I'm No Longer Interested in Fire Release

There were three options, one of which was just there to make up the numbers: give up.

Giving up was obviously out of the question. He couldn't go wrong with either of the first two, even if he picked one with his eyes closed.

Whether it was spending ten times as much chakra to turn all his techniques into Amaterasu Fire Release,

or getting a 70% reduction in chakra consumption and turning every other nature release into Fire Release.

Either way, he couldn't lose.

It was just a little hard to choose.

If I can solve my chakra problem, the cost of making everything Amaterasu won't matter.

But Child of Flame seems pretty powerful too...

Aside from replacing every nature release with flame, Child of Flame had another particularly special attribute.

"Can learn all ninjutsu."

That naturally included Wood Style and all kinds of other bloodline-limit techniques.

Hmm... Fire Man Technique? Fire Dragon Technique? Thousand-Hand Fire Buddha?

Ruohuo tried to let his imagination run wild, but found that each option had its own merits.

He was definitely going to solve his chakra problem in the future.

So he could ignore the cost for now.

Amaterasu was also known as the "benevolent flame." Its reputation was impressive, but its track record was a complete joke.

Still, Amaterasu's power was in a league of its own.

Just imagine: if he used Great Fireball to unleash Amaterasu, and cast it a few times, wouldn't the entire Ninja World end up scorched bald?

But if he chose Amaterasu Fire...

He'd basically have to give up on Fire Release in the early stages.

Ten times the chakra cost...

With his current chakra, he could manage one small Amaterasu-version Great Fireball.

But what then?

Would he have to drain all his chakra and rely purely on Taijutsu?

Still, that wasn't much of a problem.

After passing the Genin exam, he could always lie low and develop for a while.

Grow a little, mature, and then take the Chunin exam.

But if he chose option two, Child of Flame, he wouldn't have nearly as many restrictions in the early stages.

Not only could he learn every kind of ninjutsu, his chakra consumption would also be considerably lower.

Its upper limit for power might not match Amaterasu, so he might be at a disadvantage when clashing with a major technique, but there were ways around that.

Senjutsu, or teaming up with a Wind Style user to combine techniques, would both work well.

The two options seemed more like a choice between "ultimate moves" and "small skills."

One raised the ceiling on his power, while the other gave him more options.

But they both led to roughly the same destination.

Once he solved his chakra problem, he could use Amaterasu as much as he wanted. Child of Flame could also produce an effect similar to the Fire Style Giant, and he could amplify it with Senjutsu.

But come to think of it...

Can Amaterasu even burn Otsutsuki?

Ruohuo furrowed his brows.

Kaguya had certainly been wary of Sasuke's Amaterasu, but that was all.

When it came to Isshiki, he'd just absorbed it outright.

Amaterasu was certainly powerful.

But once you reached a certain level, it had its limitations.

More importantly, Amaterasu and Senjutsu seemed to belong to two different systems. They couldn't be combined.

What a shame. It'd be great if I could choose both.

All ninjutsu turned into Amaterasu, tsk tsk...

Considering that he might have to fight Otsutsuki in the future,

Ruohuo's inner scales gradually tipped toward option two.

And Ruohuo soon realized something else.

Amaterasu was indeed powerful.

But was ordinary Fire Release really weak?

Even without Senjutsu, Fire Release was already plenty destructive.

Hadn't Uchiha Madara's Majestic Destroyer Flame taken dozens of Water Style users to stop?

If he brought out a Fire Style Giant, wouldn't even a single "hair" it casually dropped be like another Majestic Destroyer Flame?

Just then,

Fugaku, who had been watching Ruohuo ponder for a long while, suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"You're still young, Ruohuo."

"The only thing limiting you is time, and time is just a lock without a key."

"Keep training. I believe that one day, you'll surpass me."

As the clan head, Fugaku felt he had to encourage this little genius.

And those words...

Were the final straw that tipped the scales in Ruohuo's mind.

"Clan Head... There's something I don't know if I should say."

Ruohuo glanced at Fugaku without changing his expression.

Fugaku froze. He had a bad feeling, but still asked curiously, "Go on."

"If all Clan Head can teach me is this..."

"Then I feel like learning from you isn't much different from going to the Ninja Academy."

As he spoke, Ruohuo stepped forward.

His hands swiftly formed Hand Seals!

"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

Whoosh—!

A wave of scorching flames surged from Ruohuo's mouth. It was a complete technique!

And he wasn't done yet.

With 70% of his chakra consumption negated, Ruohuo wasn't using up all that much chakra!

Flick, flick, flick—

His hands formed Hand Seals again!

"Fire Release: Majestic Demolishing Flame!"

Whoosh—!

A gigantic, high-temperature fireball shot out, slamming across the surface of the lake like a cannonball!

"Awesome!" Obito and Shisui, his two little admirers, gazed at him in awe.

Fugaku's eyes widened. His face was filled with astonishment!

He'd only seen it once, and already... This was B-rank Fire Release! Forget how difficult it was to learn—where had this kid gotten so much chakra!?

"Clan Head, why not teach me techniques like Shadow Clone and Body Flicker instead?"

Ruohuo exhaled. "I'm no longer interested in Fire Release Ninjutsu..."

Fugaku's blood pressure: 120%.

By the time they left the small lake training ground, it was already dusk.

After Fugaku had demonstrated every Fire Release technique he knew,

Ruohuo had copied them all right there on the spot...

Fugaku's expression had clearly changed.

Ruohuo hadn't hidden his "talent" at all.

Even when he was running himself out of chakra, he made sure to act as if it were effortless in front of Fugaku.

The goal was to crush him with talent!

Now that I've shown you talent you can't even comprehend,

when that day comes, I hope you'll face reality and step down from that position willingly.

The Uchiha can't be led by a weakling like you.

The only one who can save this clan from its fate is me!

Fugaku had always wanted to slap the Konoha Military Police Force label on Ruohuo.

But how could he have known that Ruohuo had long had his eye on the position of Uchiha Clan Head?

"Big Bro, Shisui's already asleep. How about we let him spend the night at our house?"

On the way, Obito asked in a low voice. "I'll let Shisui's Grandmother know. She probably won't mind."

"Don't, Obito." Ruohuo shook his head, carrying Shisui on his back.

"Shisui's Grandmother isn't in good health. Let's not worry her. Go get the fishing rods first; I'll catch up with you."

"Okay..." Obito dashed off.

Ruohuo continued walking with Shisui on his back, but a little old man who loved smoking came to mind.

The system had made it quite clear: all nature releases would be replaced with flame for him.

And the person in the entire Ninja World who knew the most nature releases was none other than the Third, the "Professor of Ninjutsu."

How can I pluck a few whiskers from the Professor...?

Ruohuo thought it over and decided to rely on himself after all.

I'll just go ask him directly.