Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Uchiha Tekka looked down at the dozen or so severed hairs drifting into his palm.

He had lost to a six-year-old brat?

The Hidden Leaf Village had plenty of prodigies. Kakashi Hatake had already drawn attention on the battlefield at six.

Back in the Warring States era, even more ninja had gone to war at four or five.

Tekka had always thought he was strong at six, no worse than those prodigies. But now, at eleven, he had actually lost to six-year-old Uchiha Ling...

[Tekka's composure has broken. Extracting abilities associated with Uchiha Tekka. Host may choose one of the following three options.

Option one: Manipulating Shuriken Technique;

Option two: Explosive Tag Usage Technique;

Option three: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.]

The Manipulating Shuriken Technique combined steel wire with shuriken, and Ling already knew a little of it.

There was no rush to learn the Explosive Tag Usage Technique.

He chose the third option: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.

An Uchiha who couldn't use the Great Fireball Technique wasn't a proper Uchiha. He was incomplete.

Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Six hand seals gathered chakra in the throat before expelling it as a fireball.

Ling was delighted. Just like that, he had learned the technique.

Learning ninjutsu on his own would have meant feeling his way forward bit by bit. A technique granted by the system, though, felt as familiar as one he had successfully used dozens of times. He knew every detail.

After setting the two of them down, Uchiha Fugaku folded his arms and looked from one to the other. His gaze finally settled on Tekka.

"Tekka, I hope you'll put aside your pride. Stay patient and keep refining your ninja arts, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Let your strength put you above others, not your surname."

Tekka hung his head and dared not argue.

Fugaku turned to Ling.

Standing nearby, Uchiha Jing was no longer nervous. The Uchiha Clan valued prodigies and admired the strong, and Ling's performance had far exceeded his expectations.

But... what was with Ling starting to trash-talk halfway through the fight?

That was a minor issue... right?

The clan head wouldn't mind... right?

Fugaku looked at Ling and said,

"Your taijutsu is solid, and your Body Flicker speed is far beyond your peers. More impressive still, you seem to have developed a secret technique of your own.

What was that ninjutsu you used to attack with your hair?"

Ling answered calmly and respectfully, "Clan head, I've been sparring with a classmate from the Akimichi Clan all semester.

I noticed that my Yang Release Chakra is quite active too. I can't enlarge my body like the Akimichi Clan does, but I worked out a Hair Expansion Technique."

Fugaku nodded repeatedly, a faint smile appearing on his stern face.

Beside them, Tekka was consumed with envy. He had never seen that expression on his teacher's face.

"Impressive. You've developed a secret technique at such a young age.

If I'm not mistaken, your technique is similar to Suikazan Fuguki's Hair Needle Senbon from Kirigakure.

It's a good technique. Used well, as it was just now, it would be hard for an opponent to guard against."

"Thank you for the praise, clan head!"

"However..."

Ling paused, unsure what Fugaku was about to say.

"However, you don't stop talking even while fighting. That can make people hold a grudge."

"Heh, clan head, that's my fighting style. I like using trash talk to push enemies into making mistakes."

"Fair enough. It's a tactic too," Fugaku said. "Uchiha Ling, I'll be watching you. Don't slack off. Keep growing."

"Yes, clan head. And thank you for keeping me from early graduation. That means a great deal to me."

"The clan naturally looks after its younger members, especially its prodigies."

With that, Fugaku's face returned to its usual grim expression.

Tekka watched resentfully as Jing led Ling out of the clan head's residence.

All the way back, Jing kept talking excitedly about Ling having caught the clan head's attention. Ling, though, just wanted to try out his Great Fireball Technique.

Practicing it at night would make him easy to spot. So at dawn the next day, just as the sun rose, Ling went to his usual training ground.

A ninja had sixteen chakra pathways running through the throat.

Ling formed the six hand seals, and Fire-Nature Chakra entered his throat through different pathways.

Four of those pathways carried Fire-Nature Chakra, while two gathered it into a sphere.

More and more Fire-Nature Chakra gathered in his throat, as though he were holding a mouthful of scorching smoke.

The "smoke" spun in a sphere, and his throat grew intensely hot.

When he expelled the Fire-Nature Chakra, a fireball half as tall as a person shot out.

Ending the final Tiger seal at that point kept the fireball to that size.

If he maintained the Tiger seal and kept feeding chakra into the fireball, it would grow larger and larger.

The fireball roared, heat washed over him, and the technique's display of light and sound was excellent.

But the technique was too slow.

The fireball traveled through the air at a little over ten meters per second. A chunin-level ninja could dodge it easily.

Even someone as powerful as Itachi Uchiha rarely scored a direct hit with the Great Fireball Technique.

In a real fight, the technique demanded precise timing. Get the timing wrong, and all it did was waste chakra.

The Great Fireball Technique looked spectacular, but he couldn't rely on it blindly.

Wind Release had concentrated blades of wind, Lightning Release had Lightning Spear, and Earth Release had Earth Rising Spears. Of the Five Basic Nature Transformations, Fire Release and Water Release both tended to consume a lot of chakra without producing clear results.

To overcome Fire Release's lack of speed, he would have to increase the area it burned, which meant pouring in more chakra.

Lots of smoke, little damage. Fire Release was worth practicing, but it was better for crushing weaker opponents.

That morning.

Might Guy ran several laps around the Hidden Leaf Village, but Ling never showed up.

That doesn't make sense. Ling isn't the sort to give up halfway. Is he sick?

Should I go check on him?

Forget it. Why would I even think that? I only ran laps around the village with Ling because I had no choice. He insisted on tagging along.

And then he spent the whole run spouting annoying trash talk.

Why would I go see him?

I'll wait three or four days. If Ling still doesn't show up, I'll go check on him. Well, not check on him. Just ask how he's doing, at most.

Right. That's what I'll do.

As Guy's thoughts ran wild, he spotted Ling strolling toward the village center.

"Hey! Uchiha Ling! You're not sick, so why are you slacking off today? I've run laps around the Hidden Leaf Village for 811 days straight without missing one!"

Ling said, "Might Guy, I'm not slacking off. In fact, I got up an hour earlier than usual.

I've already started training in ninjutsu. Aren't you worried? You're still practicing the most primitive kind of hand-to-hand taijutsu.

The biggest difference between humans and beasts is that humans use tools.

The biggest difference between ninja and ordinary people is that ninja use ninjutsu.

Might Guy, don't regress. Keep training like that, and you'll be practicing how to bite and tear like an animal next.

No wonder your teeth are so white. Are you really planning to bite your enemies?"

Guy didn't take the bait at all. He ignored the trash talk and kept running.

He decided to ask his father if he could start training with weights too. He couldn't let Ling outdo him.

Ling was a little troubled. Why won't Guy crack? Do I have to use that move?

Would that be too cruel?

What if Guy can't take the blow, loses heart, and retires? Then the grand finale would be missing that earth-shattering kick, wouldn't it?

It'll take a while to work out that move anyway. I'd better think it over some more.