Chapter 53 (Patreon)

Inside the cave.

Kakashi and Itachi stared at Yujiro with horror in their eyes as his body underwent a violent transformation.

A blazing crimson light burst from him.

Thin cracks even began to spread across his skin.

But beneath that terrifying appearance, an unbelievably pure energy was surging through his body.

Even Kakashi and Itachi could feel the pressure radiating from it.

One touch, and they would die.

So Yujiro had been hiding this much power all along…?

The two immediately left the cave and took positions at the entrance, their expressions becoming sharp and alert.

Yujiro was in the middle of a transformation.

No matter what happened, they had to protect him.

Inside the cave, Yujiro quietly observed the changes happening within his body.

The third stage of the Limiter had opened.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked the Third Stage Limiter.]

[Ding! Sixth sense strengthened. Host can now sense life-and-death moments through instinct.]

[Ding! Brain function strengthened. Analytical ability and calculation speed have greatly increased.]

[Ding! Thought Simulation: Enhanced Version unlocked. Host can read the opponent’s brainwave patterns and perform enhanced simulation based on his own physical attributes.]

[Ding! Skill enhancement unlocked. Attribute enhancement unlocked. Host can release corresponding attacks based on his own strength.]

[Ding! All side effects have been completely removed. Body strengthened one hundred times. Vitality strengthened. Chakra strengthened. Cells strengthened. Attributes strengthened. Reaction speed strengthened. Recovery strengthened. Defense strengthened…]

One notification after another echoed inside Yujiro’s mind.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

He tore off his already ruined black martial arts uniform, bought another one from the system, and put it on.

“View personal attributes.”

[Personal Attributes]

[Host: Yujiro]

[Attributes: Lightning, Wind, Water, Fire, Earth]

[Chakra: 300,000 — equivalent to the chakra volume of the Uzumaki physique]

[Skill: One-Sword Iai Slash — S-rank]

[Ninjutsu: Several]

[Limiter: Third Stage — 15.0%]

[Latest Goal: Unlock the Fourth Stage Limiter]

Yujiro narrowed his eyes, a faint smile appearing on his face.

The difference between the second and third stages was enormous.

After entering the third stage, all the side effects from the second stage had disappeared.

On top of that, he had gained terrifying analytical and calculation ability.

Creating his own ninjutsu now would be almost effortless.

With a thought, Yujiro appeared outside the cave in an instant.

He wore the same black martial arts uniform, with a black sword hanging at the left side of his waist.

But to Kakashi and Itachi, the Yujiro standing before them now felt even more unreadable than before.

“About five hundred Kirigakure shinobi are heading this way.”

Yujiro spoke calmly.

“They’ll surround this valley in about a minute.”

“What?” Kakashi’s eye sharpened.

Itachi’s expression also changed.

Neither of them had sensed anything.

“It isn’t your fault.”

Yujiro glanced at them.

“This time, there are no genin. Most of them are chūnin, and at least eighty are jōnin.”

His voice remained calm, without the slightest trace of tension.

“Looks like Kirigakure really wants me dead.”

Kakashi and Itachi immediately moved closer to him.

By now, they could also feel powerful presences appearing all around the valley.

Even the weakest among them had the pressure of an elite chūnin.

“Kakashi-san,” Itachi said quietly, his Sharingan already spinning. “They’re moving fast.”

“I know,” Kakashi replied, his hand reaching toward his kunai pouch. “This isn’t a scouting unit. They came prepared to erase us.”

“Relax.”

Yujiro tilted his head slightly and smiled.

“I was just looking for someone to test this on.”

After saying that, he slowly stepped forward.

His hand moved to the black sword at his waist.

Then he turned his head slightly and looked at Kakashi.

“Kakashi. You asked me before whether Lightning Style still had room to grow, didn’t you?”

Kakashi paused for a moment.

Then he nodded.

He had asked that.

Yujiro smiled faintly.

“Now I’ll answer you.”

He slowly raised the black sword high.

“Yes.”

In the next instant, dazzling lightning erupted across the blade.

The dark clouds above the valley began to churn violently.

“Third Stage Skill.”

Yujiro’s voice was light.

“Thunder God’s Descent.”

Suddenly—

The clouds above split open.

A massive pillar of lightning, several hundred meters wide, descended from the sky.

BOOOOM—!!

Thunder roared across the heavens.

The two hundred Kirigakure shinobi ambushing in front of the cave vanished in an instant, along with the trees, rocks, and ground beneath them.

The terrifying lightning and heat vaporized everything in its path.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have created a new skill: Thunder God’s Descent — S-rank.]

Yujiro glanced at the destruction before him.

Then he gave a small nod.

“Not bad.”

His tone sounded almost reluctant.

“It barely passes.”

Behind him, Kakashi and Itachi stood frozen.

That was “not bad”?

A Lightning Style jutsu powerful enough to erase two hundred shinobi in one strike was only barely acceptable?

Kakashi’s eye twitched slightly.

His Raikiri was considered an S-rank technique.

But compared to that…

It felt like a spark beside a thunderstorm.

Itachi stared at the scorched valley, his Sharingan reflecting the fading lightning.

“Yujiro-san…”

His voice was low.

“That was unbelievable.”

Yujiro chuckled.

“You think that was unbelievable?”

He raised his left hand.

“The real show is next.”

Then his gaze shifted toward Itachi.

“Itachi. Watch carefully.”

Yujiro’s smile widened slightly.

“I’ll show you what Fire Style really looks like.”

The previous Lightning Style attack had killed more than two hundred Kirigakure shinobi, but more were still rushing in from the rear.

So they really were determined to bury him here.

Yujiro raised his left hand.

A blazing ring of fire erupted around him.

“Great Flame Ring.”

In an instant, a massive fireball at least three hundred meters wide appeared before his palm.

Then Yujiro pushed forward.

“Flame Emperor.”

The enormous fireball crashed into the opposite side of the valley.

A violent explosion followed.

BOOOOM—!!

The entire valley shook.

More than two hundred Kirigakure shinobi were swallowed by the flames and wiped out in a single strike.

[Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have created a new skill: Great Flame Ring: Flame Emperor — S-rank.]

Yujiro grinned.

This power was decent.

If possible, he even wanted to try creating something like a Buddha’s Wrath Lotus next.

He turned his head and looked at Itachi.

“How was that?”

Yujiro smiled lightly.

“That is the Great Fireball Technique.”

He paused.

“Yours is still too small.”

Itachi went silent.

For the first time in a long while, the young Uchiha felt like the pride he had in his Fire Style had been smashed cleanly into the ground.

Kakashi exhaled slowly.

“Yujiro… you just used two techniques on that scale.”

His voice was calm, but his gaze was serious.

“Don’t burn through all your chakra here.”

Yujiro looked at him.

Then he smiled.

“Don’t worry.”

He flexed his fingers lightly, feeling the chakra rushing through his body.

“I can probably use twenty or thirty more in a day.”

Kakashi froze.

Itachi also froze.

Yujiro added casually,

“And I should recover most of it in about half an hour.”

Kakashi: “…”

Itachi: “…”

For a moment, neither of them knew what to say.

Kakashi finally lowered his hand from his kunai pouch and muttered under his breath,

“That’s not chakra anymore.”

Itachi quietly looked at the ruined valley.

Then he looked back at Yujiro.

For once, even his Sharingan could not help him understand what he was seeing.