Chapter 37: The First Application of the Mathematical Chakra Form
The shadows of the forest concealed a pair of crimson eyes.
Three tomoe slowly revolved within Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan.
His Sharingan reached across the forest, ensnaring the distant Kirigakure shinobi in genjutsu and turning them against one another.
"One squad is down."
After eliminating the enemies who couldn't break free of his genjutsu, Shisui immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to close in on the remaining targets.
Then he sensed a familiar presence nearby.
The moment he learned that Konoha had dispatched reinforcements, he moved.
Whoosh!
Shisui's body shot through the forest like a streak of lightning.
"That's Uchiha Shisui!"
"We're finished. It's really him!"
"Attack! Don't be afraid of him. He's only one person!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Boom!
Gōenji had only just reached the designated meeting point when a commotion erupted in the distance.
He immediately formed a hand seal.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared, allowing him to see the battlefield far ahead.
A massive water dragon surged into the sky.
At the same time, an enormous fireball rose to meet it.
The two techniques collided.
"Come on. Shisui is already fighting the Kirigakure shinobi."
After giving the order, Gōenji immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and rushed toward the battlefield.
His three teammates followed close behind.
However, their speed was clearly inferior to his.
Boom!
They had barely approached when a tremendous explosion shook the forest.
Whoosh! Boom! Clang!
A flash of steel cut through the air, followed by a burst of flames.
"Fire Release: Flame-Surging Blade!"
Flames erupted around Shisui's short sword.
With a single slash, the fire wrapped around the blade and burst outward, tearing through the Kirigakure formation.
A Kirigakure shinobi hurriedly formed a defensive Water Release: Water Formation Wall.
Shisui didn't slow down.
He simply adjusted his wrist and expanded the flames, effortlessly deflecting the incoming shuriken and other ranged attacks.
Then he struck again.
Sizzle!
The flames scorched the enemy's body.
Before the man could even scream, Shisui's blade cleaved him in two. The corpse continued to hiss as the flames consumed it.
"One."
Whoosh!
"Two."
Clang!
"Three..."
Shisui moved with frightening speed.
By the time he stopped, the battlefield had been reduced to a charred mess. The ground and surrounding trees were scorched black, though he had carefully controlled the flames well enough to prevent them from spreading into a forest fire.
Then he turned toward a figure that had suddenly appeared.
"Senior... Gōenji?"
"Long time no see."
Gōenji smiled.
"I didn't expect you to be this outstanding even back when we were at the Academy. And now... you're even more impressive. You're truly the greatest Uchiha genius I've seen in the past decade."
The two of them came from the same village and were roughly the same age. Gōenji was only a year older than Shisui, so they naturally knew each other, even if they weren't particularly close.
At the very least, they were familiar enough to address each other by name.
Shisui's Sharingan faded, leaving his eyes their normal dark color.
Gōenji, meanwhile, was secretly astonished.
As expected of Uchiha Shisui.
A thirteen-year-old genius who had already made a name for himself across the battlefield.
His strength was genuinely impressive.
The way Shisui had just handled his opponents had even given Gōenji some trouble to think about.
Gōenji was confident in his own Body Flicker Technique. He didn't think he was any slower.
But tactically, Shisui's application was clearly superior.
And that Fire Release technique...
Shisui had wrapped the flames around his blade, essentially turning the weapon into a burning ninja tool.
That gave Gōenji an idea.
If I can concentrate Fire Release into a blade, I should be able to do the same with other weapons.
He could probably master it very quickly.
After all, he had already developed techniques that allowed him to channel fire into his fists and legs.
He could even apply the flames to steel wire.
For him, copying Shisui's Flame-Surging Blade shouldn't be difficult.
More importantly, he had secretly learned Ryōma's swordsmanship.
If he combined Fire Release with that swordsmanship, its power might even surpass Shisui's technique.
Another direction for developing ninjutsu... stolen successfully.
Gōenji couldn't help feeling pleased.
Shisui smiled and nodded.
"Let's not reminisce about the past yet. There are still plenty of Kirigakure infiltrators left. We haven't eliminated all of them."
"Let's deal with them first."
"No problem."
Gōenji nodded.
"Let's show them just how powerful the Uchiha can be."
For now, completing the mission was the priority.
The enemy had already penetrated deep into the Land of Fire.
They couldn't possibly allow them to continue advancing unchecked.
"Captain, your Body Flicker has gotten even faster."
His three teammates finally caught up and looked at the two Uchiha.
"Let's go."
Gōenji's eyes sharpened.
"Kill the enemy."
...
Whoosh!
"Damn it! Why is Uchiha Shisui here?"
Ao's expression turned grim as his Byakugan constantly swept across the battlefield.
Damn it. I was almost done with the mission. How did Shisui discover us?
Then—
"What?"
His expression changed again.
Another Uchiha? And they're strong?
Through his Byakugan, Ao saw the rest of his comrades being surrounded by another group.
The person at the front especially caught his attention.
That chakra...
It was extremely distinctive.
Like Uchiha Shisui's, the chakra radiating from this man seemed almost to burn with flames.
...
Whoosh!
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
A massive fire dragon tore through the forest like a gigantic locomotive.
Trees were blasted aside as it charged directly toward the fleeing Kirigakure squad.
"Watch out! Fire Release!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
The sudden attack threw the Kirigakure shinobi into confusion.
But their leader reacted quickly.
A water dragon surged from the ground and collided with the approaching fire dragon.
"Water counters fire."
The Kirigakure captain wore a confident expression.
"You're overestimating yourself."
With the elemental advantage of Water Release over Fire Release, he was certain he could suppress his opponent's technique.
He had also recognized the enemy's jutsu.
The Great Dragon Fire Technique was a secret Fire Release ninjutsu of the Uchiha clan.
Under normal circumstances, his Water Dragon Bullet should have had the advantage.
Boom!
The moment the two dragons collided, however, the Kirigakure captain's expression froze.
The water dragon was being overwhelmed.
The enormous fire dragon tore through it without hesitation, reducing the water to steam as the entire technique hissed and evaporated.
"Oh, no..."
The atmosphere among the Kirigakure shinobi changed instantly.
How is this possible?
The Great Dragon Fire Technique shouldn't have been able to overpower his Water Dragon Bullet.
"Captain, hurry! We'll attack together!"
The shinobi beside him shouted.
The four men simultaneously formed hand seals.
Four Water Formation Walls rose from the ground, blocking the path of the enormous fire dragon.
Fortunately, they had reacted quickly.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to complete their seals in time.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Boom!
To the Kirigakure shinobi's astonishment, the four Water Formation Walls barely managed to stop the Great Dragon Fire Technique.
"Damn it! Why is that jutsu so powerful?"
Whoosh!
Before they could even recover, a dense barrage of projectiles came flying toward them like a swarm of buzzing bees.
"Water Release: Explosive Water Shockwave!"
The Kirigakure captain immediately unleashed his strongest technique.
"Enough."
Gōenji's voice suddenly came from directly in front of him.
"I don't want to waste any more time."
His body flashed forward like lightning.
Just as expected.
Once he incorporated the lever principle into his ninjutsu, even a relatively simple internal structure could let him convert the same amount of chakra into significantly greater force.
Gōenji was extremely satisfied with the result of his first real experiment.
The Kirigakure captain's eyes widened.
"You're not Shisui."
"Of course not."
Gōenji smiled faintly.
"Konoha has more than one Uchiha."
Clang!
At such close range, and with the precise control provided by his Sharingan, Gōenji instantly seized the opening.
His eyes briefly caught the man's gaze.
A trace of genjutsu flashed through the captain's mind.
Then Gōenji's short blade swept across his throat.
Sizzle!
Blood erupted.
The man's head flew into the air, his eyes still filled with disbelief.
"Captain!"
The remaining three Kirigakure shinobi roared in fury, their eyes turning red.
Whoosh!
Several insects suddenly appeared around the neck of one of them.
They bit down.
His entire body rapidly darkened before he collapsed to the ground.
Another Kirigakure shinobi was impaled from the back through the top of his head by a stone pillar that erupted from the earth.
The last one was cleaved cleanly in two.
Behind the flashing blade stood Ryōma, his long hair tied into a high ponytail.
"Hmm."
After confirming that all of them were dead, Gōenji looked over the corpses.
"These Kirigakure shinobi aren't weak, but their combat experience seems lacking."
That captain definitely wasn't a jōnin.
A true jōnin couldn't have been defeated that easily.
Their battlefield experience was simply lacking.
They had been completely overwhelmed under circumstances like these.
They're probably elite chūnin from Kirigakure.
Zē stepped forward and examined the bodies.
"Captain, these people appear to be elite shinobi from Kirigakure. I didn't expect them to send this many people. I have no idea what they're trying to accomplish."
"Hmm."
Gōenji looked toward the forest ahead.
"They're probably taking advantage of the weakened defenses around the Konoha–Kirigakure front. They sent people into the interior of the Land of Fire to disrupt our operations."
Their squad had only just arrived at this battlefield, so they didn't possess much information yet.
They could only make deductions based on the overall situation.
"Let's go."
Gōenji turned toward the forest.
"We'll capture the others."
"Whatever their objective is, eliminating them is the right thing to do."