Boom—!
At the edge of the broad clearing, amid a soundless roaring explosion, crimson and blazing white pillars of fire shot into the sky, burning silently.
"Whoosh!"
As the heat wave swept out, a warm wind suddenly rose, whipping sand and gravel around the pillars of flame at its center before gradually turning into a scorching gale that surged outward. In an instant, a heat-laden windstorm erupted through the woods on one side of the clearing, carrying flying sand and stones as it spiraled upward around the pillar of flames.
As the sand and stones swirled and collided, the two semicircular fireballs gradually shrank. Amid rumbling sounds, the pillar of flames slowly diminished along with them. In the end, the fireballs and fire pillar merged into one, becoming flickering wisps of flame that dispersed into the air.
"Heh..."
At the same time, the two men who had used the Great Fireball Technique both drew a breath, flame-tinged smoke escaping from the corners of their mouths. Yet neither took their eyes off the other, not daring to relax even slightly.
He created a Great Fireball Technique with that much power in an instant. Is Fire Release really the Uchiha Clan's natural talent...?
Staring at the Masked Man some distance away, Taki Chiba frowned slightly as blood flowed from his cheek and hands, running down and dripping onto the ground. He did not seem particularly concerned, but the thought still surfaced in his mind.
In the earlier ninjutsu clash, he had seized a certain advantage. Yet even with the initiative, they had still ended in a draw. If Obito and he had released the Great Fireball Technique at the same time, then his side would likely have been the one to lose.
As the first Fire Style Ninjutsu he had mastered among