The Self-Healing Technique he had created through Max-Level Comprehension certainly lived up to its name. The moment it activated, the damage caused by Scorch Release stopped spreading. Before long, his withered arm had returned to its original state.
And just as his injuries healed, that familiar voice rang out in Uchiha Chen's mind once more.
[You discovered that Scorch Release chakra had invaded your body. Through observation, you learned that Scorch Release was a Kekkei Genkai formed by combining wind-nature chakra and fire-nature chakra, producing a new nature transformation.] [By studying the nature transformation produced by fusing wind-nature chakra and fire-nature chakra, you experienced a sudden insight and successfully mastered the Kekkei Genkai—Scorch Release!] [You learned the Scorch Release series of ninjutsu!]
Uchiha Chen: !!!
Holy crap, I got an unexpected bonus?
Uchiha Chen's eyes went wide. He'd only wanted to improve his Taijutsu a little. He'd never imagined he'd accidentally learn Scorch Release!
A Kekkei Genkai—something even the Sharingan couldn't copy—and he'd just learned it like that?
If that was the case, did it mean that from now on, no matter what opponent he faced, as long as he took a hit from their ninjutsu, he could learn it?
Whether it was a Kekkei Genkai or a Kekkei Tōta...
Ahem. Naturally, this depended on him surviving the attack.
[After continuously comprehending Taijutsu, you experienced a sudden insight. Your Taijutsu proficiency reached the Master level.]
Uchiha Chen: ...
Well, now he'd really got everything he wanted!
In the blink of an eye, the two brothers, Yuki and Fuki, failed to notice how quickly Uchiha Chen's injuries had healed.
All they knew was that the Uchiha boy had been hit by Scorch Release. This was the perfect chance to avenge themselves, so the two brothers charged straight at him and attacked almost simultaneously.
"Die!"
"Sky-Splitting Battle Axe!!"
Two legs came crashing down from above, carrying a force that seemed to weigh a thousand tons, as if determined to take Uchiha Chen down for good.
"Perfect timing!"
"Stars Shift—Scorch Release!"
Uchiha Chen's expression didn't change. He only raised his palms to meet their attacks as they neared. But this time, what met the two brothers wasn't just his hands—two fireballs had suddenly appeared in his palms.
Sssssssss—
"Ah!!!"
The fireballs passed straight through the Sand Armor covering the brothers' legs and sank into their feet... then spread across their bodies.
In just a few seconds, all the moisture in Fuki and Yuki's bodies had evaporated. Their bodies visibly withered before they let out a single hoarse cry and collapsed, lifeless.
Two elite jōnin from Sunagakure had died in an instant!
"Lord Fuki! Lord Yuki!!!"
"Both of them are down!!"
"What's going on? How could this happen? Lord Fuki and Lord Yuki were bona fide jōnin!"
"That Uchiha ninja is so underhanded! Everyone was using Taijutsu, and then he suddenly ambushed them with ninjutsu..."
Unlike the stunned Sunagakure shinobi, the Hot Spring Village shinobi watching from the sidelines were on an emotional roller coaster.
Now that Uchiha Chen had suddenly seized the advantage again, they could no longer contain their excitement and shouted at the top of their lungs.
"Scorch Release? You... You can use Scorch Release? Then why didn't you use it before?"
Pakura hadn't felt much at the deaths of Fuki and Yuki; in fact, she was even a little pleased.
But right now, she had no time to grieve or celebrate. All her attention was fixed on the Scorch Release Uchiha Chen had used.
As for the Sunagakure shinobi behind Pakura, not one of them dared to attack. This level of battle was clearly beyond them.
"I didn't use it before because I didn't know how."
Uchiha Chen grinned, flashing a bright, sunny smile.
"What do you mean?"
Pakura's eyes were full of confusion. As far as she knew, across the entire Ninja World, only she and the person who had taught her Scorch Release were proficient in it. In other words, there wasn't a third person who could use Scorch Release!
How could she not be confused and astonished when an Uchiha who could use Scorch Release had suddenly appeared?
"Because you taught it to me."
Uchiha Chen kept smiling, but his answer was the last thing Pakura could have expected.
"Hmph. You think I'm stupid enough to believe that?"
Pakura naturally didn't believe Uchiha Chen's "nonsense." When had she ever taught him Scorch Release? Besides, was Scorch Release that easy to learn? The conditions were so strict... Bah, bah, bah! Why was she following his train of thought?!
She shook her head, banishing the jumble of thoughts from her mind. When she looked at Uchiha Chen again, his smile seemed no different from a demon's.
Uchiha Chen merely shrugged at Pakura's reaction. He wasn't surprised, and he had no need to explain.
But to Pakura, his gesture seemed full of mockery.
"No matter how you learned Scorch Release, I can put an end to this by killing you."
A thousand thoughts and schemes flashed through her mind. Pakura held nothing back and attacked with all her strength.
"Scorch Release: Extreme Steam Killing!"
With a wave of her hand, four fireballs shot straight toward Uchiha Chen. He casually flicked his hand as well, sending out four fireballs of his own.
"Boom!"
The eight fireballs collided in pairs, bursting like fireworks.
Pakura had expected this outcome. She stepped back, preparing to gather another four fireballs into one even larger sphere.
But Uchiha Chen had already formed an even larger, more powerful fireball.
"How can you...?"
Before she could finish the three words, Uchiha Chen's attack was already upon her.
"Boom!!"
The fireball exploded in midair. Countless waves of scorching heat surged in every direction, wreaking even greater devastation on the already-ravaged ground.
"Run!!"
Seeing how terrifying its power was, Pakura immediately judged that they couldn't block it head-on and ordered a retreat.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Uchiha Chen pressed the attack, unleashing Great Fire Annihilation like a wildfire sweeping across the plains. A vast sea of flames chased after the Sunagakure shinobi.
Screams rang out without end. It was like hell on earth.
Of the Sunagakure unit, which had originally numbered more than six hundred, only a little over two hundred survived. All of them had suffered burns of varying severity, and they fled desperately toward the village.
Even Pakura, an elite jōnin with a Kekkei Genkai, was badly injured. Protected by the Sunagakure shinobi, she fled in disarray.
"Not one of you is getting away!"
Uchiha Chen was about to chase after them, but after taking just one step, his vision went black, and he nearly toppled to the ground!