Apprehension

Looking at the lava giant that had suddenly slammed Susanoo to the ground, even Sasuke Uchiha, arrogant as he was, could not help but be startled.

It was not only the sudden turn in the battle; the abrupt appearance of Lava Release had caught Sasuke off guard as well.

Susanoo was powerful, but it was not indestructible.

As the power of a Kekkei Genkai, it was not particularly surprising that Lava Release could damage Susanoo, but...

"This form seems rather familiar."

Even the same Kekkei Genkai could manifest in entirely different ways.

Take Tenzō's Wood Release and that of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju—they were completely different things.

A Kekkei Genkai formed by combining two chakra nature transformations could produce vastly different effects in different people's hands.

Dodai, a jonin of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, could also use Lava Release, but his signature techniques, Lava Release: Rubber Wall and Lava Release: Rubber Ball, showed no signs of extreme heat. Instead, they were defensive techniques more akin to tough rubber barriers.

Kurotsuchi, the granddaughter of Iwagakure's Third Tsuchikage in the Land of Earth, could use Lava Release as well. But her signature technique, Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique, primarily released quick-setting cement that rapidly hardened, a secret technique used to restrict an enemy's movements.

Both differed greatly from the Lava Release used by the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, and Mizuki.

Mei Terumi's and Mizuki's Lava Release were somewhat alike, but Mei Terumi's leaned more toward corrosive power, while Mizuki's favored extreme heat.

These differences clearly stemmed from each person's differing understanding of Fire-nature and Earth-nature chakra transformations. Once they were fused to form the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, those differences became especially pronounced.

Yet the Lava Release combat form used by Kakuzu before Sasuke Uchiha was far too similar