Chapter 15: Sealing Fire, Sealing Jutsu, Lightning Binding Kill!
After finishing that bone-crushing, ash-scattering combo, Uchiha Ci wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Staring at the roaring Dragon Fire Prison, he exhaled softly.
After fighting to this extent, both his mind and body were nearing their limits.
From yesterday to today, he hadn't rested at all.
After being jolted awake by exploding tags in his sleep, he barely had any time to react.
The 1C1B combo—two ninjutsu working together with Uchiha-Style: Thread-Control Shuriken Technique—had practically drained his chakra and stamina dry.
Yet, looking at the blazing, smoke-belching prison of flames, Uchiha Ci couldn't help but mutter under his breath.
After that intense exchange, he hadn't actually felt much pressure.
And as for Moroi—supposedly a Special Jōnin-level sealing technique specialist—he hadn't displayed any ability worthy of that title at all.
Besides, Fire Release was always known as a merciful art.
Surely that guy couldn't have been so weak that he just… died like that?
The sudden turn of events on Uchiha Ci's side caught the three spectators off guard—
especially the Great Elder, Uchiha Setsuna.
To be honest, when he saw Uchiha Ci shove Uchiha Seiichirō aside and take on the rear defense alone, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest.
Sure, the boy's shuriken handling did faintly resemble his own youthful finesse—
—but his opponent was a Jōnin!
When Ci was trapped within the Cloud's barrier, Uchiha Setsuna's heart nearly stopped.
There was no way that Ci could be a match for a Cloud Jōnin!
And yet, in just moments—
—the situation completely reversed!
The untrained might only see a spectacle, but the experienced saw the truth:
Ci's calm responses in crisis and that flawless display of Uchiha-Style Thread-Control Shuriken Technique—
transforming two weak C-rank Fire Releases (Dragon Fire Technique and Phoenix Sage Fire Technique) into something entirely new—
—it was nothing less than a reinvention of ninjutsu itself!
Dragon Fire and Phoenix Sage Fire had always shared the same flaw:
wide range, strong suppression—but scattered, diluted power.
Yet Ci, by channeling Dragon Fire along the metallic threads, and using shuriken to refine Phoenix Fire into a concentrated Phoenix Claw Flame, had perfectly fused both techniques— unleashing power on par with an A-rank jutsu!
And with those metallic threads stretched taut and razor-sharp, when the web closed—
it was no different from dozens of blades slashing at once!
The seamless flow of that combo made even Uchiha Setsuna slam the table in awe.
If he were to reproduce that move himself,
it would be only marginally better!
This kid's combat talent is terrifying!
He had taught Ci those techniques only recently, and already the boy could execute them flawlessly.
It was, as the saying goes—like "a cow rubbing against an electric wire—utterly shocking!"
"Moroi!" one of the Cloud trio, Tsuchidai, cried out in horror.
Who could have imagined that in mere moments, Uchiha Ci would pull off such a stunning reversal— defeating the stronger with the weaker in a true underdog's triumph!
"Damn it! That brat actually—killed Moroi…?"
Tsuchidai's face turned black as soot, veins bulging on his forehead. He nearly charged forward to smash the little brat inside the barrier with a Lava Release: Rock Fist!
He knew very well—if Moroi truly fell,
then even if he and Ramii could suppress Uchiha Setsuna, they could never push him to a fatal point and prevent him from scaping.
That would mean their entire mission might end here.
"Calm down!" Ramii, even older than Uchiha Setsuna, clamped a hand on Tsuchidai's shoulder and said coldly:
"Tsuchidai, don't lose your head. Focus on our task!"
"Moroi isn't as weak as you think. Look closely— the barrier hasn't shattered yet."
"Moroi is still alive."
Even so, Ramii's brows furrowed deeply.
Ci's offensive had been too fast, too fluid, too overwhelming.
All techniques under heaven—speed is the only invincible one.
Moroi was a barrier-type specialist; most of his power lay in sealing jutsu. Even for a veteran like Ramii, facing such high-speed, relentless attacks left little room to react—
only to defend, barely.
And in his heart, an uneasy heaviness grew.
Now, all three combatants unconsciously slowed their pace, their eyes drawn toward the sealed-off battlefield in the distance.
Though it was only a fight involving a single Genin— it was subtly shifting the balance of the entire battlefield— and perhaps even Cloud Village's entire strategy in the Land of Hot Springs!
---
Inside the barrier.
Smoke billowed. Flames raged.
Dozens—hundreds—of metallic threads, sharp as blades, were slicing toward the center under Uchiha Ci's control.
The scene looked utterly one-sided.
A Genin with no Sharingan— suppressing a Cloud Special Jōnin!
But soon, Ci's expression changed.
Something felt wrong in his hands.
The threads cutting toward the heart of the inferno should have carved Moroi apart like a pig on a butcher's block—
Yet now, resistance like taut strings snapping against a dense ball of yarn— tangling, tightening, but unable to cut any deeper.
At that moment, the flames surged violently.
Then—a chilling voice rang out:
"Brat, don't tell me you actually thought you'd won?"
As the words fell, a summoning-like array spread from the fire's center.
Ci's pupils shrank in shock.
He immediately released the threads,
flicking his wrist to draw eight shuriken from his pouch— hurling them straight into the heart of the blaze!
"It's useless!" Moroi's cold voice echoed out.
As he spoke, his form emerged from the flames.
To say emerged wasn't quite right—
for in Ci's vision, the flames themselves seemed to fade away, spiraling clockwise toward Moroi's kneeling form, as if being flushed down a drain.
One hand slammed against a sealing scroll on the ground. Moroi's eyes glinted coldly as he shouted:
"Sealing Fire Seal!"
In an instant, the entire sea of fire was sucked into that tiny scroll.
By then, Ci's shuriken were already flying toward him— but Moroi merely formed a Rin seal, pressing both hands into the air.
A spherical barrier array unfolded before him.
"Binding Seal Formation!"
That was the technique that had halted Ci's cutting threads.
Then, Moroi rose to his feet,
walking toward Ci step by step,
his hands weaving complex seals without pause.
A chill crawled up Ci's spine. He instinctively tried to leap away—
—but Moroi's palm slammed down with a roar:
"Where do you think you're going, brat?!"
A seal flared from his hands as it struck the ground.
"Lightning Binding Kill!"
Sparks erupted, racing across the ground beneath Ci's feet,
forming a glowing circle inscribed with a single word—雷 (Lightning)!
Four whips of lightning lashed out,
wrapping around his limbs and binding him tight!
Electricity coursed through his body—
he wanted to move, but couldn't.
Half his body went numb; even speaking became difficult.
"Heh… what's wrong, brat? Got nothing else to say?" Moroi mocked.
Uchiha Ci lifted his gaze toward the sky,
a thousand curses on his tongue that refused to come out.
The ancients truly hadn't lied—
Fire Release really is a merciful art!
All smoke, no burn. All smoke, no damage!
Moroi slowly approached, drawing his blade,
lifting Ci's chin with its tip in mockery.
"You Uchiha are always the same—flashy tricks with no substance."
"But too bad for you… you met me."
With a cold smirk, he leveled the blade at Ci's neck and declared:
"Your little fireworks end here!"
Faced with Moroi's overwhelming dominance,
Ci's expression began to twist—
He wanted to laugh—but held it in.
The more he held it in, the more distorted his face became.
Then, slowly, his eyes widened.
A gaze mixed with seven parts mockery, three parts disdain, and ninety parts calm, godlike composure.
He curled his lips into a faint grin,
looked Moroi dead in the eye, and rasped softly:
"…Is that so?"