"You… what did you do? How is it possible for you to absorb my Fire Release jutsu?!"
Katō Taka stared in disbelief, his eyes wide as he watched Sanada Kazama swallow his flames as though they were nothing.
"I don't need to explain myself to you," Kazama said coldly. "Because in my eyes, you're already a dead man."
With the system in my hands, the world is mine.That was the truth written across Kazama's face at this very moment.
Something about him was different—completely unlike the useless boy Taka remembered. From Kazama's body radiated a crushing pressure, a terrifying aura that Taka had never felt before.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Kazama formed seals in an instant. His chest expanded, and three blazing dragons erupted from his mouth, soaring forward in left, right, and center arcs, converging on the Root shinobi.
"What the hell?!"
Katō Taka's voice cracked. A boy once dismissed as trash had unleashed a B-rank technique, and not just that—its force was overwhelming. All he could shout in his panic was a desperate curse.
"Help me!"
Taka staggered backward, calling frantically to his two Root comrades as he tried to evade.
But these were no ordinary flames. The Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, fused with the Gen'ō Flame, surged with devastating power.
Before the other two Root operatives could even comprehend what had happened, their comrade was reduced to nothing but ashes, devoured by fire.
"You… you little brat—"
The two remaining Root shinobi were stunned. The boy they had once mocked as a failure had just unleashed a powerful B-rank jutsu and erased one of their members in an instant. Their hearts quaked with shock.
Ding! Congratulations, host. First successful use of Fire Dragon Flame Bullet. Reward granted: Infinite Chakra Constitution!
Kazama's lips curled into a fierce grin."Now, it's your turn."
A moment ago, he had feared his chakra reserves might not support repeated use of such a high-level technique. But with the system's announcement—Infinite Chakra—that worry evaporated completely.
Now, he could unleash jutsu without restraint.
Just then, three sharp whistles cut through the air—figures slicing toward them at high speed.
"Damn it, Anbu must be arriving! Retreat, now!" one of the Root ninja barked.
"You think you can escape?" Kazama's eyes burned like molten gold.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet! Fire Dragon Flame Bullet! Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
One after another, three volleys of jutsu erupted from his mouth, each summoning three blazing dragons. Nine serpents of living fire, infused with Gen'ō Flame, roared through the night sky.
Kazama's philosophy was simple: There is no enemy a Fire Dragon Flame Bullet cannot deal with. And if one isn't enough… then unleash another.
And with Infinite Chakra, nothing restrained him.
The nine fire dragons converged on the fleeing shinobi, their combined heat shaking the air itself. Within moments, the Root operatives—despite their considerable strength—were reduced to ash, annihilated without the slightest chance to resist.
It was at that moment that three masked figures arrived.
They wore the same kind of masks as Root—animal visages concealing their faces. Kazama's eyes narrowed. He couldn't tell if they were friend or foe. His mind screamed: More of Danzō's men.
With a furious roar, the Gen'ō Flame burst across his body, coating him in living fire. His hands flashed into seals, ready to obliterate the newcomers.
The three Anbu flinched, fear flashing in their eyes. They had never seen a power like this before.
"Wait! Don't misunderstand, little brother!" one shouted quickly, both hands raised in a placating gesture. "We're not enemies—we are Anbu under the command of the Third Hokage. We've come to help!"
Kazama froze, lowering his hands only after a tense moment. The fire wreathing his body dimmed as he realized the truth. If they served the Hokage, they weren't Danzō's dogs.
"Forgive us," one of the Anbu muttered bitterly, gazing at the carnage of the Sanada compound. "We came too late."
Another Anbu stepped forward cautiously."Little brother… that Fire Dragon Flame Bullet just now—was that you?"
Though he had seen it with his own eyes, he still struggled to believe. That jutsu was B-rank, something even many jōnin struggled to master. And yet, before him stood a boy who wasn't even a genin.
"That's right," Kazama said simply. "It was me."
"…Heavens above."
The three Anbu exchanged looks of disbelief, their thoughts racing in unison: Is this boy really human? No… this is a monster, a prodigy beyond imagination.
"I need to see the Third Hokage immediately," Kazama declared, his voice unwavering.
"No problem," one of the Anbu replied at once. "We'll take you there right now."
In truth, even if Kazama hadn't asked, they would have brought him to the Hokage regardless.
Because Sanada Kazama—so young, yet already wielding power surpassing that of ordinary jōnin—was a genius too extraordinary to ignore.