Chapter 40: A Trial of Fire
"What kind of ability is this?!" she demanded, communicating internally with the Two-Tails.
But even with Matatabi's vast knowledge and experience, she was met with confusion. They had never encountered such a bizarre ability.
"Fine. If that's the case, the only way to deal with him is with pure speed."
Though she didn't understand Uchiha Naoki's power, one thing was clear to Yugito: in this lava-body state, he could indeed ignore slashing attacks. Her claws were useless. But she was certain this was an activated ability. If she could strike where he couldn't react, she could hit his real body and inflict real damage.
SWOOSH!
She vanished again, her speed so immense that even Karui and the others couldn't track her.
SHINK!
SHINK!
Tearing scars continuously appeared on Uchiha Naoki's body, splattering molten rock. Yugito was like a god of death, relentlessly inflicting 'terrible' damage upon him. For a time, he could only stand still and be 'beaten'!
But...
"You're not feeling so comfortable either, Lady Yugito," Uchiha Naoki said calmly, a smile playing on his lips as he tracked her flickering form with his senses. "Even with the Two-Tails' power, constantly touching my high-temperature lava will eventually scorch your claws."
"Perhaps you want to test our endurance? To see which of us breaks first. But ask yourself: who will falter sooner? You, moving at such an extreme speed, or me, simply maintaining this state?"
His words were a demon's whisper, laden with a peculiar magic. Yugito immediately broke off her assault and retreated. Clearly, she lacked the confidence to win a battle of attrition against him.
"Giving up so easily, Lady Yugito?" Naoki's smile widened. His Observation Haki had locked onto the approximate position where she would reappear. "Lava Burst Shot!"
The terrifying pressure from her speed had, in fact, sharpened his Haki, improving his precision.
"And..." Feeling the burning sensation in his eyes intensify, Uchiha Naoki felt a thrill of excitement. "It seems the Sharingan itself is on the verge of evolving."
This feeling had surfaced during his battle with Orochimaru but hadn't fully matured. Now, it was stronger than ever.
'In that case, I'll use this opportunity to complete the evolution in one go!'
The Sharingan was an eye that reflected the soul. It evolved through intense emotional stimulus—be it sorrow, pain, fear, excitement, or joy. All were valid catalysts.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The ground shook violently as pillar after pillar of lava erupted, each one narrowly missing Yugito as she flickered away. Though they didn't connect, they forced her to keep her distance; she could no longer get close to Uchiha Naoki.
"Damn it! How are his reactions and perception so sharp?!" she cursed internally after dodging another jet. It felt like facing a Raikage who wasn't even trying his hardest.
"Even with the Sharingan, his movements shouldn't be this precise!" She had, of course, recognized his Uchiha heritage, but his superhuman reaction speed was still hard to accept. Such power shouldn't reside in someone so young.
"But no matter what, I have to finish this quickly!" Yugito couldn't afford to delay. Yugito and the others needed her help, and she couldn't afford to be stalled here. Moreover, their exchange had taught her one thing: pure speed alone couldn't defeat him. She needed to combine it with ninjutsu.
SWOOSH!
She charged again, but this time her movements were erratic, flickering left and right, making it impossible for Naoki to lock on to a specific trajectory.
"Using this method to evade my attacks," Naoki mused, his body still coated in lava. "It's actually quite effective."
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Yugito flashed behind him, her sharp cat claws making the air at his back tighten. Lava immediately surged from his body to counter-attack, but she was gone again in an instant, reappearing in front of him. The attack from behind had been a feint to create an opening.
"Fire Rat Jutsu!"
She spat forth a volley of blue, mouse-shaped fireballs that shot toward Uchiha Naoki. Their temperature was extreme, rivaling that of his own lava.
"If I remember correctly, this technique can split apart and track its target automatically." Facing this assault, Naoki didn't resort to elementalization. Instead, he chose to retreat. Since he wanted to use this fight to evolve his Sharingan, he needed to make a calculated risk. Without placing himself in true peril, how could the eye ever evolve?
"Good! The diversion worked!" Yugito was elated to see him retreat. She assumed he was too slow to react. Otherwise, based on her assessment of his ability, he should have turned his body to lava to evade.
"Disperse!"
The moment Naoki gave ground, the cluster of mouse-flames split apart, transforming into a dense swarm of blue, homing firebombs that surrounded Uchiha Naoki from all directions in an instant.
"Completely surrounded in a flash?" Though engulfed by the tracking flames, Uchiha Naoki's face remained calm. "This is exactly what I wanted."
The burning sensation in his Sharingan intensified. Evolution was imminent.
He immediately deactivated his Observation Haki, using this severe crisis to force the Sharingan's evolution.
Of course, the moment he shut off the Haki, a powerful wave of disorientation hit him. It was as if a veil had been drawn over his eyes; his perceptual abilities vanished instantly. The innate insight of his two-tomoe Sharingan alone was insufficient to allow him to evade all the incoming attacks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Uchiha Naoki was instantly engulfed by the fiery bombardment.
Seeing this, Yugito was overjoyed. "Perfect!"
She didn't know why his abilities had suddenly declined, but it made sense. After such a high-speed battle, even the Sharingan would be overstrained. A drop in performance was normal.
She immediately pressed her advantage, the chakra behind her coalescing into a massive cat's claw that swiped through the continuing explosions.
SWOOSH!
In the next moment, a figure shot out from the billowing smoke and dust of the violent detonations.
It was Uchiha Naoki, narrowly avoiding the massive chakra claw. And his eyes... they were now different.