529 Naruto the Flame-Flame Fruit

"Got it, Dad. Check out this move!"

Shinichi spoke, and blazing claws ignited at the tips of his ten fingers, radiating scorching heat.

"Piercing Burst!"

His body vanished in an instant. Kiyosuke sidestepped, lightly avoiding the claws. The wave of heat washed over him. The spot where he had been standing was torn open by Shinichi, leaving several deep gashes. Flames crackled inside the fresh pits—highly effective.

"Interesting. So this is the new technique you developed?"

"Yeah. I boost my speed first, then attack with Flame Claws. With Sage Mode's superior sensory perception, I won't lose track of the target no matter how fast I move."

Shinichi said smugly. Kiyosuke replied, "It's similar to Chidori, but Chidori needs Sharingan to unleash its full power. Since Kakashi lost his Sharingan, he developed Purple Lightning. But you—your enhanced sensory abilities let you react ahead of time. Not bad."

Speed and power were both excellent; undeniably strong.

"Come on, son. Let Dad show you something really good."

"What?" Shinichi looked curiously and saw the sage markings slowly appear on Kiyosuke's face. After entering Sage Mode, one of his eyes turned into flame.

"Remember this, son. In a real fight, weapons are pointless. A true hero slays with his eyes!"

The moment he finished, a thin beam of fire shot from his eye, piercing straight through a massive tree. Kiyosuke tilted his head, sweeping the beam sideways, slicing through several more trees as blazing flames erupted along their trunks.

"Amazing!" Shinichi exclaimed.

"And there's a combo!" Kiyosuke extended his hand, clenching it into a fist. The flames bent to his will, forming a blade that shot toward a boulder. With a thunderous bang, it exploded, stone shards spraying out—right through both father and son.

"Dad, that's insane! I want to learn that one!"

Shinichi shouted excitedly. This was the move he wanted—besides being overwhelmingly powerful and nearly impossible to defend against, it had the most important quality of all: it looked cool.

If it's cool enough, who cares about raw damage?

So many of his father's techniques were both devastating and ridiculously stylish. No wonder his mother—the beauty she was—fell for him back then.

"Alright. I'll teach you how to use it."

Kiyosuke began explaining the technique in detail. Passing on his skills and watching his child grow—this was a father's duty.

"Kiyosuke-sama!"

As he taught Shinichi, a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Ino? What is it?"

Only the Yamanaka Clan could do this—using their telepathic techniques to communicate within a certain range. If she was contacting him, something must have happened.

"Someone has infiltrated Konoha. They're moving toward Naruto's location. Very fast. They'll pass by your position in about twenty seconds—fifteen seconds now!"

"I see them already. Pretty arrogant."

Shinichi looked over. "What an overwhelming aura!"

"It really is."

Father and son watched the incoming blonde woman and nodded at the same time.

"Dad, what are you looking at? Want me to tell Mom?"

"You brat, you're asking for it. Knock her out of the sky."

"Okay! Jet Flame!"

A stream of fire cut off the airborne girl. She halted midair, blue flames bursting from her legs.

Her legs were unusual—practically jet boosters. When she landed in front of Kiyosuke, the boosters shifted back into high heels.

Coldly, she said, "So you're the ones who tried to ambush me?"

Kiyosuke studied her—a long cascade of curly golden hair, pale purple eyes with vertical black lines running through her pupils and irises, red triangular earrings, and a stripe across the center of her forehead.

A cloak draped her body. Her beautiful face twisted with irritation.

"You trying to die?"

"I like a good thrill."

"Then I'll thrill you to death!" The woman vanished in an instant. The moment she reappeared behind Kiyosuke, his fist slammed into her stomach, sending her flying.

Boom!

She smashed through several trees, coughing up blood. Shock flashed across her face.

"Who are you? How do you have that kind of power?"

Kiyosuke said nothing. He dashed forward, a spear of fire forming in his hand, thrusting straight at her heart.

Her eyes widened—his flame spear was sucked into her right eye.

"What?"

Startled, he immediately pulled back.

"Seriously… why does everyone these days absorb chakra? It's getting embarrassing at this point."

He scratched his head in annoyance. This version of the world was extremely unfriendly toward him.

Had time itself nerfed him?

Why could everyone do this now?

And if it wasn't chakra absorption, it was super regeneration. Absolutely unfair.

"Heh. I know who you are—Asakawa Kiyosuke of Konoha. The man who manipulates fire freely. The hero of Konoha. Didn't expect me, Delta, to run into you."

Delta removed her cloak, revealing a dark green bodysuit, striped pink-and-black stockings, and white knee-high boots.

Under Kiyosuke's surprised stare, her legs morphed into blades—they had been modified as well.

"I'll kill you first. Then the Hokage. Then bring Kawaki back!"

Her mission target was still Kawaki. Kiyosuke said, "Didn't Kashin Koji tell you? Kawaki is under my protection."

"That bastard, Kashin Koji…" Delta's lovely face twisted with anger. "I'll deal with him later. But before that, I'll deal with you!"

She attacked, clashing with Kiyosuke using her specially modified legs. Because he was wary of her absorption ability, Kiyosuke didn't dare elementalize recklessly and relied on evasion.

"Inorganic Reincarnation!"

Spikes of earth erupted from the ground. Delta spun, slicing them apart with her blade-like legs.

Shinichi, who was forming the sage technique, clicked his tongue. Delta glared back—her left eye fired a flaming spear, the very one she had absorbed earlier from Kiyosuke, shooting toward Shinichi before exploding.

Kiyosuke didn't even look. He knew his son would be fine. Instead, he grabbed Delta by the hair and slammed her face into the dirt, grinding hard.

"You bastard! You're dead!"

Delta's eyes widened again, gathering terrifying chakra. Purple beams shot toward Kiyosuke.

He raised his hand, Kāma appearing, absorbing her attack.

"Here—take it back! Takami Musubinokami!!"