Although on the surface, the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet seemed to be hurtling straight toward Sasuke—in reality, Sanada Aran had already redirected its path.
The blazing attack suddenly veered off, streaking across the training grounds and charging toward the two Root operatives lurking not far away.
At that moment, those two Root shinobi had no idea Aran had discovered them—much less that his fire technique was intentionally aimed at them.They thought it was just an accident, that Aran's jutsu had simply gone off-course.
After all, they were positioned far outside the sparring field.It never occurred to them that a mere academy student could sense their presence.
But the instant the fire dragons came roaring in their direction,they had no choice but to defend themselves.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Both men rapidly formed hand seals, raising a towering wall of water in front of them, hoping to block the incoming flames.
But although water normally countered fire—this was no ordinary Fire Release.
Sanada Aran's technique was infused with the Xuanhuang Blaze—a strange flame born from his Burning Scripture System—and its destructive power was several times greater than a standard Fire Release.
In less than a heartbeat, the fiery dragons tore through the Water Wall as if it were paper.
"Damn it! There's something unnatural about this brat's fire jutsu!"
Realizing their defense had been shredded in an instant, both men's expressions darkened.They immediately understood: this boy's Fire Release was far from ordinary.
One of them didn't hesitate—his hands blurred through another sequence of seals.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A massive water dragon rose up with a roar, colliding head-on with the remnants of Aran's fire dragons.The explosion of chakra sent shockwaves through the clearing.
Steam hissed violently into the air as the water dragon was instantly vaporized by the searing heat of the Xuanhuang Blaze, leaving only drifting mist in its wake.
Down below, the crowd of students and spectators erupted in gasps and shouts of disbelief.
They were just academy students.Most of them had never witnessed high-level ninjutsu colliding in rapid succession like this.
Especially not from Sanada Aran—the so-called "dead last" of the class.
Yet he had just unleashed a B-Rank Fire Release technique—Fire Dragon Flame Bullet—something that only jōnin-level shinobi were supposed to know.
Not only had he shattered Sasuke's Great Fireball Technique,he'd gone on to break through the Water Formation Wall and even disperse the Water Dragon Bullet of those two mysterious shinobi.
It was utterly beyond anything they could have imagined.
Several students who had mocked him earlier now stood frozen,suddenly realizing just how foolish they had been.
Compared to what Aran had just shown them…they were the real trash.
Meanwhile, on the stage, Sanada Aran stood alone—calm, composed, and unshaken.From beginning to end, he hadn't shown the slightest sign of panic.
That quiet confidence…made the hearts of several female students flutter wildly.
The "genius" Uchiha Sasuke had already been forgotten.Now, all eyes—and hearts—were on the boy who had just stolen the spotlight:
Sanada Aran.
"We are ANBU," one of the Root operatives suddenly announced, stepping forward.
"You, a mere academy student, have somehow mastered a B-Rank Fire Release technique.We suspect you may be an enemy spy.You'll have to come with us for questioning."
But Aran had already guessed what was really going on.
These weren't standard ANBU.They were Root operatives—Danzo's personal hounds.
They didn't want to arrest him for the village's sake.They wanted to take him to Danzo in secret… to uncover the reason behind his sudden rise in power.
Aran narrowed his eyes.
Perfect, he thought.I'll play along for now. Let them think they're in control… and then I'll slaughter them halfway.This will be the perfect chance to avenge the Sanada Clan.
So he offered no resistance.
He simply followed them silently as they led him away from the academy grounds.
Eventually, once they were far from any prying eyes, Aran suddenly stopped walking.
"That's far enough," he said coldly. "We're alone now. No need to keep pretending to be ANBU."
The two Root shinobi exchanged a glance and sneered.
"Hmph. As expected, you're sharper than you look.So you did see through us."
"Please. See through the tricks of Danzo's dogs? That's child's play."
"Kid—don't think that just because you can spit out one B-Rank fire jutsu, you can act all high and mighty in front of us Root operatives.Today we'll teach you your place."
One of the operatives stepped back, forming seals once again.His chakra flared.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Aran's eyes flashed.
"Perfect. That's exactly the jutsu I was waiting for."
The fool had walked right into his trap.
Instead of dodging—Sanada Aran stepped forward and welcomed the attack head-on.