Compared to prodigies like Shisui, Uchiha Sora held no overwhelming advantage in raw talent.
Except for one thing.
Insight.
More precisely—
his ability to grasp the essence of power.
He had adapted to Rayquaza's borrowed strength in an astonishingly short time, weaving it into his own capabilities and developing techniques tailored specifically to himself.
Especially now—
with a fragmentary enhancement from Rayquaza amplifying him—
his understanding of chakra had reached an entirely new level.
He could not replicate Shisui's Phantom Body Flicker.
Even if he somehow memorized its form, he lacked Shisui's razor-fine control. At best, he would become a poor imitation.
So instead, he studied the principle—
and created something that suited him.
A secret art bearing his personal imprint.
Like a Paper Release user.
Like serpent-style ninjutsu.
Distinct. Singular.
After the night of the Nine-Tails' attack, Sora had devoted himself entirely to developing this technique.
And Dodai—
was the perfect test subject.
—
Dodai clutched his severed arm, sweat pouring down his face as he stared at Sora's burning blade.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
He was certain he had not fallen under genjutsu—
so why did his senses keep slipping?
Why did his reactions feel delayed?
That last strike—
there was no reason he shouldn't have dodged it.
Flames coiled around Sora's blade like living serpents, sliding across his palm without burning him.
He never revealed unnecessary information.
Fire-serpents wrapped around his body, lifting the edges of his dark hair as if borne by wind.
He inhaled slowly.
His breathing synchronized with the pulse of the flames—like tides rising and falling.
The blade's tip aligned perfectly with the distant sun cresting the mountains.
The air around him warped from the heat.
Behind him shimmered a faint halo—
like a rising sun.
His stance was elegant.
Measured.
Sacred, almost—
to an observer.
To Dodai—
it was cold.
The sun did not warm him.
—
Sora swung.
Boom!!
A torrent of blazing fire erupted from the blade, roaring like a dragon. The atmosphere itself distorted.
Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu.
No hand seals.
How—
No.
The blade swing itself had formed the seals.
—
"Lava Release: Rock Rubber Fortress!"
Rubber and stone fused together before Dodai, layering into thick defensive walls.
What was a kekkei genkai?
A mutation of chakra nature.
A fusion of elemental affinities encoded into one's bloodline.
Unlike ordinary five-nature techniques, these were hereditary.
When the technique itself was carved into one's very genes, hand seals became less necessary.
That was why Dodai could still perform Lava Release—
even with one arm severed.
—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The fire dragon crashed through layers of rubber shielding.
The heat was suffocating.
Like standing within a volcano's heart.
Yet—
Something was still off.
Based on that boy's chakra reserves—
one such technique should have drained him completely.
Would he waste chakra like that?
Dodai made his decision.
He tore off the eyepatch.
Revealing—
a peculiar eye.
Black pupil.
Scarlet sclera.
And at its center—
a vertical slit.
With that eye's vision, clarity flooded his mind.
The flames were nowhere near as overwhelming as they had appeared.
The attack's true scale—
ordinary.
His defenses had already neutralized most of it.
Realization struck.
Genjutsu.
Not applied directly through the Sharingan—
but embedded into the flames themselves.
Anyone who looked at them would misjudge their intensity.
An attack that seemed weak—
struck with deadly force.
An assault that appeared overwhelming—
drained the opponent's chakra in overreaction.
What an—
unsettling technique.
"Unfortunately for you," Dodai snarled,
"I've seen through it!"
He flickered to Sora's flank, blade slashing down with his remaining arm.
Clang—
Steel met steel.
Sora saw the strange eye clearly now.
He had read the clan archives.
That eye—
was the Blood Eye.
The kekkei genkai of the Chinoike Clan.
Long ago—
before even Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha—
a daughter of the Chinoike Clan had been married into the Land of Lightning as a concubine.
Beloved by the daimyō.
Resented by the lawful wife.
After the daimyō's death, false accusations followed.
The Chinoike Clan was massacred.
The survivors exiled.
And who had been tasked with overseeing their containment?
The Uchiha.
That oversight had ended only when the Hidden Villages were formed.
—
Dodai sneered when he saw recognition in Sora's eyes.
"Recognize it?"
"This is the Blood Eye—once said to rival the Sharingan itself!"
"Don't think your tricks will work again!"
—
Sora laughed softly.
"Rival?"
"Even the Chinoike were prisoners."
"And you—who stole an eye to use—what exactly are you proud of?"
Clang!
Sora forced him back.
Inside the blazing barrier, their forms flickered in rapid succession. Steel rang against steel.
—
Dodai was an elite jōnin.
A close confidant of the Raikage.
Lava Release.
Blood Eye.
In raw combat power—
he surpassed Sora.
Before losing an arm.
For a shinobi—
losing one limb was catastrophic.
He quickly began losing ground in close combat.
And—
his left eye throbbed violently.
It was not his own eye.
Maintaining clarity against the illusion strain consumed tremendous focus.
Among known dōjutsu—
only the Byakugan adapted cleanly to foreign users.
Others imposed heavy burdens.
Even Kakashi Hatake—
a prodigy—
had struggled under the strain of the Sharingan.
If the Blood Eye was considered comparable—
then it bore similar demands.
Dodai could not deactivate it.
He normally relied on the eyepatch's sealing formula to suppress it.
Now—
blood-tears streamed down his cheek.
Overload.
—
"Imitating even that?"
"How disgusting."
In Dodai's vision—
Sora's movements grew strange again.
Each slash—
each step—
flowed like music.
A composition both beautiful and lethal.
Entrancing.
—
Within a minute, nearly all of Dodai's subordinates had fallen.
The last would not last long under Shisui's assault.
Real shinobi combat was like this.
Decisive.
Brutal.
Few battles became prolonged clashes.
Flash—
Dodai's momentary distraction cost him.
A blazing crescent cut toward his eyes.
Experience saved him.
He leaned back just enough.
The arc of fire sliced across his nose and cheek.
No blood sprayed.
The heat had vaporized it instantly.
Even cauterizing the wound.
Dodai stared at the flame-wreathed Sora.
A sudden, chilling realization formed.
That full-body chakra coating—
Elemental chakra enveloping the body—
It was too similar.
Too familiar.
This form—
resembled—
Lightning Release Chakra Mode
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