Overdrafting the Future, Starting in Naruto

Chapter 31: Water Style VS Fire Style!

At the border of the Land of Fire, sitting around a campfire, Kinoshita Genichi listened to Hatake Sakumo's briefing and finally learned the details of their mission.

The location was once again the Land of Rivers. The mission was to protect an iron mine.

This could be considered a follow-up to their last mission. After the daimyō of the Land of Rivers was assassinated by Uchiha Namiichi, the Land of Fire quickly supported a new daimyō to take power. Not only did they reclaim the interests they were about to lose, but they also demanded an extra share. That extra share was the target of this mission.

The mine had been forced to halt operations after being attacked by bandits and ronin. Thus, a wealthy merchant from the Land of Fire paid a hefty price to hire a ninja squad from Konoha for protection.

Bandits? Ronin? It was more likely the Land of Wind and the Sand Village were stirring up trouble. Otherwise, why would two full squads be needed to deal with mere bandits and ronin? Although, there was only one Jonin, Hatake Sakumo.

After explaining the mission details, the group began to chat casually.

Uchiha Namiichi asked curiously, "Genichi, what ninjutsu did you choose?"

Genichi smiled. "A sealing technique, called the Yin Seal."

Namiichi and Yamanaka En were both very surprised. "A sealing technique?"

En asked strangely, "Why choose a sealing technique? You specialize in Water Release and genjutsu. It would be more normal to choose a jutsu from one of those, right?"

At this, Sarutobi Shinnosuke and his team also looked over, their interest piqued.

Genichi smiled. "As for Water Release, the ninjutsu I've currently mastered are sufficient." Offense, defense, area-of-effect attacks, single-target attacks—he had them all. "The same goes for genjutsu."

"On the other hand, my chakra is not quite enough. The Yin Seal happens to be perfect for storing chakra that I don't use during normal times, which I can then release when I need it."

Namiichi's perpetually cool face couldn't help but twitch. "Your chakra... it's not low at all, is it? Compared to En and me, it's not the least bit inferior."

En nodded vigorously. This was exactly what he wanted to complain about.

Just then, Shinnosuke said, "It's likely because Water Release consumes a lot of chakra. Especially in an environment without water, if you want to bring out the full power of a water jutsu, besides being proficient in water nature transformation, you also need a massive amount of chakra to support it."

Genichi nodded. "Shinnosuke-senpai is right. You don't always get to choose the battlefield."

"Namiichi, what jutsu did you choose?"

The topic shifted. Namiichi replied, "A Fire Release ninjutsu, the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."

An image immediately appeared in Genichi's mind: Sarutobi Hiruzen's battle against the reincarnated First and Second Hokage. This fire jutsu was ferocious, at least when Hiruzen used it. But it had been blocked by the Second Hokage's Water Formation Wall, stunning the Anbu and even seeming to leave Hiruzen himself a bit dumbfounded. To block such a fierce fire jutsu with Water Release in an environment with no water... as expected of a "Sea Release" user.

"The Fire Dragon Flame Bullet is one of Lord Third's signature fire ninjutsu. Its attack speed is fast, and its range is not small," Sakumo commented.

Namiichi nodded. He had chosen it precisely for its attack speed. In truth, the Uchiha clan did not lack for fire jutsu; they had all sorts of types. But since he could choose one, Namiichi still preferred Fire Release.

En smiled. "Namiichi, Genichi, one of you specializes in Fire Release, the other in Water Release. I'm really looking forward to a confrontation between you two."

Namiichi looked towards Genichi. On his stern face, a trace of eagerness appeared in his eyes. He had already witnessed Genichi's Water Release in the Land of Rivers. It was extremely powerful. But that was in an environment with water. If there was no water...

Genichi looked at Sakumo.

Sakumo said, "You two can give it a try. It will increase your experience in Fire vs. Water matchups."

Genichi and Namiichi looked at each other, then both vanished from their spots.

Several meters away, they stood five or six meters apart.

Namiichi shouted in a low voice, "Here I come!"

As his voice fell, his hands flew through a series of seals.

Ram -> Horse -> Snake -> Dragon -> Rat -> Ox -> Tiger!

In just over a second, the seals were complete. Namiichi took a deep breath, his chest puffing out, and then a line of fire shot from his mouth. A meter away, the line converged into a ball of fire, and then with a boom, fierce flames erupted from within, and a dragon-shaped flame roared towards Genichi at extreme speed.

Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!

In just a few short days, Namiichi had already mastered this B-rank fire jutsu.

Watching this scene, Shinnosuke gave an almost imperceptible nod, thinking that Namiichi's use of this jutsu was very good.

On the other side, Genichi was only now forming his seals. He stretched his arms forward, his left hand forming a fist and his right palm supporting it. Then, he retracted his arms, smoothly forming the Snake seal. Instantly, a current of water rapidly condensed and circled around him, forming a round curtain of water.

Shinnosuke's eyes lit up. These hand seals... concise, fast, unique, and highly aesthetic.

"No wonder that kid Asuma wants to imitate him," a smile appeared on Shinnosuke's lips. Although his little brother had been humbled, it didn't stop him from enjoying the show.

BOOM~~

The fire dragon collided with the rotating water, and steam instantly billowed out, obscuring Genichi's figure. Namiichi continued to output his jutsu, but he was unable to break through Genichi's water defense. So, he immediately stopped the jutsu and formed a new set of seals.

On the other side, as the steam dissipated, the water circling around Genichi quickly dispersed into droplets, which then rapidly evaporated.

Seeing Namiichi forming seals again, Genichi thrust his palms forward, then quickly drew them back and clapped them together with a slap. A current of water once again condensed around his body, continuously spiraling upwards like a gyroscope, its presence growing more and more immense.

Water Release: Water Shockwave!

"Such powerful Water Release!" The Nara and Akimichi on Shinnosuke's team were stunned. It was the first time they had seen a water jutsu of this scale used in an environment with no water.

Sakumo thought to himself, "Genichi's choice was the right one."

Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!

One by one, fireballs whistled out, circling around to fly at Genichi. This fire jutsu allowed the user to control the trajectory of the fireballs, enabling attacks from different angles.

At this moment, Genichi spread his arms wide. The water circling around him immediately surged outwards, extinguishing all the incoming fireballs and sweeping towards Namiichi.

Namiichi immediately leaped into the air, avoiding the wave and landing on the surface of the water below. Just then, Genichi crossed his arms. The water behind Namiichi immediately rolled back, sweeping towards him from the left and right.

"Such powerful control!" Yamanaka Kei couldn't help but exclaim.

Akimichi Dōza added, "I've never seen anyone with better Water Release than him!"

Even Shinnosuke couldn't help but nod. His own father would probably have to admit inferiority.

However, Namiichi was already familiar with this move. He turned, drew his blade, and with a swing, a wave of fire rolled out, smashing the incoming waves of water apart with a roar.

Uchiha-Style Swordmanship!

Just then, a hand reached out from under the water and, with a splash, pulled Namiichi under.

However.

On the other side, behind the "Genichi" on the surface, another Namiichi flickered into view. He opened his mouth, and a stream of dragon fire roared out.

Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!

Boom!

The dragon fire engulfed "Genichi."

Poof!

In the flames, Genichi exploded into a puff of smoke.

On the other side, the real Genichi surfaced from the water. The Namiichi he had just pulled under was, in fact, also a shadow clone.

Genichi had used a shadow clone during the massive cloud of steam created by the first Fire Dragon Flame Bullet. Namiichi had used a shadow clone after using the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, when there was also steam billowing everywhere. The key was that Namiichi had used his Sharingan to see Genichi's chakra hidden in the water. But he couldn't distinguish which was the real body. So, he used a shadow clone to stay in place and attract Genichi's attention, while his real body circled around for a flanking attack.

He didn't expect that both of them had attacked each other's shadow clones.

At this moment, the two of them looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

A draw!

(End of Chapter)