"Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
Nara Kazuki's hands formed seals in a blur, and with a grin, he launched two roaring fire dragons straight into the woods behind where Kakashi stood.
Moments later, flames erupted among the trees.
Kakashi scowled, forming a counter-seal. "Water Dragon Jutsu!" he muttered, summoning a torrent to douse the blaze.
"I swear, Kazuki, could you throw the damn things into the sky next time?!" Kakashi snapped, soaked and exasperated. "Do you even know how many times I've had to put out your forest fires lately? I'm starting to hate Fire Release."
Kazuki shrugged innocently. "Slipped. Totally slipped."
He glanced at the scorched woodland. Wonder if I hit Obito back there.
He had his suspicions that Obito liked to lurk in the shadows, spying on Kakashi during his regular visits to the graveyard. Honestly, that guy had a voyeur complex or something.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. He could feel it in his bones—this bastard Kazuki was definitely doing it on purpose.
Meanwhile, Kazuki was buzzing with excitement.
His Great Fire Dragon Jutsu had finally reached the upgrade threshold.
[As You Wish, Just Like I Pictured It]
Each time you cast Great Fire Dragon, you can choose two of the following enhancements: increased accuracy, increased damage, or increased area of effect.
[Thank God It's Fire Release – We're Not Gonna Die]
Targets hit by Great Fire Dragon can no longer die from it. However, its damage and area of effect are quadrupled.
[It's Great Fire Dr—Wait What?!]
Your Great Fire Dragon will now change elemental form depending on the chakra nature used.
The first was flexible—on every cast, he could adjust two properties. Solid utility. The only unknown was how much the boosts were.
"Wait... what?" Kazuki leaned in.
[Targets hit by Great Fire Dragon cannot die.]
His expression twitched.
Was this—was this playing on the trope that Fire Release in the anime looked flashy but rarely killed anyone?
But then... a darker thought sparked in his mind.
What if, he mused, someone was already at death's door... and I hit them with this?
Would it prevent them from dying?
Would repeated casts lock them in a state of suspended mortality?
Was this... a conceptual-level technique?
He stared at the description, gears turning fast.
This wasn't just a meme upgrade. This was potentially immortality through fire.
Then he checked the third option.
It was straightforward—channeling different elemental chakra into the technique would transform the dragon's type. Lightning dragons, water dragons, ice dragons... whatever he infused, he could project.
That would help solve his current issue: even when he managed to generate exotic chakra natures via fusion, he had no jutsu to use them with.
This would turn Great Fire Dragon into a multi-element nuke launcher.
"There's no choice, really." Kazuki didn't hesitate.
He picked the second upgrade.
Because the mere possibility of a concept-level effect like non-lethal immortality through fire was far too juicy to ignore.
He needed to test this.
He looked over at Kakashi, who was still quietly gazing at Obito's gravestone.
Kazuki had actually clocked this: every time they came here, Kakashi spent about 45 minutes at Obito's grave and 15 minutes at Rin's.
Really makes you think.
So who was the "real" teammate in his heart, eh?
Kakashi turned abruptly. That familiar tingle of hostile attention had hit him. And, of course, it was Kazuki again—staring at him like he'd just figured out a dark secret.
"Kakashi, wanna spar?" Kazuki asked, hands itching with curiosity.
Normally, he wouldn't refuse. Sparring was standard training. But Kazuki... was an exception.
His jutsu were bizarre. Sadistic. Dangerous. Every match left Kakashi emotionally, if not physically, drained.
"I'll only use one jutsu. I promise," Kazuki added. "Just want to see the new effect."
Kakashi sighed. He was a jōnin with a Sharingan. He could probably dodge one Great Fire Dragon.
Fighting Guy was worse anyway. Guy punched jutsu out of the air. Kazuki at least stayed at range.
The two returned to Konoha and entered one of the ANBU training grounds.
"Why not the woods like usual?" Kakashi asked, a little suspicious.
"Too risky," Kazuki grinned. "Don't want certain people catching wind of this technique. Indoors is better."
Kazuki was thinking of Obito, of course. Obito might be lurking, but even he would hesitate to sneak into a secure village facility.
Kakashi shrugged, then lifted his headband to reveal the Sharingan.
Kazuki's hands flashed into seals.
Snake → Dragon → Hare...
"Great Fire Dragon Technique."
Kakashi's expression hardened.
A moment later, a massive dragon head—easily as big as the Third Hokage's bust on the Hokage Rock—erupted forward in a searing blaze.
Even before it reached him, the heat singed Kakashi's hair.
Instinctively, he moved to dodge.
But a wave of dizziness crashed over him.
He staggered—chakra imbalance? Visual genjutsu? A pulse of negative ions?
Thankfully, he'd prepared for Kazuki's nonsense.
A shadow clone materialized instantly in front of him, erecting a Water Wall Barrier, pulling Kakashi out of the way as the searing dragon slammed into the wall with a deafening roar.