Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique

Uchiha Tekka lowered his head and looked at the dozen or so broken strands of hair drifting into his palm.

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

There were many geniuses in the Hidden Leaf Village. Kakashi Hatake had already drawn attention on the battlefield at the age of six.

During the Warring States era, even more shinobi had gone to the battlefield at four or five years old.

Uchiha Tekka had once thought that he had been strong at six, no worse than those geniuses. But now he was eleven, and he had actually lost to six-year-old Uchiha Ling...

[Uchiha Tekka's defenses have been breached. Extracting abilities related to Uchiha Tekka. The host may choose one of three.

Option One: Manipulating Shuriken Technique;

Option Two: Explosive Tag Usage Technique;

Option Three: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.]

The Manipulating Shuriken Technique was a combination of wire and shuriken. Uchiha Ling knew some of it as well.

There was no rush to learn explosive tag techniques.

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

An Uchiha who could not use the Great Fireball Technique was not a qualified Uchiha, but an incomplete one.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger. Six hand seals. Gather chakra in the throat, then expel it in the form of a fireball.

Uchiha Ling was thoroughly satisfied. Just like that, he had learned the Great Fireball Technique.

Learning ninjutsu on his own required slow experimentation, but the ninjutsu granted by the system felt as though he had successfully used it dozens of times already. He knew every detail.

After setting the two down, Uchiha Fugaku folded his arms over his chest. He looked from one to the other, his gaze finally settling on Uchiha Tekka.

"Tekka, I hope you put away your pride. Stay calm and humble, and diligently temper your ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. You should stand above others through strength, not because of your surname."

Uchiha Tekka hung his head deeply, not daring to argue.

Uchiha Fugaku then looked at Uchiha Ling.

Uchiha Jing, standing nearby, was no longer nervous. The Uchiha Clan acknowledged geniuses and worshipped the strong. Uchiha Ling's performance had far exceeded his expectations.

It was just... what was with trash-talking in the middle of a fight?

That counted as a minor issue... right?

The clan head would not mind... right?

Uchiha Fugaku looked at Uchiha Ling and said, "Solid taijutsu, Body Flicker speed far beyond that of others your age, and even more commendably, you seem to have developed your own secret technique?

What is that ninjutsu that attacks with hair?"

Uchiha Ling answered neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Clan Head, I have been sparring with classmates from the Akimichi Clan throughout this semester.

I discovered that my Yang-nature chakra was also very active. Although I cannot enlarge my body like the Akimichi Clan, I worked out the Hair Expansion Technique."

Uchiha Fugaku nodded repeatedly, and a faint smile appeared on his stern face.

Uchiha Tekka, standing nearby, was consumed by jealousy. He had never seen that expression on his teacher's face before.

"Not bad. To develop a secret technique at such a young age.

If I am not mistaken, your secret technique is similar to Fuguki Suikazan's Hair Needle Senbon from the Hidden Mist Village.

It is a fine secret technique. If used well, as it was just now, it is difficult for opponents to guard against."

"Thank you for the praise, Clan Head!"

"However..."

Uchiha Ling paused, unsure how Uchiha Fugaku intended to turn this around.

"However, your mouth does not stay idle when you fight. It is easy to make others hold a grudge."

"Hehe, Clan Head, that is my fighting style. I like using trash talk to force enemies into making mistakes."

"All right. It counts as a tactic." Uchiha Fugaku said, "Uchiha Ling, I will be watching you. Do not slack off. Keep growing."

"Yes, Clan Head. And thank you for preventing me from graduating early. That was very important to me."

"The clan will naturally protect its younger generation, especially talented ones."

After saying that, Uchiha Fugaku returned to his troubled expression.

Uchiha Tekka watched resentfully as Uchiha Jing led Uchiha Ling away from the clan head's residence.

Along the way, Uchiha Jing kept talking excitedly about being valued by the clan head, but Uchiha Ling only wanted to test out his Great Fireball Technique.

Practicing the Great Fireball Technique at night would easily draw attention. Early the next morning, just as the sun rose, Uchiha Ling arrived at the training ground he often used.

There were sixteen meridians within a shinobi's throat.

After forming the six hand seals, Fire-nature chakra entered the throat through different meridians.

Four of those meridians transported the Fire-nature chakra, while two were responsible for gathering it into a spherical shape.

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

The "smoke" spun in a spherical shape, and his throat felt exceptionally dry and hot.

When he expelled the Fire-nature chakra, a fireball half a person tall shot out.

At this point, once the final Tiger seal was completed, the fireball was only this large.

If he continued maintaining the Tiger seal and continuously fed chakra into the fireball, it would grow larger and larger.

The fireball's roar and its searing heat wave gave the Fireball Technique excellent visual and auditory effects.

However, this technique was too slow.

The fireball traveled through the air at a speed of a dozen or so meters per second. At that speed, even a chunin-level shinobi could easily dodge it.

Even someone as powerful as Itachi Uchiha rarely achieved results by directly hitting someone with the Great Fireball Technique.

This technique heavily tested one's timing in actual combat. If the timing was wrong, it would only waste chakra.

The Great Fireball Technique was flashy, but he could not blindly believe in it.

Wind Release had concentrated Wind Blades, Lightning Release had Lightning Spear, Earth Release had Earth Rising Spears. Among the five elemental transformations, Fire Release and Water Release were both relatively chakra-wasting techniques with unimpressive results.

To overcome Fire Release's speed disadvantage, he had to increase its burning range, which meant investing more chakra.

Big smoke, no damage. Fire Release was worth practicing, but it was better suited for crushing weak opponents.

Morning.

Might Guy ran several laps around the Hidden Leaf Village but did not see Uchiha Ling.

He muttered to himself, That is not right. Uchiha Ling is not the kind of person who gives up halfway. Could he be sick?

Should I go check on Uchiha Ling?

Forget it. Why would I think that? Running laps around the Hidden Leaf Village with Uchiha Ling was only because he insisted on following me.

Fine, he followed me, but he spent the whole way spouting trash talk and making me annoyed.

How could I possibly go check on him?

Forget it. I will wait three or four days. If Uchiha Ling still does not come after three or four days, I will go take a look. Not take a look, exactly. At most, I will ask about him.

Yes. That is decided.

After Might Guy finished indulging in his wild thoughts, he saw Uchiha Ling strolling slowly toward the center of the village.

"Hey! Uchiha Ling! You are not sick, so why were you slacking off today? I have run laps around the Hidden Leaf Village for 811 consecutive days without ever stopping!"

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

I have already begun ninjutsu training. Are you not in a hurry? You are still practicing the most primitive taijutsu, just fists and feet.

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

The greatest difference between shinobi and civilians is that shinobi use ninjutsu.

Might Guy, do not regress. If you keep training like this, should you start practicing beastly biting next?

No wonder your teeth are so white. Are they really for taking a bite out of your enemies?"

Might Guy was completely immune to pressure. He ignored the trash talk and continued running laps.

Might Guy thought that he would ask his father for permission. He wanted to train with weights too. He could not let Uchiha Ling surpass him.

Uchiha Ling was somewhat troubled. Why had Might Guy not had his defenses breached? Did he have to use that move?

Would that be a little too vicious?

If Might Guy could not bear the blow, became completely demoralized, and retired outright, would the ending not lose that earth-shattering kick?

It would still take some time to develop that move. He had better think it over carefully.