Zuo Hao's Fury! Terrifying Fire Release!

His smile was painfully strained.

He slowly raised a hand and brushed his fingertips through the loose hair on his forehead. His touch was gentle, as though he were caressing something precious from long ago.

But the Kurenai light in his Three Tomoe Sharingan no longer flowed slowly. It spun faster and faster, until it nearly merged into a whirlpool of blood.

"Yamanaka Fū." Zuo Hao repeated the name, his voice calm—unnaturally calm. "You said I couldn't protect my little brother. You called the Uchiha worthless... So let me ask you something."

He paused. His gaze passed over Yamanaka Fū's shoulder and swept across the masks of the Root ninjas behind him. He spoke each word distinctly.

"You dogs living in Danzo's shadow, dogs too afraid to show your faces in Konoha's sunlight—what gives you the right to judge us Uchiha?"

The instant he finished speaking, Yamanaka Fū's expression changed.

It wasn't the insult that alarmed him. He had suddenly realized that Zuo Hao's air of quiet submission, of being ready to surrender, had become the stillness of a volcano whose fuse had just been lit.

"Fall back!!" Yamanaka Fū roared. At the same time, his hands flew through Hand Seals, and the mental chakra of his Mind Body Switch Technique stabbed toward Zuo Hao like a poisoned needle.

But it was too late.

Zuo Hao's hands snapped through Hand Seals, and chakra hot as molten lava erupted from his body.

His chest rose in a deep breath, as though he had ignited a living hell inside himself.

Then his mouth opened wide, and chakra surged from his body toward his throat like a flood bursting through a dam.

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!!"

Whoosh!! Boom!!!

What poured from his mouth was no fireball or flaming projectile. It was a scorching sea of fire that filled the sky and swallowed everything in sight.

Yamanaka Fū's pupils contracted. He had never seen Fire Release on this scale.

This was beyond what a Jōnin could produce—even an elite Jōnin.

The scale and power of this technique rivaled the Third Hokage's Fire Release Ninjutsu at his peak!

"Defend yourselves!!!" Yamanaka Fū's shout was almost drowned out by the wave of fire.

Several Root ninjas rushed forward. They called out together and formed Hand Seals in unison. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

Water erupted beneath their feet as they tried to raise a defensive wall.

But against Majestic Destroyer Flame, the wall evaporated into white steam the moment it formed. It hadn't lasted even a heartbeat.

Scalding vapor surged back toward them, warping the Root ninjas' masks.

"Aah!!"

A Root ninja at the front screamed as the boiling steam burned his eyes. He clutched his face and collapsed to his knees.

The next instant, half of the enormous wave of fire suddenly drew back. As though guided by an invisible hand, it curved along the ground, swept precisely around the fallen ninja, and shot straight for Yamanaka Fū!

No! He did that on purpose! Every instinct Yamanaka Fū had screamed a warning.

He leaped back desperately, twisting in midair. The wave grazed the soles of his feet, scorching the air just above his toes until it warped.

The flames did not pursue him. Instead, they slammed into several other concealed positions in the forest.

Those were the exact places where Aburame Torune had been lying in wait!

Boom!!!

The wave struck the trees and swallowed an entire stretch of cover. Flames shot skyward.

Forced out of the canopy, Aburame Torune flipped halfway around in midair and landed on a thick branch the fire had not reached.

His expression barely changed, but beneath his clothing, his hands had quietly clenched into fists.

That strike had been a probe—and a warning.

Yamanaka Fū stood on a branch across from him, his face ashen. Fine beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead.

He finally grasped the crucial fact: Zuo Hao might have said he was surrendering, but he had never intended to let this end peacefully.

"Didn't you call me worthless?" Zuo Hao's voice wasn't hoarse in the slightest. It carried the searing heat of the flames he had unleashed. "So who's running now?"

Yamanaka Fū ground his teeth. "Everyone! Form up and kill him!"

The Root ninjas drew their Kunai and short blades as one.

More than a dozen figures burst through the firelight, their killing intent fixed on Zuo Hao at the center. They attacked from every direction at once.

Kunai whistled through the air. Wind Release sliced toward him. Footsteps thundered as ninjas closed in. Together, they wove a killing net with no gaps.

Zuo Hao stood where he was, unmoving.

The first Kunai pierced his chest.

It passed straight through, as if it had stabbed empty air.

"What?!" Yamanaka Fū cried out.

A second blade struck, then a third and a fourth, piercing Zuo Hao's torso, abdomen, and neck. Not one missed. Every blow landed precisely on a vital point.

Yet all of them passed through Zuo Hao's body without doing the slightest harm.

Zuo Hao stood amid the flashing blades, unarmed and utterly still.

He tilted his head and gave Yamanaka Fū a cold smile.

"What's wrong? Isn't this what you wanted to see from an Uchiha? Today, I'll show you the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai!"

"We can't kill him! Attacks pass right through his body!" a Root ninja cried, stumbling back two steps.

Zuo Hao suddenly moved.

Meanwhile, the commotion had grown so great that it had long since drawn the attention of many people watching from the shadows.

Team 8—Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame—held their breath, concealed among the trees and eaves. Their eyes stayed fixed on the source of the disturbance.

Team 3—Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten—were hiding nearby as well.

Neji quietly activated his Byakugan and studied the battle.

Team 10—Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi—watched from a dark corner, hidden more carefully and with greater composure.

Even Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro of Sunagakure were observing the fight from the shadows.

"We can't just stand here! Zuo Hao's in danger—we have to save him!" Ino cried.

Shikamaru frowned and lowered his voice. "Hey, hold on. There are twenty ANBU ninjas surrounding Zuo Hao. ANBU! The few of us can't take them on."

Ino bit her lip and clenched her fists. "But... are we supposed to stand here and watch him get killed?"

"No. I'm going to help him!"

Shikamaru quickly reached out to stop her. "Don't rush in, Ino. We'd only get in Zuo Hao's way. The best thing we can do right now is stay out of it."

Beside them, Choji stared wide-eyed and couldn't help but speak up. "That was incredible... Zuo Hao's Fire Release, and the way he moves! Attacks go straight through his body. Could that be the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai?"

Choji had barely finished speaking when a muffled explosion sounded in the distance, before Shikamaru could answer.

A blast of hot air carrying the smell of scorched earth washed over them, even from a hundred meters away.

Shikamaru's pupils narrowed slightly. Through the shadows of the trees, he looked at the lone figure standing amid the firelight.

Sparks still clung to Zuo Hao's body.

Neji stared at Zuo Hao with his Byakugan, the veins at his temples twitching faintly.

"That chakra... It isn't the chakra of ordinary Ninjutsu. Is it... a Cursed Seal? No, there's something else too..."