Swish!

The power of heavenly thunder within Kaito's body vanished again—without a trace.

This time, Kaito caught a faint glimpse of something unusual—a flash of white.

"Was that… the white lightning inside me?" Kaito frowned, the possibility nagging at him.

He remembered how Enel, in the original story, couldn't absorb lightning from the sky—he could manipulate it, sure, but not consume it. So why was it that Kaito's Thunder Fruit could seemingly devour the sky's lightning? That didn't add up.

Determined to find out, Kaito summoned the white thunder from within his body as another bolt of lightning descended. He directed it toward the exact point of contact.

Bzzzzz!!!

Instantly, the white lightning reacted wildly, as if it had sensed something irresistible. It surged forward and devoured the heavenly thunder in a single gulp.

"…So it's true," Kaito murmured.

A flicker of lightning danced along his right hand. He quietly analyzed the change within his Thunder Fruit.

"Still not enough?" he muttered, unable to sense any real improvement just yet.

His eyes lifted toward the boiling sky.

"Then let's go higher…"

With each step, he rose into the sky, leaving ripples in the air beneath his feet. It was as though he were climbing an invisible staircase straight to the heavens.

Below, the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee stared at him in disbelief.

"Since when could he fly?" the Raikage muttered, jaw clenched in disbelief.

"Ohhh! Yeah! That dude's smooth like a groove! Big bro, can we fight yet?" Killer Bee grinned, still half-rapping.

"Wait until he comes down. He can't stay up there forever," the Raikage growled through gritted teeth.

Meanwhile, a squad of elite Cloud Anbu had taken up positions across Thundercloud Valley. Each one carried the strength of an elite jonin, and all of them watched the sky with sharp eyes.

They knew that a clash between the Raikage, Killer Bee, and the masked stranger was inevitable.

"Is… that even human?" one of the Anbu asked, pointing at the figure ascending the sky.

"What is he doing? Walking into the sky like it's nothing?"

"Heh! Judging by his outfit, that's Kaito. Looks like he's gonna fight the Raikage and Bee-sama. What an idiot. That part of the canyon has the highest concentration of natural lightning. He's asking to die," another scoffed.

"Shame. We won't get to see Raikage-sama and Bee-sama go all out…"

---

Up in the sky...

Kaito paid no mind to the commotion below.

He was now only three meters from the center of the thunderclouds. Here, the air sizzled with raw power.

He stopped moving, waiting for the lightning to strike.

BOOM!

Thunder rolled like a beast roaring from within the clouds. Blue-white arcs of lightning slithered between the clouds, growing thicker by the second.

Crack!

A bolt as thick as an arm burst out, and Kaito's body lit up as he moved directly into its path.

Crack! Crack!

At the moment of impact, Kaito summoned the white lightning from within, hoping it could directly absorb the bolt mid-strike.

No luck.

White lightning rippled over his skin, but it couldn't consume the heavenly thunder externally.

"So, it really only works inside the body…" Kaito muttered. Without hesitation, he activated the secret method: the Heavenly Thunder Body Fortification Technique.

He sat in mid-air, letting bolt after bolt strike him. Each time, the heavenly thunder surged into his body, only to be devoured by the white lightning deep inside him.

Once. Twice. Over and over again.

---

One month passed.

Kaito remained suspended in the sky, struck by lightning dozens of times per day. When he got hungry, he'd descend to the canyon peak, eat, take a quick nap, then return to the clouds for more.

Even his training space had changed, now reflecting the terrain and sky of Thundercloud Canyon.

With one month passing outside, and ten more within the training space, Kaito effectively trained for eleven months straight.

During that time, the power of his Thunder Fruit increased dramatically—he could now release more volts. The gain was immense.

Eventually, the lightning in Thundercloud Canyon could no longer push his limits. His body had become so saturated with lightning that it barely affected him anymore.

Still, the relentless strikes had one more benefit—his physical endurance had increased, albeit slightly. A pleasant surprise.

In this time, Kaito also came to understand why his white lightning could devour heavenly thunder.

First, it was because his body had become strong enough to withstand it.

Secondly, the thunder in Thundercloud Canyon likely paled in comparison to the voltage he now generated.

Having reached a new voltage threshold, there was no longer any excess energy for him to absorb.He was at equilibrium with the sky.

---

Descending from the sky, Kaito landed atop the canyon's highest peak. He took out an ANBU mask and spare clothes from a seal tag tucked in his belt pouch.

His original gear had long since been obliterated by the heavenly lightning. For the past month, he had wrapped his body in lightning to cover himself—fortunately, being so high up meant the Cloud ninja below likely didn't notice.

Now fully dressed again, he stood at the cliff's edge.

"Heh. Thanks for the hospitality, Raikage. You came to see me off?" Kaito teased.

"See you off? Don't get cocky," the Raikage growled. "Let's finish this!"

With a furious roar, he activated his Lightning Chakra Mode. The ground beneath him cracked as he launched forward, vanishing in a bolt of light.

Killer Bee followed instantly, his figure vanishing in sync with the Raikage.

Boom!

In the next instant, the two of them appeared before and behind Kaito—one charging from the front, the other from the rear.

Their arms, protected by massive iron bracers, surged with violent chakra-infused lightning. They aimed straight for Kaito's neck from both sides.

"Lightning Style: Absolute Bull Thunder Blade!" they shouted in unison.

It was a well-coordinated attack—deadly and precise.

But...

Just as their fists closed in, Kaito vanished into thin air.

---

I still need y'all's feedback on the two new fanfics I started.

The first one's a Naruto story (point system type, set in the same generation as Minato and Nawaki—pretty dope).

The second one's a One Piece story (MC basically dominates with Conqueror's Haki).

They're both free to read—the only catch is you join as a free member.

Patreon.com/Zphyr_