Dragon Fire Technique

"No, Gen, take this."

Sarutobi Enju took off his outer coat and the pendant at his waist, tossing them to Uchiha Gen. Then he pulled two bottles of fire oil from his ninja tool pouch and shoved them into Gen's hands.

"I have no objections either."

Utsuki Ruri shook her head, took out the handkerchief she kept close to her body along with some other small personal items, and handed them all over.

Good. It seemed he had indeed gained the right to speak for this squad.

[Remember this site's domain name: Taiwan Novel Network → 🅣🅦🅚🅐🅝.🅒🅞🅜]

With Orochimaru absent, command was in his hands.

Immediately afterward, Uchiha Gen also removed several items from his person and handed them to the Ninja Crows.

"Now, scatter!"

Sarutobi Enju and Utsuki Ruri obeyed at once, darting off in opposite directions.

Most of the Ninja Crows also seized those items carrying the trio's scent with their beaks and claws, flying off into all parts of the forest.

Uchiha Gen was not worried about the crows' safety.

The Forest of Death was regularly used as a Chunin Exams testing ground, which meant it posed considerable danger to ordinary Genin. Not only were venomous insects and ferocious beasts everywhere, but there were also beasts capable of refining Chakra.

Though they were far weaker than the famed ninja beasts of the Three Great Sacred Lands, some Konoha ninja still came here from time to time to seek suitable summoned beasts, forge contracts with them, strengthen their combat power, and make up for their weaknesses.

However, since these Ninja Crows had formed summoning contracts with him, they only needed to dismiss their summons on their own in advance whenever they encountered danger to avoid it.

There were sixteen Ninja Crows in total. Four remained by Uchiha Gen's side, including the largest one, whose Chakra presence was the strongest.

"Stay around me. Help keep watch for dangers beyond my field of vision and sensory range. Also, look for water sources, mud pits, and similar places. And remember to scout for snakes nearby."

Uchiha Gen looked at the four Ninja Crows surrounding him and spoke softly.

Scouting for snakes was easy enough to understand. After all, Orochimaru's specialty was Snake-Style Ninjutsu.

As for finding water sources and mud pits, those would be used to block the spread of his scent.

As for now...

Uchiha Gen walked forward for a while, keeping alert to his surroundings. After killing a giant python coiled around a tree, he plucked a large number of leaves from it, crushed them between his fingers, and smeared them over his body.

The smell was pungent and unpleasant, but it should have some effect, more or less.

Next, it would depend on what Orochimaru came up with.

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

While Uchiha Gen and the others were doing everything they could, Orochimaru had already entered the forest without a sound.

Beneath his hanging sleeves, dense swarms of snakes wriggled down to the ground and spread in every direction.

These snakes were his best scouts.

A few minutes later.

Orochimaru looked with interest at the coat hanging from a treetop in the distance. He raised a hand and released a Wind Blade, slicing a crazed wild boar charging from afar cleanly in two, then looked up at the sky.

A faint trace of smoke lingered there.

Uchiha Gen's Ninja Crows were watching nearby. The moment they discovered Orochimaru, they would immediately dismiss their summons, letting Uchiha Gen know that Orochimaru was in the area so he could avoid him in advance and stay far away.

"Using such a method to interfere with my judgment... not bad. It can buy you a little more time, but this alone won't be enough."

Orochimaru smiled faintly and raised his hand, performing another Summoning Technique.

Several enormous pythons appeared. Orochimaru pointed from afar at the coat hanging from the treetop, the one belonging to Sarutobi Enju.

"Find the owner of this scent. Capture him."

In one corner of the forest.

Uchiha Gen sat beside the river that ran through the Forest of Death, holding a lump of freshly kneaded mud in his hand and smearing it haphazardly over his body. Then, without stopping, he headed toward another part of the forest.

Judging by the time, more than twenty minutes had passed since Orochimaru entered the Forest of Death.

Perhaps his earlier arrangements had worked. So far, none of his teammates had been eliminated.

Suddenly, Uchiha Gen's eyes shifted. He formed hand seals and summoned a Ninja Crow.

"Where is Teacher Orochimaru right now?"

Uchiha Gen looked into the Ninja Crow's bright black eyes and asked softly.

The Ninja Crow hopped on its little feet and turned in a circle as though identifying the direction. Then it faced one way and let out several long, cawing cries.

"That direction, seven kilometers from here."

The Ninja Crow nodded at Uchiha Gen.

"That's still too close. Rejoin the group and help keep watch. When we get back tonight, I'll give you all an extra meal."

Uchiha Gen stroked the Ninja Crow's head, then rose to his feet, got his bearings, and sprinted into the distance.

The Ninja Crow flapped its wings and merged into the surrounding flock.

At this moment, the number of Ninja Crows within a hundred meters of Uchiha Gen had recovered to nine.

A distance of seven kilometers was still too close for Uchiha Gen.

The Forest of Death spanned twenty kilometers across, only one or two laps smaller than Xiamen Island, but a ninja's mobility was far beyond that of ordinary people—let alone Orochimaru's.

Orochimaru was now only in his early twenties. Although he had yet to earn the title of one of the Sannin, that day could not be far off. At the very least, he was an expert close to Kage level. Even if he would not use abilities beyond what three Genin could handle during their test, there was no such thing as overestimating him.

Keep running! The distance between them had to be widened to over ten kilometers to ensure safety!

Yet as Uchiha Gen raced onward, three or four kilometers away from him, Sarutobi Enju used his family's taijutsu, darting nimbly through the woods like a monkey.

Uchiha Gen's Ninja Crow clung tightly to the leather shoulder guard on his shoulder with its claws, cawing from time to time to warn Sarutobi Enju of dangers along the way.

Not far behind Sarutobi Enju, a massive two-headed serpent at least a dozen meters long flicked its tongues and barreled after him at a speed utterly mismatched with its size, smashing through the giant trees in its path.

This serpent was naturally nowhere near as powerful as Orochimaru, but it was still quite troublesome for Sarutobi Enju.

He was not sure whether he could defeat it, but he was certain that the giant snake had the strength to hold him back. Once Orochimaru arrived, he would be finished.

I wonder whether Gen and Ruri have run into danger yet. Forget it, there's no use worrying blindly here. I need to shake this snake off as soon as possible.

Sarutobi Enju sighed at his own bad luck.

In truth, he was not even the unluckiest one, since only one snake was chasing him.

At the center of the forest, Orochimaru smiled as he looked at the wrecked ground. In the distance, a girl holding a Kunai was running toward the depths of the brush. He elegantly licked his lips.

My foolish student, the traps were arranged quite well, but they're too textbook.

When facing an enemy whose experience and strength far surpass your own, traps cannot close the gap between you.

Setting them up is practically the same as telling the enemy, "I've been here," isn't it?

Orochimaru raised his head and looked through the gaps between the trees at the sky, judging the time.

No rush. There's still plenty of time. Not even half of it has passed yet, so I can keep playing a little longer.

They didn't show much of what they could do during the previous mission. I might as well use this opportunity to force out all their abilities, so I can guide them properly in the future.

Only a few minutes later.

Another Ninja Crow was summoned by Uchiha Gen.

"Ruri has already been eliminated?"

After receiving an affirmative reply from the Ninja Crow, Uchiha Gen could not help but feel even more anxious.

Only half the time had passed, and one teammate had already been eliminated.

Worse still, most of the Ninja Crows had already returned to his side. That meant Orochimaru had searched most areas of the Forest of Death.

Given Orochimaru's abilities, Uchiha Gen had no doubt that he had already left scouts all over the Forest of Death.

This meant that they would soon have nowhere left to hide and could only flee passively.

"Since Ruri has been eliminated, we can determine that Teacher Orochimaru is over there. The current distance is fourteen kilometers, which is relatively safe for now. But before Teacher Orochimaru catches up, I need to deal with the trouble in front of me first."

Uchiha Gen looked at the flock of cawing crows, then glanced at the Black Scale Serpent rushing toward him from behind. He stopped and rapidly formed hand seals.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Clusters of fire shot forth, raining down on the Black Scale Serpent like scattered blossoms from a celestial maiden.

The serpent let out a hiss. The muscles beneath its black scales suddenly bulged as its body twisted and coiled, dodging the Phoenix Sage Fire.

But the reason Uchiha Gen had used Phoenix Sage Fire was precisely because of this Fire Style technique's advantages in speed and range.

Though it was not as powerful as the Great Fireball he was best at, it was still not to be underestimated. With enough distance between them, it was perfect for probing the enemy.

Nearly half the fireballs were evaded by the Black Scale Serpent, but the rest struck its pitch-black scales, bursting into showers of sparks.

Some of the scales that had once gleamed darkly now lost their luster and fell to the ground as it moved.

Fast, hard to shake off. Strong defense, but ninjutsu can break through it. The best option is to restrain or heavily injure this snake in a short time, then relocate as quickly as possible.

As Uchiha Gen watched the Black Scale Serpent charge at him like a roaring heavy truck, enraged by the pain, he leaped backward and threw out Kunai wrapped in steel wire, hooking them around the surrounding giant trees.

Just from its enormous size and the way it had crushed every tree along its path, he knew he could not engage this snake in close combat.

He had to make use of his small size, the complex terrain, and the explosive power of ninjutsu if he wanted any chance of taking down this snake quickly.

Otherwise, if the snake latched onto him and kept following behind, it would be the same as telling Orochimaru his real-time location.

A smooth sliding sound rang out. Uchiha Gen grabbed an Elastic Steel Wire hanging from a large tree, swinging swiftly through the air to evade the Black Scale Serpent's lunge. At the same time, he pulled several Kunai with his right hand and shot them at the serpent's eyes.

The serpent paid them no mind. Though snakes lacked movable eyelids, their eyes were protected by transparent fixed scales known as spectacle scales, and their defenses were not so weak.

Uchiha Gen only noticed this after several Kunai were knocked away.

But he still had another move prepared.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Smoke bombs carried by crows were dropped one after another, filling the already devastated forest ravaged by the Black Scale Serpent with thick black smoke.

These smoke bombs were not meant to obstruct its vision. After all, snakes did not see particularly well to begin with, but the objective was the same.

Because the smoke could interfere with a snake's ability to judge scents.

As for infrared sensing, Uchiha Gen was fortunate that he had just smeared a large amount of water-rich mud over his body. It had not yet hardened, and the moisture within still provided excellent cooling and insulation.

Having lost its lock on its target, the Black Scale Serpent's hisses grew even more violent. It charged about wildly, crushing countless trees around it, only to become entangled in the Elastic Steel Wire net Uchiha Gen had laid beforehand.

Now!

Uchiha Gen tensed every muscle and ran swiftly through the thinning smoke. At last, he pulled several steel wires taut with both hands, even clamping two between his teeth.

His strength alone naturally could not restrain a giant serpent of such enormous size and terrifying weight. The Elastic Steel Wires served only as a medium linking him to the Black Scale Serpent.

"Oil!"

Uchiha shouted indistinctly through the wires in his mouth at the lead crow.

The largest and smartest Ninja Crow immediately used its beak to grab the bottle hanging before its neck. It pried out the stopper and poured the Fire Oil inside into Uchiha Gen's mouth.

The Fire Oil Sarutobi Enju had given him finally came in handy.

Ordinary oil did not enhance Fire Release nearly as much as this specially treated Fire Oil. Mixed with certain special minerals, it could significantly raise the temperature of Fire Release.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

A burst of flame mixed with Fire Oil sprayed from Uchiha Gen's mouth. Following the Elastic Steel Wires, it transformed into several thin, straight fire dragons that shot toward the Black Scale Serpent.

Like the Great Fireball Technique, the Dragon Fire Technique was a basic C-rank Fire Release ninjutsu within the Uchiha Clan. Only after mastering both techniques would one be qualified to learn those advanced Fire Release techniques with greater difficulty and power.

The mark of mastery in this technique was the ability to directly breathe out thin, straight streams of fire with tremendous impact.

Uchiha Gen had not mastered the Dragon Fire Technique as thoroughly as the Great Fireball Technique. To directly breathe out such a stream of fire required his Fire Release shape transformation to reach a certain level, which was why he had used steel wires as an aid.

But the advantage of using the wires was that, in this situation, the attack could not miss.

Moreover, the Dragon Fire Technique possessed greater explosive and piercing power in a fixed direction than the Great Fireball Technique. It was actually very effective against enemies with strong defenses.

Under the effect of the Fire Oil, white light gradually brightened at the core of the scorching orange-red flames.

As the smoke dispersed, lines of fire were wrapped around the Black Scale Serpent, burning it and making the massive snake howl endlessly as it struggled with all its might.