c 29: Recognition
After speaking, Gen Uchiha leapt backward, forming the Tiger hand seal mid-air a signature motion of the Uchiha clan's famed Fire Style techniques. As his feet touched the ground, the hand seal was completed with precision.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
(Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!)
His chest expanded greatly, gathering a vast amount of chakra and converting it into fire nature transformation. A stream of golden-orange flame erupted from his mouth and quickly condensed into a massive fireball over three meters wide. The fireball roared forward, rolling with fierce intensity and a searing heat that rippled the air.
Orochimaru didn't dodge. Instead, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi (Kusanagi Sword) in his hand elongated sharply. He slashed downward, the blade sheathed in a fine coat of blue chakra—likely Wind Chakra, known to be sharp enough to cut through flame-based techniques.
When the sword fell, the fireball split cleanly in two. The Kusanagi continued extending forward like a whip, curving toward Gen Uchiha, forcing him to dodge sideways.
With the fireball disrupted and Gen unable to maintain his chakra output mid-evasion, the technique lost cohesion and scattered harmlessly.
Orochimaru allowed the flames to fly past his body, his expression calm. With no sense of urgency, he retracted the Kusanagi sword and returned it to his mouth with a flick. His demeanor was leisurely, as though he had no real intention of launching a counterattack.
The gulf between a Kage-level shinobi and a Jōnin—even one from the elite Uchiha clan was vast. Orochimaru did not see Gen Uchiha as someone who could truly threaten him yet.
Hm?
Suddenly, Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly. He exhaled softly and leapt backward. In the next instant, two hands burst forth from underground.
Realizing the sneak attack had failed, the hidden figure sprang from the earth—it was another Gen Uchiha. As he emerged, three shuriken spun through the air toward Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was momentarily airborne and could not apply physical leverage, but his body's inhuman flexibility—thanks to his altered physiology allowed him to twist his neck and torso in a serpentine motion, evading all three projectiles.
These shuriken were standard in appearance unmodified and unmarked. Their purpose wasn't to hit, but to obscure and mislead. Revealing the use of Hōmatsu Shibari (Binding Homing Shuriken) or any more advanced tactics now would only give Orochimaru more information to analyze.
To an average shinobi, wire-controlled shuriken might seem plausible, but Orochimaru—possessing peak perception and an integrated soul immune to basic deception would not be fooled.
As the ambush failed, the two Gen Uchiha original and shadow clone—stood shoulder-to-shoulder and began weaving hand signs in unison.
"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku!"
(Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!)
"Fūton: Daitoppa!"
(Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!)
Combining the large-scale Fire Release with Wind Release support, golden-orange flames surged outward like a tide, engulfing the battlefield. Wind-fed and focused, the flames turned into an overwhelming inferno. Though only a third of Uchiha Madara's range, the flame temperature was significantly higher an intentional refinement through chakra control.
In his prior elemental training, Gen Uchiha had concentrated less on scale and more on increasing thermal intensity through refined fire nature transformation.
Increasing flame temperature isn't easy—temperature amplification requires finer chakra control and precision release. But having access to the Zhurong reference material named after the legendary Fire Deity allowed Gen to shortcut what most ninjas would consider impossible.
Different flame colors correlate with temperature:
Dark red: ~600°C
Crimson: ~700°C
Orange-red: ~1,000°C
Pure orange: ~1,100°C
Golden-orange: ~1,200°C
Golden: ~1,300°C
Golden-white: ~1,400°C
Pure white: ~1,500°C
The golden-orange hue of Gen's flames indicated he was reaching temperatures over 1,200°C—well beyond typical Fire Style limits.
Orochimaru, feeling the extreme heat close in, narrowed his eyes in focus.
The power of the combined jutsu was overwhelming. Basic Water Release couldn't suppress it—it would be vaporized before reaching the source. Wind Release would only amplify it, and Lightning Release had no effective interaction. Earth Release was viable, but the heat would still transfer through the medium.
As a mentor, Orochimaru could not afford to be overwhelmed.
With a calm motion, Orochimaru bit his thumb, then crouched and slammed both palms into the scorched earth. Two black concentric seals spread outward.
"Kuchiyose: Rashōmon!"
(Summoning: Rashomon!)
The ground rumbled, and with a violent tremor, a massive demonic gate with a red facade and grotesque white fangs erupted from the earth. The Rashomon opened wide, absorbing and diffusing the oncoming flames, shielding Orochimaru completely.
Once its role was fulfilled, the gate vanished in a puff of white smoke. The training ground was reduced to charred, blackened soil. The once-lush green grass had been utterly reduced to ash.
"Fūton: Shinkū Ami!"
(Wind Style: Vacuum Net!)
Facing the area still shrouded in dispersing smoke, Gen Uchiha did not recklessly advance. Instead, he had his shadow clone launch a supplementary Wind Release technique, while he began forming seals for another Fire Style attack.
So far, Gen only possessed two Wind Release techniques: Daitoppa, used to empower Fire Release; and Shinkū Ami, a mesh-style jutsu that restricts movement to ensure slower Fire Release techniques can strike more reliably.
Strong, turbulent winds howled toward the area still obscured by lingering white smoke. Embedded within the gusts were tightly compressed, ribbon-like air currents wind belts—interwoven into a vast, airborne hunting net.
As the dense white smoke cleared rapidly, it revealed nothing. The wind net missed its intended target and slammed into the lush forest, making the treetops whip violently. Crisscrossed gouges etched into the bark as branches shattered and leaves scattered like confetti.
"Not up there... then..."
At that thought, the two Gen Uchiha original and shadow clone—instinctively separated and kept repositioning with swift, erratic movement, using the Body Flicker Technique (Shunshin no Jutsu) to reduce predictability and reaction time.
Beneath the surface, Orochimaru frowned in the shadows. The ambush had failed, but his ever-scheming mind devised a new plan instantly.
The earth trembled faintly. Gen Uchiha narrowed his eyes as he noticed the subtle, serpentine bulges wriggling toward him. Their movement was not only swift, but coordinated—encircling him from multiple directions.
Puff—Puff—Puff!
Suddenly, the bulges burst open, and serpents erupted from the soil—green, black, and brown each one the thickness of a barrel. Dozens of snakes lunged from every direction, hissing and coiling with deadly precision.
Using this distraction, Orochimaru slipped deeper into the earth via Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique), concealing his chakra signature to wait for a decisive moment.
"Katon: Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu!"
(Fire Style: Mist Blaze Dance!)
"Katon: Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu!"
Both the original and the shadow clone performed the jutsu in sync. From their mouths, they exhaled dense, oil-laced mist infused with chakra, followed by twin bursts of high-temperature flame. The mist ignited instantly into a surge of hot, burning vapor and dust—expanding outward in all directions like molten fog.
Hiss! Hiss!
The snakes thrashed violently. Unable to withstand the scorching heat and caustic dust, they writhed in agony before vanishing in puffs of white smoke evidence they were summonings dispelled by damage.
Observing from underground, Orochimaru's pale lips curled into a grin. He found it amusing that Gen had already mastered such an obscure and high-difficulty technique. Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu—though categorized under Fire Release was notoriously unstable and rarely seen outside of elite jōnin.
The high-temperature dust shrouded the battlefield and interfered with thermal detection. Even Orochimaru's snakes, trained to sense body heat, failed to pinpoint Gen's location.
"Still can't land a clean hit... then ninjutsu it is."
"Fūton: Daitoppa!"
(Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!)
This Wind Release technique normally C-rank—gains tremendous destructive power when used by someone of Orochimaru's caliber. As a Kage-level shinobi with an enormous chakra pool, his version of Daitoppa was a roaring gale.
A cyclone of wind surged from his mouth, strong enough to uproot loose stones and strip the surface of the earth. Even a skilled ninja using chakra to anchor their feet would struggle to remain upright in its force. The dust cloud was torn apart, revealing the full state of the training field scarred, blackened, and lifeless.
"The test ends here. Come out—I acknowledge you."
The gusts began to settle. With the declaration, two figures emerged onto the ruined field. One surfaced quietly from underground using Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu (Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage), while the other dropped from the tree canopy at the forest's edge.
"Heh... even I can use Meisaigakure no Jutsu (Hiding with Camouflage Technique). I've got a fair amount of ninjutsu up my sleeve."
"With Fire, Wind, and Earth release under your control, even without the Sharingan, you're undeniably a genius."
A faint smile touched Orochimaru's pale, bloodless cheeks. He spoke with an uncharacteristic softness, genuine admiration tinging his normally aloof tone.
Though Gen hadn't reached Kage level yet, his power stood out even among high-level jōnin. More importantly, he was still young—with refined features, great chakra control, and a tactical mind. The next few years would be a critical period of growth. With proper guidance, Orochimaru was confident he could elevate him to Kage-tier.
A disciple of this caliber could become my greatest asset... if I cultivate him properly.
Poof!
The Gen Uchiha who had approached from the training field vanished into a puff of smoke just another shadow clone. Two paper tags fluttered to the scorched earth. Exploding tags.
The real Gen stepped forward from the treeline, his face pale but steady.
"I'm alright. Just a little chakra depletion."
He bent down, retrieved the unused detonating tags, and slid them back into his tool pouch.
"Compared to you, Orochimaru-sensei, I still know far too little."
"I've got a long way to go."
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