Before his words had even finished,
flames rose around Yuu once again.
At this moment, he had already extracted nearly half of his chakra from his body and transformed it into white-hot flames that filled the sky. Then, enhanced by Heavenly Fire Judgment, they surged toward Kaguya Hiromitsu's position in wave after wave like a raging tide.
Meanwhile, the three weasel brothers puffed out their cheeks and continuously blew wind beside Yuu, further increasing the power of his Fire Release.
The momentum of Fire Release on this scale was already no weaker than Uchiha Madara's Majestic Destroyer Flame.
Even if Kaguya Hiromitsu wanted to repeat his earlier feat of charging through the flames, it would be extremely difficult for him to cross such a vast, dense, and scorching sea of fire.
Furthermore,
an increasing number of flaming weapons condensed in midair.
Enhanced by Wind Release, they transformed into extremely concentrated beams of crimson-gold light, resembling spears of judgment hurled down by a god as they fiercely pierced toward the bone barriers Kaguya Hiromitsu had constructed!
Hiss—!
Hiss, hiss, hiss—!!!
Piercing sounds continuously tore through the air!
The surrounding atmosphere was repeatedly scorched and dried out.
At first, Kaguya Hiromitsu still attempted to fight back.
But soon,
he was suppressed by the ocean-like flames. White-hot fire surrounded him from every side and covered the sky above his head.
His bone shields, whose hardness rivaled refined steel, gradually softened and deformed beneath the extreme heat. Wax-like liquid slowly dripped from their surfaces, while cracks began spreading across the inner layers of bone.
"…Impossible!"
Kaguya Hiromitsu's eyes widened until they nearly split.
He could feel the pale bone armor covering his body releasing desperate groans.
The terrifying heat was passing through the gaps between the bones and burning his flesh beneath them.
Soon,
a faint smell of scorching flesh spread through the air.
The skin exposed beyond Kaguya Hiromitsu's bone armor gradually turned crimson, developed blisters, and finally began showing signs of carbonization.
Wisps of smoke rose from several parts of his body!
"AAAAAHHHH—!!!"
Accompanied by a miserable scream,
Kaguya Hiromitsu could no longer maintain the white-bone fortress.
The thick armor covering his entire body collapsed amid a series of piercing cracks!
Pieces of blackened, softened, and even partially melted bone scattered in every direction!
Without the protection of his bone armor, Kaguya Hiromitsu was completely exposed beneath the heaven-burning inferno.
What little clothing remained on his body instantly turned to ash.
Then his powerful body began blackening, peeling, and carbonizing like a wax statue thrown into a furnace, revealing the severely burned flesh beneath!
Finally…
Kaguya Hiromitsu fell to his knees with a thud.
His violent, savage aura had completely disappeared, leaving only dying gasps and uncontrollable spasms of pain.
His scarlet eyes remained fixed on Yuu. The despair and unwillingness within them were eventually swallowed by the flames as well.
With that,
the outcome had been decided.
Seeing Kaguya Hiromitsu's chakra presence gradually disappear, Yuu released a long breath.
"Haa…"
At that moment, the raging flames that seemed ready to burn down the entire forest suddenly paused.
Then, like countless rivers returning to the sea, they reversed direction and swept back with a roaring wind.
The scorching current lifted Yuu's white hair slightly.
However, the flames did not immediately disperse.
Instead, they revolved and intertwined around Yuu, constructing a blazing throne that radiated intense light and heat!
The "throne" was formed from flowing flames, with golden tongues of fire dancing along its edges and dyeing Yuu's white hair red.
At this moment, he resembled a god standing amid drifting clouds and fire, exuding overwhelming presence and majesty.
Mm…
Strictly speaking, this Blazing Throne had no practical function.
It was merely a shape formed from condensed flames.
However,
strength was only temporary.
Looking cool lasted a lifetime.
As long as he had enough energy to spare, Yuu saw nothing wrong with adding a little more style to his appearance.
On the other side,
whether it was Uchiha Fugaku and Obito, who were still fighting, or Kakashi and Shisui, who had been covering Yuu, everyone instinctively stopped moving and turned toward the young man standing before the Blazing Throne.
The white-hot light illuminated Yuu's face, leaving everyone deeply shaken.
Uchiha Fugaku even instinctively rotated his three-tomoe Sharingan and attempted to copy the "ninjutsu," only to discover that he could not.
The Sharingan's copying ability fundamentally worked by observing the opponent's chakra flow and analyzing the technique they used.
However, Yuu had not formed any seals at all.
He was simply controlling the flames through the Heavenly Fire Judgment trait. Its nature was closer to a kekkei genkai and fell outside the Sharingan's ability to copy.
This realization shocked Uchiha Fugaku even more.
After all, even within the Uchiha clan, which specialized in Fire Release more than any other clan, no one could manipulate fire in this manner.
Yet Yuu had done it.
This undoubtedly proved that his understanding of Fire Release had already surpassed that of the Uchiha clan.
No…
There actually seemed to be one method capable of something similar—the Mangekyō dōjutsu recorded in the clan's ancient texts…
Uchiha Fugaku suddenly remembered this and fell into deep thought.
Compared with Konoha's forces,
the Kirigakure ninja were in a miserable state.
Most of them had also been paying attention to the battle between Yuu and Kaguya Hiromitsu.
After personally witnessing Kaguya Hiromitsu's defeat, they felt as though a bucket of icy water had been poured over their heads, leaving them enveloped by bone-chilling cold.
Although the Kaguya clan had a poor reputation in Kirigakure because of their mental problems, and many Kiri ninja actively disliked them, everyone had to admit that their average strength was considerable.
Kaguya Hiromitsu, as the clan head, was especially recognized as one of Kirigakure's strongest fighters.
Yet such a powerful man had been unable to launch even a single counterattack beneath Yuu's divine-punishment-like assault before being burned into charcoal.
It was difficult not to feel terrified by such an outcome.
"Th-the clan head is dead?"
"A monster… That Konoha brat is a monster!!!"
"Run… Run away!!"
No one knew who shouted first.
The surviving Kirigakure ninja completely collapsed. Their fighting spirit disintegrated in an instant, and they no longer cared about their mission or their comrades.
Like frightened rabbits, they screamed, turned around, and desperately fled into the depths of the forest!
Once an army began to collapse, it fell like a mountain.
At this moment,
Yuu stood before the quietly burning Blazing Throne. His gaze swept over the fleeing Kirigakure ninja, briefly glancing toward a certain cluster of rocks as well.
"Begin cleaning up the battlefield."
"…Yes, Captain!"
The Konoha ninja accepted the order.
Kakashi, Shisui, Uchiha Fugaku, and the others immediately led their squad members in different directions.
Some pursued the fleeing Kiri ninja, while others cautiously began cleaning the battlefield, checking for enemies pretending to be dead and recovering valuable ninja tools or intelligence.
The air was filled with a thick mixture of scorched flesh and blood.
Only a blackened patch of ground and several twisted, pale bone fragments that had not completely burned remained where Kaguya Hiromitsu had fallen.
Rin and Kurenai were not primary combat personnel, so they were not assigned any tasks.
After briefly catching their breath, they immediately ran to Yuu's side.
Kurenai stared at the slowly dispersing Blazing Throne, her eyes shining brilliantly.
Rin, however, was more concerned about Yuu's current condition.
"Yuu, that technique just now… must have consumed a lot of chakra, right?"
"It was manageable."
Yuu accepted the water bottle and drank several mouthfuls. Feeling the emptiness inside his chakra network, he released a long breath.
The technique he had just used, Heavenly Fire Descent, was certainly extremely powerful, but its chakra consumption was equally astonishing.
In only a short time, it had drained nearly half of his chakra.
And that was without attempting X-Dragon Turning Destruction, which required even more chakra.
However…
it did not matter.
X-Dragon Turning Destruction was theoretically Yuu's ultimate Fire Release trump card at present.
Using it before encountering an opponent worthy of it—especially in front of so many witnesses—would risk exposing the information.
That would hardly be pleasant.
Before long, Obito eagerly approached as well.
He stammered for quite a while before finally forcing out a sentence.
"Hey, Yuu, you… how exactly did you train? That Fire Release you used just now was way too ridiculous!"
"That?"
Yuu glanced at Obito and answered casually,
"You only need to keep practicing. The effort you're putting in isn't enough. You need to work two hundred times harder than you currently do."
"…Two hundred times?"
Obito froze.
"That's way too ridiculous! Even if I stopped sleeping every night and spent all my time training, I could only work two or three times harder at most! How could anyone manage two hundred times?!"
"You'll have to figure that out yourself."
Yuu said nothing more.
He merely raised his head and glanced toward a cluster of rocks not far away.
For some time now, he had vaguely sensed several extremely faint chakra fluctuations there, carrying a cold feeling of surveillance.
They did not feel like Kirigakure ninja, and their chakra had been concealed exceptionally well.
"…Hmph. As expected of rats who only know how to hide in the sewers."
Yuu snorted coldly.
He did not continue paying attention to those chakra signatures. Instead, he turned toward the three weasel brothers, preparing to ask them about the situation in Sunagakure.
However, he first needed to move away from Obito and the others.
After all, the deal between him and Pakura had been conducted privately and should not yet be revealed to outsiders.
Incidentally, Rin and Kurenai had both noticed the three weasel brothers.
It was the first time either girl had seen these summoned beasts.
Driven by their instinctive fondness for small, furry animals, they were immediately attracted by the weasels' appearance and seemed eager to pet them.
However, because they had not received Yuu's permission, the two girls could only stare longingly and did not dare cross the line.
…
At the same time,
inside the shadows behind the rocks,
two figures nearly fused with the stone crouched silently.
Even their breathing had almost stopped.
They wore dark bodysuits and animal masks.
They were Root ninja from Konoha.
"Gulp…"
At this moment, one of the two Root ninja swallowed with difficulty.
Beneath his mask, his pupils had contracted violently from extreme shock. A barely noticeable tremor entered his voice.
"Hey, Hei… was that technique just now really Fire Release?"
"…"
The other Root ninja did not answer.
Because he was not entirely certain either.
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, Konoha possessed the deepest research into Fire Release.
The village had no shortage of Fire Release experts, including Sarutobi Hiruzen and his son, Jiraiya, and the Uchiha clan.
Several of them possessed extraordinary understanding of Fire Release and could use it with remarkable versatility.
However…
the two Root ninja had never witnessed a technique like the one they had just seen.
Kaguya Hiromitsu, an inheritor of the Dead Bone Pulse, had been burned to death without possessing much ability to resist.
It was truly too astonishing.
The two Root ninja who had personally witnessed it were left mentally disordered by the sight.
That white-haired brat…
just how powerful had he become?
"…We must report this to Lord Danzō immediately!"
The first Root ninja took a deep breath and spoke decisively.
"Mikami Yuu's strength must be reassessed. His importance may already be approaching that of the White Fang from back then.
"If we fail to understand that, unexpected trouble may arise in the future!"
"Mm."
The two exchanged a glance and said nothing further.
They silently merged into deeper underground shadows and disappeared, leaving behind only a trace of cold chakra that was quickly scattered by the wind.
…
During that same period,
a thousand li away in the Mountain Graveyard,
before the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path,
Uchiha Madara was also watching the battle remotely through White Zetsu.
When he saw the Blazing Throne Yuu had created, Madara fell silent.
Only several low breaths remained inside the cavern.
After a long while,
Uchiha Madara exhaled and spoke in a low, hoarse voice.
"This brat's growth rate is truly astonishing. He has actually improved again in such a short period…
"And in Fire Release, no less."
As a master-level figure in Fire Release, Uchiha Madara's judgment was naturally exceptional.
He clearly understood what Yuu's performance in this battle represented.
Although Yuu's mastery of Fire Release could not yet be called perfect, it had genuinely reached a level that even Madara had to take seriously.
Madara remained confident that he could crush Yuu.
However, the power the young man now possessed meant that he was no longer an ant Madara could casually erase with his current aged body.
He had become somewhat troublesome.
And if Yuu were allowed to continue developing like this for another three to five years…
then even Uchiha Madara could not predict what level that white-haired brat might eventually reach.
Nearby,
Black Zetsu stood silently in the corner without speaking.
After all, according to his established role, he was Uchiha Madara's "manifested will."
At a time like this, it would be inappropriate for him to interrupt the "original body's" thoughts.
He only needed to wait quietly.
"Zetsu."
Uchiha Madara finally released another breath and turned toward Black Zetsu.
"How is Sasori's progress?"
~~~
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