Kekkei Genkai

Liuyu fell silent for two seconds.

Then he smiled faintly, his expression distant yet gentle.

When in doubt, blame it on a Kekkei Genkai. After all, he'd made the whole thing up.

"It's another application of the Eye of the Heart, Sensei."

His tone was casual, as if he were explaining the principles behind a simple jutsu.

"My Kekkei Genkai lets me control the five senses, which naturally includes... sensing and reshaping my own Chakra.

"With precise control over my senses, I can change the nature and shape of Chakra inside my body, skipping the Hand Seals.

"And that just now—"

He pointed to the charred furrow.

"Was a variant technique I released after compressing fire-natured Chakra to its limit.

"I call it the 'Red Fire Cannon.'"

His explanation was perfectly reasonable.

Using an ability that controlled the five senses to manipulate his own Chakra and perform a jutsu without Hand Seals.

It sounded reasonable, even "scientific."

But the chill in Matsumoto Ryūichi's heart didn't ease at all.

Because Liuyu's explanation had exposed an even more terrifying fact—

Just how frighteningly precise was this boy's control over Chakra?

To make two changes inside his body using nothing but mental power, without guiding them with Hand Seals, and then compress the Chakra to that degree...

How precise did his control have to be? How vast his mental strength? How... inhuman his will?

And what were those chanting syllables?

Were they just "for show"?

Matsumoto Ryūichi stared hard into Liuyu's eyes, trying to read something in their calm, deep-brown depths.

But he saw nothing.

Liuyu's gaze was clear and composed.

There was even a touch of the earnestness of a boy "waiting for his teacher's opinion."

A perfect act.

Or perhaps he simply couldn't be bothered to put on one.

"Red Fire Cannon..." Matsumoto Ryūichi repeated the unfamiliar name, slowly lowering his Kunai. "I've never heard of that jutsu."

"I made it myself," Liuyu replied frankly. "It's still in development, and I haven't got the power under control yet. Sorry for the trouble, Sensei."

Made it himself...

The corner of Matsumoto Ryūichi's mouth twitched.

A ten-year-old Genin had invented a jutsu that didn't require Hand Seals, with power comparable to a B-rank, perhaps even approaching an A-rank Fire Release technique.

And he still hadn't got the power "under control"?

If that was what "not under control" meant, then what did that make other shinobi? Children playing house?

But he didn't say it aloud.

He just looked deeply at Liuyu for a long time.

Then he turned and walked toward the corpse, now missing its upper half.

"Kazuya, Itsuki, clean up the scene. "Liuyu, stand guard."

"Yes, yes!" Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki snapped out of their daze and scrambled to their feet. They began using a sealing scroll to collect the corpse and clean up the traces.

Their movements were stiff, though, and they didn't dare look at Liuyu again.

Liuyu picked up the cat carrier and walked over to a higher mound of earth. He stood quietly, scanning the surrounding woods.

Through his Reiatsu perception, he could tell the two Rogue Ninja who'd fled were already several miles away.

They were running for their lives without looking back. They probably wouldn't dare return anytime soon.

He lowered his head and looked at his palm.

When he'd released the Red Fire Cannon just now, he'd deliberately restrained its power and used Kyōka Suigetsu to make subtle "visual adjustments."

To Matsumoto Ryūichi and his two teammates, he really had "used no Hand Seals."

But in truth, he'd made a hand gesture.

Combined with the chanting, it created the illusion that he'd performed the jutsu without Hand Seals.

It was a necessary disguise.

Performing a jutsu without Hand Seals at all would be far too shocking and draw unwanted attention and suspicion.

After all, Minato's Rasengan was still in its early stages. Jutsu without Hand Seals were still the domain of the First and Second Hokage.

And the explanation that his Kekkei Genkai let him perform jutsu without Hand Seals was certainly astonishing, but it at least fit within the Shinobi World's understanding of things.

Kekkei Genkai were, by their very nature, beyond the ordinary.

As for the chanting... that was an inherent part of Kido, and he didn't plan to change it for now.

For him, it was the perfect opportunity to show off.

In other words, to dazzle everyone?

"Liuyu."

Matsumoto Ryūichi's voice came from behind him.

Liuyu turned around.

Matsumoto Ryūichi came to stand beside him, gazing out at the distant sea of trees.

The Blood-Red Sunset began to sink, dyeing the horizon gold.

"Your 'Eye of the Heart,'" Matsumoto Ryūichi said slowly after a moment of silence, "is more dangerous than I imagined."

"Power itself isn't good or evil, Sensei," Liuyu replied calmly. "It depends on the person who uses it."

"Is that so?" Matsumoto Ryūichi turned and looked at him intently. "Then tell me, why are you pursuing power like this?"

Uchiha Ryūha pushed up his glasses, their lenses reflecting the glow of the Blood-Red Sunset.

"To stand high enough to see a truer view of the world."

He paused, then added softly:

"And... to keep those who deserve to live from dying in pointless darkness."

Matsumoto Ryūichi froze.

He suddenly remembered the moment Liuyu had struck—the instant Haruno Kazuya had nearly been killed.

Precise. Decisive. Without the slightest hesitation.

The boy wasn't cold.

He had simply protected what he believed was worth protecting in a way no one else could understand.

Matsumoto Ryūichi was silent for a long time.

At last, he patted Liuyu on the shoulder.

His hand was heavy.

"When we get back, write two reports." He turned and walked toward Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki, who had finished cleaning up. His voice carried back to them.

"One about the failure to capture the cat.

"The other about the 'Red Fire Cannon'—its principles, Chakra consumption, and how it can be improved.

"That's an order from Lord Hokage."

Liuyu watched Matsumoto Ryūichi walk away, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Yes, Sensei."

The Blood-Red Sunset sank completely below the horizon.

Team Seven set off for home.

But this time, the mood within the team was entirely different.

Haruno Kazuya and Fujiwara Itsuki walked two steps behind Liuyu, afraid to get too close.

Their eyes were full of awe, curiosity, and an indescribable sense of admiration.

Back during the graduation battle, they'd only watched from the sidelines.

Today, they'd fought alongside him.

Matsumoto Ryūichi walked at the head of the group, his back straight.

But in his mind, he kept replaying the sight of that crimson fireball tearing through the darkness.

And the look in Liuyu's calm eyes as he chanted, as if a god were gazing down upon the world.

"Uchiha Ryūha..."

He silently repeated the name to himself.

The genius he'd thought needed "polishing" had already reached heights he couldn't begin to understand.