Chapter 40: The Four Jōnin
Smoke filled the battlefield, while flames soared into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, Gōenji had already spent more than a month on the Kirigakure front.
Whoosh!
Roar!
His fist was wrapped in a blazing dragon.
With a single punch, the earth cracked apart. Scorching flames erupted in every direction, sweeping across the battlefield and reducing everything in their path to ruins.
The Kirigakure shinobi caught in the blast were completely overwhelmed.
Sizzle...
When the flames finally subsided, the Mist shinobi had been blown apart.
"Fire Dragon Iron Fist."
Gōenji calmly withdrew his hand, and the flames vanished instantly.
"Good. Fire Dragon Iron Fist has reached the optimal state I can achieve at my current level. I can move on to developing other techniques."
He examined his fist, a satisfied smile appearing on his face as he recalled the power of the technique.
By "optimal state," he meant the strongest form he could currently achieve while completing the chakra-lever manipulation within a short period.
Applying leverage through ninjutsu required repeatedly adjusting the shape and internal structure of the chakra. Normally, that took considerable time.
But now, he could complete the process in a short period.
As for the resulting power, there was no need to explain it.
Although his current chakra control only allowed him to construct relatively simple leverage structures, the increase in power was already substantial.
Whether it was the Great Fireball Technique or his other Fire Release techniques, he had pushed their current forms close to their limits.
Their destructive power had increased tremendously.
As his body continued to mature and his spiritual energy grew stronger, his chakra was also increasing. That gave him greater room to perform more complicated operations.
His margin for error in battle had also increased significantly.
At this point, Gōenji could already be considered one of Konoha's elite jōnin.
His combat experience, fundamental strength, physical qualities, and ability to analyze battlefield situations had all reached the level expected of an elite.
"The next step is Fire Release nature transformation, and combining Fire Release with swordsmanship."
Since his shape manipulation had reached the limit of what he could currently achieve, he needed to change his research direction and make progress in other areas.
Nature transformation was something he had been studying for a long time.
As for combining Fire Release with swordsmanship, that idea had come from Shisui.
Gōenji had secretly learned one of Shisui's techniques—an attack known as Flame Dance.
It was extremely useful.
The technique combined Fire Release with the Body Flicker Technique and swordsmanship, and Gōenji had learned it without much difficulty.
He already had ideas for further development.
Now that he was a jōnin, the destructive power of ordinary ninjutsu was sufficient for most situations.
He had already developed movement techniques, and his defensive technique, Fire Release: Repulsion Flame Ring, was also complete.
What he needed now were techniques with more specialized applications.
With his combat experience, Uchiha bloodline, and Sharingan, Gōenji was already exceptionally powerful among jōnin.
He didn't need to deliberately pursue strength for its own sake.
But that didn't mean he was invincible.
He was still flesh and blood.
A careless kunai through the throat could still kill him.
There were countless ways to assassinate another shinobi.
Poison.
Sealing.
Assassination.
Traps.
Encirclement.
Targeted elimination.
A shinobi didn't need to defeat an enemy head-on to kill them.
And against someone on the level of Minato Namikaze, Gōenji's current strength might still not be enough.
"Captain, your Fire Release is getting stronger and stronger!"
"Of course! Otherwise, you wouldn't have earned the title of 'Flame Gōenji,' would you?"
Fūjin and the others walked over with smiles on their faces.
None of them were surprised by the corpses scattered across the battlefield.
In only a month, Gōenji had already made a name for himself on the Kirigakure front.
Flame Gōenji.
Just like the Yellow Flash, Shisui of the Body Flicker, and the other famous shinobi, he had earned a title of his own.
Whenever the people of Kirigakure heard his name, they couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
His title came from his powerful Fire Release.
Kirigakure specialized in Water Release, which naturally gave them an advantage against Fire Release users.
Yet Gōenji's flames were so powerful that even Mist shinobi found him extremely troublesome to deal with.
As his teammates, Fūjin and the others naturally felt proud to fight alongside him.
"All right. Check the area and see if there's any important intelligence. Then we'll go support the others."
"Yes, Captain."
Gōenji's gaze darkened.
So much time had passed.
Had Kirigakure really not developed a specific plan against a talent like him?
For an entire month, there hadn't been a single operation specifically targeting him.
Instead, Uchiha Shisui had repeatedly become a target of Kirigakure's attention.
But Shisui's abilities were simply too well-rounded.
He was an extremely versatile shinobi, and with his superb Body Flicker Technique, he had not only escaped every time but had even counterattacked.
Yet despite that, Kirigakure still didn't seem to have made any serious move against him.
The most important point was that they had even given Gōenji the title "Flame Gōenji."
That shouldn't have been something they could simply ignore.
Based on the intelligence Gōenji had gathered previously, famous shinobi inevitably became targets for enemy forces.
Most managed to survive.
Only a small number died on the battlefield.
And once a famous shinobi died, their fame naturally came to an end.
For shinobi, that was simply how things worked.
As long as you stayed alive, everything was fine.
You could become famous.
You could even become a Kage.
But once you died, history would remember you with only a few words of praise.
In reality, there were many talented shinobi on the battlefield.
But the more renowned they became, the more likely enemy forces were to target them—and the more likely they were to be eliminated.
"Captain, we've finished checking. There doesn't appear to be any important intelligence."
"All right. Let's go."
...
Not long after Gōenji and his team left, four figures appeared at the scene.
"What terrifying Fire Release."
Munashi Jinpachi held the Explosive Blade, Shibuki, as he surveyed the surroundings.
Everything had been reduced to ruins.
The ground was covered in traces of Fire Release attacks.
For dozens of meters in every direction, practically nothing remained intact. Ash drifted across the battlefield and settled into the dirt.
"Heh. I'm curious whether his Fire Release can break through my defenses."
A man with painted markings across his face, wearing unusual clothing with a thick rope tied around his waist, spoke arrogantly.
"My defenses are even stronger than the Kaguya clan's kekkei genkai. Even if he manages to break through them, I'll still be able to take his life."
Munashi Jinpachi frowned.
"Star, don't let your guard down. Anyone who can make a name for themselves on a battlefield isn't someone you can underestimate."
He turned toward another companion.
"Isn't that right, Fubuki?"
Shirō Fubuki had the Kirigakure forehead protector tied around his arm and a scarf wrapped around his neck. His hair was snow-white.
He slowly exhaled, releasing a breath of freezing air.
"Judging from the battlefield, our opponent's Fire Release truly lives up to the reputation of the Uchiha clan. His mastery is extraordinary."
He looked toward another companion.
"Ōrō, can you deal with him?"
Ōrō Hōzuki smiled.
"You're underestimating the Hōzuki clan. The Hōzuki clan's Water Release will never lose to the Uchiha clan's Fire Release."
"You only need to seize an opportunity and kill him."
Munashi Jinpachi laughed mockingly.
"If four jōnin can't even kill a single Uchiha, then we'll become a laughingstock in the shinobi world."
This time, Kirigakure had spent an entire month investigating Gōenji.
They had ultimately dispatched four jōnin, including Munashi Jinpachi himself, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
If even the four of them couldn't defeat their target...
That really would be a joke.