Ninjutsu Duel

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

Secret Technique: Minazuki Ice Heart!

Streams of golden-orange flames shot forth under Uchiha Gen's control. Kiyoshi Minazuki nimbly dodged, the flames leaving scorched marks on tree trunks and igniting the leaves when they struck the treetops.

Huh? It wasn't an offensive ninjutsu?

It looked like some kind of support technique...

Uchiha Gen saw a snow-white, heart-shaped ice crystal appear between Kiyoshi Minazuki's brows and thought to himself.

The Uchiha Clan was truly formidable in one-on-one combat. Though Kiyoshi Minazuki had spoken boldly, he did not dare let his guard down and immediately used the Yuki Clan's secret technique for weakening genjutsu.

With this secret technique's support, the user's heart became like an icy mirror. Ordinary genjutsu became plainly visible and greatly diminished in power. Even ocular genjutsu could be partially weakened, vastly increasing resistance to illusions.

Though thoughts flashed through his mind, Uchiha Gen did not stop attacking. Since it was not an offensive technique, he had to seize this opening!

Uchiha Gen flicked both hands in succession, sending out two kunai with Exploding Tags attached and three shuriken.

Kiyoshi Minazuki leaped about with ape-like agility. The Exploding Tags detonated one after another without harming him in the slightest, and he successfully dodged the shuriken as well.

Clang! Yet in the very next instant, two shuriken struck a third shuriken at the same time. That shuriken strangely changed direction and shot toward Minazuki's neck.

Minazuki's heart jolted, and he hurriedly raised an arm to block it. Clang! The shuriken was blocked by his arm guard and sent flying.

As expected of an Uchiha Clan ninja. What exquisite shuriken techniques. I almost got caught off guard.

Because of the sudden change, Kiyoshi Minazuki's movement path was disrupted, forcing him to land on the ground.

Seeing Uchiha Gen charging at him aggressively, Kiyoshi Minazuki pulled a smoke bomb from his ninja tool pouch and smashed it beneath himself. Billowing white smoke swept in every direction as he leaped backward and formed hand seals in midair.

Water Release: Water Bullet Shot!

Kiyoshi Minazuki split his hands into separate seals, using two ninjutsu at once.

Glittering water droplets emerged throughout the air, densely packed and leaving almost no room to dodge. The droplets shot out like bullets, their power no weaker than handgun rounds!

When the white smoke dispersed, there was no one inside—only two tree trunks pockmarked by water bullets.

The next moment, the earth split apart, and a figure shot into the sky. A sharp Kusanagi Sword stabbed up from beneath Kiyoshi Minazuki.

Pain appeared on Kiyoshi Minazuki's face, but in the next instant, he turned into a splash of water. An Exploding Tag within the splash ignited.

Boom! A burst of fire completely engulfed Uchiha Gen, sending dirt flying. When the smoke cleared, the body made of earth was left with only the part below its knees.

Hidden Mist Technique!

Kiyoshi Minazuki, hidden behind a tree, cautiously poked out his head for a glance. Once he confirmed that Uchiha Gen was nowhere to be seen, he immediately formed hand seals and cast the technique.

Vast white mist rapidly filled the forest, spreading farther and farther as it grew denser and denser. In the end, it became so thick that one could not see one's own hand before one's face.

Aside from Hyuga Tokuma, the other five fighting nearby were inevitably affected as well and tacitly withdrew from the mist's coverage.

Hidden Mist Ninja were accustomed to fighting in white mist, but that was mist they created themselves. In mist made by someone else, they could not sense the enemy's position.

Using the omnipresent white mist, Kiyoshi Minazuki detected Uchiha Gen's location and silently approached...

Fire Release: Ash Dust Concealing Technique!

So you could make mist. Did that mean I couldn't?

Uchiha Gen sprayed high-temperature flames and scorching ash toward the direction where the mist had first appeared. The flames and ash surged out like waves, evaporating and replacing the white mist.

Not good!

Kiyoshi Minazuki cried inwardly and immediately stopped, forming hand seals. A wall of flowing water rose before him.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

The high-temperature flames and scorching ash collided with the water wall, producing dense white vapor. Yet scorching ash still closed in from both sides. If he did not deal with it, he would be burned.

Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!

The instant the water wall collapsed, Kiyoshi Minazuki puffed out his chest and expelled a violent stream of air. The airflow spread into a fierce gale, blowing away all the ash before him and the remaining white mist...

A ninjutsu duel?

I like it!

That ice crystal mark between his brows seemed to be for countering genjutsu...

Uchiha Gen's lips curled slightly as his body sank into the earth. He silently circled around toward Kiyoshi Minazuki's back.

After reaching Kiyoshi Minazuki's rear, white mist and a small amount of scorching ash still lingered there. Hidden in the mist, Uchiha Gen formed hand seals with both hands. Zhurong emerged from his left arm, his eyes filled with eagerness.

At the same time, Kiyoshi Minazuki discovered Uchiha Gen's traces through the white mist, relying on his profound mastery of Water Release and Ice Release.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!

Golden-orange flames poured from Uchiha Gen's mouth, first turning into a wave of fire that blocked vision and evaporated the white mist. Then Zhurong puffed out his cheeks and breathed out a stream of fire as well.

The two streams of fire merged into one, their power soaring. Not only did their range reach twenty meters, but the golden-orange flames turned bright gold. The air distorted wherever they passed, dirt blackened, shrubs turned to ash, and even verdant trees thick enough for several people to encircle rapidly caught fire.

Hiss... What terrifying Fire Release!

I can't conserve Chakra. I have to go all out, or I'll definitely burn to death...

Ice Release: Multiple Ice Crystal Wall!

Kiyoshi Minazuki formed seals with one hand while simultaneously using the same technique, Chakra surging wildly from within him as he pressed both hands to the ground.

Ice crystal walls radiating white frost rose from the earth one after another. They were wide, tall, and thick, and the surrounding temperature instantly plummeted.

The scorching flames crashed over them. The first ice crystal wall instantly melted and vaporized. The second lasted only for the blink of an eye before vanishing. The third, fourth, fifth...

Just as the final wall was about to give way, Kiyoshi Minazuki's eyes bulged with rage. He frantically mobilized his Chakra, ignoring the faint pain in his meridians as icy crystal continuously surged forth, filling the gaps burned through by the flames...

Oh? You're holding out pretty well?

"Zhurong, keep burning him."

"Wusheng, sneak over and catch him off guard."

Uchiha Gen gave the orders in a low voice.

While breathing fire, Zhurong nodded rapidly like a pecking chick.

"Leave it to me, Master."

Wusheng spoke softly and furtively, then slipped quietly out of the sheath at his waist and flew low to the ground in a wide arc.

The Kusanagi Blade was rather long and inconvenient to carry on his back, so Uchiha Gen had chosen to wear it at his waist, much like Sasuke did.

On the other side, Kiyoshi Minazuki's brows were tightly furrowed, beads of sweat covering his forehead, while his eyes were full of uncertainty and alarm.

Was this Uchiha Gen trying to compete with him in Chakra and settle the battle in one move?

This was bad. He was on the defensive and had no initiative. He had to find a way out.

But a solution was not so easy to come up with. The surging, scorching flames were separated from Kiyoshi Minazuki by only a single ice wall.

If Kiyoshi Minazuki did not maintain it with all his strength, the flames would burn through the ice wall in an instant. With the enemy so close, he would have no chance to form hand seals. At that point, only death awaited him.

Forming seals with one hand might give him a chance to complete a technique before the flames broke through the ice wall, but ordinary ninjutsu would be useless against such a large-scale fire attack. Only an advanced technique might save his life.

This was a choice with his life as the wager. Failure meant death; only success offered a chance at survival.

Great Fire Annihilation was originally a B-Rank Technique, but with Zhurong's enhancement, it had already surpassed A-Rank offensive techniques and was approaching the power of an S-Rank offensive technique.

Just as Kiyoshi Minazuki hesitated, Wusheng made the choice for him...

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