Phoenix Sage Great Fireball!

This guy learned the Great Fireball Technique?

Who gave him the ninjutsu scroll?

Was it because he defeated three Genin and brought fame to the Uchiha clan, prompting some clansman to help him?

What a meddlesome fellow.

However, he couldn't have had the Fire Release scroll for long—one day at most.

He shouldn't have mastered it yet.

Even if he did, he's a dead-last; he'll probably only be able to spit out a tiny spark.

I can use his weakness to highlight my own strength.

Thinking of this, Fugaku's smile became radiant once again.

"Heh, so you've come to practice the Great Fireball Technique too? Did you see the massive fireball I just released? That was textbook quality; you can use it as a reference."

Uchiha Kurohane said with a fake smile.

"I saw it. The Great Fireball you released was truly huge. You're so amazing."

Uchiha Mikoto caught the sarcasm in Kurohane's tone. A flash of sharp intelligence crossed her eyes, and she sensed that things were not as simple as they seemed.

"Kurohane-kun, why don't you release a Great Fireball for me to see?"

Fugaku heard the snide tone in Kurohane's voice. Suppressing his anger, he sneered.

"I'd like to see your ninjutsu too. You must give it your all, so don't go making excuses about not using your full strength or being in poor condition."

Uchiha Kurohane swaggered over to the lakeside and shook his head with a smile.

"My ninja way is to go all out. I won't hold anything back."

Fugaku crossed his arms over his chest, unable to suppress a wicked grin.

"Good, then use your full power."

I'm going to let Mikoto see the gap between you and me!

Uchiha Kurohane formed hand seals, and with a poof, he created four clones that looked exactly like him.

Fugaku's expression froze instantly.

He's releasing a Great Fireball, so why is he making clones?

Clones can't perform ninjutsu, can they?

Mikoto's mind was sharper than Fugaku's, and she immediately asked, "Is this the Shadow Clone Technique?"

Uchiha Kurohane nodded slightly. "Yes, I'm practicing using Shadow Clones to release the Great Fireball simultaneously."

Using Shadow Clones to release the Great Fireball? And four of them at that?

Fugaku felt a jolt of shock, and a bead of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

As a genius of the Uchiha clan, he naturally knew the advantages of using Shadow Clones to perform ninjutsu.

But he knew the disadvantages even better.

Shadow Clones split one's chakra equally; creating even one clone consumed a massive amount of energy.

For a fourteen-year-old, learning the Shadow Clone Technique was meaningless.

Not to mention he was only nine, and he had created four clones at once?

His chakra would be completely drained—what kind of fireball could he possibly spit out?

He'd be lucky to spit out a tadpole!

Fugaku covered his mouth, unable to stop himself from laughing.

Mikoto raised her delicate eyebrows and exclaimed, "Amazing! I can only create one Shadow Clone; you're four times as capable as I am!"

Seeing Mikoto admire Kurohane, Fugaku immediately interjected, "Every Shadow Clone splits the original's chakra equally. The more clones you create, the less chakra each one possesses. This isn't being 'amazing'—this is being reckless and foolish!"

"Mikoto, when you create a Shadow Clone, you only use it for swordplay, which doesn't consume much chakra; you can use the clone to assist in combat. But he's trying to use the Great Fireball Technique. By creating so many clones, he won't be able to perform the jutsu at all."

Seeing Fugaku speak with such absolute certainty, Kurohane almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

He currently possessed 31% of the Otsutsuki bloodline, and combined with Kushina's chakra, his reserves were greater than those of many Jonin.

Coupled with the chakra control abilities of Fugaku and Mito, releasing a Great Fireball was as easy as playing with mud.

Uchiha Kurohane's hands moved in a blur of seals as he took a deep breath.

Hiss—

The air fused with the massive chakra in his throat, instantly turning scorching hot.

Uchiha Kurohane felt the searing sensation in his throat and exhaled the burning gas in one go.

BOOM.

He spat out a massive tongue of fire, which instantly formed a fireball over three meters in diameter.

No, his four Shadow Clone Technique manifestations were releasing it at the same time as well—there were five great fireballs in total!

The five fireballs, each twice the size of a person, resembled miniature suns, burning with raging flames and radiating a dazzling red light.

The entire night was illuminated in an instant.

The scorching heatwave forced Uchiha Mikoto and Fugaku to take a step back.

It was their first time seeing such massive fireballs, and to release five at once was simply inconceivable!

It was too exaggerated!

This was no longer a Great Fireball; it was a Phoenix Sage Great Fireball!

They both widened their eyes in disbelief, their eyeballs practically popping out of their sockets.

The five enormous fireballs streaked across the surface of the lake at high speed, the intense heat evaporating the water.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

The lake was soon filled with white water vapor.

A fierce wind caused the mist to spread rapidly, turning the entire lake into a vast expanse of white where nothing could be seen.

Uchiha Mikoto and Fugaku were stunned by the scene, so shocked that they forgot to blink or even breathe.

Before they could react, a massive explosion echoed from the distance.

BOOM!!!

The violent blast kicked up towering waves.

Splash—!

The three people standing on the riverbank were all drenched by the waterfall-like spray.

Thwack!

Something struck Fugaku on the head, and he immediately collapsed to the ground.

Uchiha Mikoto wrinkled her delicate nose, catching the scent of something burnt.

It turned out to be a large fish, roasted to a crisp by the blast, that had been sent flying through the air and happened to land right on Fugaku's head.

Fugaku stared at the charred fish in front of him, his eyes truly bulging out in astonishment.

In the world of the Hokage, there existed elemental affinities, and water countered fire.

Fire Release techniques were unable to exert their full power over a lake.

When Fugaku's own Great Fireball had hit the lake earlier, the explosive power had been greatly diminished, and the heat could not be transferred into the water.

It hadn't even been enough to heat the lake water.

Yet, Uchiha Kurohane's Great Fireball had been able to instantly roast the fish inside the lake.

This proved that the gap in power between their Great Fireballs was far too vast!

Fugaku found it completely impossible to comprehend.

He had split off four Shadow Clones, which should have left him with very little chakra; how could he possibly release five fireballs of that size?

Furthermore, the fact that the fireballs could roast fish in the lake indicated an incredibly high temperature.

To increase the temperature of a fireball required immense chakra control.

The reason Fugaku was known as a genius of the Uchiha clan was precisely because he possessed such powerful chakra control.

But if even he couldn't achieve this, how could a dead-last possibly do it?

Moreover, Fugaku had been practicing the Great Fireball for many years; it was only through practice that he could release such a powerful one with ease.

But Uchiha Kurohane had only learned the Great Fireball for a single day—how could he possibly have the skill to have four Shadow Clones release it simultaneously?

The more Fugaku thought about it, the less he could understand, and he began to wonder if he had fallen under a genjutsu.

Uchiha Mikoto hopped around like a little rabbit, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Kurohane-kun, you're amazing! You're the most incredible person I've ever met!"

As Fugaku lay on the ground and saw the look of adoration in Uchiha Mikoto's eyes as she gazed at Uchiha Kurohane, he became convinced in his heart.

This wasn't a genjutsu; it was just a dream...