Chimera Technique

But he had never imagined that Uchiha Akira, who was with Kakashi, would be this powerful.

"I should've gone to the Underground Exchange to trade for information first..." He was seething with regret.

He, Hiruko, had already been a Jonin during the Second Shinobi World War, and had even used the Chimera Technique to fuse with several powerful Summoning Beasts.

Yet he was this utterly helpless against a member of the Uchiha Clan!

"The Sannin weren't this powerful at his age!" Hiruko seethed with resentment.

The next moment, the giant beast racing through the forest suddenly froze. The world before Hiruko's eyes instantly turned black and red.

In the sky, an eerie Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun.

He looked down and saw that he was bound to a massive tree stump.

"Sharingan genjutsu..." Terror showed on Hiruko's face.

Before he could react, his consciousness sank into darkness.

As Hiruko fell under the Sharingan's genjutsu, the Chimera Technique also lost effect.

Hiruko's true body emerged from the giant Summoning Beast, returning to the form he had worn when they first met.

By then, Uchiha Akira's left eye had already transformed into a Mangekyō Sharingan. To control Hiruko in one go, he had, in a sense, used his full strength this time.

It had been no different when he controlled Six-Tails Saiken.

Unlike Six-Tails Saiken, Hiruko was a shinobi, and he didn't possess a Tailed Beast's immense chakra. Uchiha Akira could control him for a long time.

Naturally, he had done this for Hiruko's Chimera Technique.

There was no question about this jutsu's potential. It could steal Kekkei Genkai and make them one's own.

After fusing five Kekkei Genkai, it could even grant immortality. That alone showed how enormous its potential was.

With careful selection of the five Kekkei Genkai to fuse, completing the Chimera Technique could easily make someone one of the Shinobi World's strongest.

The potential of this jutsu depended on the Kekkei Genkai that were fused!

Once he realized it was Hiruko, Uchiha Akira had set his sights on the Chimera Technique.

This forbidden jutsu had immense potential. If he hadn't discovered it, that would have been one thing.

But since it had practically landed in his lap, Uchiha Akira had no choice but to seize it.

"Watching Hiruko stand motionless under the genjutsu, Uchiha Akira took out a blank scroll and a brush, tossed them over, and ordered, "Write down your Chimera Technique, along with every precaution for practicing it."

Scratch, scratch, scratch—

Without hesitation, Hiruko, under the genjutsu's control, bent over and began writing on the blank scroll.

Five minutes later, Hiruko stopped writing and stood there blankly.

The blank scroll was now covered in writing: the method for practicing the Chimera Technique and all the relevant precautions.

Uchiha Akira smiled. His Sharingan swept over the scroll, recording its entire contents in an instant.

Then he put away the scroll containing the Chimera Technique.

He formed Hand Seals, and a massive fireball reduced Hiruko to a pile of ash.

"I told you there was no need to go over there. Look, he's back now, isn't he?" Seeing Uchiha Akira return, Hyuga Homura shrugged and looked at Kakashi and Chiba Ryu.

Kakashi glanced at him without comment, then turned to Uchiha Akira as he approached. "How did it go, Akira-senpai?"

"It's done. I burned him to ash with a Fire Style jutsu," Uchiha Akira replied.

"You burned him up?" Kakashi looked surprised.

"Burned him up." Uchiha Akira nodded, then looked at Hyuga Homura. "Jonin Huo Men should have been able to see."

Hyuga Homura shook his head. "I didn't. My Byakugan can't see that far."

Chiba Ryu looked at Uchiha Akira and Kakashi and said, "Since everything's fine, I'll go back to resting. We'll come out to stand watch in the second half of the night."

Without waiting for a reply, he headed to his tent and slipped inside.

Soon, only Kakashi and Uchiha Akira remained by the fire.

The area fell quiet again. Kakashi didn't seem inclined to speak either. He stared blankly at the fire, his thoughts drifting who knew where.

Uchiha Akira, who had just obtained the Chimera Technique, wasn't in the mood to talk to Kakashi either. His attention was absorbed by the technique he had taken from Hiruko.

"The Chimera Technique has tremendous potential!" Uchiha Akira was deeply intrigued as he reviewed its contents in his memory.

No wonder Hiruko had later dared to declare war on the Five Great Nations. Sure, arrogance and a poor sense of his own limits had played a part.

But the Chimera Technique, once mastered, really was incredibly powerful.

Fusing with Summoning Beasts or other shinobi was only a crude application of the technique.

To truly master the Chimera Technique, one needed to fuse with five shinobi possessing Kekkei Genkai under the right conditions of time and place. Only then could one complete the technique in one go.

And gain immortality!

The five Kekkei Genkai should naturally be as powerful as possible.

Of course, just any five wouldn't do. Their compatibility had to be considered.

If the five Kekkei Genkai were incompatible and ended up hindering one another, that would be a problem.

"If I really practice the Chimera Technique, I'll need to think carefully about which five Kekkei Genkai to choose." Uchiha Akira began weighing his options.

In his view, the Wood Release inherited from Senju Hashirama was a definite must. Senju Hashirama's cells could let him use the Mangekyō Sharingan in his left eye without restraint.

So Wood Release definitely had to take one of the slots.

"Luckily, I already have the Sharingan, so I don't need to use a slot for it," Uchiha Akira thought.

"Actually, I already have a Byakugan." Uchiha Akira thought of the Byakugan he had obtained from the Kirigakure Jonin.

The Byakugan's potential was unquestionable. It could evolve into the Tenseigan, a powerful Kekkei Genkai no weaker than the Rinnegan. It was certainly a worthy option.

Wood Release's strength varied from person to person. In Senju Hashirama's hands, it was invincible; even Uchiha Madara with the Nine-Tails at his side had been no match.

But in Yamato's hands, it was decidedly mediocre. It was a jutsu that relied on overwhelming force to work wonders.

At its core, Wood Release was a Kekkei Genkai formed by combining Water and Earth Release. It wasn't inherently stronger than other Kekkei Genkai.

What was powerful was Senju Hashirama, and Asura's chakra—not Wood Release.

As far as Uchiha Akira was concerned, what he wanted wasn't Wood Release itself, but the vitality contained in Senju Hashirama's cells.

"I'll need to think carefully about the remaining three Kekkei Genkai." Uchiha Akira couldn't think of any suitable choices just yet.