RedX43
patreon
[Konoha] Chapter 92: Dragon Flame Breath!
🕑 Added 2024-09-04 16:09:25 +0000 UTC“Got him...”
Sarutobi Shinnosuke hadn’t even had time to celebrate before the swamp trapping A had dried up and exploded with a bang. A, wrapped in lightning, soared into the air, narrowly evading Satoshi’s Shadow Imitation Technique.
“Failed! Damn it!”
Satoshi quickly pursued A, but all he could see was a streak of lightning, followed by thunderous roars echoing in his ears.
Earth Flow Wall!
Raging Water Torrent!
Earth Flow River!
Then came a Vacuum Great Sphere.
A series of jutsu were unleashed one after another by Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Chihiro, but none could slow A down. He forcefully broke through them all with sheer, terrifying power.
Meanwhile, as Killer Bee faced a wind release head-on, he couldn’t avoid it.
But behind him, an octopus tentacle silently extended, acting as a shield. Another tentacle swiftly moved underground, suddenly launching an attack from behind Shūichi.
The octopus tentacle in front of Killer Bee was sliced open, but Shūichi used the momentum to dodge the other tentacle’s capture mid-air. The blue flames on his Totsuka Blade surged once more.
Blue Flame Waterfall Blade!
From a distance of over ten meters, Shūichi swung his blade at Killer Bee again.
But this time, Killer Bee didn’t defend. Instead, he wrapped three octopus tentacles around his sword and thrust it towards the airborne Shūichi, while crossing his swords in his hands, lightning surging across the blades.
He was gambling!
If Shūichi dared not to dodge, Killer Bee would take his attack head-on, leaving the outcome to whose defense was stronger.
But Killer Bee was confident that his opponent would be the one to die.
However, in that moment, Shūichi, still in the air, willed it, and the Eight Trigrams Seal and Yin Seal on his abdomen fully unleashed, releasing a torrent of chakra.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three fire release clones appeared, each raising a hand with curved claws. Orange flames erupted, forming lifelike dragon heads. The dragons opened their mouths, white-hot flames condensing within, before blasting out at light speed.
S-Rank Fire Release: Dragon Flame Breath - A Sword Divides the World!
These were high-temperature beams!
Initially, Shūichi performed this technique with his mouth, but the temperature was too extreme, so he switched to using his hands. He first forms a dragon’s head to create a structure similar to a human mouth, which highly compresses chakra and also serves as an insulator.
At this moment, the three high-temperature beams extended outward, and as the fire release clones swung their arms, they sliced through the octopus tentacles of the Eight-Tails.
Simultaneously, Shūichi’s Blue Flame Waterall Blade struck Killer Bee’s crossed swords. Lightning clashed with fire, the earth cracked, and with a crunch, Killer Bee’s feet sank into the ground.
But he withstood it!
Amid the clash, Shūichi’s transparent Blue Flame Waterfall Blade shattered, scattering blue flames across the ground.
“Bee, watch out for those flames!”
The Eight-Tails warned urgently from within Killer Bee.
“Huh?”
Killer Bee glanced at a nearby flame, only to see it morph into a flower bud and start blooming.
“This is... bad!”
Cold sweat dripped from Killer Bee’s forehead.
The next moment, the scattered flames around him transformed into blooming fire lotuses, and then...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions erupted, covering everything in a blue inferno, as if the entire area had become a blue hellfire.
At that moment, Shinichi and Satoshi, who could hardly intervene in such a battle, were utterly shocked.
“Bee!”
A was infuriated and on edge. Even though he knew this attack, as terrifying as it was, might not fatally wound Killer Bee, he still felt rage.
With brute force, he plowed through Shinnosuke’s barrage of shuriken shadow clones, his body flashing as he completely broke through the combined efforts of Shinnosuke and Chihiro, charging towards the airborne Shūichi.
“Shūichi, watch out!”
Shinnosuke shouted, hurling a shuriken. With a single hand seal, the shuriken expanded into a massive size, spinning rapidly as it flew towards A, who had appeared behind Shūichi.
Most importantly, this shuriken had been infused with Wind Release chakra.
But A ignored it, still punching towards Shūichi.
Turn, horizontal slash.
In the next instant, an octopus tentacle swatted away the giant shuriken, while A’s fist slammed into the Totsuka Blade covered in blue flames.
Boom!
Shūichi’s body plummeted, crashing into the ground and creating a massive crater.
But A’s unguarded fist was also severely burned by the intense heat of the Totsuka Blade, the skin torn and charred.
Most critically, Shūichi’s three fire release clones dissipated at that moment, transforming into flower buds and then exploding.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three simultaneous explosions erupted, each one directed at A, forming a terrifying wave of flames. In midair, with no foothold, A was engulfed by the blazing inferno.
“Brother!”
On the ground, Killer Bee shouted in panic.
Just moments ago, during the explosion, Killer Bee had wrapped himself with an octopus tentacle at the critical moment. Though it burned like hell, it protected his body from serious harm.
He also managed to intercept Shinnosuke's giant shuriken just in time.
Now, seeing A suffering the same attack as him, Killer Bee’s body was immediately enveloped in the crimson chakra of the tailed beast.
With brute force, he broke free from Satoshi's Shadow Imitation Technique and dashed towards A, who had been blasted away and was falling. Leaping through the air, he caught A.
Seeing A's body covered in charred burns, Killer Bee quickly asked, "Brother, are you okay?"
A shook his head, gritting his teeth, "I’m fine!"
"But I didn’t expect this kid to be even more troublesome than the Konoha's White Fang."
Looking at Shūichi, who was being pulled out of the crater by Shinnosuke and Chihiro, Killer Bee nodded, his expression serious, "This guy is no ordinary ninja... I've never seen such a style before. His jutsu seems to require no hand seals, or at least they're extremely well hidden."
"And his reactions are incredibly fast. Even in that situation, he managed to counter your attack, brother."
A nodded in agreement, letting out a cold snort, "It seems like this mission is going to be a failure!"
"If even a no-name kid is this difficult to deal with, imagine when the White Fang arrives... not to mention those two other jutsu masters."
Killer Bee adjusted his sunglasses, "Didn’t expect to encounter such a tough opponent right after making a name for myself. Konoha, you’re something else, you bastard, idiot!"
"Retreat!" A ordered.
Killer Bee nodded and, after giving Shūichi one last deep look, quickly retreated with A.
Shinnosuke didn't give the order to pursue; against such powerful foes, it would be difficult to stop them.
By now, Shūichi had also caught his breath.
No wonder A would become the future Fourth Raikage—his strength is terrifying.
It was fortunate that the Totsuka Blade was of high enough quality, and that he had used the Yin Healing Wound Destruction technique at the crucial moment to gather chakra in his back beforehand.
Otherwise, the impact from that landing would have made him cough up blood.
Even so, the recoil almost knocked the wind out of him.
His arms were also fractured from the impact.
But to him, these were minor injuries, and by now, he had already healed.
Watching the A-B Combo retreat, Shūichi sighed to himself, "It's a shame I didn't get the chance to use Wind Release: Rasenshuriken..."
Right now, A would have no way to emerge unscathed from his Rasenshuriken.
At this moment, Satoshi and Shinichi carried over the unconscious Akimichi Chōgan.
Shūichi quickly examined him and breathed a sigh of relief, "He's okay, just knocked out by the electric current and suffered some internal injuries from the shock. Nothing life-threatening."
Hearing this, Shinnosuke and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Shūichi, we'll leave Chōgan to you!"
Shinnosuke said, then went to negotiate with the leader of the Hot Water Ninja Village.
Now that the AB Combo had retreated, it was the best time to transfer the Jashin secret technique.
...
Shūichi placed his palms, glowing with green chakra, on Chōgan's exposed chest, healing the internal injuries caused by the shock.
As for the electrical burns on the skin, they were less urgent.
"Shūichi, we really owe you for this one!" Chihiro's tone was incredibly sincere, and she even felt a lingering fear. She prided herself on her genjutsu skills, but against the A-B Combo, they had been completely ineffective. This was something she hadn't anticipated before the battle, especially concerning A.
Satoshi and Shinichi wholeheartedly agreed with Chihiro.
Satoshi said, "Both of them are incredibly fast and powerful. The strength of that jinchūriki is terrifying—he broke free from my Shadow Imitation Technique just like that."
Yamanaka Shinichi added with a wry smile, "They’re so fast, it’s impossible to keep up."
In this battle, they had barely contributed.
Even Akimichi Chōgan had been taken down by A in a single move.
Their strength was beyond belief!
As they spoke, a figure suddenly appeared.
Chihiro and the others immediately tensed, but then relaxed when they saw who it was. They all spoke up, "Senpai!"
"Is everyone alright?"
Sakumo Hatake surveyed the wrecked battlefield, sword in hand, as he approached.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke emerged and reported, "Sakumo-senpai, only Shūichi and Chōgan sustained minor injuries."
"We owe this one to Shūichi."
Shūichi quickly shook his head, "Captain, if you all hadn't kept A occupied, I wouldn't have been able to handle Killer Bee."
"That guy has the power of a tailed beast."
He couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. If it had been any other jōnin, they’d have been obliterated by his attack, blown to pieces, but Killer Bee was unscathed and even helped A.
Judging from the battlefield and the accounts from Shinnosuke and the others, Sakumo quickly realized that Shūichi had been the key player in this fight.
"Regardless, you managed to hold off the AB Combo—excellent work!"
Sakumo Hatake praised him with a smile, then explained, "The Cloud ninja brought in a new Lava Release kekkei genkai user."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke's heart skipped a beat, "Is it Dodai, the Third Raikage's trusted aide?"
Sakumo Hatake nodded, "Yes, he's also a formidable opponent."
Shūichi, listening, recalled who it was.
A Cloud ninja capable of transforming chakra into rubber, with extremely fast jutsu execution—perfectly suited to dealing with high-speed, high-power enemies.
Yamanaka Shinichi remarked, "I didn’t expect the Cloud to send such a powerful figure to stall you, senpai. It seems they were determined to succeed."
Chihiro smiled, "But Shūichi thwarted their plans!"
Shūichi could only smile wryly.
Although today’s performance was indeed somewhat outstanding, he knew very well that without the chakra stored in his Yin Seal, he wouldn’t have been able to sustain such an intense, high-consumption battle.
"Body, body, grow up quickly..."
...
After the battle, the night passed peacefully, and the secret technique of the Jashin cult was successfully transferred by the ninja of Yugakure.
By the next morning, Akimichi Chōgan's injuries were nearly fully healed.
At nine in the morning, led by the chief of Yugakure, the high-ranking members of the village gathered to bid farewell to Shūichi and his team.
Throughout the farewell, many of their gazes frequently shifted toward the masked Shūichi.
During the battle the previous night, Shūichi had removed his mask while using his Senbon techniques. The chief of Yugakure, along with the two surviving jōnin, had witnessed firsthand Shūichi's impressive combat skills.
Such a talented young ninja—what a shame he wasn't from Yugakure!
...
Since they were traveling back together with Sakumo Hatake's team, Shūichi and his group moved at a slower pace.
They finally reached Konoha at around 5 PM.
In the changing room, after removing their gear, Shūichi and Chihiro chatted and laughed with the others. It was clear that this mission had brought them closer together.
Akimichi Chōgan, in particular, was enthusiastic, inviting Shūichi to try the Akimichi clan's special barbecue at their restaurant.
Satoshi and the others joined in, praising the secret recipe of the Akimichi clan's barbecue.
Faced with such warm invitations, Shūichi gladly accepted.
Meanwhile...
In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Shinnosuke was giving a solo report to Sarutobi Hiruzen after Sakumo Hatake had finished. He especially detailed the extraordinary battle between Shūichi and the AB Combo.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was astonished as he listened, then couldn't help but smile. "I didn't expect Shūichi to grow so quickly. It seems Minato was right—Shūichi's talent in ninjutsu is extraordinary, surpassing even his teacher."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded. "It appears so. Shūichi's Fire Release is already beyond yours, Father. Before the battle, he hinted that he has also developed an S-rank Wind Release jutsu, though he didn't use it in this fight."
"But I believe it’s no less powerful than his Fire Release."
Sarutobi Hiruzen pondered for a moment. "Wind Release… it must be related to Minato’s technique."
After some thought, Sarutobi Hiruzen said, "If Shūichi ever needs any jutsu in the future, as long as it's not a forbidden one, you can teach it to him."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded. "Yes, Father."
"Go on, don't keep them waiting too long."
...
Changing Room:
Once Shinnosuke returned, the group headed to the Akimichi clan's barbecue restaurant.
After just one bite, Shūichi couldn't help but give a thumbs up. "Amazing! Chōgan, you weren't exaggerating at all!"
Akimichi Chōgan laughed heartily. "Of course! Our clan loves to eat, so naturally, we take pride in perfecting our food."
"Shūichi, keep it up! In our team, no one can out-eat me!"
Satoshi teased, "Your clan can even convert chakra into fat for storage!"
Akimichi Chōgan laughed, "But I still need to digest it first."
As they chatted, Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Chihiro were also joking around.
Shūichi glanced over and asked with a smile, "Captain, are you and Chihiro-san a couple?"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke nodded with a smile.
Chihiro grinned and said, "Shūichi, you're so outstanding—there must be some girls who like you, right?"
Shūichi immediately replied seriously, "Chihiro-san, I'm only nine!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
As they continued eating and chatting, the atmosphere grew lively.
Before they knew it, an hour had passed. Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others had all stopped eating, staring in amazement at Shūichi.
"Shūichi, your appetite is incredible. Truly an enviable physique!"
After some exclamations, Satoshi encouraged him, "Come on, as the newcomer, it's your duty to break Chōgan's record!"
Chihiro poured Shūichi some tea to help with digestion.
Akimichi Chōgan, not worried in the slightest, laughed, "Satoshi, Shūichi may be impressive, but he's still too young to beat me!"
Shūichi just smiled and kept eating without slowing down.
He had released the chakra stored in his abdomen yesterday, so now was the perfect time to replenish his energy.
As Chōgan mentioned earlier, food can't be directly converted into chakra—it needs to be digested and turned into stamina first.
But Shūichi's body had undergone two upgrades, so his digestion was naturally enhanced. Plus, with the [Strong and Sturdy] Tag's 100% boost to recovery, his physical recovery was also faster.
This included everything related to the body's functioning, including digestion.
So, Shūichi now had an astonishing digestive capability.
He wasn't sure if he could out-eat Chōgan, but he was definitely up for the challenge.
As they continued, the stack of plates beside both of them grew higher and higher.
Other diners in the restaurant began to gather around, cheering for Shūichi—after all, he was the underdog due to his young age.
An hour later, both Shūichi and Chōgan finally stopped, exchanging smiles before slumping in their seats.
They were stuffed!
Applause erupted around them.
"Shūichi, well done! Amazing! You actually tied with Chōgan! And remember, Chōgan isn't even weak among the Akimichi clan!"
As everyone praised him, Shūichi, being fed a sip of tea by Chihiro, contentedly patted his round belly while diverting his attention to the Tag Tree in his mind.
Just then, a new Tag had been triggered.
Tag: Big Eater
Condition to Obtain: Convince a restaurant to host a Big Eater competition and win first place in it.
Effect: Increases Physique by 100%, Recovery by 100%, and Digestion by 100%.
Shūichi's eyes lit up—three 100% boosts!
The most important was the increase in Physique. The other two were also highly beneficial.
Enhanced recovery didn't need much explanation, and better digestion would further speed up recovery. The faster he digested a soldier pill, the quicker he regained stamina, which naturally sped up chakra recovery.
"This is great! I have to find a way to win this."
Shūichi's "fingers started itching," and after the crowd dispersed, he smiled and said, "Hey, Chōgan, what do you think about hosting a village-wide Big Eater competition?"
Akimichi Chōgan's eyes lit up. "A Big Eater competition?"
Shūichi nodded.
Yamanaka Shinichi laughed, "I'm sure a lot of ninjas would participate. It would definitely be lively."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the others nodded in agreement, finding Shūichi's idea quite interesting.
Akimichi Chōgan was very interested, but after thinking it over, he scratched his head and awkwardly said, "Shūichi, your idea is great, but hosting something for the whole village would be very costly!"
Shūichi smiled, "Of course, we wouldn't use barbecue meats like beef. The Akimichi clan must have some signature dishes that can be made quickly, right?"
Akimichi Chōgan immediately smiled and gave a thumbs up.
Shinnosuke laughed, "Looks like we'll have some free Akimichi clan noodles to enjoy soon."
Chihiro playfully raised a fist to Shūichi, making a cheering gesture. "Shūichi, we'll all be there to cheer you on. Go win that Big Eater competition!"
Akimichi Chōgan quickly objected, "Hey, Chihiro, you're underestimating me!"
(End of Chapter)
Almost 3k Words!!
