Fire Release: Phoenix Fire!
Golden-orange flames burst from Uchiha Gen's hands, twisting through the air like living serpents. The treetops flared as leaves caught fire, trunks blackening where the fire grazed them.
Across the clearing, Yuki Kiyoshi slipped away with fluid precision, body weaving between the burning branches. His expression hardened, and a faint white glow pulsed at his forehead; a heart-shaped ice crystal forming between his brows.
Gen's eyes narrowed. Not an offensive jutsu… but an auxiliary?
The chill in Kiyoshi's aura was unmistakable. The Yuki clan's secret art — Ice Heart — stilled the mind until it was cold as a frozen mirror. Against illusions, even Sharingan genjutsu, it dulled the edge and blunted the trap.
Gen didn't slow. Two kunai with explosive tags spun from his grip, followed by three shuriken. Steel flashed, tags hissed and explosions thundered through the forest, dirt and bark raining down.
Kiyoshi moved like a shadow, leaping between blasts, each detonation just a fraction behind him.
The shuriken cut arcs through the air, two clanging together and in that moment, the third bent its path unnaturally, curving toward his neck.
A sharp block with forearm armor knocked it away. Kiyoshi's feet hit the ground hard, his rhythm broken. Gen closed the gap, boots hammering the forest floor, the weight of the Kusanagi at his waist shifting with each stride.
Kiyoshi yanked a smoke bomb, dropped it, and leapt back. White smoke bloomed, swallowing his form.
Water Release: Water Shotgun!
From within the haze, countless water droplets formed midair, dense enough to leave no gaps. Each pellet hissed forward with the speed and force of a bullet.
But the smoke cleared to reveal only two shredded logs where Gen should've been. The ground split open behind Kiyoshi — Gen shot upward from the earth, blade in hand, driving for his target.
Pain flashed across Kiyoshi's face then his form burst into water, detonating an explosive tag within.
The blast engulfed Gen in flame and soil. When the smoke thinned, only a pair of mud-crafted legs remained standing in the crater.
Water Release: Hiding in the Mist!
Kiyoshi's voice echoed through the trees as he retreated behind a trunk, hands blurring through seals.
Mist rolled in fast; as it got thicker, denser, until sight vanished completely. Even Kirigakure shinobi, accustomed to fog, knew this wasn't their own mist. Senses dulled, perception blurred.
Kiyoshi prowled forward, unseen, soundless.
Gen's voice cut through the gloom.
Fire Release: Hiding in Ash and Dust!
A wave of heat surged outward. High-temperature flames and ash-laden air tore through the fog, boiling it away, replacing the cool veil with a stifling heat haze.
Kiyoshi's stomach tightened. He slammed his hands into seals.
Water Release: Water Wall!
Flames met water — hiss and roar filling the air as steam exploded outward. Dust still swirled around the edges, curling toward him.
Wind Release: Breakthrough!
He exhaled a violent gust, scattering dust and mist alike in a single sweeping breath.
Gen smiled faintly from somewhere unseen.
A ninjutsu duel? Fine by me.
The ground rippled, Gen had slipped beneath the surface, circling. Heat still clung to the clearing as he emerged behind Kiyoshi, Shuryu already sliding from his arm. The fire spirit's small form shimmered, eyes glinting with eagerness.
Kiyoshi's own senses, honed through years of water and ice techniques, caught the faint disturbance.
Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!
Golden flames erupted from Gen's mouth, spreading wide like a tidal wave. The heat seared the fog into nothing. Shuryu puffed out his cheeks, adding his own stream of fire — the two merging into a single, blistering inferno.
The gold turned nearly white-hot, distorting the air. Earth scorched black, shrubs crumbled to ash, and thick-trunked trees flared like kindling.
Kiyoshi's eyes widened. This heat… this is no ordinary Fire Style.
Ice Release: Multi Ice Crystal Walls!
He slammed his palms into the ground. Towering walls of frost rose before him, the temperature plummeting instantly.
The first wall evaporated on contact. The second lasted less than a breath. Third. Fourth. Fifth. Each fell in turn, steam roaring upward.
Kiyoshi's teeth clenched, chakra flooding from him in reckless waves, forcing more walls into place even as his meridians burned.
Gen's voice carried over the roar. "Shuryu, keep burning. Shizukamaru, get in close and learn his trick."
Shuryu's flame surged, tail lashing in the heat. "Got it, Master!"
Shizukamaru's voice was a whisper in the chaos. "Leave it to me."
He slid the blade free from its sheath, moving low and fast, a phantom in the shimmering air.
Kiyoshi's sweat ran cold against the heat, mind racing. If he's planning to burn through my chakra in one strike… I'm already at the disadvantage. I need to escape.
But between him and freedom was nothing but fire — and the man feeding it.