Chapter 318: Sage Art: Sealing Technique — Uchiha Flame Formation! The Shadow That Watches!
Amid the swirling white mist, two things appeared on the deck.
The first was a colossal object that, the moment it appeared, cracked the deck beneath it and caused the thunder boat to lurch downward under its weight—
It was none other than the severed horn of the Eight-Tails!
The second was a sealing scroll summoned forth through a scroll-based summoning technique—
The Uchiha Flame Formation scroll.
The scroll itself wasn't made of waterproof material, so it had been encased in another protective scroll to be stored inside the White Snake's body.
Not only did it contain the method for casting the Uchiha Flame Formation, but it also had a single-use activation of the technique embedded within.
This scroll, a gift from Uchiha Fugaku during Uchiha Ci's training period in Hell Valley, was a precious artifact indeed.
In the right terrain, this jutsu could very well alter the course of a war.
Although Uchiha Ci had already mastered this barrier technique during his time in Hell Valley, this time he intended to engrave the Uchiha Flame Formation directly onto his body.
To ensure nothing went wrong—
Using the sealing scroll that fully detailed the technique was the best choice.
With that thought in mind,
Uchiha Ci first turned his gaze toward the horn of the Eight-Tails.
The Uchiha Flame Formation, in some respects, was akin to the Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation technique used by Dodai back then—both drew upon the power of nature. Without tapping into natural forces, casting them required an immense amount of chakra.
His first step, therefore, was to process the Eight-Tails' horn—cutting off a portion and merging it into his body to serve as the energy core powering the sealing technique.
Uchiha Ci's gaze sharpened, his eyes snapping open as he clasped his hands together.
"First things first—cut it down!"
"Susanoo—cleave it for me!"
With that shout, blazing heat surged behind him and winds roared as the skeletal hand of Susanoo began to form, taking shape from illusion into reality!
From its palm burst a blade of brilliant blue—
The Sword of Raijin: Futsunomitama was drawn in an instant, swung down in a flash, slicing the Eight-Tails' horn in a precise 2:8 ratio.
Only a fifth of the horn was needed to provide sufficient chakra for constructing the seal.
But even this brief summoning—calling forth just a single arm of Susanoo and empowering the blade—was enough to make Uchiha Ci stagger, his body swaying. Sweat poured from his brow, and he nearly collapsed from chakra exhaustion.
"Huff…"
He drew in a heavy breath, dispersing Susanoo and the Thunder God Sword. Then, he stepped over to the shorter segment of the Eight-Tails' horn, raised his palm, and pressed it against it.
This next step required—
"Human Puppet Technique: Chakra Core!"
A technique capable of refining all of a person's chakra into a bead no larger than a marble.
Undoubtedly, this technique—freshly acquired from the fists of the Sand's "King of Iron Fists" Chiyo—boasted compression technology far beyond what currently existed in the Shinobi World. Uchiha Ci even suspected that the chakra pills consumed by Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki, created by absorbing ninjutsu, might be based on the same principle.
There truly were many geniuses in the Shinobi World!
As his palm pressed against the horn, strange and sinister sealing scripts began to spread across its surface—
Crack… grind…
A shrill, bone-grinding noise echoed out like a blender pulverizing bones.
Even though it had been severed, the chunk of horn—nearly twice the size of Uchiha Ci himself—began to compress under the effect of the technique. No, it wasn't merely shrinking—the chakra inside was being drawn out and funneled toward Uchiha Ci's palm.
The parts drained of chakra collapsed into withered husks of skin, crumpling like deflated leather.
Moments later—
He withdrew his hand, now holding a dark, glimmering, irregularly shaped orb.
"This is where the real danger begins."
His gaze turned grave as he looked at the orb. Then, lifting his other hand and turning it palm-up, he brought the tips of his fingers to rest against his own heart.
And then—
Splurt!
In an instant, his lightning-clad hand sliced into his chest, cutting through flesh and muscle to reveal his heart—exposed and wildly spurting blood, wrapped in a web of Earth Grudge Fear threads under the moonlight.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Uchiha Ci forced the Eight-Tails chakra core into his own heart.
Immediately, he activated the secret technique Earth Grudge Fear: Suture and the forbidden jutsu Body Revival, causing the organ to rapidly regenerate and fuse around the chakra core.
Then, using the fresh blood staining his hand, he spread his fingers wide—
And slammed his palm down onto the scroll at his feet!
At that moment, his eyes burst open again, blood vessels bulging around them. All around him, natural energy surged inward, merging with his own chakra to form Sage Chakra.
Sage Art: Sealing Technique — Uchiha Flame Formation!
With that shout—
The dense text covering the scroll began to distort and twist beneath his palm.
Driven by Sage Chakra infused with the Eight-Tails' chakra nature and natural energy—
The markings crawled up his arm, coiling from his hand to his shoulder. They flowed across to his left chest, where rows of jet-black symbols linked into lines, locking onto his heart and expanding outward across his left chest and shoulder, forming a seal array with his heart at its core.
This was Uchiha Ci modifying the activation direction of the technique.
The essence of the Uchiha Flame Formation was to draw out earthfire and raise a powerful barrier. But there was no earthfire here, no volcano. If he wanted to replicate the effect and forge a powerful defensive wall that could trap natural energy—
He had to create a fire source from within himself!
"Huff…"
He let out a long breath, feeling his heart beat steadily once more. The wound on his chest had also begun to heal.
"With this, all preparations are complete."
"Now then—"
Raising his bloodstained hand, each of his five fingertips ignited with intense flames as his gaze sharpened.
"All that's left… is to ignite it!"
At that moment, on the sea—some distance away.
Thick black smoke belched from a towering smokestack as a massive steam-powered warship slowly advanced from the direction of the Land of Water.
On the deck—
"Lord Mizukage, we've spotted a 'Lightning Boat' up ahead. The signaler has tried several flag codes, but there's been no response."
"How would you like to proceed?"
A middle-aged man dressed like a ship captain approached with a respectful bow, addressing the silver-haired, dignified old man at the bow of the ship.
"A Lightning Boat? Who's aboard?"
The Third Mizukage, Bailan, frowned slightly as he took a telescope from the captain's belt and raised it to his eye, peering toward the white speck of a vessel on the distant sea.
Through the lens—
Bailan's gaze quickly landed on the Lightning Boat.
And what he saw shocked him—
A massive bovine horn, blood covering the entire deck, and a black-haired youth standing in the middle of it all, five points of flame burning at his fingertips, deep in thought.
In the very next instant—
The youth's expression turned ferocious. He suddenly flipped his palm inward, pressing his flaming fingers to his chest!
And twisted hard!
As if he had flipped the switch to something terrifying—
BOOM!!
Centered on the youth,
A shockwave of invisible wind rippled outward in a transparent ring!
CRACK!
In that brief moment—
The lens of Bailan's telescope shattered instantly, shards of glass spraying back through the brass tube toward his eye!
Startled, Bailan quickly steadied himself and jerked his head to the side, narrowly dodging the flying fragments.
And then—
As the ship rocked violently beneath his feet,
He looked up to see—
A pillar of crimson flame shooting straight into the heavens from the sea's surface!
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