[Day 28]
After finishing your usual assassination task, the two Root ninja overseeing your assessment unexpectedly approached you with a strangely flattering tone, asking if you wanted to try out some "new merchandise."
You nodded.
In response, they dragged something out of a massive cage.
What emerged… was a grotesquely massive monster, constantly writhing, its form indescribable.
It stood nearly as tall as a three-story building. Its body was covered in countless human heads and wooden stakes, its skin—or rather, the bark-like surface covering it—seemed more plant than flesh. From its base extended eight legs, bizarre in shape, some humanoid, some beastlike, resembling gnarled tree roots that held up its enormous body.
It looked like a failed experiment from Orochimaru's lab—some hideous fusion involving Wood Release—recycled by Danzo for a second round of use.
Just as well. You were curious to see what this big freak was capable of. Consider it early training for dealing with colossal enemies like Tailed Beasts or Susanoo.
You activated four simultaneous Fire Release jutsu, shaping them into massive fire dragons, launching a devastating area-of-effect attack on the monster.
To your surprise, when the inferno ended, the beast had only suffered superficial wounds.
Its heads—human and beast alike—howled in unison. The cries carried an intense spiritual shockwave that rattled your senses. You gritted your teeth and clutched your ears, trying to maintain focus.
Then, some of those heads opened their mouths and simultaneously fired off Fire Release, Lightning Release, Water Release, Earth Release, and Wind Release jutsu in your direction.
You dodged the onslaught with quick footwork, then clapped your hands together. Six fire dragons materialized around you, swirling in formation to intercept and neutralize the barrage of elemental ninjutsu. Seizing the moment, you manipulated a flame tongue to reverse-flow along a Wind Release stream the creature had exhaled, driving it directly into the monster's mouth.
Boom!
The heads responsible for the Wind Release exploded in a burst of flames.
The monster shrieked again, releasing another piercing sound wave. But you had anticipated this and already blocked your ears.
Just then—crack! Thunderous lightning bolts rained down from above. Even with the help of the Body Flicker Technique, you barely dodged in time.
Yeah... you're still not strong enough to brute-force your way through something like this.
But that doesn't mean you can't outsmart it.
Based on your observations, the thing packs monstrous destructive power and even area-of-effect mental attacks—definitely Kage-level—but it clearly lacks intelligence. It just retaliates instinctively, relying on its thick hide and sheer toughness.
And most importantly… it heavily depends on the eyes embedded in its heads for vision.
In that case—I'll destroy every last one of your heads.
Fire Release: Hiding in Ash
You exhaled a massive fireball toward the monster. Upon detonation, it unleashed a cloud of thick smoke and ash, blanketing the area.
The Lightning Release jutsu locked onto you moments ago now had no target, flying wildly and detonating all over the battlefield.
Now!
Fire Style: Majestic Flame Destruction
A thick fire dragon burst from your mouth. Under your expert control, it spun rapidly in midair. Each time it spiraled, its size compressed further—not a loss in power, but rather a deadly focus of it.
BOOM!
In the blink of an eye, the fire dragon, once as wide as two people holding hands, had shrunk to the width of a single arm—and slammed into the massive monster, exploding violently.
Twisted limbs, bark-like armor, and putrid flesh were blasted off in all directions.
Thankfully, the underground training facility was reinforced with multiple barrier seals and costly reinforcements by Root. Otherwise, the explosion would've brought the whole place down. Even so, the metal infrastructure beneath the soil was now riddled with craters and fractures.
It should be dead...
That was the most difficult Fire Release you'd ever controlled, and by far your strongest. You leaned heavily on your scorched ninja blade for support, utterly drained. There was no chakra left in your system to launch another attack of that scale.
And then—
A massive, twisted limb surged forth from the smoldering remains. It began piecing together the shredded heads and meat scraps into a colossal wooden mallet, which it raised high and brought crashing down toward you.
BOOM!
The impact carved a pit two or three meters deep where you had just stood.
You'd barely dodged in time.
A strike like that would've wrecked even a Tailed Beast. So this really was a Wood Release-based abomination—misshapen, yes, but horrifyingly powerful.
You reversed your grip on your ninja blade, heating it until it glowed white-hot, and slashed down at the malformed limb with everything you had.
The blade sank in just barely an inch.
Not even enough to pierce the wooden surface.
Looking at the still-living creature—despite half its body being blown apart—you realized: unless you could unleash another compressed Dragon Flame Singing Fire to explode it from the inside, there was no way to truly kill it.
But your chakra was already depleted.
Then your eyes shifted to the chakra-alloy box strapped to your chest.
This little box was crafted specifically to preserve a special flame you had harvested from the incineration of mutated Bugs. Right now, it might be your only shot.
A fire with piercing power… one that could destroy the monster from within.
Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!
You rapidly formed the necessary hand seals, pushing the jutsu's chakra consumption to the limit.
Countless fireballs shot out like a torrential downpour, covering every inch of the monster's massive form.
But such scattered fireballs barely tickled the thing—its bark-covered exterior was far too resistant.
Not that you were expecting this to kill it.
What mattered was the three emerald-green flames left in your chest box.
It was just a theory… but you steeled yourself and channeled all the chakra you had left into them.
Go!
The emerald flame, infused with your chakra, streaked forward like a ribbon through the air—graceful, yet swift as a gale.
Converge!
You formed another hand seal.
The scattered Phoenix Sage Fireballs abruptly veered toward the emerald flame, merging with it midair. They were being absorbed, becoming part of this strange and volatile power.
The emerald fire suddenly swelled to enormous size—soaring to the same height as the monster itself—and formed a curtain of flame.
It brushed lightly across the monster's body...
Then roared to life, consuming it violently.
Yes—this flame, born from the mutated Infestation Bug's death, possessed the ability to absorb and burn chakra. Against a lifeform rich in Wood Release vitality, it grew rapidly, just like the bug it came from.
The monster's chakra was devoured almost instantly. Its hulking frame began to shrivel from the inside out, like a tree drained by insects—its exterior largely intact, but utterly hollowed out.
Taking advantage of the lull, you downed a soldier pill and rested for a moment, recovering a sliver of chakra. Then you performed a sealing hand sign and reabsorbed the green fire into your chakra-alloy box.
You could feel it—the flame had become far more stable after feeding on the monster's life force. Not only was it more persistent, but also far more controllable.
Next time, you wouldn't need to pre-feed it with Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson just to get a rough shape.
You could launch it directly with seals, like a Great Fireball or Flame Bullet.
It still wasn't as flexible as your own Fire Release techniques, but it offered something unique—something deadly.
In the future, this flame might become an indispensable part of your arsenal... perhaps even a rival to the legendary black flames of Amaterasu.
You made your decision.
You'd give this green fire a name.
Keep it simple.
Let it be called—Flame of the Infested.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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