To his utter shock, Akira, the young shinobi standing beside Kakashi, was far more powerful than he had anticipated.
"If I'd known this, I'd have gone to the underworld first to gather intel..." Hiruko thought bitterly. A seasoned jōnin since the Second Great Ninja War. Yet here he was, utterly defeated by this Uchiha.
"When the Sannin were his age, they weren't this strong!" Hiruko seethed with frustration.
In the next instant, the massive beast he had been controlling froze mid-stride in the forest, and Hiruko's vision was engulfed in a sea of dark red. Suspended in the sky above him, a sinister Sharingan with three tomoe swirled ominously.
Looking down, he found himself bound to a colossal wooden stake.
"A Sharingan illusion..." A flicker of panic crossed Hiruko's face.
Before he could react, his consciousness plunged into darkness. With Hiruko subdued by the Sharingan's genjutsu, his Chimera Technique unraveled. His physical body detached from the giant summoned beast, reverting to his usual form.
By now, Uchiha Akira's left eye had transformed into a Mangekyō Sharingan. To ensure he controlled Hiruko completely, he had put forth nearly all his strength—similar to when he had subdued the six-tailed rhinoceros.
Unlike the six-tailed beast, Hiruko was a shinobi without a tailed beast's vast chakra reserves. This allowed Akira to maintain control over him for a much longer duration, providing an opportunity to explore the secrets of the Chimera Technique.
The potential of this jutsu was undeniable. It allowed its user to seize bloodline limits and assimilate them as their own. By combining five different bloodline limits, the technique even granted immortality. This enormous potential made it possible to ascend to the ranks of the most elite shinobi in the ninja world.
In realizing that his opponent was Hiruko, Akira set his sights on the Chimera Technique. If left unclaimed, this powerful forbidden jutsu would go to waste. But now that it was within his reach, he couldn't resist.
Watching Hiruko, standing entranced by the genjutsu, Akira tossed a blank scroll and a pen in front of him.
"Write down everything about the Chimera Technique," he ordered, "and include any critical details about mastering it."
Without hesitation, the entranced Hiruko bent down and began to write on the scroll.
Five minutes later, he straightened up, the scroll now filled with details of the Chimera Technique, including its practices and precautions. Satisfied, Akira swept his Sharingan over the text, memorizing it instantly. Then, he rolled up the scroll and stowed it away.
With a quick series of hand seals, he unleashed a massive fireball that reduced Hiruko to a heap of ash.
"No need to go looking for him," Akira said as he reappeared near the camp. "He's taken care of."
Seeing Akira return, Hyūga Homon shrugged.
"See? I told you he'd come back on his own."
Kakashi glanced over but said nothing, turning his attention to Akira as he approached.
"How did it go, Akira?"
"It's done. A Fire Release took care of him," Akira replied.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Fire Release, huh?"
"Yep," Akira confirmed, nodding. He then turned to Homon. "Homon, you should be able to see that with your Byakugan."
Homon shook his head. "Not from this distance."
Soon, it was just Kakashi and Akira left by the fire. Silence fell over the scene, each lost in thought. Kakashi, staring into the flames, seemed to drift off somewhere deep within his mind.
Meanwhile, Akira, newly armed with the secrets of the Chimera Technique, was similarly absorbed.
"This Chimera Technique has immense potential!" he thought as he reviewed the jutsu details in his memory. It was no wonder that Hiruko had dared to challenge the Five Great Nations, his arrogance fueled by the sheer power of the completed technique.
Hiruko had only begun to scratch the surface, fusing with beasts and other shinobi as crude practice. To truly master the Chimera Technique, one needed to combine five shinobi with compatible bloodline limits under optimal conditions, thereby attaining immortality.
The five bloodline limits had to be chosen carefully. Not only did they need to be powerful, but they also had to complement each other. Otherwise, incompatible abilities could work against each other, weakening the final result.
"If I truly want to pursue this Chimera Technique, I'll need to carefully select the five bloodline limits," Akira mused.
For him, one was already clear: the Wood Release passed down from Hashirama Senju. Hashirama's cells would allow him to use his left Mangekyō Sharingan without restraint, making Wood Release a critical component.
"Luckily, I already possess the Sharingan, so I don't need another one," Akira thought.
"On top of that, I have a Byakugan." He remembered the eye he had taken from a Mist Village jōnin. The Byakugan's potential was significant. If it could evolve into the Tenseigan—a power that rivaled the Rinnegan—it would be a worthy addition.
Wood Release's strength, while dependent on the user, was devastating in Hashirama's hands. Even Madara Uchiha, armed with the Nine-Tails, had been unable to defeat him. In the hands of others, however, like Yamato, its impact was far less impressive, more a testament to Hashirama's own chakra than to Wood Release itself.
For Akira, it wasn't the Wood Release that mattered most, but the life force contained within Hashirama's cells.
"The other three bloodline limits need careful consideration," Akira thought, though no perfect candidates came to mind just yet.
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