Chapter 66: Sky-Piercing Blade
Boom!!
A massive pillar of flame shaped like a blade erupted from the forest, rising straight into the sky and swallowing the enormous Tailed Beast whole.
The flames were black and crimson, with black streaks flowing through the orange-red blaze like molten lava. Their terrifying radiance completely drowned out the green of the forest.
Yet despite their horrifying appearance, the black-red flames didn't affect the surrounding trees in the slightest.
Whenever a piece of gravel or a green leaf drifted into the flames, however, it vanished so quickly that even the Sharingan's dynamic vision couldn't follow it.
"That's..."
Such an enormous disturbance naturally drew the attention of everyone nearby, especially the Konoha shinobi who were rushing toward the scene.
Uchiha Fugaku stared at the towering pillar of flame.
His Sharingan spun rapidly as he attempted to see through it.
He found nothing.
"Shō, what can you see?"
Fugaku turned toward the Hyūga beside him.
Hyūga Shō activated his Byakugan.
A moment later, his eyes widened.
His expression was filled with disbelief.
Within his vision, the air itself appeared distorted. Several vague figures could be seen inside, their forms faintly outlined by Chakra.
"The temperature is terrifying," he said slowly. "It's actually distorting the Byakugan's vision."
Fugaku frowned.
"Who is using this technique?"
"It should be Gōenji. That fiery-red Chakra... there's no mistake."
"Really?"
Fugaku's expression became solemn.
"This is an absolutely terrifying Fire Release."
The others were shocked by his words.
A temperature high enough to distort the Byakugan's vision—one of the most powerful dōjutsu in the shinobi world—was beyond anything they had expected.
"Follow me."
Fugaku led the others forward.
"What is that?"
Jinpachi and Shirō Fubuki stared at the enormous blade of flame piercing the sky, their eyes widening.
They didn't need to think too much.
That had to be a Konoha shinobi's ninjutsu.
More importantly, its power seemed capable of threatening a Tailed Beast.
That was the conclusion experienced shinobi naturally reached after years on the battlefield.
Using a technique of this scale meant the caster had tremendous confidence in it.
Enough confidence to believe it could defeat a Tailed Beast.
"Isobu won't die, will it?"
"If it does, it could take years to revive. By then, the village's deterrent power will be greatly reduced."
"If it's really killed, then we'd only have the Six-Tails left to guard our defenses..."
The two fell silent.
Losing a Tailed Beast as a strategic deterrent meant losing a major source of pressure against the other villages.
For the Mist Village, that was absolutely not a good thing.
"Impossible."
Jinpachi's expression was ugly.
"How could those guys possibly fight on equal terms with a Tailed Beast? We must be mistaken."
They had tried to be clever, only to end up suffering a loss themselves.
That would create serious problems for the Mist Village.
"Let's go. We're returning to the village."
Fubuki looked toward the battlefield.
"We're already too close to Konoha's command center. We can't stay here any longer."
Jinpachi sighed.
"We're screwed."
"Just as expected of Gōenji. He's truly lived up to his reputation."
Hayama Shirakumo stared at the blazing pillar in the distance, his face filled with amazement.
He was only thirty meters from the flames, yet he couldn't feel even the slightest trace of heat.
That meant Gōenji had concentrated the Fire Release's temperature entirely at the center of the technique.
Such terrifying control...
He could sense the presence of the Tailed Beast within the flames.
Isobu definitely couldn't withstand it.
That was the conclusion he had reached after twelve years of experience.
Swish!
Maruboshi Kōsuke sheathed his sword.
"The younger generation really is impressive."
His eyes were filled with wonder.
"I can already see another Minato rising."
A technique of this level was practically tailor-made for dealing with a gigantic monster like a Tailed Beast.
Being able to concentrate such an enormous temperature within a fixed area without allowing it to disperse made the technique even more terrifying.
Even its visual impact was astonishing.
It wasn't far removed from the scale of the Second Hokage's massive Waterfall Technique.
The difference was simply that one focused on concentrating power while the other focused on attack range.
Whoosh...
Joy appeared in Shisui's eyes.
"As expected of you, Gōenji-nii-san. That Fire Release is incredible."
He could sense that even if he summoned Susanoo, he might not be able to withstand that attack.
As expected of a genius.
Rustle...
The flames gradually dissipated.
They transformed into a phantom-like mass of Chakra before slowly fading into the heavens and earth.
Gōenji stood outside the fading flames.
His skin was bright red, while the swirling patterns across his body gradually disappeared.
In front of him, where the enormous flaming blade had previously stood, there was now only a gigantic crater.
Molten lava flowed slowly through its depths, while the surrounding remains had been transformed into glass-like debris.
"Damn... I'm exhausted."
Gōenji's gaze swept rapidly across the crater.
Isobu was nowhere to be seen.
The corner of his mouth slowly lifted.
Dead.
He had defeated the Three-Tails with a single attack.
For the first time, Gōenji felt that he could truly stand among the strongest combatants on the battlefield.
And the feeling was incredible.
That had been a Tailed Beast!
"Still, if this continues, the original storyline is going to change."
He paused.
"No... even if I don't interfere, the story is already going to change. The original story never had the Mist Village deploy a Tailed Beast for an attack like this."
This was likely part of Uchiha Madara's scheme.
It was precisely because of that scheme that everything had happened this way.
But Gōenji didn't care very much.
What mattered was that he had defeated a Tailed Beast.
Isobu had proven in one strike that his talent wasn't merely empty boasting.
As long as he continued improving his ninjutsu, things like Susanoo and Tailed Beasts wouldn't remain insurmountable obstacles.
Knowledge was the true source of power.
"One-Sword Cremation" was merely an accidental technique he had developed after failing to complete the perfected form of the Blade of Lingering Flame: Blade of the Rising Sun.
Yet it had been powerful enough to kill Isobu in a single strike.
Even if Isobu was considered one of the weaker Tailed Beasts, it was still a Tailed Beast.
Gōenji had taken the extreme temperature he couldn't fully control, condensed it, and released it as a highly concentrated Fire Release confined to a specific area.
That was how this powerful ninjutsu had been born.
Its purpose was to deal with enormous targets such as Tailed Beasts.
The hand seals were relatively complicated, so it wasn't suitable for fighting individual shinobi.
After all, other techniques were much more convenient against a single person.
Why bother with an elaborate ninjutsu when a kunai to the throat would do the job?
Only against monsters like Tailed Beasts would a technique like this truly show its value.
Shinobi were agile creatures, after all.
Every ninjutsu had its own purpose.
"Hm?"
Gōenji suddenly noticed something inside the crater.
A bone, about the size of his palm, lay on the ground.
"Is this a remnant of the Tailed Beast?"
He walked over and picked it up.
The moment the black bone touched his hand, it began burning.
Fortunately, he was close enough to react immediately, and his Chakra provided some protection for his hand.
"Maybe I can use it to forge a sword."
Gōenji glanced at the blade in his other hand.
After using One-Sword Cremation, he could see a scorching red glow spreading across the metal.
He could feel that the blade had become increasingly brittle.
Although he had already created a layer of Chakra film to protect it, even that protective layer had begun deforming under the extreme temperature.
After all, Ryōma's sword wasn't the legendary Sword of Kusanagi.
It didn't possess that legendary, indestructible quality.
Gōenji decided it was time to reforge the blade and create a much tougher sword.
Boom!
Without warning, Gōenji collapsed.
His body hit the glass-smooth ground.
His Chakra had been completely depleted, and his physical strength could no longer keep him standing.
"Gōenji-nii-san!"
"Gōenji!"
His teammates hurried over and helped him back onto his feet.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that moment, movement could suddenly be heard in the distance.
All four of them immediately became alert.
***
Try reading from beginning if you guys have time. I have edited a lot