Ding-dong.
[File "Scorch Release Core.sys" — Download Complete.]
Scorch Release Core!?
No—there was more.
Ding-dong—
Ding-dong—
A rapid succession of system prompts rang out. A dense cluster of files—nearly all originating from Pakura—finished downloading in quick succession.
Scorch Release had been fully copied.
Hiroki's Shadow Clone immediately opened the Scorch Release data structure and began analyzing it at high speed.
As everyone knew, a Bloodline Limit was traditionally defined as the fusion of two chakra nature transformations. Yet during his previous encounter with the First Hokage's cells, Hiroki had already discovered something profoundly important.
A Bloodline Limit did not require a unique Bloodline chakra nature.
Take Scorch Release as an example. Pakura's Scorch Release was formed through the fusion of Fire Release and Wind Release chakra. But did that fusion create a brand-new "Scorch Release chakra nature"?
The answer was no.
And more importantly—it didn't need to.
Hashirama's Wood Release Core had already proven this point. The core contained only Yang Release, not some mythical "Wood chakra." Wood Release functioned through precise, simultaneous activation and ratio control of existing chakra types.
Scorch Release worked the same way.
By activating Fire Release and Wind Release chakra at the same time and outputting them at specific conversion ratios, the resulting Ninjutsu manifested as Scorch Release.
In other words—
As long as Hiroki possessed both Fire and Wind chakra, and had copied the Scorch Release execution files, he could use it.
And Scorch Release did not burn.
It evaporated.
The moment it made contact, it stripped all moisture from its target.
In that instant, Hiroki found the solution.
However, there was no time to optimize or rewrite the newly downloaded code. A non–hand-seal casting would never be stable enough.
But that didn't matter.
Scorch Release—Activate.
Hand seals.
Hiroki was forming hand seals.
Rasa's brow furrowed deeply.
Hand seals?
Wasn't this brat known for releasing Ninjutsu without them?
The Sand Eye hovering above locked onto Hiroki with full focus. Rasa absolutely refused to leave the protection of his Gold Sand. He had not forgotten the terrifying Earth Grudge Fear arm Hiroki possessed.
Leaving the Gold Sand meant exposing himself to those blood-vessel-like tendrils—a risk he could not afford.
And more importantly—
I must kill him.
I must kill Hiroki.
No one can change my will.
Rasa repeated the mantra silently, terrified that if his focus wavered even slightly, that unseen mental attack would strike again and shatter his consciousness.
But maintaining that mantra while simultaneously controlling Gold Sand with extreme precision—and sustaining the Sand Eye—was pushing him to the limit.
How does this brat know so many Ninjutsu!?
A normal Genin only needed to master the Three Basic Techniques to serve as expendable manpower.
A Chunin might learn a handful of advanced skills and perhaps one signature technique.
Even most Jonin relied on a single trademark move.
Only Elite Jonin could fluidly wield multiple high-level Ninjutsu in combat.
And yet—
This ten-year-old had already demonstrated Fire Release, Wind Release, composite techniques, unknown Genjutsu, Earth Grudge Fear manipulation, non-visual attacks, and long-range sensory interference.
All of them released instantly.
All of them without warning.
Had Rasa been even slightly weaker—or less cautious—he would have been severely injured, if not killed, in the opening exchange.
So now—
What was this second attack?
Why hand seals?
What kind of Ninjutsu required them?
Scorch Release: Excessive Steaming Kill!
Crimson fireballs materialized around Hiroki, wrapped in pale white vapor. Their form was unmistakable.
Rasa's pupils shrank violently.
That was—
Pakura's Scorch Release!
The Sand Eye instantly shifted, frantically searching the battlefield.
It found her.
Pakura lay unconscious.
And her hair—
The faint orange-red hue at the tips, the mark of her Bloodline Limit, had completely faded.
Impossible.
Shock slammed into Rasa's mind.
In the next instant, he forcibly dissolved the Gold Sand cocoon around his body.
Gold Sand was useless against Scorch Release.
Fire Release alone couldn't transmit enough heat through the dense metal sphere—but Scorch Release evaporated the air itself. The internal temperature would skyrocket instantly.
But—
Too late.
Rasa felt his thoughts stiffen.
Damn it!
In his moment of shock, he had stopped reciting the mantra.
With rigid eyes, he desperately drove Gold Sand spikes into his own body, channeling Magnet Release chakra currents to shock himself awake—just as he had before.
It worked.
He gasped sharply, consciousness barely stabilizing—
And then—
His body began to convulse.
Muscles twisted violently beneath his skin.
Poison? When—
Brain Overload — Success.
Excessive Muscle Growth Script (Self-Destruct Version) — Success.
The instant Rasa dropped his guard, the script injected flawlessly.
The Scorch Release fireball struck.
Hiroki did not attempt to capture him alive.
This was not a battle where mercy was permitted.
Capturing Hanzō and sealing Kakuzu had been exceptional circumstances. Against Rasa, hesitation meant death.
From the moment the muscle-growth script activated, Rasa's fate was sealed.
There was no technique in the Ninja World capable of suppressing the explosive growth of every muscle in the human body—limbs, tongue, heart, and even microscopic muscle fibers.
This was not poison.
It was catastrophic biological collapse.
Rasa's eyes flickered with confusion and unwillingness.
Then the Scorch Release consumed him.
All moisture vanished.
Blood dried instantly.
His body curled inward, shriveling like a desiccated husk.
Rasa—
Dead.