Uchiha Chapter 73: Flame's Primordial Spirit
Boom!
At the critical moment, Dust Release struck Gōenji.
But instead of striking his body, the attack hit a wooden log that had appeared in his place.
As the Dust Release descended, the log rapidly disintegrated, breaking down into its individual molecules before disappearing completely.
"Hm? I wonder when the Human Replacement Technique will finally become practical."
Ōnoki swept his gaze across the battlefield, searching for Gōenji's figure.
He hadn't expected anyone to be able to prepare a substitution technique in the middle of such an intense battle and use it at precisely the critical moment.
His expression hardened.
This brat really is troublesome.
At the place where Gōenji had been knocked away, a figure slowly emerged from the air.
It was Akatsuchi.
He had used a Transformation Technique.
First, he had flown over using Ōnoki's Light-Weight Rock Technique. Then he had used an Earth Release clone to deceive Gōenji before finally launching a surprise attack with his Transformation Technique.
Lord Tsuchikage, this guy really is troublesome. It looks like we won't be able to send reinforcements to the other areas.
Akatsuchi also swept his gaze around, trying to locate Gōenji.
But all he could see was the battle between the Iwagakure and Konoha forces.
Gōenji was nowhere to be found.
He knew that Gōenji had hidden himself.
Facing two of Iwagakure's strongest shinobi, there was nothing strange about him retreating.
Damn it. If there were only one of them...
Even if it were just Ōnoki alone, I'd make that old man complain about his aching back. At the very least, I'd twist his waist.
Gōenji was hiding behind a large rock, watching the Tsuchikage.
He couldn't help complaining internally.
If Akatsuchi were alone, Gōenji was confident he could defeat him with ease.
If Ōnoki were alone, he was confident he could beat the old man until his back was aching.
After all, Ōnoki was an old man.
His body couldn't possibly be as capable as it had been in his youth.
But Gōenji had to admit that the old man was genuinely formidable.
To maintain this level of combat strength at his age was already remarkable.
And Ōnoki's battlefield experience far surpassed that of most shinobi.
A battle between shinobi was a contest of intelligence and combat experience.
Combat experience was the clearest factor distinguishing one shinobi's actual fighting ability from another's.
Not Chakra reserves.
Not the number of ninjutsu they possessed.
Those things were merely tools for accumulating actual combat experience.
Only with sufficient experience could a shinobi truly develop their skills.
Even if someone only knew how to use shuriken and Taijutsu, abundant battlefield experience could allow them to perform with incredible precision and fully utilize their combat potential.
Gōenji understood both of his opponents extremely well.
Yet with the means currently available to him, he still couldn't defeat the two of them.
It really was true what they said: an old person in the household is a treasure.
His expression hardened.
I'm fine.
What I'm worried about is whether Mount Kikyo can hold out.
I've managed to tie down this old man Ōnoki, but if he flies over to Mount Kikyo, Orochimaru and the others are going to pay a terrible price.
Maybe even that old man Hiruzen will have to personally enter the battlefield.
Gōenji himself wasn't particularly worried.
He was certain that he wouldn't collapse here.
He wouldn't die here.
That was more important than anything else.
But if Konoha's situation deteriorated, then as a member of the Uchiha Clan of Konoha, his own future would become more difficult as well.
If Konoha's resources dwindled, so would his own.
There was also the matter of Konoha's security.
If the village wasn't safe, many merchants wouldn't come to Konoha to conduct business.
And if that happened, he might not even be able to find good food.
That was simply how life worked.
As long as he ensured that his own life remained comfortable, helping Konoha become stronger also meant making his own life better.
At least until he possessed enough strength to conquer the entire shinobi world.
A single blade can begin a revolution.
Rat. Horse. Tiger...
Gōenji formed a series of hand seals.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Three Gōenji clones appeared.
They exchanged nods with one another before heading in three different directions and hiding themselves.
Once the clones had left, Gōenji stepped out from behind the boulder.
He looked at Ōnoki and deliberately provoked him.
"Old man, you actually dared to leave Iwagakure."
"Aren't you afraid of dying on this battlefield?"
"Our Hokage is obediently staying in the village, after all."
Generally speaking, the Kage of the various villages rarely left their respective villages.
They had to remain in their villages to control the overall situation and prevent unexpected developments from throwing the war into chaos.
Furthermore, whenever a Kage left the village, they became an extremely tempting target for enemy villages and other hostile forces.
And the success rate of assassinating them was quite high.
The Third Raikage had once led a force into battle, only to be deceived and trapped by Ōnoki and Danzō, ultimately dying as a result.
Now, even the reckless Fourth Raikage rarely appeared on the battlefield.
Clearly, he had learned from that lesson.
Thinking back to the original story, almost every Kage-level shinobi who personally went to war eventually met with disaster.
The Fourth Kazekage was assassinated by Orochimaru.
The Third Hokage eventually died during the invasion of Konoha after being forced into battle against Orochimaru.
The Second Raikage was assassinated by his own subordinates while traveling to a peace summit.
The Second Tsuchikage, Mū, and Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki, suffered similar fates.
Gengetsu died as well.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, met the same fate.
The list was certainly impressive.
Despite all that, Gōenji still respected old Ōnoki.
The man was already so old, yet he still hadn't found a successor.
And despite being an old man himself, he continued carrying the entire village on his shoulders.
Ōnoki didn't respond to Gōenji's provocation.
"Don't waste your breath talking nonsense."
"Attack him directly."
He could immediately tell that Gōenji was setting some kind of trap.
So instead of answering, he raised his hand and released Dust Release.
Akatsuchi did the same beside him.
Shuriken flew through the air, blocking Gōenji's escape routes as he rapidly formed hand seals.
Their tactics were swift and decisive.
They showed no intention of falling for Gōenji's attempt to stall.
Sigh.
Old men really are troublesome.
They don't give me any time at all.
The gemstone of flame on Gōenji's forehead flashed.
He once again activated Zero-Breakthrough, blocking the incoming Dust Release.
The approaching shuriken were far slower than Dust Release.
His Sharingan had already analyzed the difference in speed between the two.
He could deal with them easily.
They posed no threat to him whatsoever.
Whoosh!
The Dust Release was quickly absorbed.
Gōenji immediately formed another series of hand seals.
A ring of flames appeared around his body.
It rapidly expanded outward, knocking away every incoming shuriken.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The shuriken struck the ground with a series of metallic sounds.
Gōenji's Sharingan never stopped spinning.
His attention remained fixed on the movements of both Ōnoki and Akatsuchi.
Then he noticed something.
After launching their attacks, the two men simultaneously flew toward opposite sides.
They had clearly realized that Gōenji had prepared a trap.
But they didn't know what kind of trap it was.
They had already prepared for the possibility.
If one of them was caught, the other could immediately break the trap.
That won't work.
I still have to stop you.
Boom!
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique—Flame's Primordial Spirit!"
Gōenji opened his mouth and released two enormous flaming dragons.
They seemed almost alive as they roared through the battlefield, surrounding Ōnoki and Akatsuchi and blocking their paths.
At the same time, Gōenji's clones appeared in the other three directions.
They rapidly formed hand seals.
As Ōnoki and Akatsuchi were entangled by the two flaming dragons, a barrier rose into the air.
It surrounded the two of them from every direction.
After months of improvement and extensive research into ninjutsu, Gōenji had incorporated Yang Release's nature transformation into the Great Dragon Fire Technique.
He had given the flames a semblance of life.
Now, they could automatically track their enemies, much like Gaara's chakra-infused sand.