"Fire Style: Fire Mist Technique!"
Shien shouted as he flung a handful of lime dust backward— straight toward the Sand Jonin who had caught up with Team Three and was pressing Kakashi hard.
The man's identity badge said Exam Proctor— but whether that was true or not was another matter.
Hearing Shien's voice behind him, Kakashi immediately shut his eyes tight, choosing to take a direct kick to the ribs to pull back and create distance.
Lime!
He remembered this trick—Shien had told them about it after their last mission clearing out a bandit nest. Because of that, they knew exactly how to react.
The Sand Jonin had never seen this so-called Fire Mist Technique, but his combat instincts were razor sharp. He reflexively leapt aside with blinding speed.
That was the mark of a true jonin— they all had specialties, but none possessed fatal weaknesses. This one, in particular, excelled at Body Flicker Technique, slipping out of the lime's range instantly.
Shien hadn't expected the lime to hurt a jonin anyway. It was just to buy Kakashi breathing room.
He clasped his hands into a seal. "Fire Style: Flame Cloak!"
This wasn't the time to worry about secrecy or preserving trump cards— it was about survival. A thin veil of fire wrapped around his body like a silken shroud.
He bit down on a soldier pill.
But before he could go on the offensive, his instincts screamed. He raised his right arm just in time—
Shhk!
A kunai pierced clean through the back of his hand.
"Huh…?"
The Sand Jonin made a surprised sound— clearly not expecting his killing blow to fail.
Thud!
Shien was kicked away, tumbling hard across the ground.
Had he been a fraction slower, that kunai would've pierced his throat, not his hand. For a brief moment, his mind went blank— dangling between life and death.
All this time, though he hadn't shown it outwardly, Shien had always carried the quiet arrogance of a transmigrator. That belief— that he was different from the people of this world.
But in this twisted shinobi world, to think that way—to cling to "clarity" and "difference"— was itself the greatest arrogance.
Arrogance wasn't a sin… unless you lacked the power to back it up.
He wasn't an Otsutsuki. He didn't have a system or some divine "blue screen of power." Trying to stay "above" it all was just delusion.
And now, he finally realized something— he didn't want to die.
That was the only thought left .
His left hand fumbled through his pouch, pulled out a small vial of undiluted medical solution, and gulped it down.
Then—ignoring the pain tearing through his right hand— he formed seals again.
He didn't notice how his movements had sharpened, his focus deepened— the difference between a green recruit and a battle-scarred veteran.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A C-rank jutsu— but enough to force his pursuer to stop.
Even a jonin wasn't made of steel. Hit by a direct explosion, anyone would die. The trick, of course, was landing the hit— which was impossible.
Still, it served its purpose— to make himself a threat, to draw the jonin's attention.
BOOM!
Flames swallowed the space where the Sand Jonin had stood. Against a genin or even a chunin, Shien was confident that would've been a kill. But against a jonin in fighting form— not a chance.
Which was fine. He had something else in mind.
Thunk!
His body suddenly turned into a log. The Sand Jonin appeared right behind it— kunai in hand.
As expected, the man had prioritized killing him. Good thing Shien had prepared a Substitution Technique ahead of time. Had he hesitated even a moment, he'd already be dead.
Whoosh!
Still wreathed in fire, Shien charged in again.
Of course he did— this secret technique had been designed for close combat. Backing away after using it would be an utter waste.
Swish, swish!
A volley of senbon needles flew in from the flank— Kakashi's follow-up attack. Meanwhile, Yamanaka Koji lurked in the shadows, ready to assist.
With the Flame Cloak enhancing him, Shien's close-combat prowess surged. The fire jets allowed him to change direction mid-movement, throwing off the enemy's timing completely.
"What is this secret art…?"
The Sand Jonin gritted his teeth in disbelief. A genin was holding him off!
"Fire Mist Technique!"
Shien flicked his left hand, scattering another pouch of lime powder. He'd stocked plenty of it just for this purpose.
Hsshh! A white cloud enveloped the area.
Close your eyes!
To avoid blindness or irritation, closing one's eyes was best. And even blind, a trained ninja could fight— future masters like Might Guy would even prefer it.
Once the man shut his eyes, Kakashi would strike again from range.
Using the combined effects of Flame Cloak and lime, Shien managed to stay alive under a jonin's onslaught.
But the Sand Jonin was no pushover. Even with his eyes closed, he dodged Kakashi's senbon and shuriken effortlessly, refusing to give an inch.
He was clearly determined to kill Shien.
The air thickened with the scent of evaporated blood.
Whoosh!
The flames around Shien's body converged into his right fist— the same one with a gaping, bleeding wound.
His chakra was nearly spent. He wasn't an Uzumaki, nor a jinchūriki. Even with the soldier pill, his reserves were dwindling fast.
So— he'd pour everything into one final strike.
Desperation births resolve.
Close combat had always been his weakness. Now it became his only chance.
If he let a jonin gain range and cast ninjutsu freely, he'd die instantly.
The Sand Jonin must've sensed the danger. He quickly formed two seals— blue lightning crawling up his right arm.
Zzzt!
Not Chidori, of course—just a C-rank Lightning Release technique. Too little time for anything stronger.
That was where the advantage of seal-less ninjutsu came in. Had Shien needed to perform a full set of hand seals, the jonin would've already finished a high-rank jutsu. But now, rushed as he was, the enemy could only meet him with another C-rank.
"Fire Style: Flame Fist!"
Shien roared silently . With his current chakra control, this was his limit. If he were stronger, he could've shaped the attack further— like Sasuke's Chidori Stream in the future.
Their fists collided.
Flame vs. Lightning!
BOOM!
The explosion hurled Shien into the air like a rag doll.
"Shien!!"
Before losing consciousness, the last thing he saw was Yamanaka Koji rushing toward him— and the Sand Jonin's face, half-burned by flame.
When Shien next opened his eyes, the world was white. A sterile smell filled his nostrils.
He was in Konoha Hospital.
There were no visible wounds— even the hand pierced by the kunai was smooth and whole again, only a faint color difference marking the healed skin.
Naturally so— that undiluted medical potion he'd swallowed wasn't for nothing.
"You're awake?"
The cool voice beside him made his eyes brighten.
It was Uchiha Mei.
She sat on the chair next to his bed, her eyes covered with white bandages, but her sharp, striking beauty was undimmed.
"I… what happened?"
Shien struggled to recall his last memories before blacking out.
"The ANBU arrived just after you lost consciousness," Mei explained calmly.
"They rescued your team and killed that Sand Jonin. The whole village's been in an uproar for the past two days because of it…"
She began recounting everything that had happened while he was out cold.
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