"Just perform it normally… is this really that hard?"
Looking at Uchiha Aozora's puzzled expression, Shisui felt a mix of frustration and a touch of nausea.
If he remembered correctly, he'd heard that sentence before—more than once, in fact. When he was learning the Great Fireball Technique, when he was practicing the Body Flicker Technique…
Fate truly worked in cycles. He hadn't expected the day would come when someone would say the exact same words to him.
Despite his reflections, Uchiha Shisui quickly returned to the present.
His eyes glowed red, the three magatama of his Sharingan spinning within.
He fixed his gaze on Aozora, speaking solemnly: "Aozora, can you perform the Great Fireball Technique again?"
Under the scrutiny of the three-tomoe Sharingan, Aozora felt a shiver run down his spine. There was an almost tangible aura of blood and ill omen.
The feeling was fleeting, yet he knew it was real.
The Sharingan awakened under extreme emotional stress or the loss of someone dear. Behind every Sharingan lies a story of sorrow. It reflects the soul and the calamities one has endured. That's why, as a member of the Uchiha, Aozora had never chased the awakening of his own Sharingan intentionally.
Countless thoughts crossed Aozora's mind, but he revealed nothing on his face.
He pointed at his throat. "It's a little hot… I need a short break first."
He retreated indoors, sipped cold water, and rested for a few minutes before preparing to try again.
"Mi—hitsuji—saru—i—uma—tora!"
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
This time, his hand seals flowed much faster.
But according to Shisui's experience, such speed would normally cause errors in chakra flow, preventing the technique from being executed successfully.
Through his Sharingan, Shisui observed Aozora's hand seals. To him, they seemed like a single, slow motion movement between the left and right hands.
Inside Aozora, his chakra resembled a calm, pale blue pool. As he formed the seals, a portion of the chakra separated and flowed along the proper path for the Great Fireball Technique.
What surprised Shisui most was that, during the transitions between hand seals, the portion of chakra that had lost direct control didn't go haywire. It remained suspended, waiting patiently for the next hand seal's instruction before continuing its flow.
Shisui was amazed. As he was pondering this, another fireball erupted from Aozora's mouth.
Compared to the first attempt, this one was slightly smaller—but Shisui felt no disappointment.
Aozora hadn't failed; he hadn't unleashed the technique's full destructive power. On the contrary, he was controlling the Great Fireball, keeping its strength within the limits his body could handle.
After five seconds, as the fire chakra in his throat was nearly expended, Aozora released the hand seals.
Hoo—
He exhaled deeply, then inhaled, cycling the residual fire chakra back into his body.
After running two full cycles of chakra regulation, the fire chakra transformed back into normal chakra, returning to his dantian.
Shisui, witnessing Aozora's control over the Great Fireball Technique, was astonished.
He had opened his Sharingan to investigate how his younger brother had instantly mastered the technique—but it yielded no answers.
While the Sharingan could observe chakra flow, it was not a Byakugan. It could detect general chakra movement, but not the precise internal transformations.
Even a Byakugan could only roughly gauge the flow and amount of chakra in the body's meridians, not the subtle changes.
Still, Shisui had gained something from this observation.
He realized his brother could pause chakra mid-transformation, holding it steady between hand seals.
Was this due to his exceptional chakra control? Shisui was left puzzled.
"Is there something wrong?"
Seeing Shisui's confusion, Aozora asked quickly.
"Huh?" Shisui shook himself free of thought. "No, no. The Great Fireball Technique… you handled it well!"
Aozora smiled. "I thought so too."
Even though Shisui's praise was modest, who was Shisui? The openly acknowledged strongest Uchiha of the clan—possibly top three even with hidden power.
When he said "well done," it meant the technique was exceptional by any standard.
Aozora hadn't expected the Great Fireball Technique to be so simple. In the original series, Sasuke had practiced it for a long time, and the first attempt only produced sparks—far inferior to what Aozora had achieved.
Although Sasuke had been six or seven at the time, the thought made Aozora's self-satisfaction fade.
Shisui watched his younger brother's pride with curiosity. When he noticed Aozora's expression darken, he found it odd—but didn't speculate further. Instead, he shared everything he knew about the Great Fireball Technique.
The sun climbed higher. Shisui patted his brother on the shoulder.
"Aozora, I'm glad to see you growing up… and beginning to protect yourself."
"I'm leaving on a mission again. Sorry I can't stay longer!"
"This time, I'm going to support the Land of Lightning's border. The mission could last a month… or up to half a year. But I'll return."
"I hope that by the time I get back, you'll have become a capable ninja who can stand on your own."
With that, he leapt onto the roof, moving gracefully across the tiles until he vanished from Aozora's sight.
Aozora's eyes lingered on his brother's departing form for a long moment before he finally looked away.
"My foolish brother…"
"When you devote yourself to this village, do you ever think of the betrayal behind your back? Konoha is rotten now—it isn't worth your sacrifice!"
He felt a surge of indignation for Shisui.
Shisui had spent his life being kind to the village, dedicating himself fully, even betraying his own family for Konoha. And yet, he never earned the village's full trust. He had been betrayed by superiors, and no one sought justice for him.
In this life, I won't let you suffer the same fate!
With that thought, Aozora's motivation surged, and he resumed practicing the Great Fireball Technique.
He first adjusted his chakra flow and hand seal speed to control the fireball's power and range.
Then, he simplified, even removed, the hand seals entirely, relying solely on internal chakra control to perform the technique. After two attempts, he succeeded.
He smiled briefly and continued practice. He knew this wasn't because of innate talent—it was all thanks to his "Guided Qigong" training.
From age five to twelve, seven years of continuously circulating chakra had honed his internal control. Few in the ninja world could match him.
He didn't claim to be the best, though, considering the Ōtsutsuki clan and their seal-free jutsu.
As he continued practicing, he noticed his chakra becoming intensely hot.
Before he could think further, the Heavenly Book glowed, drawing the searing chakra inside.
Aozora remained calm, exhilarated, and returned indoors, sitting cross-legged in anticipation.
Minutes later, the scorching chakra flowed back from the Heavenly Book.
Four pale-gold characters appeared on its pages—"Samadhi True Fire".