Fire Release wasn't just for burning people

"The Uchiha used Fire Release in the Resettlement Zone."

Word spread faster than Uchiha Gen had expected.

In less than half a day, people in the Resettlement Zone's queues had begun whispering.

"Fire Release?"

"Next to the Medical Station?"

"There are injured people and medical supplies everywhere. What if a fire breaks out?"

Not everyone saying these things had been stirred up by someone else.

Many were genuinely afraid.

The Nine-Tails' Attack had only just ended, and Konoha was full of burned-out houses and blackened streets. To ordinary villagers, fire was part of the disaster.

And the Uchiha's Fire Release made it even easier for them to think of the Sharingan, the Nine-Tails, and last night's inexplicable chaos.

Danzo knew exactly which angle to take.

He didn't say the Uchiha had saved people.

He only said the Uchiha had used Fire Release.

Uchiha Toru's face turned livid with anger.

"Why don't they mention that nobody died? Why don't they mention that you burned open the second exit?"

Uchiha Gen looked at the medical passage in the center of the Resettlement Zone, which had already been reinforced again.

"Because then it wouldn't work."

Uchiha Ryo frowned. "Then should we explain?"

"An explanation needs a format."

Uchiha Gen turned and headed toward the Konoha Military Police Force.

"We can't just say I didn't burn anyone. We need to spell out why nobody was burned."

Half an hour later, a new document lay before Fugaku.

Its title was simple.

Fire Release Rescue Usage Guide.

First, location of use: the blocked exit on the right side of the Resettlement Zone's medical passage.

Second, targets: four joints in the collapsed wooden framework.

Third, method: low-temperature, fine-thread Fire Release, applied directly to targeted points without spreading.

Fourth, surrounding hazards: oilcloth, medicine crates, stretchers, and injured people. Medical ninjas and the Transport Squad had moved them back before use.

Fifth, witnesses: the Hokage's Anbu, medical ninjas, Transport Squad members, and a villager representative from the Resettlement Zone.

Sixth, results: the right-side exit was opened, with no secondary fires, no additional burns, and no deaths.

After reading it, Fugaku remained silent for a long time.

"You're even going to document the temperature of the Fire Release?"

"We can't give an exact temperature, but we can document how it was controlled and the area it burned."

Uchiha Gen said, "Danzo cut out the first half of the story: 'The Uchiha used Fire Release.' We need to put the second half in front of everyone."

An elder clansman stood nearby, his expression still conflicted.

"Fire Release is an Uchiha jutsu, not something for outsiders to scrutinize."

Uchiha Gen looked at him.

"If Fire Release were only used on the battlefield, of course the villagers in the Resettlement Zone wouldn't need to scrutinize it."

He pointed at the document.

"But now it's being used beside a medical passage, in front of civilians and injured people. They have the right to know why it didn't burn them."

The elder clansman opened his mouth, but in the end, he offered no rebuttal.

The events of the past few days had made it difficult for him to silence Gen with the same old arguments.

Fugaku closed the document.

"Send it to the Hokage Building, and post a copy in the Resettlement Zone as well."

Uchiha Gen nodded.

"We also need signatures from the medical ninjas who were there yesterday."

Fugaku looked at him. "You've already thought this through?"

"Danzo wants Fire Release to become a label for danger."

Uchiha Gen said, "Then we'll turn it into a rescue procedure people can verify."

At the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi soon saw the document.

His brow shifted slightly when he read the words "low-temperature, fine-thread Fire Release."

The Anbu beside him added, "There were indeed no secondary fires at the scene. The breaks in the wooden framework on the right were tightly concentrated, and the oilcloth wasn't ignited."

Utatane Koharu said gravely, "Even so, using Fire Release in the Resettlement Zone was far too risky."

Mitokado Homura nodded. "If it went out of control, the consequences would be severe."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not immediately disagree.

He thought the same thing.

But the latter half of the scroll laid it out clearly.

Without Fire Release, the second exit could not have been opened in time, and a stampede in the medical passage might have caused injuries and deaths.

The danger did not lie on just one side.

Using Fire Release carried risks.

Not using it carried risks too.

Hiruzen Sarutobi set down the scroll.

"Have the Uchiha Konoha Military Police Force draw up additional regulations for jutsu use."

The Anbu bowed his head. "Yes."

Utatane Koharu asked, "Third Hokage, are you approving their continued use of Fire Release in the Resettlement Zone?"

"I'm not approving unrestricted use."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely, "But now that this situation has arisen, we must have regulations. When it can be used, who can serve as a witness, and how it should be documented afterward-all of that must be clearly defined."

Danzo stood in the shadows, his voice cold.

"Hiruzen, the Uchiha will use this to expand their authority to use jutsu."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him.

"That's precisely why it must be registered."

Danzo said nothing more.

He knew his first strike had once again been partly blocked.

The Uchiha had not denied that Fire Release was dangerous.

They acknowledged the danger, then incorporated it into a procedure.

That was more troublesome than a simple defense.

That afternoon, the Konoha Military Police Force introduced a new system.

The rescue ninjutsu registration system.

Uchiha Gen personally wrote the first version on a wooden board.

One, offensive ninjutsu must not be used in areas densely populated by civilians unless there is an emergency.

Two, when ninjutsu is needed for emergency rescue, first determine whether an alternative can be carried out in time.

Three, before use, clear away nearby flammable materials and uninvolved personnel wherever possible.

Four, at least one non-Uchiha ninja or villager representative must serve as a witness.

Five, afterward, record the user, jutsu type, range, target, results, and whether any secondary injuries were caused.

Six, submit all rescue ninjutsu records to the Hokage Building for registration along with the daily report.

After reading it, Uchiha Toru scratched his head.

"This is way too much trouble."

But Uchiha Ryo said, "At least the next time someone says the Uchiha set fires whenever they please, we'll have something to shut them down."

Uchiha Gen nodded.

"It's not about shutting them down."

He looked toward the Resettlement Zone.

"It's about making them specify which incident, who did it, where it happened, and what was burned."

Uchiha Toru fell silent for a moment.

That was something he could understand.

The more specific things became, the harder it was for rumors to survive.

At dusk, the Fire Release Rescue Usage Guide was posted beside the wooden board in the Resettlement Zone.

Many villagers gathered to read it.

Some did not understand what "low-temperature, fine-thread Fire Release" meant.

A medical ninja explained beside them, "Yesterday, the fire didn't touch the injured people or the medicine crates. Once the exit was open, people were able to get out."

A Transport Squad ninja also pointed at the breaks in the wooden framework to corroborate the account.

"Only these few spots were burned through. Nothing else caught fire."

There were still murmurs.

There was still suspicion.

But the claim that "the Uchiha set fires in the Resettlement Zone" could finally no longer spread so easily on its own.

Because witnesses stood right beside it.

And beside them was the section of wooden framework that had been burned through without catching fire.

A woman holding a child watched for a long time before quietly asking the medical ninja, "If they hadn't used Fire Release yesterday, would they have been unable to open that passage?"

The medical ninja did not put in a good word for the Uchiha, but simply answered with the facts.

"At least not that quickly."

The woman was silent for a moment, then held her child closer.

She did not thank anyone.

Nor did she change her tune and say she trusted the Uchiha.

But when she left, she no longer covered her child's eyes at the sight of the Uchiha Clan Crest.

Uchiha Gen stood outside the crowd, watching it all.

Suddenly, a very quiet voice came from behind him.

"If Fire Release can save people, it can also kill them."

Uchiha Gen turned.

Uchiha Itachi stood a short distance away, his gaze resting on the wooden board.

His face was still calm.

But his question ran deeper than the last one.

"Then how do you decide when it should be used?"

Uchiha Gen looked at this child who had become composed far too young.

He knew Itachi was not asking about Fire Release.

He was asking about power.

And about the very question that would one day push him into the abyss.

Uchiha Gen did not answer immediately.

He looked at the queues forming again in the Resettlement Zone, then at the section of wooden framework that had been burned through.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to see two things."

Itachi looked up. "What?"

"A Fire Release Rescue Record."

Uchiha Gen paused.

"And the ruins the Nine-Tails left behind."