A pillar of flame erupted from Qiyu’s body and surged into the sky.
The blaze illuminated the dark night, casting a warm yet scorching glow across Itachi’s face.
Standing at the heart of the inferno, his elder brother looked like a spirit born from the flames themselves.
Orange-gold fire coiled around his entire body like a circling dragon.
Itachi’s young face went blank with astonishment.
“So this is Brother’s true strength!”
Fugaku’s pupils contracted slightly.
He could hardly believe that the eldest son he had always regarded with disappointment possessed such powerful Fire Release.
Even more astonishing was the fact that the flames surrounded Qiyu without harming him in the slightest.
Such control was extraordinary.
“Qiyu, it seems your father has underestimated you all this time.
Hahaha!
Let me see what you’re truly capable of!”
Fugaku’s expression shifted from stern silence to surprise, then finally to unconcealed excitement.
So this was the strength Qiyu had been hiding!
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”
A massive fireball erupted from Fugaku’s mouth.
Its blistering heat instantly scorched the nearby ground dry.
Watching Fugaku form hand seals before breathing out the flames, Qiyu’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“Why should Fire Release be such an inconvenient thing?”
“Flame Body Technique!”
Qiyu vanished from where he stood.
When he reappeared, his body seemed to merge directly into the enormous fireball.
He passed straight through the blazing sphere and emerged in midair, barely a metre away from Fugaku.
“Flame Dragon Claw!”
Qiyu curled the fingers of his right hand into a claw and pressed downward slightly.
The surrounding flames responded as though receiving a command.
Fire was rapidly drawn from the enormous fireball, gathering into the shape of Qiyu’s hand before forming a gigantic flaming claw that descended toward Fugaku.
“What?!
A seal-less ninjutsu?!”
Disbelief flashed through Fugaku’s eyes, but there was no time to think.
The enormous claw burned with blue flames.
Its terrifying heat nearly set his hair and clothes alight before it had even reached him.
Fugaku’s Sharingan instantly transformed into the three-tomoe form.
“Body Flicker Technique!”
Boom!
The massive claw slammed into the ground, leaving an enormous, charred handprint across the training field.
Wisps of blue flame continued to burn over the cracked earth.
“Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique!”
Fugaku reappeared behind Qiyu and rapidly completed several hand seals in less than a second.
A gigantic dragon of flame spiralled through the air before lunging toward Qiyu, who had yet to turn around.
However, when Fugaku saw Qiyu standing motionless with his back to the incoming fire dragon, the excitement in his heart instantly turned to panic.
“Qiyu, dodge!”
The moment he shouted, Fugaku used the Body Flicker Technique again, rushing toward Qiyu in an attempt to shield him with his own body.
But they were too close.
Even with Fugaku’s speed, he could only watch as the fire dragon closed in on Qiyu’s back.
For an instant, all three people in the courtyard tensed.
Yet the expected explosion never came.
The moment the fire dragon touched Qiyu, the flames maintaining its draconic form abruptly scattered, breaking apart into countless sparks that drifted through the air without fading.
Qiyu moved one finger.
The sparks immediately flowed together like streams of water obeying his command, gathering above his palm to form an enormous sphere.
At that moment, Qiyu looked like a god holding the sun aloft.
With complete composure, he turned toward Fugaku’s anxious face.
A trace of warmth finally appeared on Qiyu’s usually impassive expression.
“Father, would you still like to continue?”
His voice was calm, yet carried a faint lightness.
Although his father was rigid and deeply patriarchal, there was no denying that he loved his children.
Fugaku stared blankly at Qiyu, who held the blazing sphere above his palm.
A complicated mixture of emotions crossed his face.
There was worry, excitement, and even a trace of pride.
“Qiyu…
is this a new kekkei genkai?” Fugaku asked uncertainly.
“I think so.
I’m not entirely sure myself.
All I know is that Intermediate flames probably can’t hurt me.”
As he spoke, Qiyu manipulated the fireball above his palm, causing it to continuously change shape.
One moment, it became a lifelike dragon of flame.
The next, it transformed into a blooming fire lotus.
It was as though he were a divine emissary who commanded all flames.
Watching this display, Fugaku became even more convinced that his eldest son had awakened a second kekkei genkai beyond the Sharingan.
However, remembering why this confrontation had begun, Fugaku quickly suppressed his shock and regained his stern expression.
“Hmph!
Don’t think you’re extraordinary just because you awakened a kekkei genkai.
A ninja’s methods aren’t limited to ninjutsu.
You still need to train harder!
With taijutsu as poor as yours, if I had used anything other than Fire Release today, who knows how worried your mother would have been?”
“Yes, yes.”
Qiyu dispersed the flames in his hand.
For the sake of his obedient little brother, he had no intention of arguing further with his stubborn father.
Still, there was one matter he had to settle.
“Then, about Itachi…”
“Hmph!
This matter ends here!”
With a wave of his hand, Fugaku turned and left the training field.
“Sharp tongue, soft heart,” Qiyu muttered quietly.
Fugaku paused as he reached the doorway.
With his back still turned, an almost imperceptible smile appeared on his stern face.
Mikoto and Itachi happened to see it.
A gentle smile of genuine warmth also spread across Mikoto’s face.
And in that moment, the image of his overwhelmingly powerful elder brother was permanently engraved in Itachi’s young heart.
“Itachi!
What are you thinking about?”
Seeing Itachi staring blankly ahead, Qiyu lightly tapped him on the forehead.
“Stop daydreaming.
Izumi has already been waiting for quite a while.”
“Ah!
It’s nothing, Brother!
Let’s go to the three-coloured dango shop now!”
Itachi covered his forehead with one hand, his cheeks slightly flushed.
“Izumi, let’s go.”
Qiyu turned toward Izumi, who was looking at him with open admiration.
“Qiyu-kun, you really are such a gentle elder brother.”
Izumi suddenly leaned closer and whispered beside his ear with a soft laugh.
Feeling the warm breath brush against his skin, Qiyu awkwardly scratched his cheek.
“If you’d like, I could be your elder brother too.”
“Hmph!
I don’t want Qiyu-kun to be my brother!”
The girl shot him an annoyed glare before turning away.
The three chatted as they walked and soon arrived at Konoha’s most famous three-coloured dango shop.
A long queue had already formed outside the entrance.
Nearly everyone waiting was a child around six or seven years old.
The occasional adults among them had clearly come only to accompany the children.
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