Chapter 97: Isn't This Manda? Just a Few Days and It's Already So Weak?
"Uchiha Takashi, you handle Pakura!"
Orochimaru's voice cut through the rhythm of Team 404.
Tch! Uchiha Takashi scoffed inwardly, thrusting his kunai through the neck of the chunin in front of him.
Looks like there's no way to slack off now.
Orochimaru himself had called him out. If he continued to slack off... did he still want to stay in Konoha?
He definitely didn't want to leave Konoha right now. After all, there were too many fun things and resources here, so he had no choice but to step up.
"Be careful, you two!"
As Uchiha Takashi leaped towards the nearby Kage-level battlefield, he hinted to his two teammates.
The implication was for them not to reveal too much.
Yamakawa Koji didn't mind; his strength could be explained with "forbidden techniques," and this had already been set up in advance.
But Hyuga Aotsuki was different.
She was just from the branch family of the Hyuga clan and wasn't a super genius before. She couldn't explain her strength with "forbidden techniques," so showing chunin-level strength was enough.
The two naturally understood Uchiha Takashi's words and nodded slightly to show they understood.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Takashi was ready to go all out with his normal firepower.
After all, he had already exposed these abilities when fighting Rasa, and he didn't believe the other side would keep it a secret for him, so there was nothing to hide.
In mid-air.
Whoosh! Bright orange flames erupted from his fiery fists, then wrapped around his body.
Flame Cloak!
Uchiha Takashi's exclusive jutsu, which consumed the least chakra and had incredible power.
It was strong and useful, so how could he not use it?
He used to worry about the chakra consumption and would only use it at critical moments.
But now his chakra reserves were in the tens of thousands, still far from "chakra tons," but enough to use the Flame Cloak freely.
Boom! Flames erupted from his legs, drastically increasing Uchiha Takashi's speed and height in his jump.
Rocket Jump!
Facing this change, opponents estimating his speed would miscalculate.
In the air, Uchiha Takashi charged his right hand, gathering a massive amount of flames on his fist.
"Arashi Bite!"
He directly locked onto Pakura with a taijutsu move.
Boom! The ground caved in under Uchiha Takashi's fist.
It didn't seem very powerful, not even matching a C-rank jutsu in power.
But the force of Uchiha Takashi's strike was incredibly focused, so the impact wasn't as loud. If it hit, it would pulverize the target, leaving no chance for a "smoke without damage" scenario.
Just as Uchiha Takashi was about to pursue after his missed strike.
Whoosh, whoosh!
A rain of senbon needles stopped him from getting close to the retreating Pakura.
It was a few puppets from the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets.
Zoom! With such obvious attacks, Uchiha Takashi used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge.
Bang! But he was kicked mid-air.
It turned out one of the Chikamatsu puppets had ambushed him on his escape path, intercepting him halfway.
"I see!"
Uchiha Takashi suddenly realized.
Chiyo's "White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets" was powerful not just because the ten puppets had jonin-level performance, but because under her control, they fought as one, like a single person.
If it weren't for Uchiha Takashi's Body Flicker Technique being faster with the Flame Cloak, it might not have been just a kick, but a poisoned kunai.
"Taiichi!"
Uchiha Takashi called for backup.
Otherwise, did they really think he was Ip Man, able to fight ten at once?
Whoosh! A massive fireball descended from the sky like a meteor towards Uchiha Takashi.
The Chikamatsu Collection was indeed strong, but when faced with such indiscriminate area attacks, no matter how well-coordinated, they couldn't perform.
Whoosh! A pillar of fire erupted like a volcanic explosion, engulfing everything around Uchiha Takashi.
The Chikamatsu puppets were indeed durable and resistant.
But in terms of resisting fire and high-temperature damage, they were no match for Uchiha Takashi in Flame Cloak mode.
So unless they wanted to self-destruct, they had to distance themselves from Uchiha Takashi.
This gave him a chance to break free.
Without Taiichi's help, Uchiha Takashi wouldn't have had a chance to shake off the Chikamatsu Collection.
Whoosh! He lunged towards Pakura.
Chapter 97: Isn't This Manda? How Did It Get So Weak in Just a Few Days?
Compared to the troublesome puppets, Yecang is definitely more appealing. The key point is that he has a natural advantage over her!
Her famous Scorch Release is significantly weakened when faced with his Flame Cloak.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to rescue Honda from her back then.
Even if she was holding back, it wouldn't have mattered.
Now that his strength has greatly improved, with his natural advantage, he can go toe-to-toe with her even without using Sage Mode.
Golden Crow Style Taijutsu: Solo Joy Slaughter! In mid-air, Uchiha Takashi aimed a whip kick at Yecang, who was suppressing Orochimaru.
Orochimaru knew exactly how to cooperate.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Several snakes shot out from his sleeve.
Once they bind the opponent, it would create an opportunity for Uchiha Takashi.
"Scorch Release!"
A fireball surrounding Yecang exploded directly.
Boom!
The fireball, usually used to emit high temperatures, could flatten everything at critical moments.
The combination of both is the true Scorch Release.
Faced with the explosion, Uchiha Takashi had no choice but to cancel his attack.
Fortunately, with the Flame Cloak, he didn't need to fear the high temperatures and flames. Otherwise, even if he wasn't injured, he'd look extremely disheveled.
"Damn sealing!"
Amidst the intense battle, Manda's angry voice rang out.
At this moment, its snake body was covered with sealing runes.
For large summoning beasts, the most feared are sealing techniques, illusions, and the like.
So even though Ebizō's strength against humans is only at the elite jōnin level, when dealing with large summoning beasts, he's definitely more useful than Yecang, who is at the Kage level.
Seeing Manda in such a sorry state, if Uchiha Takashi had the time, he would at least quip, "Isn't this Manda? How did it get so weak in just a few days?"
Unfortunately, he was currently dealing with Yecang's fierce assault and had no chance to make a remark.
Only when facing Yecang's full firepower did he realize how much she had held back in their previous brief encounter.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"
Seizing the opportunity, Uchiha Takashi unleashed a C-rank Flame Bullet.
For him now, with his improved understanding of the fire chakra nature transformation, the speed of this jutsu was terrifyingly fast.
Facing his jutsu, Yecang didn't counterattack but chose to dodge, simultaneously launching a shuriken.
In doing so, she conserved chakra for another jutsu.
Thud! Uchiha Takashi took the shuriken with his shoulder.
If he used the Body Flicker Technique and let the Flame Cloak burst with flames to accelerate, he could have dodged it.
But he chose to endure it to gain a chance to use his jutsu.
What kind of jutsu would make Uchiha Takashi choose to take damage for an opportunity?
Boar-Tiger-Monkey...
His hands formed seals rapidly like a blooming flower.
Yecang could sense Uchiha Takashi was preparing a high-level Fire Release.
Unfortunately, she had just distanced herself to dodge the Flame Bullet and couldn't interrupt him immediately, so she could only throw a fireball created by her Scorch Release.
Facing the incoming fireball, Uchiha Takashi calmly formed seals.
He knew that if hit, even with the Flame Cloak's protection, he would be injured if not killed.
Fortunately, having hovered on the brink of death before, the more critical the moment, the clearer his mind became. His hands didn't waver as he successfully executed the jutsu.
"Fire Release: Fire Armor Avatar!"
As the seals were completed, he unleashed this A-rank Fire Release.
A few meters tall, the flame avatar collided with the incoming Scorch Release.
Boom! The explosion blew the surrounding ground away.
When the flames dispersed, the ground beneath the avatar's protection remained intact amidst the blasted earth.
"Do you think this jutsu can block the Scorch Release?"
Yecang wasn't too concerned about the Fire Armor Avatar.
Though her previous attack didn't destroy the defensive jutsu, she was confident she could break through it in a few more tries.
However, Uchiha Takashi nodded in agreement, saying, "You're right, the Fire Armor Avatar alone isn't enough, but how about this?"
As he spoke, his hands formed seals, preparing to unleash his most powerful jutsu in his normal state.
(End of Chapter)