Scorching flames surged through the air, the blazing waves clashing fiercely with the atmosphere, producing a deep, resonant hum—like the eerie call of some colossal, unknown beast.
The technique Uchiha Nanami unleashed began as a mere thread of fire, but as it traversed the vast distance and slammed into the village's outer walls, it had transformed into a raging sea of flames.
One person, one jutsu, yet it carried the overwhelming presence of an invading army.
Countless Tsugawa shinobi stood dumbfounded, their eyes wide as they witnessed this "tidal wave crashing upon the shore."
Boom!
With a tremendous explosion, the village's seemingly sturdy outer defenses crumbled under the impact of the inferno, like a rotting wooden pier shattered by a tsunami.
Half the sky burned, glowing with the hues of an apocalyptic dusk.
"Making that much noise…"
Hane Genma, walking along the main road at the village's center, couldn't help but turn his head toward the commotion. The sight startled him.
He had indeed instructed Uchiha Nanami to make a spectacle—to create a display of power that would scatter the already panicked Tsugawa shinobi like frightened birds. But he hadn't expected her to take it this far.
Genma couldn't discern exactly what jutsu Nanami had used, but she had clearly exceeded expectations.
Truth be told, even the same Fire Release technique could vary drastically depending on the user. Nanami's Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation was undeniably awe-inspiring, but its "imitation" paled in comparison to the original. Without the natural boost her illusions provided, her Mangekyo Sharingan was mostly ornamental in combat. As long as one guarded against her genjutsu, Nanami's fighting prowess with the Mangekyo wasn't much greater than with her three-tomoe Sharingan.
Since his teammate had outdone herself, Genma couldn't afford to idle. He calmly formed hand signs:
Fire Release: Garuda!
A fierce column of orange-red flames roared toward the nearby area. Though smaller in scale than Nanami's Fire Release, this technique was among the most powerful and wide-ranging of conventional Fire Release jutsu.
The strength of Fire Release depended on the chakra poured into it.
Why stack dominoes? To topple them in the final moment. Why had Genma conserved so much chakra? To unleash it all now—not just to use it, but to splatter it.
Garuda was a Fire Release technique Genma had developed by adapting the chakra flow of Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet, a subtle innovation using fire-natured chakra. Its effect resembled Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet, a jutsu capable of widespread destruction.
In a densely packed residential area, it was a technique that demanded a response.
Water Release: Water Wall!
Several Tsugawa shinobi rushed forward, forming hand signs in unison. They summoned and directed a massive torrent of water, raising a thick barrier directly in the path of Genma's fire dragon, halting it in its tracks.
With a sizzling hiss, the flames vanished into the water like a bull sinking into the sea.
"Well defended…" Genma murmured.
But have you ever heard of a technique that descends from the heavens? No, not a palm strike—have you heard of Dragon Star Cluster?
He formed hand signs again, unleashing his second technique:
Fire Release: Kubera!
A fire dragon soared skyward. Aside from its upward trajectory, it appeared nearly identical to the previous technique, making one wonder if Genma had misaimed.
But when it reached the sky, its forward momentum abruptly halted. Then, like a firework, it exploded, the dragon fragmenting into streaks of fire that rained down like a meteor shower with trailing tails, blanketing the village in a massive attack range.
The flames began to spread uncontrollably through the village.
Many Tsugawa shinobi, initially charging to surround Genma, were forced to redirect their efforts toward rescuing villagers and extinguishing the fires.
Despite the chaos Genma and his team had already sown—shaking the Tsugawa shinobi's morale and paralyzing their command structure—these ninjas weren't yet headless flies. Inertia kept them moving.
But Genma knew they were one step away from collapse.
The downfall of a ninja clan, the scattering of a people's spirit, always required a defining moment.
Before the infiltration began, Genma had hesitated, unsure whether to prioritize assassinating the Tsugawa clan leader. After careful consideration, he decided to save the leader for last.
And ideally, he'd defeat them in open combat, not through assassination.
Now, as he fended off waves of Tsugawa shinobi and wreaked havoc, he awaited the clan leader's arrival.
They had to show up.
But before the clan leader appeared, it was the remaining elder who arrived first, rushing toward Genma with alarming speed.
Mid-sprint, the elder heard a sharp whistle slicing through the air. From the corner of his eye, he caught a fleeting shadow hurtling toward him from the side.
Forced to halt, he twisted his body to dodge.
Thud!
A loud impact rang out, like a mallet striking a drum.
A massive Fuma shuriken grazed the elder's body, embedding itself in the wall to his left.
Instinctively, he turned toward the attacker's direction, but before he could make out their form, another figure darted between them with lightning speed. A pair of eyes with a strange, intricate pattern locked onto his—a Mangekyo Sharingan.
In an instant, the elder's wariness vanished.
Perhaps Genma's "genjutsu immunity" had shaken Uchiha Nanami's confidence, so when preparing to control this key figure, she erred on the side of caution, overcompensating with a Mangekyo-enhanced genjutsu.
To put it simply: with Nanami unleashing this level of power, the elder had no chance of resisting.
Once the genjutsu took hold, the elder forgot his original mission. He turned and began wielding his blade against his own clansmen.
When Uchiha Nanami and Fuma Goro infiltrated the village, their primary goal wasn't to kill enemies but to alleviate pressure on Genma.
Minutes later, a familiar figure finally entered Genma's field of vision.
A bit slow, but Tsugawa Taishi, the clan leader, had finally found him.
His face appeared stern, but the fury in his heart was barely contained. Staring unblinkingly at Genma, he demanded, "Who are you? Who hired you? Why are you attacking us?"
"That question…" Genma replied, "is a bit naive. Does one ninja need a special reason to attack another?"
Of course, there was a reason. But he chose not to say it.
--
Support me & read more advance & fast update chapter on my patreon:
pat reon .com/yuuwand