Secret Technique

Compared to geniuses like Shisui, Uchiha Sora had no advantage in any area.

There was only one exception.

His insight—or, more precisely, his ability to understand the nature of power.

He could adapt to Rayquaza's power in a short time and combine it with his own abilities to develop attacks tailored to his needs.

Especially now, with the boost from a fragment of Rayquaza, his understanding of chakra had reached a new level.

He couldn't learn Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker Technique. Even if he did, he lacked Shisui's precise control, and would only end up imitating him poorly.

Instead, he understood its principles and developed a technique suited to himself.

Like Paper Release and snake-style ninjutsu, it was a secret technique with Uchiha Sora's own distinctive flair.

After Nine-Tails Night ended, Uchiha Sora devoted himself to developing techniques.

Dodai, standing before him, was the perfect subject for testing the results.

Dodai clutched his severed arm and stared at Uchiha Sora, who held the Blazing Blade. Cold sweat poured down his face.

Something was wrong...

This feeling was too strange!

He was certain he hadn't been caught in a genjutsu, so why did he keep finding himself in a daze...

That attack hadn't been powerful enough to stop him from dodging!

Whoosh...

The flames on the blade seemed alive, coiling around Uchiha Sora's hand like a fiery serpent without burning his skin.

Uchiha Sora had no bad habit of revealing his abilities.

Irregular tongues of flame covered his body, lifting the tips of his slightly curled hair as if on the wind.

He took a deep breath.

His breathing seemed to ebb and flow with the flickering flames. The tip of his lowered blade sat level with the sun rising over the distant mountains.

The air around him rippled in the heat, and a faint glow like a sun disc appeared behind him.

His graceful grip on the blade carried an indescribable elegance. To onlookers, the scene looked solemn and divine. To Dodai, it was simply cold...

The sun offered him no warmth.

--

He swung his blade.

Whoosh!!

A torrent of searing flames burst from the blade. The savage fire roared like a dragon, twisting the air around it!

That was the Great Dragon Fire Technique...

Why could he use ninjutsu without forming Hand Seals?!

No...

He had formed the seals through the motion of his blade!

Lava Release: Mountain Rock Rubber Armor!

Rumble—

Rubbery lava mixed with rock and earth, forming layer after layer of thick barriers in front of Dodai.

What was a Kekkei Genkai?

It was a change in chakra nature produced by mutated organs or by combining chakra natures.

These were Release techniques, different from the standard five elemental styles. They could be encoded in a ninja's genes and passed down to their children through blood ties.

Hand Seals were simply a way to help guide chakra. A ninja with a technique woven into their bloodline could simplify the process to a certain extent.

That was why Dodai could still use Lava Release after losing an arm.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The fire dragon roared as it slammed into the barriers, smashing through them one after another. Dodai could clearly feel the scorching impact. His mouth went dry, as if he were standing inside a volcano.

Still, something was wrong!

Given that kid's chakra reserves, a Fire Style technique of this scale should have drained him after a single use. Would he really be so reckless?

With the situation growing dire, Dodai stopped hesitating and lifted his eyepatch.

Beneath it was a strange eye. Its iris was black, its sclera a vivid red, and a horizontal line shaped like the character for "one" marked the center of its pupil.

That peculiar eye finally let Dodai understand the source of the strange feeling.

Uchiha Sora's Fire Style had been nowhere near as powerful as it had seemed. It was only of ordinary strength, and Dodai's barriers had already stopped it.

He gradually figured out what was happening.

Genjutsu.

Uchiha Sora had woven genjutsu into the flowing flames. Rather than casting it directly on his target with the Sharingan, he made anyone who saw the fire misjudge its power.

Just like before, Dodai hadn't thought that slash could break through his arm guard. The flames burning along the blade had seemed as weak as an ember.

And yet the blade had severed his hand.

Make the enemy think an attack is weak so they don't defend themselves carefully, or make them think it is strong so they waste huge amounts of chakra protecting themselves...

What a...

Bizarre technique!

"Too bad. I've seen through your technique!"

Dodai used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Uchiha Sora, swinging his blade with his remaining hand!

Clang—

Uchiha Sora blocked the slash with his short sword and saw the strange eye in Dodai's socket.

In between training sessions, Uchiha Sora read the clan's public records. He knew something about that eye.

The Ketsuryūgan.

It was the Kekkei Genkai of the Chinoike Clan, a clan with some ties to the Uchiha.

It had originated in an era even more distant than the time of Hashirama and Madara.

A daughter of the Chinoike Clan had become a concubine to the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning. She was gentle and beautiful, and the Daimyo had cherished her.

The Daimyo's principal wife grew jealous. After his death, she claimed the girl had been involved in it.

Not only the girl, but the entire Chinoike Clan suffered for it. Most of its members were executed, and the rest were exiled to a hostile land.

The Uchiha were assigned to keep watch over the Chinoike survivors.

That surveillance continued until the hidden villages were established.

Noticing Uchiha Sora's expression, Dodai sneered. "Recognize it? This is the Ketsuryūgan, the Hypnosis Eye once famed alongside the Sharingan!"

"Kid, don't think you can fool me with your tricks again!"

"Heh..."

Uchiha Sora sneered. "Now anyone thinks they can claim to be on the same level."

"Even the Chinoike Clan were prisoners. What exactly are you so proud of, using an eye you dug out of someone else's socket?"

Clang!!

Uchiha Sora swung his blade with force, driving Dodai back.

Their figures flashed through the Blazing Fire Formation as weapons clashed with explosive force.

Dodai was a close aide to the Raikage and an unquestionable elite jonin.

He had the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai and a Ketsuryūgan. In terms of raw strength, he was superior to Uchiha Sora.

That was before he lost an arm.

Losing a hand was a tremendous handicap for a ninja, and Dodai quickly fell behind in their Taijutsu exchange.

And besides...

His left eye, the Ketsuryūgan, had begun to ache.

It wasn't his own eye, after all. Using it constantly to dispel the genjutsu was taking a heavy toll on him.

Among known dōjutsu, only the Byakugan was perfectly compatible with every ninja, allowing its user to decide whether to activate its abilities.

Without outside help, it was difficult for anyone else to control an eye that wasn't their own. Even a genius like Kakashi struggled under the strain of bearing the Sharingan.

Since the Ketsuryūgan was said to rival the Sharingan, it must have some similarities to an ordinary Sharingan.

Dodai couldn't deactivate the Ketsuryūgan either. Normally, he relied on the seal on his eyepatch to suppress its effects.

Blood tears streamed from his left eye. He had overtaxed it.

"Do you have to imitate even that? It's disgusting."

To Dodai, Uchiha Sora's movements had once again taken on that strange quality.

Every swing, every slash, every gesture carried a certain rhythm.

It was as if he were playing a melody, drawing Dodai into its spell.

Beautiful, yet dangerous.

In just one minute, nearly all the Cloud Hidden ninja he had brought with him had been defeated. The last one probably wouldn't last much longer against Shisui.

This was what a real ninja battle looked like.

Victory or defeat was often decided in a very short time. Only a few could sustain a drawn-out fight through sheer force.

Swish—

The instant his attention wandered,

a flaming arc swept toward his eyes.

His battle experience saved his life once again.

He leaned back slightly, and the searing slash only cut his nose and cheek.

No blood sprayed. The blade's heat vaporized it as it passed, even kindly cauterizing his wounds.

Watching Uchiha Sora surrounded by flames, Dodai felt an intense sense of déjà vu.

That form, with elemental chakra wrapped around his entire body...

It looked so much like...

Lightning Release Chakra Mode!!