28. One Strike Changes The Situation

Hey everyone! 🌟

I'm thrilled to introduce some updates to the tier system on Patreon! 🎉 With these changes, you'll have more options for accessing advanced chapters of my fanfictions. Here's the breakdown:

✨ Quantum Spark: Get 15 chapters in advance 📚 

✨ Astral Bolt: Get 35 chapters in advance 📖 

✨ Cosmic Tempest: Get 55 chapters in advance 📘 

✨ Supernova Charge: Get 75 chapters in advance 📔

I hope these new tiers help you enjoy the stories in your preferred way. Thank you so much for your support—it means the world to me and keeps the stories coming! 🙏

Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts! 😊

I'll be gradually adding advanced chapters for this fanfiction as well.

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Great Fire Annihilation and Great Fire Destruction are Fire Release techniques of comparable strength, and among the more powerful Fire Release Ninjutsu. However, they are classified as B-rank. In the original story, only Uchiha Madara demonstrates their full potential.

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation technique begins with the caster projecting a powerful tongue of flame at a specific point ahead, much like a sharp arrow.

In essence, Great Fire Annihilation is somewhat similar to Water Release: Water Severing Wave, though it lacks the extreme cutting force of the latter technique.

Of course, this isn't the primary focus of the jutsu. After all, fire, by its nature, possesses inherent destructive power.

In this instance, the technique was executed by Ishigami Hara, making its effects far more devastating than what an average shinobi could produce.

Whoosh!

With a sharp sound, a fierce tongue of fire erupted from Ishigami Hara's mouth, resembling a fiery dragon as it surged toward the Sand Shinobi ahead.

The latter had no time to react and was instantly engulfed, along with their puppet, by the flames. Yet the fire did not relent, continuing its path directly toward the larger group of Sunagakure Shinobi behind them.

Whoosh!

The intense heat distorted the air as the flames shot over 30 meters before crashing to the ground. Upon impact, the fire spread into a blazing inferno, engulfing countless Sunagakure Shinobi in an instant.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

Piercing screams echoed through the air, the cries of those Sunagakure Shinobi who hadn't reacted in time and were swallowed by the firestorm.

Amid the Sunagakure Shinobi ranks, a massive sea of flames, spanning 30 to 40 meters in diameter, burned ferociously. The heat was so intense that it warped the surrounding air.

It wasn't their fault that they failed to respond in time—Ishigami Hara's timing had been perfect. He had targeted an area densely packed with Sunagakure Shinobi, avoiding any Konoha ninja. The precision of the attack left them no chance to escape.

A Konoha shinobi, recently rescued by Ishigami Hara, stared at the scene in disbelief. It was hard to fathom that such an immense amount of chakra could come from someone so young.

A B-rank Fire Release technique had just displayed power far surpassing that of most A-rank jutsu, causing the Konoha shinobi to gulp in amazement.

With just this one move, Ishigami Hara had completely shifted the battlefield in Konoha's favor.

"Can you still move?" Ishigami Hara asked without turning around.

The man behind him snapped back to reality and quickly nodded. "I'm fine."

"Good."

With that, Ishigami Hara turned his gaze forward once more.

In the distance, a white-haired figure was fiercely counterattacking while surrounded by several enemies.

No!

To be more accurate, those surrounding the figure were not living people, but puppets—puppets that moved with more agility than most humans.

Behind the puppets, a middle-aged woman stood with a grave expression, her fingers dancing in the air as she controlled them.

White Secret Technique: The Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets?

This realization struck.

In his mind, Uchiha Izuna remarked, "So, this is a puppeteer? Interesting."

Uchiha Izuna had learned a great deal about puppeteers from Ishigami Hara in recent days. He understood that puppetry was a unique ninja tool developed by the Sunagakure Shinobi, considered an evolution in ninja techniques.

Naturally, when Uchiha Izuna observed puppets, he would first analyze their combat potential. It was rare for puppets to elicit any interest from him, but this time was different.

Previously, the puppets controlled by other shinobi, both men and women, had failed to capture Izuna's attention.

However, the blazing inferno on the battlefield quickly drew the focus of the middle-aged woman, especially when she realized that at least twenty Sunagakure Shinobi had been lost to the flames. Her face twisted in anger.

"Three Jewels Suction Crushing!"

The middle-aged woman called out softly. Three puppets immediately moved into a triangular formation in front of her, generating a powerful suction force that targeted the white-haired young man on the battlefield.

The woman was Chiyo, and the man was Hatake Sakumo.

Faced with the sudden pull, Hatake Sakumo's response was simple. Instead of resisting, he allowed himself to be drawn in. Twisting his body in midair, his short blade rose and fell, creating a brilliant arc of light.

The blade's radiance slashed through the air, precisely cutting into the gap in front of the three puppets. With a skillful flick, Sakumo disrupted the suction force.

This minor disruption gave Sakumo the opening he needed. As he landed, his toes barely touched the ground before he shot forward like lightning.

Another cold flash of his blade, and the three puppets—stacked in the shape of the kanji for "middle"—were split apart by Sakumo's strike. If not for Chiyo's swift control, guiding the puppets to dodge at the last moment, two of them would have been destroyed outright.

Ishigami Hara observed closely, his eyes following every movement and every swing of Hatake Sakumo's blade, marveling at the grace and precision on display.

'It's rhythm!' Ishigami Hara thought, a smile forming on his lips.

As expected, for a truly skilled warrior—whether in taijutsu, kenjutsu, or ninjutsu—the key was always rhythm.

Ishigami Hara had his own rhythm in combat. It was sharp and dangerous, with a certain flair, heavily influenced by the Uchiha style but also incorporating elements from the Senju and Uzumaki clans. This was the unique rhythm of Ishigami Hara.

On the other hand, Hatake Sakumo's fighting rhythm emphasized speed. He would strike at unexpected moments, using a burst of speed when least anticipated. This forced his opponents into exhaustion, unable to keep pace.

Over time, Sakumo would fully control the rhythm of the fight, leading his enemies into a trap from which there was no escape, until they were inevitably finished off.

"What do you think?" Ishigami Hara asked, addressing Uchiha Izuna.

"Interesting fellow," Izuna responded. "As expected from the Hatake clan. Though they've left the samurai class, their swordsmanship remains formidable—on par with the Uchiha."

"It's my turn now," Ishigami Hara said with a nod. In a flash, he vanished and leaped into the fray, seeking out an opponent.

Like Sakumo, Ishigami Hara opted not to use ninjutsu, instead wielding the short blade in his hand for close-quarters combat.

Ahead of him, a middle-aged man with long eyebrows noticed his approach. His gaze sharpened as he saw Ishigami Hara's eyes.

"Sharingan and Byakugan?" the man muttered in surprise.

With a flick of his fingers, a puppet shot out from beneath Ishigami Hara's feet, aiming a slender sword directly at his chest.

Simultaneously, four more puppets closed in on him from all sides—front, back, left, and right.