What kind of jutsu was Hiruzen Sarutobi most proficient in?
Ask anyone in Konoha and they'd proudly puff out their chest and say: "Lord Hiruzen has mastered all five nature transformations!"
But as a member of the Sarutobi clan, his affinity and depth of mastery in Fire Release was naturally unmatched.
Kazuki stood there, wide-eyed, as Hiruzen opened his mouth and unleashed a massive fire dragon—a blazing, roaring serpent of flame that slammed into the stream ahead of them. Steam exploded into the air as the fire tore through the water, scorching the riverbed dry in a blink.
The mist dissipated. A huge section of the stream had simply evaporated.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu," Hiruzen said calmly, his eyes gleaming with the faintest flicker of pride as he saw Kazuki's stunned reaction.
"This jutsu has excellent destructive power. And if your chakra reserves grow and you deepen your understanding, you can even evolve it into techniques like Fire Dragon Flame Bullet."
His voice was warm and kind.
He always had a soft spot for young shinobi who showed promise—and Kazuki, recognized by both the Fourth Hokage and Jiraiya, clearly had the Will of Fire burning within him.
"Coach! I wanna learn to play—uh, no... I mean, learn Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!" Kazuki stopped himself just short of dropping a Space Jam reference.
After all, this world had no basketball, no LeBron, and definitely no Charles Barkley.
Hiruzen nodded, clearly satisfied. He had come here specifically to teach this technique—partly as a bribe. After all, a retired Third Hokage sneaking around a bathhouse was a scandal that really didn't need to see the light of day.
And so, under Hiruzen's careful instruction, Kazuki managed to learn the jutsu. But the moment he unleashed it, he immediately noticed the enormous chakra cost.
Fortunately, his intense training had raised his chakra refining proficiency a great deal. He'd likely be ready for his next system upgrade soon... whatever that turned out to be.
"This jutsu relies heavily on chakra control and the speed and accuracy of your hand seals. Want to have a little sparring match?" Hiruzen asked pleasantly.
Kazuki's expression twitched.
Hand seals? Chakra control might still be a weak point for him compared to the Third Hokage... but hand seals?
He was Nara Kazuki. No one beat him at hand seals.
"Sure," Kazuki replied with an innocent smile.
Hiruzen grinned and began weaving signs.
Seconds later, his hands froze mid-seal.
Kazuki had already finished.
Completely. Calmly. Ready to fire.
The Third Hokage blinked. "Again," he said.
And so began their training match. Or, more accurately: speed seal humiliation.
Twelve rounds later, the score was crystal clear.
Kazuki wore the expression of an old man playing chess in the park—just there to relax—only to be steamrolled by a kid playing with stockfish-level tactics.
"Ha ha ha, well done, well done!" Hiruzen eventually laughed heartily, wiping a tear from his eye.
Kazuki's opinion of the old man grew more complex. Despite the darker parts of Hiruzen's legacy, the man did seem to genuinely embody the Will of Fire—at least in moments .
Wherever the leaves dance, the flames will burn.
When Hiruzen departed, he left behind a promise:
"Once you can release two fire dragons at once with this jutsu, I'll teach you an A-Rank Fire Release technique."
Kazuki's anticipation spiked.
He turned back to his system interface.
The Great Fire Dragon Jutsu now had a new proficiency bar—starting at 500, not bad. But more interesting was the Hand Seal skill tree. He was just twenty seals short of leveling it up.
Only two hundred more seals to go.
Kazuki rolled up his sleeves and got to work. As usual, he stacked Great Fireball Jutsu layers while hammering through seal repetitions.
Soon enough, the system chimed.
[Hand Seal Proficiency Level Up!]
Three upgrade choices popped into view:
["Strong Enemies Aren't Scary if You Trip Them Up"]
Force one seal misfire from your opponent. Usable three times per day.
["Wait—You Can Charge Ultra Fragments With Hand Twirls?"]
Your seals become flashy and exaggerated. Your jutsu gains +30% power.
["Sorry, Players Were Getting Too Many Buffs"]
Your seals distract others more easily. All jutsu deal -10% damage.
Kazuki stared at them.
The first option had strategic appeal—a forced misfire? That could turn the tide of a fight. But it had a daily limit of three uses. And against top-tier shinobi who could clap their hands once and produce a jutsu, it might not even work.
The second option... pure, delicious power. 30% boost to all jutsu? No drawbacks?
The third one was... weird. More like a group debuff. Drawing attention while reducing jutsu power. A debuff that acted like a buff under relativity? Clever. Very meta.
But Kazuki wasn't trying to win in theorycraft. He was trying to win.
"Option two it is," he muttered, tapping the screen.
Upgrade confirmed: Hand Seal Style – Flashfire Form unlocked.
He took a deep breath.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"
A roaring dragon burst forth from his mouth and crashed into the nearby trees. Birds scattered, leaves exploded.
Kazuki sighed, cracked his knuckles...
...and grabbed a water bucket.
Guess it's time to cosplay as a Konoha firefighter again.