Chapter 11: Phoenix Flower and Red Claw Bloom — The Dragon Fire Technique! The Elder's Decision
"Don't be nervous. Sit."
Uchiha Setsuna spoke lightly, then reached into the ninja pouch at his waist and pulled out a kunai-shaped shuriken, tossing it toward Uchiha Ci.
Ci caught it smoothly, turned it over in his hand, and examined it. Nothing seemed unusual about it.
If anything, it was simply that the Great Elder's shuriken was high-grade—well-forged and durable, far sturdier than the kunai Ci usually used for parrying.
"Elder… what's this about?" Ci asked, a little confused.
"Who taught you your shuriken technique?" Uchiha Setsuna half-closed his eyes as he asked the question.
Ci's heart instantly tightened. Just now, he'd only made a brief move against Seiichiro, not even using the chakra-thread manipulation of the Threaded Shuriken Technique—yet Setsuna had already detected that something was off about his form.
But Ci didn't really know how to answer that question.
After all, he had literally "stolen" that skill from Setsuna himself. He couldn't exactly say, 'I've admired you for a long time, Elder. After watching you throw for a year, I gained a few humble insights.' That would sound completely ridiculous.
Within the clan, Ci didn't even have connections to someone of Shisui's level, let alone a master of Setsuna's caliber.
After struggling for a moment, Ci finally scratched his cheek and said honestly,
"Elder, I'm just a genin. Aside from the standard clan training courses, I've had no other means of learning ninjutsu. So… I've been practicing techniques that don't cost any money."
"Oh?"
Beneath the Elder's half-closed eyelids, a glint of sharp light flashed.
So this boy was a buried genius?
No wonder that proud brat Shisui seemed to take a liking to him.
"I see." Setsuna pondered briefly, then nodded and pulled another shuriken from his pouch.
This time, he held the shuriken flat on one palm, while his other hand formed the Tiger (寅) seal.
A strange sight unfolded before Ci's eyes.
The shuriken in Setsuna's hand suddenly became engulfed in flames, hovering in midair as it began to spin rapidly.
"The Phoenix Fire and the Fire-Claw Bloom techniques come from the same lineage. The seals are nearly identical."
"The method is simple. Like this—wrap the weapon with chakra, then form the Tiger seal to alter the chakra's nature before throwing."
Setsuna explained this in an indifferent tone.
Ci couldn't help but blink in surprise, his expression growing a bit odd.
Was the Great Elder… actually teaching him?
The Fire-Claw Bloom was an advanced variation of Phoenix Flower Jutsu—a B-rank technique. Unlike the simple fire bullets of Phoenix Flower, this version enveloped spinning shuriken in flame, enhancing both their sharpness and the fire's cutting force through the added wind effect.
"You—try it." Setsuna withdrew his chakra and ordered calmly.
He didn't bother to catch the shuriken as it fell; the flaming metal dropped to the ground with a hiss.
Ci stared wide-eyed, a bit disappointed.
He had half-expected the Elder to demonstrate some kind of unflinching "Iron Hand" move.
Apparently, even someone of Setsuna's level was still made of flesh and blood.
Following the order, Ci positioned the shuriken before him with a serious look and formed the Tiger seal.
He tried to grasp the weapon using his altered chakra.
The shuriken on the ground flickered faintly with small flames, twitched twice, then—clink!—fell flat again and refused to move.
Ci's face flushed with embarrassment.
Setsuna, watching from the side, narrowed his eyes slightly but nodded without comment. His voice remained calm as he said,
"Exactly. That is the basic form transformation of Fire Release. Remember this well."
"With that understanding, you can develop countless applications—like this."
The Elder then flicked another shuriken, embedding it into a nearby tree trunk.
This time, however, the weapon had a steel wire attached to it.
Casually, Setsuna formed four hand seals with one hand. Ci immediately recognized them—the sequence for Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.
Snake → Dragon → Hare → Tiger!
A streak of flame shot forth, racing along the wire like a fiery serpent.
"This is the Dragon Fire Technique. Practice it first. Once you've mastered it, move on to the Fire-Claw Bloom. When you've reached that level, come see me again."
Setsuna spoke flatly, then tossed out another wired shuriken.
This time, he only formed a single Tiger seal.
Instantly, fire roared to life—the entire Dragon Fire Technique executed with just one hand sign.
Ci gawked, dumbfounded.
So there really were people in the Uchiha clan capable of this kind of mastery.
Using a single seal to cast Fire Release… that was only a step below the legendary Hashirama, who could summon jutsu with a mere clap of his hands.
"Once you've practiced enough to control the nature transformation of Fire Release—"
Setsuna's brows furrowed slightly. He lifted his gaze, locking eyes with Ci, then shook his head. His tone turned cold.
"Forget it. Just stay alive first. We'll talk about the rest later."
In barely two minutes, this old man from the Warring States era had imparted to Ci both the form transformation and nature transformation fundamentals of Fire Release.
He truly had guts—to teach like that.
Any ordinary ninja would have found his methods incomprehensible.
But Ci already possessed Setsuna's own Threaded Shuriken Technique at a master level, and also the Phoenix Flower Jutsu he had taken from Seiichiro at a proficient level.
When he compared the knowledge in his mind from that higher perspective—
He suddenly realized: the Phoenix Flower, Fire-Claw Bloom, and even Dragon Fire were all essentially different expressions of the same principle.
With that insight, he simulated the process mentally—
And then winced.
He actually understood it.
[You have learned Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique (Beginner, C-rank).]
[You have learned Fire Release: Fire-Claw Bloom (Beginner, B-rank).]
The two notifications appeared before his eyes. Ci blinked blankly, then looked at the Great Elder with a face full of silent misery.
Stop teaching me! Please stop!
My brain's itching—I can feel it evolving!
At this rate, I'll hit max level before we even reach the battlefield!
How is this fair?!
Just then, Uchiha Seiichiro returned from setting up perimeter traps, his expression grave.
"Elder, there's a squad of Hot Water shinobi scouting nearby. I suggest we fall back for now—"
But when he saw Setsuna teaching Ci ninjutsu, he froze—and his eyes turned red.
He knew it!
So that's why the Great Elder had picked this kid for the mission.
That slick, smiling brat—he was a hawk faction's protégé!
And he'd even tricked young Shisui into thinking he was a supporter of the dove faction!
Unforgivable!
"What did you say?" Setsuna frowned slightly and asked again.
Seiichiro forced down his resentment and reported,
"There's a squad of Hot Water shinobi ahead, searching the area deliberately."
Then he added,
"The shinobi code says we shouldn't stir up unnecessary conflict outside our mission."
"Given the current chaos in the Land of Hot Water, it's best to avoid direct contact."
Ci furrowed his brow slightly. He'd heard something similar from Obito the previous night.
It was advice from Namikaze Minato himself—when traveling through the war-torn Land of Hot Water, avoid certain types of people whenever possible.
And one of those types was the local shinobi.
Because at this point, many of those "Hot Water nin" might no longer serve the Hidden Hot Water Village at all.
Not that Ci was particularly afraid.
In fact, he'd love nothing more than to encounter some interesting opponents.
But unlike his earlier suggestion to cross the border at night, he had no excuse this time to argue for risk-taking.
However—
Upon hearing the report, Setsuna's half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open. His triple-tomoe Sharingan began to spin.
He kicked the campfire apart, drew the long sword from his back, and issued a cold command:
"Prepare for battle."
"Seiichiro, you'll lead. We'll eliminate that squad of Hot Water shinobi first."
"Then—forced march. We cross the border by nightfall!"