Water Release vs. Fire Release!

At the border of the Land of Fire, sitting around a campfire and listening to Hatake Sakumo's account, Shita Genichi finally learned what this mission was about.

The location was once again the Land of Rivers. Their mission was to protect an iron mine.

It was probably a continuation of their previous mission.

After Uchiha Langyi assassinated the daimyo of the Land of Rivers, the Land of Fire had swiftly installed a new daimyo. Not only had they recovered the benefits they were about to lose, they had also secured an additional share.

That was the target of this mission.

The mine had been forced to shut down for a time after attacks by bandits and rogue ninja.

So a wealthy merchant from the Land of Fire had paid a hefty sum to hire a Konoha ninja squad to protect it.

Bandits?

Rogue ninja?

It was probably the Land of Wind and Sunagakure causing trouble.

Otherwise, why would they need two squads to deal with bandits and rogue ninja?

Although Hatake Sakumo was the only Jonin among them.

After going over the mission, everyone began to chat.

Uchiha Langyi asked curiously, "Genichi, what jutsu did you choose?"

Shita Genichi smiled. "A Sealing Jutsu called the Yin Seal."

Uchiha Langyi and Yamanaka En were both surprised. "A Sealing Jutsu?"

Yamanaka En asked, puzzled, "Why choose a Sealing Jutsu?"

"You're good at Water Release and Genjutsu. Wouldn't it make more sense to choose a Water Release or Genjutsu technique?"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others were drawn into the conversation, too.

Shita Genichi smiled. "I already know enough Water Release techniques for now."

He had techniques for offense and defense, area attacks and single-target attacks.

"Same goes for Genjutsu."

"On the other hand, I don't have much chakra. The Yin Seal lets me store chakra I don't usually need and release it when the time comes."

Uchiha Langyi's usually cold face twitched. "You don't exactly lack chakra, do you?"

"You've got just as much as En and I do."

Yamanaka En nodded repeatedly. That was exactly what he'd wanted to say.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke spoke up. "Water Release probably consumes a lot of chakra, especially when there's no water around. To bring out its full power, you need to be proficient in changing its nature—and you also need a huge amount of chakra to sustain it."

Shita Genichi nodded. "You're right, Shinnosuke. You can't always choose the conditions on a battlefield."

"Langyi, what technique did you choose?"

Changing the subject, Uchiha Langyi replied, "A Fire Release technique: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."

The scene of Sarutobi Hiruzen fighting the Reanimated First and Second Hokage immediately came to Shita Genichi's mind.

That Fire Release technique was powerful—at least, it had been when Sarutobi Hiruzen used it.

But the Second Hokage had blocked it with Water Formation Wall, leaving the Anbu Ninja astonished. Sarutobi Hiruzen himself had seemed a little stunned, too.

Blocking such a fierce Fire Release technique with Water Release in a place without water—no wonder he was an Ocean Release specialist.

"Fire Dragon Flame Bullet is one of the Third's signature Fire Release techniques. It's fast, and its range is pretty wide," Hatake Sakumo commented.

Uchiha Langyi nodded. The speed of the attack was what he liked most about it.

The Uchiha already had plenty of Fire Release techniques, of all kinds.

But since he could choose one, Uchiha Langyi still preferred Fire Release.

Yamanaka En smiled. "Langyi, Genichi, one of you specializes in Fire Release and the other in Water Release. I'm looking forward to seeing you two go up against each other."

Uchiha Langyi turned to Shita Genichi, his cold eyes alight with anticipation.

He'd already seen Shita Genichi's Water Release at the daimyo's palace in the Land of Rivers.

It was incredibly powerful.

But that had been with water all around. If there wasn't any...

Shita Genichi looked at Hatake Sakumo.

Hatake Sakumo said, "Go ahead and try. It'll give you both more experience with Fire Release and Water Release clashes."

Shita Genichi and Uchiha Langyi exchanged a glance, then vanished from where they stood.

They reappeared several meters away.

The two stood five or six meters apart.

Uchiha Langyi called out, "Here I come!"

As soon as he spoke, his hands blurred through a series of seals.

Ram—Horse—Snake—Dragon—Rat—Ox—Tiger!

He completed the seals in just over a second. Uchiha Langyi inhaled, his chest swelling, then spat out a stream of fire.

The flame gathered into a ball about a meter away. A moment later, with a roar, flames burst from it, taking the shape of a dragon as they hurtled toward Shita Genichi at tremendous speed.

Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!

In just a few days, Uchiha Langyi had already mastered this B-rank Fire Release technique.

Watching this, Sarutobi Shinnosuke gave an almost imperceptible nod, impressed by how well Uchiha Langyi had used it.

On the other side, Shita Genichi was only just beginning to form hand seals.

He thrust both arms forward, his left hand clenched into a fist and his right palm supporting it. Then he drew his arms back and formed the Snake seal. Water instantly gathered and swirled around him, forming a circular curtain.

Sarutobi Shinnosuke's eyes lit up.

Those hand seals were concise and quick, uniquely styled, and visually striking.

"No wonder Asuma wanted to imitate him."

A smile tugged at Sarutobi Shinnosuke's lips.

Even though his younger brother had been outdone, it didn't stop him from enjoying the show.

Boom~~

The dragon flame collided with the swirling water, sending steam billowing up and hiding Shita Genichi from view.

Uchiha Langyi kept up the attack, but still couldn't break through Shita Genichi's Water Release defense.

So he immediately stopped the technique and formed another set of hand seals.

Meanwhile, the steam dissipated. The water swirling around Shita Genichi broke apart into droplets, which quickly vanished as well.

Seeing Uchiha Langyi forming seals again, Shita Genichi extended both palms, then swiftly drew them back and clapped them together.

Water gathered around him once more, spinning faster and faster as it rose like a spinning top. Its force grew more and more imposing.

Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!

"What powerful Water Release!"

This was the first time Nara Kakuto and the others had seen anyone use Water Release with such force in a place without water. They couldn't help gaping in astonishment.

Hatake Sakumo thought, Genichi made the right choice.

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

One fireball after another roared out, circling around toward Shita Genichi.

This Fire Release technique let the user control the fireballs' flight paths, allowing attacks from different angles.

Shita Genichi spread his arms. The water swirling around him surged outward, extinguishing every fireball as it came and sweeping toward Uchiha Langyi.

Uchiha Langyi immediately leaped up to avoid the wave, then landed on the surface of the water.

Shita Genichi crossed his arms.

The water behind Uchiha Langyi immediately surged back, sweeping toward him from both sides.

"What control!" Yamanaka Jing couldn't help exclaiming.

Akimichi Dozō said, "I've never seen anyone better at Water Release!"

Even Sarutobi Shinnosuke couldn't help nodding. His old man would probably have to admit he was outmatched.

But Uchiha Langyi was already familiar with this move. He turned, drew his sword, and swung. A torrent of fire surged forth, blasting apart the oncoming waves.

Uchiha-Style Kenjutsu!

Just then, a hand emerged from beneath the water. With a splash, it yanked Uchiha Langyi under.

However—

Behind Shita Genichi, another Uchiha Langyi appeared. He opened his mouth and spat out a roaring dragon of fire.

Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!

Boom!

The dragon flame engulfed Shita Genichi.

Poof!

Shita Genichi burst into a cloud of smoke amid the flames.

Meanwhile, Shita Genichi rose from beneath the water.

The Uchiha Langyi he'd just pulled underwater had also been a Shadow Clone.

Shita Genichi had used his Shadow Clone when the first Fire Dragon Flame Bullet had created a huge cloud of steam.

Uchiha Langyi had used his Shadow Clone after using Phoenix Sage Fire.

There had been steam billowing then, too.

The key was that Uchiha Langyi had used his Sharingan to spot Shita Genichi's chakra hidden in the water.

But even so, he couldn't tell which one was the real body.

So he left a Shadow Clone behind to draw Shita Genichi's attention while the real him circled around for an attack.

Neither of them had expected the other to attack with a Shadow Clone.

The two looked at each other, then laughed in unison.

A draw!