Unlike other ninjutsu, Fire Release Ninjutsu was relatively powerful but slow to attack, making it easy to dodge.
This was also one reason behind the joke that Fire Release never killed anyone. According to the setting, however, Fire Release and Wind Release were actually the two most lethal of the five elemental releases.
Even the weakest of the spies was a Chunin, so Yūto's great fireball achieved nothing. The spies dodged it with ease.
But Yūto had used the Great Fireball Technique not to attack, but to block the Kumogakure spies.
The great fireball struck the valley's exit, igniting the surrounding trees and bushes to form a wall of fire that effectively cut off the Kumogakure spies' retreat.
At the same time, Shisui and Tsukimi sprang out of hiding and attacked the Kumogakure spies with their best ninjutsu.
Oroi calmly watched the three of them. From their attacking movements, he judged Shisui to be the strongest, probably a Jonin.
Judging by Tsukimi's Two-Tomoe Sharingan, she was probably a Chunin. Yūto, however, puzzled him a little. His clothing also bore the fan-shaped clan crest, but for some reason, he had not activated his Sharingan.
The answer was actually simple: Yūto had never awakened it.
His soul came from Blue Star, and his thinking was far more rational and calm than that of the Uchiha Clan. He would never lose control of his emotions as easily as an ordinary Uchiha.
Moreover, he charged at the front in every battle and had never experienced a teammate's death. Ordinary stimuli were nowhere near enough to awaken his Sharingan.
Oroi considered it briefly. Yūto probably wasn't a Jonin, so there was no need to pay him too much attention. He could simply leave him to the others.
He pointed at Tsukimi and Yūto and told the Kumogakure spies behind him:
"You lot, deal with those two brats. I'll handle the rest!"
Seeing Oroi, the strongest of them, charge at Shisui, Yūto could only join Tsukimi in fighting the remaining Kumogakure spies.
There was no helping it. Oroi was too fast for either of them to catch.
Looking at Yūto before him, Kakui sneered. To think this Uchiha brat, who had not even awakened his Sharingan, dared stand in their way.
Kakui was an elite Chunin from Kumogakure who specialized in swordsmanship and Lightning Release Ninjutsu. Even against an ordinary Jonin, he could hold his own for a short time.
"Don't make me laugh! A mere brat dares stand in my way!"
A vicious grin spread across Kakui's face as the ninja blade in his hand, covered in lightning, abruptly slashed down.
Yūto's gaze sharpened. He abruptly lowered his body and flashed to his opponent's side with the Body Flicker Technique, sweeping a fierce roundhouse kick toward Kakui's waist and abdomen!
Thud! Kakui hastily blocked but was still driven back two steps. Surprise flickered in his eyes. "This brat's taijutsu is pretty strong, huh?"
Kakui's impression was correct. Although Yūto was unwilling to learn ninjutsu, his taijutsu had improved rapidly through repeated life-and-death struggles, leaving him fully capable of overpowering an ordinary Chunin.
It was only because the village had never promoted him to Chunin that Yūto thought his strength was merely that of a Genin.
Yūto kept attacking, his fists and feet striking like a furious storm, each blow aimed precisely at joints and vital points.
Kakui was forced onto the defensive, his blade's offensive edge momentarily suppressed.
Annoyance flashed in his eyes. Abandoning his earlier contempt, he abruptly formed hand seals and growled, "Lightning Release: Earth Flow!"
In an instant, dazzling lightning burst from his palm and raced along the ground like a snake, heading straight for Yūto's feet.
Yūto's pupils contracted, and he leaped backward, but the lightning suddenly burst apart. The scattered current numbed his right leg.
Kakui seized the opportunity to thrust his blade forward, Lightning Release chakra coiling around its edge with a shrill hum.
Gritting his teeth, Yūto turned sideways, planted a hand on the ground, and spun away from the blade. He swung an elbow straight at his opponent's throat, only for Kakui to block it with his arm.
"No matter how fast your taijutsu is, can it beat lightning?" Kakui grinned viciously and formed hand seals again. Lightning gathered into a ball in his palm. "Lightning Release: Lightning Strike!"
Lightning Release: Lightning Strike was a ninjutsu that gathered lightning in the palm and attacked enemies with the electricity spilling out.
Omoi used it in the original story. Its range was wider when used in water, but releasing it in the air consumed somewhat less chakra and made it more powerful.
With his right leg numbed by Lightning Release, Yūto's movements faltered slightly, and the Lightning Release in Kakui's palm was already roaring toward him.
He barely managed to roll aside. The lightning ball grazed his shoulder, and the resulting shock wave hurled him to the ground.
Kakui pressed his advantage, thrusting his ninja blade straight at Yūto's chest.
Nearby, Tsukimi's Two-Tomoe Sharingan caught Yūto's peril. "Yūto!" she cried. She tried to break away to help him, but the combined Lightning Release of two Kumogakure spies forced her back. Kunai and shuriken wove a net that kept her firmly pinned down.
"Damn it!" Tsukimi gritted her teeth, her Sharingan spinning wildly, but she could not break through the blockade just yet.
The instant the blade thrust toward him, Yūto abruptly raised his head, his lips twisting into a crazed smile.
His hands completed the seals at an unbelievable speed. Under Kakui's astonished gaze, he gathered chakra in his throat. There was less than half a meter between them!
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Holding the tiger seal, Yūto spewed an oversized orange-red fireball from his mouth, blasting Kakui in the chest at point-blank range.
The explosion's shock wave sent both of them flying. Kakui's ninja blade clattered to the ground, and he smashed through three trees before stopping, disbelief covering his face. "Are you insane... a suicidal attack like that!"
If the compensation money had not prohibited Yūto from committing suicide, he would not even have released the Great Fireball Technique at point-blank range. He could simply have waited to die.
But the requirements did say he had to give it his all.
Still, it made no difference now. He had already demonstrated his strength, and he believed the spies surrounding Tsukimi would soon turn their firepower on him!
Tsukimi's Sharingan spun rapidly, sweat soaking the hair at her temples.
The two Kumogakure spies coordinated their ninjutsu seamlessly, forcing her into a corner against the rock wall.
Just as she barely managed to drive them back, a third spy suddenly attacked from the side, thrusting a kunai straight beneath her ribs!
"Ngh!" Tsukimi grunted and twisted aside to protect her vitals, but the blade still cut a bloody gash across her left arm.
Gritting her teeth, she threw three shuriken to drive him back, only to see two of the spies sneer and turn toward another battlefield-in Yūto's direction.
This is bad! Tsukimi's heart sank.
These spies deliberately left one person to hold me back while the others all went after Yūto... no, he just took the recoil from a great fireball head-on!
Even if Yūto isn't injured now, there's no way he can take on three Chunin at once!
At that moment, Yūto was staggering to his feet amid the smoke and dust of the explosion, while Kakui had already climbed up with a vicious grin, forming a triangular encirclement with the other two spies.
Lightning and blades flashed at the same time, heading straight for vital points all over Yūto's body!
Yūto's pupils contracted sharply with excitement, and his grin nearly reached his ears.
Surrounded by three Chunin?
What a heaven-sent opportunity!
Laughing wildly, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as chakra boiled within him.
"Come on! Want to escape? Kill me first!"
Before you continue