Can You Copy Kekkei Genkai?

A searing, boiling solution of death erupted from the mouths of several of Yuzhen's Shadow Clones.

That's right—it was the Kekkei Genkai known as Lava Release!

Yuzhen had done it earlier, just as Biwa Juzo charged toward him.

Uchiha Yuzhen had taken the [Lava Release (Purple)] Affix he'd extracted from Terumi Mei...

And installed it directly into himself.

The system hadn't let Yuzhen down!

Even though he hadn't trained in the Earth and Water Chakra Nature Transformations,

As long as the Affix was on the system's panel, he possessed that Kekkei Genkai!

As for the related Hand Seals and chakra output frequency,

His Sharingan had copied them during his battle with Terumi Mei.

Next, he deliberately baited Biwa Juzo, the wielder of Kubikiribōchō, into a sword fight.

Luring him in had been surprisingly easy!

After all, Kubikiribōchō only had the special ability to absorb blood and restore its blade.

As its wielder, Biwa Juzo was bound to enjoy fighting with swords.

"Idiot, we're ninjas, not samurai!" Uchiha Yuzhen's taunts hissed like a snake.

They wormed their way into Biwa Juzo's mind. He looked at the vast sea of solution surrounding him, sealing off every escape route, and was just about to abandon the close-quarters fight and defend himself with ninjutsu.

But Uchiha Yuzhen wasn't about to let him do that. He closed in and swung his Ninja Blade in a frenzied barrage.

"Damn brat! Are you trying to die with me?!" Biwa Juzo's eyes bulged with rage.

"Heh... who gave you the idea that I was the real one?"

"How is that possible?! You've been right in front of me this whole time!"

At that, Yuzhen's Shadow Clone sneered.

"When you're facing a Three Tomoe Sharingan one-on-one, you'd better not trust your senses too much!"

With that, the unstoppable torrent of solution poured down over him.

The scene erupted in a sizzling hiss.

When Namikaze Minato caught sight of Uchiha Yuzhen's victory,

He suppressed his shock and lowered his eyes.

He resolved to end the fight quickly and ask...

Why the little guy Yuzhen could copy Kekkei Genkai!

Once he'd made up his mind, he acted on it. A flash of golden light streaked across the battlefield.

Thud, thud, thud.

Several bodies hit the ground. The enemies around him had all fallen.

Meanwhile,

Ao helped Terumi Mei to her feet, and from outside the battlefield, she saw the scene unfold.

His hand trembled, and his lips quivered.

As if utterly dejected, he looked at Terumi Mei, whose eyes were shadowed.

He said hoarsely:

"That Uchiha actually managed to kill Lord Juzo... and the Yellow Flash's strength is... beyond anything we expected."

"We should retreat, Mei!"

Terumi Mei kept her eyes fixed on Uchiha Yuzhen. Her gaze held only one thing.

Disbelief!

Her Kekkei Genkai, Lava Release, had been copied?!

Hadn't they said the Uchiha's Sharingan could only copy ordinary ninjutsu?

What was going on?

And...

He'd really managed to kill Lord Biwa Juzo?! It was unbelievable!

But faced with the situation, Terumi Mei had no choice but to accept reality.

She lowered her proud head and replied, "Ao, sorry for the trouble."

At that, Ao immediately hoisted the injured Terumi Mei onto his back.

While Team Minato was still dealing with the Mist Ninja on the other side, he hurriedly fled the area with her.

By the time the last Mist Ninja had been killed by Namikaze Minato,

Obito and Rin, who had arrived some time ago,

Were both staring at Uchiha Yuzhen in disbelief.

Uchiha Obito was truly shaken. He'd always dreamed of making a name for himself, but Uchiha Yuzhen had just done it with ease.

"Impressive, Yuzhen! You killed Biwa Juzo, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and a symbol of the Mist Ninja.

"After today, your name will be known in both the Mist and Konoha, at the very least."

Rin Nohara also exclaimed in amazement,

"Yuzhen-senpai, were you really never holding back before? You're still a Genin, but you actually killed an Elite Jonin from the Mist... unbelievable!"

As for Kakashi, who was usually quiet at this stage,

He had nothing more to say.

But he kept his eyes fixed on Yuzhen.

His strength was greater than theirs.

He understood perfectly well that Biwa Juzo hadn't died because he was outmatched.

He'd lost because of the information gap!

That was how ninja battles worked.

If you lacked information, even if you were the leader of an entire village,

You could still... get taken out by a Genin with a ninjutsu tailored to counter you.

Still, being able to kill a renowned powerhouse whose name was known throughout the Ninja World proved that Yuzhen's combat talent was also astonishingly strong.

He came straight up to Yuzhen and lowered his gaze as he said solemnly:

"Once we're back in Konoha, let's have a proper spar!"

"I want to find out for myself: did the Sharingan really transform you so completely in such a short time?"

At that moment, Yuzhen looked at his companions with a speechless expression.

He let out a helpless sigh.

"Ah... I only managed to kill Juzo Biwa because of the surprise attack with Lava Release."

"I lured him into a sword fight, then used my clones to set a trap."

"I caught him off guard. You can't treat that as my true strength!"

"Caught him off guard? Well put!" Namikaze Minato came over with a smile. "Don't sell yourself short, Yuzhen!"

"As one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he was your opponent, and you defeated and killed him."

"You're already a fully-fledged ninja! After all, strategy is part of a ninja's strength!"

It was true that his student's victory over Biwa Juzo

Had been due to a number of factors.

If he couldn't copy Lava Release, he probably wouldn't have been able to defeat Biwa Juzo.

After all, who could have imagined that Uchiha Yuzhen could copy Kekkei Genkai?!

It truly shattered everything people had believed about the Uchiha for a thousand years!

Thinking of something that overturned their understanding, even Namikaze Minato could barely contain himself.

He pondered for a moment, then asked:

"Yuzhen, why can you copy Kekkei Genkai? Of course, if you don't want to tell me, I won't press you."

It was an extremely rude question to ask.

A ninja's information was among the most confidential of secrets!

Even though he was their teacher,

He had no right to ask his student something like this.

But copying Kekkei Genkai...

Something like that was simply too terrifying.

He couldn't help himself!

At that, Uchiha Yuzhen raised his head.

He looked seriously at everyone present.

Over the past few days, as he spent time with Team Minato,

He'd come to realize one thing!

The members of Team Minato were exactly as they were in the manga.

They were all people he could completely trust, people he could entrust with his back.

Even Obito!

Thoughts raced through his mind.

In an instant, Uchiha Yuzhen made up his mind.

He definitely couldn't mention the system!

But he could put it another way.

"I don't know either. When I saw that girl's technique through my Sharingan..."

"I just had this feeling that I could use her Kekkei Genkai."

"Then, during my fight with Biwa Juzo, I went with it and used the technique. It worked perfectly!"

At that, Yuzhen raised his eyes and gave everyone in Team Minato a solemn look.

He said gravely:

"Maybe I really can copy Kekkei Genkai!"

That wasn't entirely untrue. The most valuable Affix from someone with Kekkei Genkai

Was usually their Kekkei Genkai.

He would extract it, so he could indeed be said to copy Kekkei Genkai!

After hearing this, Namikaze Minato rubbed his chin.

He could tell Yuzhen hadn't told them everything, but it was still good that he'd been willing to admit this much.

He was someone worth trusting and nurturing!

At that thought, Minato smiled broadly.

"All right, everyone, stop pestering Yuzhen with questions. We'll have plenty of time together later."

"You can ask him more then. For now, we need to finish this mission!"

"Yes, Minato-sensei!" Yuzhen and the others replied in unison.