Bab 138: Chapter 138: Warm-up Over, Blaze Release!
In the forest, Shūichi Hoshita, who had been resting, opened his eyes. "As expected, they've dispatched a large number of shinobi."
"Looking at this setup, you'd think they're preparing for a massive assault!"
Shūichi stood up and called out to Asuka, who was on guard not far away, "Asuka, get ready to retreat!"
"Huh?"
Asuka was startled for a moment, then asked, "Did the Sand Shinobi mobilize in large numbers?"
Shūichi nodded. "More than a hundred."
"You and I will retreat separately, with a clone of mine taking the intel back. Have the others prepare to intercept the Sand infiltration squad."
Asuka was shocked. "Shūichi, are you going to face over a hundred Sand shinobi alone?"
Shūichi shook his head. "Of course not."
"I'm just buying some time. Don't forget, I can teleport to you with the Flying Thunder God anytime!"
Realizing her earlier concern, Asuka nodded in agreement.
Shūichi immediately created a shadow clone to escort Asuka away.
He then resumed his Four-Tails transformation to absorb natural energy and recover his stamina. Once replenished, he continued producing clones.
A shadow clone, a lightning clone, an earth clone, and a water clone.
The shadow clone transformed into a hawk to monitor the Sand shinobi, while the other three clones took flight, turning into various birds that dispersed into the surrounding forest.
After setting everything up, Shūichi quietly waited.
Half an hour later, an eagle's cry echoed from the sky.
"They're here!"
Shūichi's eyes sharpened, and in the next instant, his figure disappeared.
Moments later, at the forest's edge, Shūichi reappeared atop a tree.
Outside, the Sand shinobi's hundred-strong unit had also come to a halt.
Seeing them, Shūichi smirked. "A hundred shinobi... isn't really that many."
Across from him, seeing Shūichi alone and still able to smile, Feilian, one of the Sand leaders, couldn't help but frown. "Is this kid insane?"
"No matter. We'll clear this obstacle first!"
With a wave of his hand, Feilian signaled.
Immediately, ten Sand shinobi leaped forward, forming hand seals in unison.
"Wind Release: Great Cast Net!"
Rumble!
A storm surged forward, creating a massive wind net capable of shredding trees and bodies alike.
With one jonin and nine chunin working together, the scale of the jutsu was terrifying.
Feilian was confident that Shūichi had no choice but to retreat. There was no way one person could block such a powerful Wind Release, even with fire techniques combined.
As the ten Sand shinobi launched their jutsu, two more teams flanked from the sides to close in.
However, standing on the branch, Shūichi watched calmly. He didn't move until the wind technique was right in front of him—then his figure vanished in an instant.
The tree he had stood on was immediately shredded into pieces.
"What?!"
Feilian and many of the Sand shinobi were stunned.
He dodged it?
"Watch out, he's above!"
A sensor ninja in the group shouted a warning.
The hawk that had been circling overhead, actually a transformed shadow clone, was now directly above the Sand shinobi. In the blink of an eye, Shūichi teleported above them with the Flying Thunder God, diving headfirst towards them.
Feilian looked up to see massive blue fireballs raining down and shouted, "Scatter!"
Dozens of Sand shinobi hurriedly dispersed.
Boom!
A series of explosions erupted, sending plumes of dust and smoke rolling over the area, engulfing many of the scattered Sand shinobi.
As he descended, Shūichi flung his hands, releasing a barrage of Flying Thunder God kunai that rained down into the midst of the Sand forces, embedding themselves in the ground.
As the dust from the explosions was swept away by Wind Release techniques, the sound of shuriken cutting through the air filled the battlefield. Numerous shuriken, some carrying explosive tags, were launched towards Shūichi.
But just as quickly as he had appeared, Shūichi vanished again.
Feilian quickly realized something was wrong. This teleportation technique was just like the Yellow Flash of the Leaf.
"Be careful of his teleportation! Scatter, and stay away from those kunai!"
Feilian shouted the warning, but it was already too late.
Shūichi's figure appeared next to a Sand shinobi. The moment his Totsuka Blade was unsheathed, the enemy's body was split in two.
Zzzzz!
Lightning crackled around his limbs, and the sharp sound of Chidori echoed through the battlefield. Shūichi was cloaked in electricity, wielding the Yagakigami Sword, reclaimed from Pakura, in his left hand and the Totsuka Blade in his right.
Both weapons were enveloped in a blue glow, the result of a combined Fire-Wind Release, forming the Blue Flame Vacuum Slash. This technique brought the searing heat of Fire Release and the devastating cutting power of Wind Release together.
His figure flickered through the battlefield, sword and blade dancing. In that moment, Shūichi was like a blue butterfly gracefully weaving through the crowd, but his movements left behind only the sounds of horrific screams.
Although the high temperature prevented blood from spraying, the battlefield was filled with the nauseating smell of burning flesh.
"Damn it!"
"This bastard!"
"Kill him!"
Watching their comrades fall one after another, the Sand shinobi were both terrified and enraged. Three of them rushed forward with swords in hand.
But to Shūichi, they moved too slowly. He easily cut down two of them before leaping into the air, landing with both feet on the shoulders of the third. With a crushing force, he broke the man's legs underfoot.
Just then, the sound of kunai cutting through the air came from behind him. A fiery lotus bloomed at Shūichi's feet as he shot upward, avoiding the attack. The Sand shinobi he had just stomped on exploded from the shoulders up, charred beyond recognition.
As Shūichi soared into the sky, evading kunai laced with explosive tags, a Wind Release jutsu swept toward him, attempting to trap him.
His figure vanished again, reappearing near one of his Flying Thunder God kunai.
However, the surrounding area was now clear of Sand shinobi—they had all distanced themselves and even marked the kunai locations.
The moment Shūichi appeared, a barrage of shuriken flew toward him.
Without hesitation, Shūichi pulled the Flying Thunder God kunai from the ground and threw it. Just before being hit by the shuriken, he teleported again, reappearing next to a Sand shinobi.
With his Totsuka Blade sheathed, Shūichi grabbed the shinobi by the throat and hurled him into the crowd.
An attack came from behind him once more.
He vanished again, following the shinobi he had thrown, and appeared amidst the remaining Sand forces. Sword and blade in hand, he slashed through the group, severing limbs and spilling blood, as agonizing cries echoed all around.
In a flash, several Sand shinobi were cut down.
Boom!
The roaring sound of air being torn apart came from all directions as Wind Release jutsu converged on him. Shūichi quickly used the Flying Thunder God technique once more.
This time, he reappeared in the sky next to the hawk formed by his shadow clone.
As he descended, Shūichi took a deep breath before releasing the Yin Seal at his forehead, activating the Strength of a Hundred technique.
In an instant, a radiant blue light flared from his forehead, rapidly spreading and enveloping his entire body.
A massive amount of chakra surged forth, dark blue and translucent, covering his form like a divine robe with a high collar and lotus patterns. Bright blue flames flickered all around him.
This was a new chakra mode born from the fusion of Yin Release and Fire Release, far more refined and tangible than his earlier combination of Fire and Wind Release. It allowed for greater control and mastery.
This was no longer just a Fire Release Chakra Mode—this was Blaze Release Chakra Mode!
A fiery lotus bloomed beneath his feet, halting his descent, leaving Shūichi hovering in midair, gazing down at the remaining Sand shinobi below.
At that moment, Feilian looked at the field strewn with severed limbs and the expressions of fear and desperation on his comrades' faces. The rage had vanished from their eyes, replaced entirely by terror. Finally, he realized that Sunagakure had grossly underestimated this genius from Konoha.
This man was even more terrifying than the Yellow Flash of the Leaf!
And at his age… was he even human?
Or was he some kind of monster disguised as one?
As an elite jonin of Sunagakure, even Feilian couldn't help but entertain such thoughts.
The remaining sixty or so Sand shinobi around them looked up at Shūichi floating in the sky, their throats dry, instinctively swallowing in fear.
At that moment, bathed in the distorted sunlight, Shūichi appeared to them like the mythical god of fire.
"This guy… he's not human!"
A Sand shinobi muttered, almost unconsciously.
…
In the sky, with his sword and blade already sheathed, Shūichi looked down at the Sand shinobi and smiled. "That was just a warm-up. The real battle starts now."
"So, are you ready?"
"Of course, if you lay down your weapons and surrender to me, this fight can end right here."
Clang!
A Sand shinobi's weapon suddenly hit the ground.
Feilian immediately shouted, "Don't listen to him!"
"This guy only knows how to use space-time ninjutsu!"
"No matter how powerful he is, his chakra is limited!"
"If we work together, we can definitely defeat him!"
Other Sand jonin began to echo his words.
"Take him down! Avenge our comrades!"
"Use large-scale Wind Release, don't let him get close!"
...
The Sand shinobi's fighting spirit was returning.
Shūichi nodded with a smile. "Good!"
This was the passion he was looking for!
In the next moment, Shūichi appeared beside a Flying Thunder God kunai embedded in the ground.
Crack!
The ground beneath his feet split open, five massive fissures rapidly extending outward, branching off like a tree growing new limbs, with blue flames illuminating the cracks from within.
"Kill him!"
"Attack together!"
"This time, don't let him escape!"
The Sand shinobi roared, their spit flying as their faces twisted in rage.
Shuriken and Wind Release jutsu surged toward Shūichi, engulfing him.
At that moment, it seemed like they didn't notice Shūichi making any moves to attack.
They thought if they could take him out first, his attacks would be interrupted!
Or… they'd settle for taking him down with them!
Clang! Clang!
The sound of chains echoed through the air as blue flames ignited. Dark blue chakra chains, burning with azure fire, shot out from Shūichi's back.
The six Fire Nether Chains quickly formed a circular barrier, blocking all the incoming attacks.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
From the cracks in the earth, pale blue fire pillars erupted. Some Sand shinobi, unable to evade, were instantly incinerated, reduced to nothing but skeletal remains that crumbled to the ground.
Most strikingly, the flames at the perimeter formed a continuous wall of blue fire, like a high barrier, encircling all the Sand shinobi within.
"Break through! Quickly!"
Feilian spat out a barrage of wind blades, slicing open a gap in the flame wall. But before he could escape, the gap sealed itself almost instantly.
Not far away, another Sand shinobi tried the same thing, but the flames engulfed him, turning him into a screaming human torch.
Feilian then noticed something terrifying—on the flame walls, on the pillars of fire, flower buds were starting to appear, blooming one after another.
Since Wind Release hadn't been infused into this attack, the blooming lotuses unleashed pure heat shockwaves.
In an instant, the entire area enclosed by the fire wall became a chaotic, boiling mess. Time and space seemed to warp, and one by one, the Sand shinobi within were engulfed by the unbearable heat and the chaotic waves, exploding like fireworks.
When the space inside could no longer contain the force, all the energy surged upward, forming a massive column of light, a hundred meters wide, shooting into the sky, piercing the clouds. It was visible even from dozens of miles away.
Only then did the deafening roar of the explosion erupt, shaking the air!
Blaze Release – Fire Prison Lotus!
This time, Shūichi had abandoned the method of channeling Fire Release chakra into the ground via his sword and blade.
And at the moment of the explosion, Shūichi had already vanished from the center of the blast, reappearing next to the hawk formed by his shadow clone high in the sky.
At the same time…
In the forest at the edge of the battlefield, White Zetsu's face emerged from a tree trunk. Watching the blooming lotuses and the towering pillar of light, he couldn't help but voice his admiration, "Such beautiful ninjutsu… and such terrifying power!"
"Ninjutsu like this is beyond what an ordinary shinobi can master, right?"
"Is this guy really only 12 years old?"
"I need to report this to Lord Madara as soon as possible. He'll definitely be very interested."
As White Zetsu's face began to disappear, Shūichi suddenly appeared in the forest, blue lotuses blooming all over his body. The lotuses exploded in waves, propelling him forward at high speed.
Boom!
The large tree where White Zetsu had been hiding was destroyed with a single punch from Shūichi.
Crouching down, Shūichi placed a finger on the ground and activated his Listening Technique.
However, he found nothing.
"Was it just my imagination?" Shūichi muttered to himself, as if he was uncertain.
In truth, he had clearly sensed White Zetsu's presence, but he wasn't using the Listening Technique—he was using heat vision.
The strange heat signatures had tipped him off, leading him to suspect White Zetsu and Black Zetsu.
Unfortunately, the Flying Thunder God mark he had left in the forest was a bit too far away, and even with his speed pushed to the limit, he hadn't been fast enough.
But what Shūichi didn't know was that, deep underground, where White Zetsu had merged with the tree roots, he was trembling with fear. "This guy has terrifying instincts!"
"Good thing I don't sweat. Otherwise, I'd be drenched in cold sweat right now!"
"I was only here to monitor that Uchiha genius, but it turns out there's an unexpected prize."
"With power like this, Lord Madara will definitely be interested!"
With those thoughts, White Zetsu quickly began moving through the ground.
...
Back at the Sunagakure base camp, Chiyo, just emerging from the medical tent, suddenly turned her head, her eyes locking onto the distant column of light piercing the sky.
"That place is…"
Her expression shifted, a sense of dread welling up in her heart.
Without hesitation, she hurried back to her command post, dispatching three squads of shinobi to investigate.
(End of Chapter)
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