Chapter 53: Fire Release — Blazing Edge
A massive boulder stood like a mountain in the middle of the training ground.
Gōenji formed his hand seals and began circulating his chakra. Using his usual method and pushing his chakra control to its limits, he focused completely and slowly enveloped the wooden sword in chakra.
This time, his control over Shape Transformation was much better.
Flames once again spread across the wooden sword. As he continued feeding chakra into the technique, the air around the blade began to distort.
He had made adjustments after his first failure.
Within the distorted air surrounding the wooden sword, heat gradually began to radiate outward.
At first, it was barely noticeable.
But as Gōenji manipulated the Nature Transformation of Fire Release, the temperature slowly climbed higher and higher.
Soon, even the air itself seemed to catch fire, as though the atmosphere were about to be burned away.
A leaf drifted through the air.
Before it could even approach him, it slowly curled and withered under the intense heat.
"I'm still far from concentrating all the heat onto the wooden sword."
Gōenji narrowed his eyes.
"If that's the case, I'll let the temperature spread outward instead. Expanding the range should make the chakra control more stable."
He had noticed the problem.
As he continued increasing the temperature of the Fire Release, his chakra control became increasingly unstable.
So he decisively changed his approach.
Instead of concentrating the heat into the smallest possible area, he expanded the range.
The moment he did so, his chakra control finally stabilized.
A sharp blade wreathed in blue-white flames appeared in Gōenji's hand.
It was completely different from Shisui's Sword Leap Flame.
Shisui's technique was primarily designed to extend the range of his attacks; everything else was secondary.
Its actual killing power remained roughly the same, which was already enough to kill most shinobi.
But Gōenji's goal was different.
He wanted raw destructive power.
The purpose of this experiment wasn't to measure attack range.
However, as the range expanded, the blue-white flames around the blade became like an enormous hand of fire, tightly gripping the wooden sword.
Gōenji carefully swung it.
He didn't dare be reckless.
With his exceptional talent for Fire Release, he could clearly sense the terrifying heat contained within the blade.
If an attack with this temperature struck his body directly, he would undoubtedly be reduced to charcoal in an instant.
And this version of the Blade of the Rising Sun was still far from complete.
It was already a ninjutsu refined through precise calculations, pushing Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation to their limits.
Its power was anything but insignificant.
That was precisely why Gōenji was being so cautious.
Outside the training ground, Uchiha Itachi stared in shock as his small body slowly retreated.
"It's so hot!"
He felt as though he were about to be roasted alive.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Is this the new ninjutsu Master Gōenji was talking about?
It's too powerful.
When his father used the Great Fireball Technique, the temperature had never been this high.
Or rather...
It hadn't even come close.
As he continued retreating, Itachi couldn't help but feel proud that he had such an incredible teacher.
Amazing.
One day, I have to become as strong as Master Gōenji.
His father was no longer his only goal.
Now, that goal belonged to the extraordinary man standing before him—the man capable of developing a ninjutsu powerful enough to leave him utterly stunned.
"Teacher, do your best."
The young voice reached Gōenji's ears.
Gōenji turned around and smiled at Itachi before looking toward the enormous boulder ahead of him.
That was his experimental target.
"As expected, developing the Blade of the Rising Sun can't be accomplished in one step. I'll have to progress gradually."
He glanced at the blazing sword in his hand.
"I'll name this stage..."
"Fire Release: Blazing Edge."
This wasn't the final version.
Not even close.
The flames seemed almost tangible.
Gōenji swung the wooden sword.
The flames suddenly erupted.
A gigantic blade of fire stretched outward, reaching roughly four meters in length, and descended upon the massive boulder like divine punishment.
BOOM!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The first sound was an explosion.
The massive boulder split cleanly in two, while a deep trench was blasted into the ground beneath it.
But the explosion hadn't actually come from the ninjutsu itself.
The stone had simply been unable to withstand the terrifying temperature.
It had been heated beyond its limits and shattered.
As the boulder broke apart, the fragments were swallowed by the enormous flames. They were instantly scorched black before cracking apart piece by piece and falling to the ground like chunks of charcoal.
Even the earth couldn't withstand the temperature.
Wherever the flames passed, the soil was roasted until it began to hiss.
The ground on both sides appeared to churn like molten lava.
But it wasn't actually lava.
The temperature had simply exceeded the melting point of the soil, causing it to liquefy.
"Not bad."
Gōenji looked at the ruined training ground.
"Let's try it again."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
This time, Gōenji had no target.
He simply practiced freely across the training ground.
Every so often, he summoned a massive blade of flame, raised it into the air, and brought it crashing down.
Each time, he carefully adjusted the ratio of chakra distribution, trying to achieve even finer control.
Before long, the training ground had been reduced to a complete mess.
Yet Gōenji was enjoying himself.
He loved the sensation of casting ninjutsu.
Countless formulas raced through his mind as he continuously adjusted the flow of chakra while attacking.
He changed the Nature Transformation.
Then the Shape Transformation.
He refined the technique from the smallest details upward.
Every failure provided another piece of data.
Every adjustment brought him one step closer to the finished technique.
...
"Huh? What's that?"
Uchiha Mikoto had been waiting for Itachi to return home for dinner when she suddenly noticed waves of intense heat coming from the direction of the training ground.
Every so often, pillars of flame could also be seen rising into the sky.
"Are they training over there?"
She frowned.
"Itachi should be watching, right?"
With that thought, Mikoto immediately hurried over.
Whoosh!
It didn't take long before she reached the training ground.
The sight before her left her stunned.
Mikoto covered her small mouth with one delicate hand and stared at Gōenji without blinking.
He was standing in the middle of the training ground with an enormous blade of flame in his hand.
His shirt had already been burned away, while what remained of his trousers was tattered and scorched.
The surrounding environment looked completely different from anything Mikoto had ever seen.
The rocks, trees, and even the sand had been transformed.
Everything had been transformed into glowing, reddish, semi-molten ground.
"Itachi."
Suddenly, Mikoto spotted her son in the distance.
The young Uchiha was staring at Gōenji with undisguised admiration.
"Itachi!"
She called out loudly.
"Mom, you're here too!"
Itachi carefully took a long route around the training ground, avoiding Gōenji at its center, before running over to his mother.
"Master Gōenji is incredible!"
Mikoto smiled when she heard his excited voice.
"You should grow up to be as outstanding as Master Gōenji. Keep working hard. I believe you can do it too."
"Hehe. I'm Master Gōenji's disciple, after all."
Itachi puffed out his chest proudly.
"One day I'll learn this technique too. And I'll become even stronger than Master!"
The technique was simply too cool.
Its power was overwhelming.
For a three-year-old child, this was perhaps the most shocking sight he had witnessed in his short life.
It left an unforgettable impression on him.
Even though Itachi was extraordinarily talented and far more mature than other children his age, there were still limits to what such a young mind could comprehend.
...
Gōenji sensed Mikoto's presence.
He slowly allowed the enormous flaming blade in his hand to dissipate.
The wooden sword hidden within the flames was revealed.
But the moment the fire disappeared, its true condition became apparent.
The wooden sword had been completely carbonized.
Then, little by little, it cracked apart and collapsed onto the ground.
"Even after adding protective measures, I still can't preserve the blade."
Gōenji stared at the broken handle.
"Looks like there's still plenty of room for improvement."
He tossed the remaining handle aside and fell into thought.