After seeing the galgame system's notification, Mikami Yuu gave a slight nod.
As expected, techniques with personalities like Transparent Escape were much easier to woo.
Although most of his attention lately had been focused on swordsmanship, simply relying on the basic daily [Conversation] and [Practice] interactions had already raised Transparent Escape's affection to over sixty.
At this rate, he would probably unlock its third-stage trait, [Phantom Haze], very soon.
Once that happened,
even Shisui might not be able to accurately track his movements.
Of course…
when it came to perception, the Sharingan was still inferior to the Byakugan.
So if Yuu wanted to determine the true limits of Transparent Escape, he would still need to test it in front of a Byakugan somehow.
If even that could not see through him, then it would be no different from true invisibility.
At that point, he could act much more boldly without worrying so much about being discovered.
At this moment,
Obito, who had been beaten flat, groaned as he crawled back to his feet, muttering continuously,
"Damn it… How did this happen? Yuu is way too unfair…
"If only there were some kind of dōjutsu that could make physical attacks pass through me. Then I'd definitely beat Yuu!"
"…?"
Are you perhaps looking for Kamui?
Yuu looked at Obito, hesitating to speak.
Just as the group put away their weapons and began resting while reviewing the spar they had just finished, the soft sound of footsteps came from outside the training ground.
Then Uchiha Fugaku's voice followed.
"I heard from Inabi that you were sparring with ninjutsu here. I thought I'd come over to watch and perhaps exchange a few pointers, but I didn't expect you to finish so quickly.
"It seems Captain Yuu's strength has risen another level. Even Shisui and Kakashi working together couldn't do anything to you.
"As expected of a disciple jointly taught by Minato and Lady Tsunade. That talent is truly enviable."
"…Huh? What about me?"
Obito pointed at his own nose.
"There were clearly three of us fighting him! Why am I the only one whose name didn't get mentioned?"
"Uh…"
Uchiha Fugaku was momentarily speechless.
Although the current Obito was no longer mediocre in every field like he had been immediately after graduation, compared with young geniuses like Kakashi and Shisui, he still seemed rather ordinary.
As a result, Fugaku habitually overlooked him, something Obito had complained about more than once.
Of course,
Fugaku did not take this little incident seriously.
After all, he was the head of the Uchiha clan and possessed extremely high status within the clan.
He had no need to deliberately give anyone face.
Moreover…
as the saying went, once a man carried a sharp blade, killing intent naturally arose.
Although Fugaku had always behaved relatively cautiously and could be considered a dove within the Uchiha clan, awakening the Mangekyō had inevitably caused his confidence to swell considerably.
He now believed his strength was no weaker than anyone else in Konoha.
Even if Obito became dissatisfied with him over such a minor matter…
what could he possibly do?
Destroy the entire Uchiha clan?
Even the evil Senju Tobirama had never managed that.
What made Obito think he could?
On the other side,
Yuu smiled slightly and changed the subject.
"I've simply worked a little harder than everyone else. What talent is there worth praising?
"If anything, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan and Fire Release are much more enviable."
"No, no…"
Uchiha Fugaku pretended to be modest, but clearly enjoyed the compliment.
A faint smile even appeared on his normally stern face.
"By the way, Yuu, there's something I've been wanting to ask you…
"The seal-less Fire Release you used against those Kiri ninja last time—what exactly was that?
"To be honest, our Uchiha clan's records mention a special ninjutsu called Kagutsuchi, which allows the user to control flames from a distance using spiritual power alone, making them ignite or extinguish at will.
"It seems rather similar to the technique you used that day."
"Oh, that…"
Yuu smiled.
"The principle is actually quite simple.
"As long as you refine Fire Release chakra to the absolute limit and reach the state of becoming 'one with fire,' you can naturally eliminate the hand-seal process and release ninjutsu however you wish."
"R-Really?"
Uchiha Fugaku looked doubtful.
Shisui and the others nearby also turned their attention toward him almost simultaneously.
Although they did not say it aloud, they were all extremely envious of this ability to use seal-less Fire Release and very much wanted to copy it.
"Of course. If Fugaku-senpai is interested, I can demonstrate the process in detail."
Yuu replied.
How should he put it…
What Yuu had said was theoretically correct.
After all, hand seals had originally been created to help a caster control chakra.
If someone became powerful enough to reach the super-Kage level or even the Six Paths level, many techniques could indeed be released directly without any preparatory steps.
But theory was one thing.
Whether someone could actually do it was another matter entirely.
Yuu did not mind explaining it to Fugaku and the others.
They probably would not be able to learn it anyway.
However…
in exchange, while explaining, Yuu casually mentioned something as though it were an afterthought.
"By the way, Fugaku-senpai.
"I've heard that the Uchiha clan possesses an extremely powerful S-rank Fire Release called Dragon Flame Release Song Technique, which can supposedly strike the target with complete certainty…
"Are you proficient in it?
"If I ever get the chance, I'd really like to witness it."
"Hmm?"
Hearing Yuu's words,
Uchiha Fugaku froze for a moment before laughing loudly.
"That technique?
"Dragon Flame Release Song is indeed one of our clan's advanced Fire Release techniques. It places extremely high demands on both nature transformation and shape transformation.
"Even among the Uchiha, only a small number of elites are capable of mastering it.
"As for me, the previous clan head once instructed me in it. I know how to use it, though I wouldn't say I'm particularly proficient."
"Really? Then could you let me broaden my horizons?"
"Of course!"
Since Yuu had openly explained the principles behind seal-less Fire Release without concealing anything, and because Fugaku himself also had a slight desire to show off, he did not refuse.
He immediately walked to the center of the training ground, rapidly formed several hand seals, then opened his mouth.
Chakra surged.
Four crimson fire dragons roared forth, attacking a giant stone target from above, below, left, and right.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The boulder exploded into pieces.
Even the largest fragments looked smaller than a fingernail, showing just how destructive the technique was.
It was obvious that Fugaku's Dragon Flame Release Song was inferior to Uchiha Madara's, but it was certainly not something that could be described as "not very proficient."
After finishing, Fugaku lowered his hands and calmly looked toward Yuu and the others, seemingly waiting for praise.
At the same time,
Yuu heard a soft notification beside his ear.
[Ding! Giftable item detected—Advanced Limited Skin Fragment: Great Fireball Technique / Phoenix Sage Fire Technique — Dragon Flame Release Song Technique.]
"Good, good, good."
Seeing those words, the corner of Yuu's mouth lifted.
He had previously suspected that Dragon Flame Release Song might be a product combining the traits of Great Dragon Fire and Phoenix Sage Fire, but he had not expected it to actually be a shared skin between the two techniques, allowing him to choose which one received it.
In that case…
things became simple.
Next, he only needed to find a way to obtain Dragon Flame Release Song from Fugaku under the pretense of "seeking instruction."
Then all three Fire Release techniques in Yuu's possession would have "Dragon" series skins.
He could finally combine them into his strongest killing move—
[Three Dragons Turning Destruction].
That was right.
At present, the [X Dragons Turning Destruction] series was Yuu's most powerful trump card.
Judging from his previous use of [Twin Dragons Turning Destruction], the seventy-percent damage increases were not added together.
Instead, they multiplied.
In other words, every additional "Dragon" caused the technique's power to rise exponentially.
At the maximum of five Dragons, the multiplier would become 1.7 raised to the fifth power.
Which meant…
roughly fourteen times the original power!
Twin Dragons Turning Destruction, with less than a threefold increase, had already been capable of overpowering Fuguki Suikazan and Raiga Kurosuki's full-strength combined attack despite suffering an elemental disadvantage.
The destructive power of Five Dragons Turning Destruction was therefore easy to imagine.
The problem was—
where was he supposed to find the fourth and fifth Dragons?
Yuu found that somewhat troublesome.
There were actually quite a few ninjutsu containing the word "Dragon" in the Naruto world.
But once the restriction of "Fire Release" was added, the number of options dropped considerably.
If he truly could not find any, perhaps he would have to create his own techniques and simply name them something involving "Dragon."
Or perhaps…
did Fire Release necessarily need to contain fire?
Who had decided that Water Dragon Bullet could not be a Fire Release technique?
Even if [Heavenly Fire Judgment] could only stack as far as [Three Dragons Turning Destruction], couldn't he add Wind Release or Lightning Release on top of it?
Even if they could not receive the galgame system's seventy-percent damage bonus, the effects of combining different elemental releases would still exist, wouldn't they?
And if he could unlock combined bonds between multiple attributes, or even a kekkei genkai, then there would probably be even more possible paths…
One idea after another surfaced in Yuu's mind.
He decided to test them one by one when he had the time.
At his current level, Yuu's strength was already quite respectable even by the standards of the present ninja world.
Aside from a handful of specialists with uniquely terrifying trump cards, ordinary Kage-level ninja would find it very difficult to gain an advantage against him.
But that still was not enough.
Because Yuu had always had one potential opponent—
the old grandfather standing behind Obito and silently observing everything.
Judging from the current situation, the Kannabi Bridge Battle was unlikely to occur exactly as it had in the original story.
It might not even happen at all.
However, Obito had long ago been selected by Uchiha Madara as a pawn for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Therefore, Madara would definitely adopt some other scheme.
Perhaps another version of the Three-Tails incident.
Or perhaps something that had never happened in the original story at all.
If Yuu placed himself in Madara's position…
then upon seeing that the chosen successor, Obito, had a "companion" beside him whose rate of improvement was obviously abnormal and who could single-handedly alter the balance of an entire battlefield, he would most likely find a way to remove that companion.
Or use him as material to force Obito's eyes to awaken.
Therefore…
during the coming period, Yuu probably needed to start guarding against Uchiha Madara's moves.
He had even begun considering whether he could make use of Uchiha Fugaku.
After all, Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō. In theory, that meant he should be capable of using Susanoo and therefore trading a few moves with Madara.
Furthermore, Shisui's Mangekyō had probably awakened too.
He simply had not told anyone yet…
"…Forget it. Let's keep practicing first."
"There's no point thinking too far ahead.
"I'll follow the original plan—raise Transparent Escape first and obtain [Three Dragons Turning Destruction].
"As for everything else…
"One step at a time."
Yuu made up his mind.
…
Southwestern Land of Fire, Wildfire City Stronghold.
The night had grown deep.
Dim candlelight fell from a wall sconce, casting a long shadow across the floor.
Suddenly—
"Hiss…"
Accompanied by the faint scraping of scales, a small white snake slithered through a crack in the stone and entered the tent.
It twisted its way up the corner of a table.
The person sitting there pressed down on its head.
The snake opened its throat and spat out a miniature scroll that was slightly wet and sticky.
Rustle—
A pale hand put down its pen and opened the scroll.
A pair of golden vertical pupils swept line by line across the encrypted message.
Apparently seeing something unexpected, the owner of those eyes narrowed them slightly, his expression difficult to read within the shadows.
"Danzō's conspiracy was exposed. The Third Hokage placed him under house arrest, and control of Root has temporarily been taken away…"
"So much happened in the village in such a short period of time?
"The old man has always been indecisive, endlessly dragging those two advisors into meetings. How did he suddenly make up his mind to arrest an old classmate he's shared decades of friendship with?"
Orochimaru lightly tapped the table with one finger.
Still doubtful, he carefully reread the scroll.
This time, his gaze lingered especially long on the name Mikami Yuu.
As one of the main triggers behind the entire incident, both Yuu's name and Asuma's had been recorded.
"…I see."
"So you were the one who shook this old tree that has been rooted in Konoha's shadows for so many years…
"Mikami-kun."
"In only a few months since we last met, you've accomplished so much.
"Not only did you repel Kirigakure, you even brought Danzō down.
"You truly are full of surprises."
"So surprising, in fact…
"that I'm beginning to feel like placing you back on my list of potential reincarnation vessels."
Orochimaru extended his unusually long tongue, almost like a snake's, and licked his lips.
A greedy expression appeared on his face.
This was not the first time he had entertained such an idea.
Although the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique had not yet been fully developed, Orochimaru believed in preparing for the future.
He had long since begun searching for suitable vessels for his eventual reincarnation.
As one of the finest young ninja of Konoha's current generation, Mikami Yuu had naturally appeared on that list long ago.
However, Yuu was Namikaze Minato's student.
Recently, he had also formed a close connection with Tsunade, got along well with Jiraiya, and was highly regarded by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Orochimaru had no desire to invite that much trouble upon himself.
So he had removed Yuu's name from the list of potential vessels.
But now…
Orochimaru suddenly changed his mind.
After all, Mikami Yuu was simply too perfect.
His strength.
His appearance.
His mind.
Everything about him was almost as though he had been born specifically to serve as Orochimaru's ideal vessel.
To allow such a naturally perfect reincarnation vessel to go unused…
would truly be an unforgivable waste.
~~~
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