Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Uchiha Clan's Secret Technique

Uchiha Li calmed his breathing as he smiled and said, “Have you forgotten? We Uchiha are naturally skilled at Fire Style.” In truth, while the Uchiha clan did excel at Fire Style, their prowess was only somewhat above that of ordinary shinobi—not to the extent Li had just displayed. The real secret behind his powerful Fire Style was the Mangekyō.

Ever since his Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyō, Li found that his understanding of Fire Style had soared to an entirely new level, though he couldn’t quite explain why. At first, he thought it was because of Amaterasu, but later realized that wasn’t the case; instead, it reminded him of a certain Apostle in Terra…

Kakashi nodded at Li’s words, showing no suspicion, and merely replied, “Your Fire Style far surpasses mine. I’m not your match.”

Li did not bask in Kakashi’s praise. Instead, he said, “You must have another technique you haven’t used yet. I can sense it.”

Kakashi hesitated, then finally nodded. “There is one move… but—” Mid-sentence, he closed his mouth, refusing to go on.

Li’s eyes lit up at this. He had only been probing, but hadn’t expected Kakashi to have already developed that move. With a deliberate tone, Li said, “What’s wrong? Do you think I’m not worthy of your ultimate technique?”

Kakashi quickly waved his hands in protest. “No, I only just invented it. I can’t fully control it yet—it’s too dangerous.”

Li shook his head at the explanation. “I don’t think your jutsu could injure me.”

He paused, then pressed on, “Show me your ultimate move. Otherwise, with the strength you just displayed, I can’t acknowledge your right to the Sharingan.”

Kakashi still hesitated. “But it’s really too dangerous. If I’m not careful, something could go wrong.”

Li stepped forward, his expression grave. “I don’t know exactly what your ultimate move is, but have you forgotten about my eyes?”

He paused, then added more pressure, “If you don’t even have the courage to use your best technique against me, you don’t deserve to keep the Sharingan!”

Kakashi froze, then slowly clenched his fist. He could tolerate anything else, but the Sharingan entrusted to him by Obito—he could never give it up.

“Hm?” At that moment, Li sensed a shift in Kakashi’s aura, growing dangerous and intense.

Kakashi finally made up his mind. “You’re right, Li. Since I hold Obito’s eye, I can’t just admit defeat!”

With those words, his aura surged. Kakashi looked deadly serious. “Next, I’ll prove my worth to you. Be careful.”

Crackle, crackle…

Blue lightning began to flicker along Kakashi’s arm, the electric crackle reminiscent of birds singing. The birdsong multiplied, growing sharper and clearer—one, two, fifty, a hundred, five hundred…

In the end, it was as if a thousand birds sang out together, their chorus echoing throughout the field. Chidori had fully taken shape!

“What terrifying power—even before he uses it, the momentum is overwhelming.” Li felt the force of Chidori, his entire body tensing up.

While Kakashi struggled to control the Chidori in his hand, he called out, “This move is called Chidori. Please be careful!”

With a final warning, Kakashi transformed into a flash of blue lightning, charging straight at Li.

Eyes fixed on Kakashi’s rapidly approaching figure, Li suppressed the urge to activate the Mangekyō and instead unleashed the full power of his three-tomoe Sharingan. Even with his superior Sharingan, he could only just make out Kakashi’s movements.

His heart sank. “No wonder Chidori must be paired with the Sharingan—at such speed, without its dynamic vision, even the user can’t see the target clearly.”

As Kakashi, brimming with unstoppable force, drew near, Li quickly pondered his countermeasure. He could easily block Chidori by summoning Susano’o, but that would reveal his Mangekyō—a risk he was unwilling to take.

Without Mangekyō abilities, most of his jutsu were offensive in nature, and Fire Style rarely lent itself to defense.

“I’ve never used it before, but I should be able to manage now.”

He made up his mind to try. Though Kakashi’s Chidori was formidable, his chakra reserves were limited, and since the technique was newly developed, this might even be Kakashi’s first time using it in real combat.

Under these circumstances, there was no need to reveal the Mangekyō; he could win with his own strength.

He had to win this fight—and win head-on.

Taking a deep breath, Li gathered all his chakra. After completing a series of hand seals, flames ignited on all five fingers of his right hand.

“Uchiha Flame Formation!”

He slammed his right hand to the ground, unleashing crimson flames, like hellfire itself, that blazed around the earth. The deep red fire formed a towering cylindrical barrier, encasing Li within.

This was a secret technique unique to the Uchiha clan. Though less renowned than Izanagi or Izanami, its power was not to be underestimated.

In the original story, Obito had used this very move to withstand the might of the Eight Tails and protect the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Despite its strength, few employed this technique, as it required profound mastery of Fire Style. Within the Uchiha, even elite jonin rarely commanded it, and only a handful could wield it effectively in battle.

Boom—

Kakashi, wreathed in Chidori, crashed hard into the blazing barrier. A massive shockwave erupted, scattering fallen leaves and sending tremors far and wide.

The penetration force of Chidori was not to be taken lightly, and the flame barrier began to warp under the impact.

At this point, only the barrier separated Kakashi from Li—they were within arm’s reach. Yet, despite the short distance, Chidori failed to break through. Instead, the distorted flames rebounded like a taut spring, flinging Kakashi away like a kite, landing him amid a distant haystack and sending grass flying everywhere.

Li, still standing, was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

“It was so close—Chidori’s penetration is truly terrifying, and this is only Kakashi’s initial version.”

As the fiery barrier faded, Li let out a sigh of relief. Without his enhanced understanding of Fire Style, he could never have used this secret technique—in which case, he might have been forced to reveal the Mangekyō.

After a moment, Kakashi, his clothes a bit tattered, walked over to Li. He gave Li a searching look, his expression complicated and tinged with disappointment. “I’ve lost. The Uchiha secrets are legendary for a reason.”

As he spoke, Kakashi raised his hand, reaching for his left eye.

Li quickly stopped him. “Your Chidori was impressive as well.”

With a nod in the style of Obito, Li used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.

Kakashi stared at his outstretched hand for a long time before finally pulling down his forehead protector to cover his left eye.

“What a peculiar man, Uchiha Li…”