"Like this."
Before the words had even fully fallen, Shinichi suddenly twisted his waist as he spun around, and his right fist, like a cannonball shot from the barrel, thundered toward another slightly smaller bluish-gray boulder more than ten meters away!
At the very instant his fist was about to touch the rock's surface—
Boom!
A burst of blazing, solid crimson flame, erupting outward from within in an instant, exploded violently from his fist!
That flame was compressed to an extreme degree, almost overlapping perfectly with the outline of his fist. Its color was so deep it was nearly dark red, and the temperature at its core was so high that even the air twisted and let out a hissing sound.
It was like a flame gauntlet compressed to the limit and then suddenly released, wrapping around Shinichi's fist as it smashed into the rock with overwhelming force!
Bang! Crack!
This time, the destructive effect was completely different from the previous pure Monster Strength punch!
The rock shattered, and at the center of the impact, there was even a deeply sunken fist mark with scorched black edges!
The eruption of high-temperature flames and the physical impact stacked together perfectly. Not only did it smash apart the rock's structure, but it also left clear burn marks within the broken cracks and fissures. Where the shattered fragments had scattered, obvious crimson traces of extreme heat could still be seen.
Several of the smaller fragments were even trailing thin wisps of smoke while still flying through the air.
Shinichi withdrew his fist and slowly let out a breath. The layer of terrifying high-temperature flame on his fist had already dissipated. His skin was slightly red and giving off faint strands of heat, but there were no signs of burns.
Shinichi looked at Tsunade and said, "Compress and restrain Fire Release chakra inside the attacking limb in the manner of a Monster Strength punch, then release both the physical impact and a highly condensed explosive burst of flame at the instant the target is struck. That is the new direction I'm currently trying. I want the limb attack itself to become the fuse and the carrier that ignites lethal flames."
Tsunade said nothing. She merely walked quietly to the shattered rock, crouched down, touched the scorched black marks at the edge of the fist print with her fingers, and then felt the lingering heat in the air and the violent aftertaste of Fire Release chakra left behind.
There was no expression on her face, but the shock in her heart was hard to suppress.
This brat...
She clearly remembered that the old man had once told her that this kid's idea for Fire Release nin-taijutsu had only come to him after last year's Chūnin Exams had ended. He had been groping his way forward entirely from scratch.
In less than half a year, he had forcibly tinkered out Dark Brush, a flaming shuriken technique that combined both stability and practicality, completing the critical breakthrough from nothing to something.
And now, how long had it even been since Dark Brush first appeared?
In less than half a year again, he had actually already managed to take that violent Fire Release chakra and, using the compression-and-burst principle of a Monster Strength punch, preliminarily integrate it into close-quarters taijutsu, striking out with this embryonic flame punch that combined physical impact with elemental erosion!
This was no longer just a matter of learning quickly. What it displayed was a terrifying ability to continuously break down abstract ideas, overcome technical hurdles, and turn them into actual combat capability!
What if he were given a few more years?
An image of the future involuntarily surfaced in Tsunade's mind.
A blazing armor of heat stably formed around the entire body, integrating offense and defense. Or going even further, like the Lightning Release Chakra Mode passed down generation after generation by those brutes of Kumogakure, truly merging Fire Release chakra into every cell of the body, achieving an all-around leap and forming a violent, blazing Fire Release Chakra Mode that would belong to Konoha alone.
Given the clarity of the path this kid had shown so far, his speed in breaking through difficulties, and his ability to plan out his own power system, it really was possible.
And how long had it taken for the Kumo shinobi's Lightning Release nin-taijutsu to reach where it was today?
The First Raikage had laid the foundation, the Second Raikage had refined it, and the Third Raikage had brought it to completion. Over the course of three generations, led by three top-tier masters of Lightning Release and taijutsu, it had taken decades to develop Lightning Release nin-taijutsu to its present state.
And this kid...
Tsunade suddenly realized that she might be witnessing with her own eyes the entire process of a Fire Release nin-taijutsu system, one that could become one of Konoha's signature power systems in the future, going from its earliest conception step by step into reality.
And the one leading that process was the black-haired boy standing before her, whose face still carried traces of youth, yet whose gaze was calm to an almost unbelievable degree.
"Not bad, I guess."
Shaken as she was inside, Tsunade showed none of it on the surface. She stood up and patted the rock dust from her hands, keeping that usual tone of hers with its faint note of disdain, as though that astonishing strike just now had only barely passed.
"You may have managed to grope your way to the threshold and come up with a decent line of thought," she said as she walked over to Shinichi, her gaze falling on his right arm, which was still somewhat red and giving off faint wisps of heat. "But be careful when you practice. If you mess around with Fire Release chakra like this, the burden it puts on the Chakra Pathways and muscles is far greater than that of ordinary chakra. The residual scorching energy left behind when you compress and release it may not look like much at first, but if it builds up over time, it is still an injury. Don't go causing the same kind of troublesome injury as last time, because when that happens, I can't be bothered to care whether you live or die."
Hearing that, Shinichi merely smiled and did not argue.
"What are you planning to call this move?" Tsunade asked, folding her arms and glancing at the scorched fist mark on the rock.
"Wild Bite."
"Wild Bite?" Tsunade repeated, one eyebrow slightly raised, her tone carrying its usual hint of disdain. "What a strange name. Just like Dark Brush before it."
"Call it whatever you want." Tsunade turned around and walked toward Shizune and Kurenai, who were practicing intently not far away under the guidance of a Clone. Her lazy voice drifted back as she left, "Instead of wasting your mind on naming things, put more effort into control. Wild Bite? Hmph. Don't end up failing to bite the enemy and instead ruin yourself first."
Shinichi watched Tsunade's back as she walked away. He moved his slightly aching right arm, feeling the lingering burning sensation within his Chakra Pathways. The effect of the Entry Unceasing Vitality had already begun circulating gently, repairing those minute injuries.
In his mind, he silently evaluated the gains and losses of that strike just now. The timing of the burst had indeed been a fraction too early, and the compression had been far from the ideal state. At least thirty percent of the power had been wasted.
But the direction was correct.
By combining the compression concept of a Monster Strength punch with Fire Release chakra, and completing the dual release of "physical impact" and "elemental eruption" at the instant of bodily contact, the potential of this path had already begun to show its first signs in that single punch.
"Wild Bite…"
Shinichi murmured the name softly. His right hand clenched, as if he could still feel the blazing heat and power that had erupted after being compressed to the limit in that instant.
This was only the beginning. From the stable, released-from-the-body attack of Dark Brush to the close-range burst of Wild Bite, he was gradually constructing the different modules of a Fire Release nin-taijutsu system.
Ever since he obtained the Entry Clone last year, Shinichi had already calculated the path his original body should take—focusing on the deep integration of taijutsu and Fire Release, fully opening up the brand-new and immensely promising path of Fire Release nin-taijutsu, and bringing his talent in that direction to its greatest possible display.
Just like the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, whose iconic Wood Release had become almost synonymous with the title of the God of Shinobi, he intended that in the future Fire Release nin-taijutsu would become the most striking, most unique, and most representative battle signature of Higashino Shinichi.
When people spoke of him, the first thing they thought of should not merely be a genius shinobi or a swordsmanship prodigy. Instead, it should be that crimson fist that burned everything to ash and struck with unmatched ferocity—the pioneering flame combat system that belonged to him, Higashino Shinichi, alone.
By concentrating on key breakthroughs, forging a peak, and investing all of his resources and persona-building into one field first—reaching the pinnacle there and achieving accomplishments recognized across the shinobi world—he could use that to impact higher-tier Entries, while other fields would advance in parallel through Clone, seeking balance.
By combining the two, he would ultimately achieve top-tier mastery in every direction—excellence across all fields!
And the Third Great Ninja War that was about to arrive might not merely be a crisis.
It might also be his grandest stage.
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