Roast Chicken Leg

"Huff... huff..."

After throwing that single punch, Shin lay flat on his back, gasping for air.

The Fire Style Chakra Mode was too domineering; in just one second, it had nearly evaporated all the moisture from his body.

His throat was parched, unable to speak, and every cell in his body ached unbearably.

Chiken stroked the missing corner of his sleeve, deeply moved.

At his limit, Shin could force him to take the fight seriously.

Still, he began to worry about his youngest son's condition.

Chiken quickly stepped forward to check on him.

Seeing Shin lying on the ground like he was dehydrated, he immediately formed hand seals and used Water Release.

But from Aoko and Fugaku's perspective, all they could see was Chiken's back.

The whole scene was almost exactly like that.

"That feels better. Thank you, Father," Shin said gratefully to Chiken.

Then he quickly got up and said to the two who had approached with worried expressions, "Sorry, Mother, Brother Fugaku, for making you worry."

Shin knew that his earlier collapse on the ground must have looked alarming.

Now that he had replenished his fluids, he was back on his feet in no time.

Aoko and Fugaku were both genuinely happy for him.

In the past, their whole family had believed Shin's body might not be suited for taijutsu training.

But now, his taijutsu was this powerful.

Even if the duration was a bit short...

"Shin, what was that taijutsu all about? How did throwing one punch cause such severe dehydration?" Fugaku asked, his excitement giving way to concern for his brother.

Chiken and Aoko also looked worried, waiting for Shin to explain.

Shin first gestured with his eyes to the three of them, then walked toward the house.

Inside the house, the family of four sat together.

Shin slumped into a chair in a "Ge You Slouch," collapsing lazily. "Man, sitting is so comfortable!"

"???" x3

The three of them were full of question marks. They had thought coming inside meant there was some secret to discuss, something to be cautious about.

When they realized the truth—that he just didn't want to stand anymore—their good mood evaporated instantly.

"Actually, even if others knew the method, it wouldn't matter..."

Shin explained lazily to the three of them: "Because this taijutsu mode isn't something you can learn just by wanting to."

"You know chakra is extracted from cells, right? I was completely dehydrated earlier because I injected Fire Style chakra into every cell in my body."

After he finished, all three were stunned.

They had thought it was just cell activation.

They never imagined it was so dangerous—injecting a violent attribute like Fire into cells.

"Shin, are you trying to get yourself killed? If the chakra had gone out of control, you'd be finished!..."

The three of them scolded him, leaving Shin feeling deeply awkward inside.

He couldn't tell his family that he was a transmigrator with a golden finger.

He didn't want to do anything that would break this family, even if they all chose to trust him unconditionally.

Once their emotions had calmed down a bit, Shin eagerly explained his method.

Their expressions shifted from worry to excitement, then to shock, and finally to numbness.

It was quite the spectacle.

"That's how it is. I was just trying to experiment..."

"I never expected I'd end up developing this Chakra Mode." Shin's throat was dry from talking, so he picked up a cup and downed it in one gulp.

"For those with a single attribute, it's a forbidden technique..." Chiken summarized the pros and cons of the Attribute Chakra Mode.

It was a blessing for shinobi who weren't good at taijutsu.

But without a mutually restraining chakra attribute, it was very unfriendly.

Partial chakra attribute conversion of the body still had its uses.

Chiken raised his right hand and began attempting to inject Fire Style chakra into his cells, little by little.

He felt that the Attribute Chakra Mode wasn't that simple.

Not only did he have to pay attention to the capacity of the cells being injected, but he also had to use a corresponding attribute to block it.

"..."

Under the three pairs of watching eyes, Chiken spent over half an hour before finally completing the Elemental Chakra Mode on the tip of his index finger.

Feeling a bit awkward now, he recalled how his youngest son had managed to enter the full-body state in just one afternoon.

A little embarrassed, he couldn't bring himself to admit that his finger had already finished "charging."

"Father, try shape transformation next," Shin said, full of curiosity about Chiken's result.

This way, perhaps they could find a method to use ninjutsu without hand seals.

The group returned to the spot where father and son had sparred earlier.

Chiken faced forward, curling the index finger of his right hand.

He attempted to circulate his chakra through his meridians in the pattern of Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

"Shin, I can't do shape transformation."

"Then try it after the chakra bursts out."

Hearing Shin's words, Chiken felt a wave of confusion.

Wasn't he just becoming a Guinea Pig?

But he was also curious about this.

Raising his right hand again, Chiken flicked his finger at the air.

Then he immediately performed a limited shape transformation on the chakra that surged forth.

A small patch of flame appeared at the tip of his right index finger.

It looked just like the tiny flame burning on a candle.

"..." The four people present were all dumbfounded.

That's it? After spending all that chakra, it's just a little candle?

The difference between Fire Release and other natures lies in its power—it's not divided by the learning difficulty of the technique.

Instead, it's based on the amount of chakra poured into the technique.

Great Fire Annihilation, a B-rank Fire Release, had been used by Madara with the power of an S-rank technique.

"Father, wait for me a moment!" Shin was only stunned for a short while before snapping out of it.

He jogged back into the house, leaving the other three staring at each other in confusion.

A moment later.

Shin returned carrying a bag.

"Shin, isn't that the groceries I bought today?" Aoko frowned, pointing at the bag.

"Yes, Mother."

After replying, Shin instructed Chiken, "Father, lower your hand a bit."

Chiken wanted to see what other tricks he could pull.

So he had no choice but to comply.

Shin took out a chicken leg that Aoko had already separated.

Then he borrowed a kunai from Fugaku and skewered the whole chicken leg.

With a serious expression, he placed the chicken leg over the flame on his old father's fingertip.

In his free hand, he held various seasonings.

Seeing this, Chiken's temples bulged instantly, and his whole body began to tremble slightly.

"Father..." Shin noticed the flame shifting and, without turning around, instructed his enraged old father again, "Please don't move."

"Dear..."

Aoko's warning drew Chiken's gaze.

She shook her head, signaling him to endure just a little longer.

Helpless, Chiken could only watch as Shin brushed various seasonings onto the chicken leg over his fingertip.

Five minutes later.

"Father, can you make the fire bigger? At this rate, when will this chicken leg be done..."

Hearing this, Chiken was practically fuming.

He'd been acting as a "candle" this whole time, thinking it was some kind of test.

Turns out this brat just wanted to play fingertip barbecue with him!

He forcefully suppressed the rage burning in his chest.

What else could he do?

If he fought, Aoko would come looking for trouble afterward. If he scolded, it would just go in one ear and out the other.

Chiken increased the Chakra output from his fingers.

Ever since last night, he had felt his standing in the family slipping lower and lower.

Meanwhile, his youngest son Shin's position kept rising and rising.

He was already about to give up struggling for any family status.

Humming a little tune while roasting chicken legs, Shin was naturally in a wonderful mood.

He knew he was being a bit irresponsible.

And he thought that if the Konoha Daily found out he was "roasting chicken legs" right under the Uchiha Clan Head's nose, he could probably steal the headlines from Nawaki for a day or two.

(Nawaki: Come on, I wish you'd hog the front page every day!)

"Done in ten minutes..." Shin finished roasting on his old man's hand.

Biting into a crispy-skinned, tender chicken leg, he mumbled indistinctly, "Father, how's your consumption?"

With his mouth full of grease, he met the other man's narrowed eyes.

Chiken's blood pressure instantly shot up thirty percent.

Clutching his chest, he answered with a look of utter despair, "About the same as a normal Great Fireball Technique."

"Huh? That's such low efficiency?"

Shin pulled another chicken leg out of the bag, then put on a serious expression and delivered his conclusion: "Looks like casting without hand seals just won't cut it~"