"Fire Release" Without Hand Seals, Hadō #31!

Uchiha Ryūha's voice was soft, like a whisper.

But those syllables carried a certain ancient, icy rhythm, as if echoing from the depths of an abyss, ringing out clearly in the deathly silent forest—

"Ye lord."

The rogue ninja swinging his blade toward Haruno Kazuya faltered for a split second.

It wasn't because he understood the words, but because of a certain instinct—the instinct of a beast whose fur stands on end when facing a natural predator.

"Mask of flesh and bone, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man."

In the palm of Uchiha Ryūha's hand, a point of crimson light began to condense.

It was not the blue of Chakra, nor the orange-red of Fire Release, but a deeper, more scorching dark red, like the core of molten lava.

Matsumoto Ryūichi's pupils contracted sharply.

No hand seals.

No signs of Chakra gathering.

What was that?!

"On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a lotus, in the abyss of crimson lotus, wait for the far-off heavens."

The dark red point of light swirled, compressed, and expanded in Uchiha Ryūha's palm.

The surrounding air began to distort, fallen leaves stirred without a breeze, and tiny pebbles on the ground hovered in mid-air.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō."

The moment the final syllable fell—

BOOM!!!

A crimson fireball over four meters in diameter erupted from Uchiha Ryūha's palm!

Unlike the explosive and spreading nature of a Great Fireball, this was the pinnacle of condensation and penetration.

Lava-like patterns flowed across the surface of the fireball, while its core was a blinding, incandescent white.

The air in its path was scorched into distorted ripples, fallen leaves instantly carbonized, and the bark of the ancient trees on either side cracked and charred with a "crackle."

It was too fast.

From the incantation to the launch, it took no more than two seconds.

The savage grin on the rogue ninja's face hadn't even fully transitioned into shock before the crimson fireball engulfed him.

There was no explosion.

Only a "hiss"—like a red-hot iron bar plunged into ice water.

Then, the human silhouette—evaporated—within the crimson light.

His upper body, from shoulder to waist, turned to ash in an instant.

The short blade melted into molten iron and dripped away; the remaining lower half swayed for a moment before toppling backward.

The severed edges were charred black, not even a single drop of blood had time to flow out.

Time seemed to stand still.

The remaining two rogue ninjas saw the ferocity on their faces vanish completely, quickly drowned by boundless terror.

They usually followed Mikami Guiyu to rob others, but having accepted this bounty, they never expected to encounter something like this.

"Monster..."

"Run! Run away!"

They let out shrill screams, turned, and sprinted into the forest with every ounce of strength they possessed.

They didn't even care about their leader, who was still locked in combat with Matsumoto Ryūichi.

As for Mikami Guiyu, his movements suffered a fatal lag the moment the Hadō #31: Shakkahō erupted.

"You're distracted." Matsumoto Ryūichi's icy voice rang in his ear.

The kunai pierced his heart with precision, twisted, and was pulled out.

Mikami Guiyu looked down at the blood gushing from his chest, opened his mouth, but could not make a sound before crashing to the ground.

The battle was over.

From the moment Uchiha Ryūha raised his hand to the death of one rogue ninja and the flight of the other two, less than ten seconds had passed.

The forest fell back into silence.

Only the charred trench left on the ground by the Hadō #31: Shakkahō, and the pungent smell of burning flesh and wood lingering in the air, served as proof of what had just occurred.

Haruno Kazuya sat slumped on the ground, mouth agape, staring blankly at the charred corpse that was now only half a body.

He slowly turned his head to look at Uchiha Ryūha, who was still holding the cat cage with a calm expression.

The kunai in Fujiwara Itsuki's hand clattered to the ground, yet he remained completely unaware.

He just stared fixedly at Uchiha Ryūha, a wheezing, gasping sound rattling in his throat.

Matsumoto Ryūichi stood rooted to the spot, the hand gripping his kunai trembling slightly.

He slowly turned his head to look at Uchiha Ryūha.

The black-haired youth had already lowered his hand and was looking down to check on the cat in the cage.

The white cat, Tama, seemed frightened by the commotion, curling up in the corner of the cage with its ears pricked in vigilance.

Uchiha Ryūha took another piece of dried fish from the bag and held it into the cage; the white cat hesitated for a moment before creeping forward to nibble at it.

His movements remained composed, even carrying a hint of nonchalance.

It was as if the person who had just instantly vaporized a Genin with an unknown method was not him at all.

"T-Teacher..." Haruno Kazuya finally found his voice, though it was horribly hoarse.

"W-what was that? No hand seals... Fire Style... can Fire Style even be used like that?"

Fujiwara Itsuki also looked toward Matsumoto Ryūichi, his eyes filled with confusion and curiosity.

Matsumoto Ryūichi did not answer.

He stared intently at Uchiha Ryūha, his lips pressed into a rigid line.

As a Jonin, he had seen too many ninjutsu.

Elemental techniques of the five natures, secret arts, Kekkei Genkai... but he had never seen such a "Fire Style."

No, was that even really Fire Style?

No hand seals—that was impossible.

And it wasn't a genjutsu inherent to a Kekkei Genkai like the Sharingan.

All other ninjutsu required changes in the shape and nature of Chakra, and hand seals were the most stable and universal way to guide and control those changes.

Performing techniques without seals existed only in legends, a realm reachable only by someone on the level of the First Hokage.

Yet Uchiha Ryūha had truly used no hand seals just now.

He had only chanted... those strange, completely incomprehensible syllables.

Furthermore, the power of that fireball...

Matsumoto Ryūichi's gaze fell upon the charred trench.

The trench was half a foot deep, and the soil at the edges had vitrified into a crystalline state; this was an effect that could only be caused by an instantaneous, extreme temperature.

A standard C-rank Great Fireball had a wide range, but its power was dispersed, relying primarily on impact and burning.

But that crimson fireball from moments ago had been extremely condensed, possessing terrifying piercing power, and its temperature had been unimaginably high—to vaporize a human body instantly required what level of heat?

This was definitely not conventional Fire Style.

This power, this speed, this method of casting...

Matsumoto Ryūichi's heart began to beat violently and uncontrollably.

It was unbelievable.

And there was a trace of something he was unwilling to even admit to himself... awe.

"Ryūha."

He finally spoke, his voice parched.

Uchiha Ryūha looked up, adjusted his glasses, and gazed at him calmly.

"What you just used," Matsumoto Ryūichi took a deep breath, each word spoken with extreme difficulty, "what exactly was it?"

The wind blew through the charred trench, kicking up a few wisps of ash.

Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki held their breath, looking toward Uchiha Ryūha.