But Scorch Release manifested differently in his hands. It seemed more like it was directly coating them.
It was also possible that the fireballs from the original story were a jutsu Pakura had developed herself.
Denji looked at his hands, his pupils reflecting red.
He looked around, his gaze settling on the old tree in the corner of the yard. Its trunk was as thick as an adult's waist.
Denji walked over and simply pressed his right hand against the trunk.
Red light surged from his palm, like a hungry beast opening its mouth.
There was no sound.
No explosion.
A charred handprint sank into the trunk at a visible rate.
It wasn't burning.
It was "drying out"—the moisture was being forcibly drawn away.
The bark began to crack around the edges of the handprint, the fractures spreading outward like a spiderweb. Everywhere they went, green turned yellow and dampness gave way to dryness.
In just a few seconds, the entire tree went through decades of decay—from lush and full of life to withered and rotting.
"Crack—"
The trunk snapped at the handprint, and the upper half crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The wood at the break had completely carbonized. It crumbled to powder at the slightest touch.
Denji withdrew his hand and watched the layer of red light gradually fade from his palm. The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
If he hid it well, it might have an unexpected effect.
Root Base.
"What did you say?"
Danzo's hand paused slightly on his cane. His exposed left eye narrowed to a slit, a sharp glint flashing in its cloudy pupil.
The Root shinobi kneeling in the shadows kept his head down and spoke steadily. "Akimichi Denji, our routine surveillance target and Akimichi Choza's son. Today, while training in his own backyard, he displayed an ability that appears to be a Kekkei Genkai."
"A Kekkei Genkai?"
"Yes. It wasn't an Akimichi Clan jutsu. His hands were covered in red light, and the tree withered as soon as he touched it. The trunk carbonized and broke apart. I witnessed it myself."
Danzo fell silent for a moment.
His fingers tapped the desk, making a dull "thunk, thunk, thunk."
"The Akimichi Clan... Where could they have gotten a Kekkei Genkai like that?" His voice was faint, as though he were talking to himself. "An unknown Kekkei Genkai..."
Fifteen minutes later, in the Hokage's office.
"Hiruzen."
Danzo walked straight in.
The Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was going through paperwork. He didn't turn around when he heard the voice, only sighed. "Danzo, how many times have I told you to knock before coming in—"
"Akimichi Denji." Danzo cut him off. "That child used a new Kekkei Genkai in his backyard today!"
Hiruzen's hands stopped moving, and he finally looked up.
"A Kekkei Genkai? You're still keeping that child under surveillance."
"That's not the point. The point is that this is a completely new Kekkei Genkai."
"This Kekkei Genkai lets him coat his hands in red light. When he touches a tree, it carbonizes." Danzo walked up to the desk and planted his cane against the floor. "The Akimichi Clan has no such bloodline. Where did this child's Kekkei Genkai come from, Hiruzen? Aren't you curious?"
Hiruzen slowly turned around, his aged face expressionless.
"What are you getting at?"
"What I'm saying is—" Danzo lowered his voice, like a snake hissing, "that child may be a spy. Sunagakure, Kirigakure, or Amegakure... A new Kekkei Genkai can only mean he's a spy sent by another village!"
"Or perhaps... he isn't really an Akimichi at all."
"Ridiculous." Hiruzen frowned.
"Ridiculous?" Danzo sneered. "A child with no known bloodline suddenly uses a Kekkei Genkai. That isn't ridiculous; it's a conspiracy! Hiruzen, you should hand him over to me."
"Hand him over to you?"
"Bring him into Root." Danzo stared straight at Hiruzen with his left eye. "I'll interrogate him and train him. If he's innocent, Root will turn him into a sharp blade for Konoha. If there's something wrong with him—"
He left the sentence unfinished.
"No." Hiruzen's voice was firm. "He's just a child."
Sarutobi Hiruzen remembered what he had seen today through the Ninja Art Orb. Denji's words about the Will of Fire echoed in his mind.
The Will of Fire meant becoming fire oneself and evaporating all that cold rain.
It meant making sure no one ever had to shiver from the cold again.
He couldn't believe that a child who said such things could be a spy.
Even if the boy came from a different background, the Will of Fire could win over outsiders and bring them in to help build Konoha together.
That was what the Will of Fire meant.
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this."
Hiruzen faced Danzo, his aged eyes unwavering and filled with unshakable conviction.
"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"
Danzo slammed the door on his way out and headed back to Root.
His face twisted. His left eye was half closed, and something churned in the depths of his pupil.
Hiruzen wouldn't agree.
He had known that from the start.
But Konoha hadn't been built by Sarutobi Hiruzen alone.
Konoha depended on its roots, buried deep underground, constantly drawing in nourishment to sustain the mighty branches above.
Roots had to grow in the darkness beneath the earth.
Konoha needed roots.
And he was the root.
"Akimichi Denji..."
Danzo rolled the name around in his mouth, the faintest curve appearing at the corner of his lips.
Whether the boy was a spy or not didn't matter.
He had originally only planned to poison the boy and get rid of this unexpected complication. He hadn't expected Akimichi Choza to be able to save him.
He knew Choza must have paid a great price. That was a poison Orochimaru had left behind; an ordinary person wouldn't even have noticed it.
Now that the boy could be useful, Danzo had changed his mind.
Once he brought the child back to Root and carved the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal into him—
Even if Hiruzen found out then, what could he do?
Danzo had always done things this way: the Uchiha's eyes, and Aburame Torune of the Aburame Clan.
As long as Konoha grew stronger, that was all that mattered.
Danzo lowered his gaze, his eyes hidden in the shadows.
This was a necessary sacrifice...
That evening, at the Akimichi family home.
Choji walked along eating Three-Color Dango, already looking forward to dinner.
Thinking about it made him miss the food his new classmate had given him at lunchtime.
It had tasted like nothing he'd ever tried before. He wished he could have that kind of food for dinner, too.
Three-Color Dango was delicious, but the meat dish had been even better.
As he pondered this, Akimichi Choji opened the door and smelled the aroma of stewed meat.
The rich scent of sauce mingled with the sharpness of scallions and ginger, grabbing Choji's stomach like an invisible hand. His stomach let out an embarrassing growl.
He walked into the dining room.
Glossy braised pork quivered in a bowl, layered with alternating bands of meat and fat and coated in a rich sauce that gleamed amber in the light.
A mound of braised pork bones rose high in another dish. The meat was so tender it nearly fell off the bones, and its aroma mingled with star anise and cinnamon, wafting straight to his nose.
There was also a large basin of pork ribs stewed with green beans. The ribs had been cut into large chunks, their exposed bones glistening with fat. The beans had soaked up the juices and turned a deep, glossy green.
Akimichi Choza came out of the kitchen and ruffled his hair with a large hand. "Hungry? Just wait a bit. We have a new guest today."
Akimichi Denji came out of the kitchen and looked at Akimichi Choji with a mischievous grin. "Call me big brother!"
Before you continue