raijin could maintain the lightning chakra in his hand under two different conditions. When exposed to electrical current, he could sustain the lightning chakra for about two hundred sixty minutes. Without the supply of external electrical current, his limit was only twenty minutes. "It's like having a huge chakra backup with electricity," Raijin mused.

He observed, watching the interplay between circuit-generated electricity and his chakra-produced lightning. The bluish-white arcs from his hands chirped like birds.

His training wasn't without setbacks. Once, attempting to channel too much power resulted in a feedback surge that left his right hand numb for days. Another time, trying to maintain multiple voltage levels simultaneously caused his chakra pathways to burn uncomfortably.

Months flew by as Raijin immersed himself in his electrical setup. He would either train by himself or expose himself to electricity. He became so engrossed in mastering the lightning nature transformation that he barely noticed Haruko's absence.

His excitement grew like a child's as he daydreamed about the potential power of his jutsu. Having experimented—or rather tortured his own body by increasing the voltage of electricity—after months, he was now able to discharge lightning chakra from his feet and hands. Though dangerous, his methodical approach helped him avoid serious mishaps.

As his change in chakra nature improved, he'd begin experimenting with practical applications before trying to learn the elemental jutsus. Within hours, he learned to regulate the voltage of devices by channeling his lightning chakra through them. Even though this required intense concentration.

His next challenge was powering incandescent bulbs with his lightning chakra. These bulbs worked by heating their filaments, and after several minutes of channeling his vibrating chakra, he succeeded in making them glow. The incandescent bulbs proved particularly useful—after days of repetition, he could now power them directly with his chakra, adjusting their brightness at will.

"Lightning isn't just about raw electric discharge," His fingers traced patterns of light in the darkness, each arc precisely controlled. "It's about conducting, redirecting, and potentially transforming the discharge."

One evening alone in his training ground, Raijin channeled chakra to his palm, vibrating it to change his chakra nature to lightning. The weeks of practice to change his chakra made this attempt easy. But this attempt wasn't merely chakra vibration, rather lightning chakra was concentrated in his palm crackling and surging with powerful electrical energy.

The lightning chakra in his hand created high-pitched bright light which had a bluish-white tint along with trails of blue sparks. It was beautiful yet eye-blinding. The electric bolts were loosely concentrated in his hand causing even the environment to crackle and spark.

Searing pain shot from his hand through his body as electricity impacted his flesh and nervous system. Only the soothing chirping sound seemed to dull the pain. He maintained this loosely concentrated lightning chakra in his palm, but even a few seconds drained his chakra reserves to dangerous levels.

Thud

Raijin collapsed to the ground, his weak knees giving way as his sore hand hit the ground. The electrical discharge had disrupted his nerves, muscles, and tissues, leading to pain and half-consciousness. His small chakra reserve couldn't sustain such highly concentrated lightning chakra. It would last for only a few seconds… rendering it impractical.

"I need to learn lightning-style jutsus that consumes less chakra and… techniques I can perform multiple times." He muttered through the pain.