Teacher, Can I Burn Those Rats to Death?

"Tsk."

"If it were Fugaku, how would he block this move?"

He looked at the scorched earth, where once-lush trees had been reduced to bare, blackened trunks still flickering with flames.

This was the reason Ruohuo felt that while he might not be able to defeat Fugaku, he certainly wouldn't lose.

He could rely on his aerial advantage to unleash ultimate moves from the sky at will.

Fugaku, on the ground, would have no choice but to take the hits head-on or dodge.

"The Uchiha and the Senju truly can't get along..."

"Fire Style causes too much collateral damage to the environment. My bad, my bad."

Ruohuo stepped off the Fire Dragon and landed, finding a few corpses amidst the thick layer of ash.

Great Fireball was, after all, a C-rank ninjutsu; its base damage was a bit lacking, which was why it was often called the "Kind Fire."

But no matter how basic a jutsu was, once quantitative change led to qualitative change, it was no longer the same concept.

"If I set Majestic Demolishing Flame as my main skill, at fifty times the scale..."

Well, he probably couldn't pull it off; after all, the base chakra consumption of the two jutsus wasn't in the same league.

"This is truly a terrifying scene."

Orochimaru's body emerged from the ground nearby, his raspy voice filled with admiration and a hint of surprise.

"You seem to have turned this place into a purgatory, Ruohuo-kun..."

Purgatory, huh...

That was a fitting description.

If his B-rank main skill remained Fire Style, perhaps he could use that name.

Ruohuo glanced at Orochimaru, noting that there was no slime on the man's body.

He couldn't tell if Orochimaru hadn't undergone soft-body modification yet and didn't know how to use it, or if he had secretly washed up.

He had clearly seen Orochimaru arrive at the very last moment...

"They said the teacher had been assassinated by their people. I didn't quite believe it, but I was still a bit angry."

Ruohuo said with a blank expression, "These people are truly detestable; even the ninjutsu they use is of the type I hate most."

"It's fortunate that I possessed the Chunin-level Will of Fire, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to hold out until the teacher arrived."

Hold out until I arrived...

Who was the one struggling to hold out?

Orochimaru reserved his opinion on that question. More than that, he was curious about what Ruohuo's words revealed.

This child... seems to have sensed something.

"Oh? What kind of ninjutsu did they use on you, Ruohuo-kun?"

"Water Style and Wind Style... although they didn't use the Earth Style I hate most, they always liked to launch sneak attacks like rats."

Ruohuo said with a look of disgust, "They clearly lack the Will of Fire, but they carry a very dark scent, like vermin in a sewer, daring only to scurry about in the dead of night."

"..." Orochimaru suppressed a laugh.

Scurrying about in the dead of night, sewer vermin...

For that elder, it was truly a fitting description.

So, is this child this sharp in this regard as well?

If he didn't know for a fact that Ruohuo was currently ignorant of Danzo's Root, Orochimaru would have suspected that Ruohuo was pointing at something specific.

"The Will of Fire is scorching, and it is also bright, Ruohuo-kun."

Orochimaru guided him, "There are many things in this world that are opposed to each other, yet lean upon one another..."

"Where there is light, there is darkness; where there is sunlight, there are shadows. You have inherited the Will of Fire, so naturally, there are those who have inherited... the Will of Darkness."

"You... are destined to be enemies."

"..." Ruohuo suppressed a laugh.

These words... he had used them himself when lecturing Obito before.

Unfortunately, Obito didn't quite understand, though little Shisui had been lost in thought for a long time afterward.

So... is Orochimaru trying to plant a psychological suggestion in him?

Is he trying to get him to fight Danzo in the future?

Or is he reminding him that there is an old schemer in Konoha named Danzo who will target him?

How interesting.

"If they are enemies, does that mean I can burn them to death whenever I want? Teacher." Ruohuo asked straightforwardly.

Orochimaru smiled slightly, as if he had long expected Ruohuo to ask this question.

"Of course."

"Since they are your enemies, it is only natural to let them feel the warmth of the Will of Fire."

"You aren't burning your enemies to death; you are purifying the world..."

How I look forward to it...

If Ruohuo were to become the head of the Uchiha Clan, would he still retreat time and again in the face of suppression from the higher-ups?

Especially that leader of the "Will of Darkness," Elder Danzo.

Under the will of his teacher, he has walked in the shadows of Konoha for so many years.

Any existence deemed a threat, even a Konoha ninja, would be eradicated without hesitation.

The Senju Clan, including that child Nawaki...

Back then, Nawaki stepped on a trap during a mission and lost his life to an Explosive Tag.

Today... Ruohuo had only just left the village when he encountered an attack by "rats."

Heh, are there really so many coincidences in this world?

Compared to cooperating with those rats, Orochimaru favored this child with a bright future.

And after Konoha ushers in a new era.

There will be no need for the dregs of the old era to exist...

"I understand, Teacher."

Ruohuo nodded thoughtfully.

"If I encounter this bunch of rats again, I will purify them directly with the Will of Fire!"

"The Bug Squad failed?"

Danzo received the report from his personal guard that very evening.

Aburame Ryoma's bugs had brought the intelligence back at the first opportunity.

"A forbidden-level Fire Style, a giant fireball comparable to the scorching sun..."

"Why have I never heard of the Uchiha possessing such a forbidden technique?"

Danzo's brows furrowed tightly.

Aburame Ryoma could not have deceived him, but the intelligence brought back seemed far too exaggerated.

The Uchiha Clan's Fire Style ninjutsu had all been handed over to Konoha back when Uchiha Madara was buried; the teacher himself had personally...

"Could it be that the Uchiha have been hiding some forbidden technique since that time?"

"But if that were true, why was it not mentioned in the records regarding Uchiha Madara?"

Danzo was completely baffled.

But Aburame Ryoma's bugs were still waiting for instructions, and now was not the time to investigate these matters.

"The focus is on Orochimaru..."

Aburame Ryoma had recorded Orochimaru's response word for word.

The most important part of it was the word "sincerity."

"Not killing Ryoma and Chito is your sincerity toward me, is it..."

"What else do you want?"

Danzo's brows knitted together.

Orochimaru was even greedier than he had imagined.

He had already given him those precious experimental records, yet this guy was still thinking about demanding more?

Danzo thought about the chips he held in his hand.

War merits, forbidden techniques.

What Orochimaru wanted now was nothing more than these two things.

One was the position of Hokage, which he sought but could not obtain.

The other was the thing he desired most of all...

Perhaps...

It was time to make a choice.