Naruto: This Genius is Somewhat Ordinary-Chapter 384

Black Zetsu’s eyes widened as realization struck him.

"Mother! That’s his technique!" he shouted.

"Damn it—he’s even using the magma inside your dimension?!"

He knew that jutsu. He’d seen it more than once. But this... this went further than he’d imagined. To think that Tōma could treat even the magma of Heavenly Transfer as fuel.

Kaguya frowned.

Even she couldn’t simply dive into that sea of molten rock and drag him out. Her body wasn’t built to endure prolonged exposure to such an environment. Worse still, she couldn’t lock onto Tōma’s exact position.

Without that, switching dimensions again would mean dragging the entire magma sea along with her.

That was unacceptable.

So she had to act.

Waiting was not an option. Whatever he was doing down there, he was clearly accumulating power.

Trapping him indefinitely wouldn’t work either. That strange Moon Sprite had already proven that escape from her dimension was possible. If that creature could leave, then Tōma could too.

And above all—

She did not want to lose his chakra.

"...In that case," Kaguya said softly.

She raised her hand.

The magma below responded.

The sea of molten rock split apart as if sliced by an invisible blade. The abyssal magma rolled upward on both sides, exposing everything hidden within.

At the center of it all burned a magnificent crimson figure.

The Vermilion Phoenix.

Even submerged in magma, its heat was overwhelming, far hotter than the molten sea around it.

Seated calmly atop its head, Fujimoto Tōma opened his eyes.

He glanced at the towering magma walls on either side and immediately understood what Kaguya had done. With power like this, even an ocean would have been torn in two.

The Phoenix lifted its head.

Behind it, columns of magma reversed their flow, pouring inward and converging into a single point. A massive sphere of compressed molten rock rapidly formed above, its chakra density staggering.

Tōma’s expression turned... complicated.

He could feel how powerful that attack would be.

But using fire to deal with this?

"...Seriously?" he muttered.

"Go, Vermilion Phoenix," he said aloud.

"Let’s teach her a lesson."

The Phoenix spread its blazing wings.

Then—

it let out a loud, unmistakable belch.

Tōma stared.

The Phoenix averted its gaze, clearly embarrassed. It had absorbed a little too much magma in one go. To cover its shame, it released a piercing cry that echoed throughout the dimension.

Then it charged.

Kaguya brought her hand down.

"Sunfall."

The magma sphere hurtled forward like a newborn star, dwarfing the Phoenix entirely.

And yet—

The Phoenix didn’t slow down.

It surged straight into the molten sphere.

The Phoenix vanished.

Kaguya didn’t relax.

She clenched her hand.

The magma sphere detonated, erupting with world-shaking force.

Even so, she sensed it.

Something was still moving inside. Slowed, but unstoppable.

Her eyes widened.

The Phoenix burst free, wings blazing, dragging an entire sea of fire behind it as it tore toward her.

"That’s impossible," Kaguya said, genuine shock breaking through her calm.

"How can a human wield power like this?"

Inside the Phoenix’s core, Tōma looked at her through burning light, his eyes reflecting flame.

"So don’t underestimate humans," he replied.

For once, he formed hand seals.

"Sage Art—Blaze Release: Vermilion Phoenix!"

The Phoenix surged forward—

And the world shifted.

Space twisted.

Again.

"Tch—another transfer?" Tōma clicked his tongue.

He couldn’t stop her from leaving without stopping himself as well. And that wasn’t an option.

A sudden chill washed over him.

The heat vanished.

Snow fell.

He found himself inside a colossal glacier, everything frozen solid. Kaguya. The Phoenix. Even the air itself.

But the ice around the Phoenix melted instantly, boiling away as it forced itself free, carving a tunnel straight upward.

Kaguya was already gone.

A black spatial裂 had opened beside her the moment she arrived. She had stepped out first.

Moments later, Tōma emerged into the open sky of an endless frozen world.

"Well done," he said, patting the Phoenix.

Then he sealed it back into its crimson core.

It hadn’t dealt decisive damage, but it had forced Kaguya to retreat and abandon the magma dimension entirely.

Worth it.

He glanced around.

Endless glaciers. Eternal snow.

Kaguya was nowhere to be seen.

And yet—

She was everywhere.

Her chakra permeated the ice itself.

That’s when Tōma felt it.

Something massive blocked out the sky.

He turned—

A silent avalanche was already falling.

No sound. No warning.

It had always been there.

"...So you merged with the environment," Tōma murmured.

This was worse than magma.

He raised a hand and tapped the air.

Ripples spread, like a stone dropped into water.

A space-time technique. One that took time to activate. Useless in normal combat.

Perfect right now.

He stepped forward and vanished.

The avalanche swallowed the space he’d occupied.

He reappeared elsewhere—only to be greeted by spears of ice erupting from below, above, and all around. The world itself attacked him.

Tōma moved constantly, evading, shifting, never stopping long enough to pinpoint Kaguya.

Frost crawled across his clothes.

The temperature plunged.

He closed his eyes.

Find her.

He expanded his perception to the limit.

The entire frozen world took shape in his mind—not because his sensing had grown stronger, but because everything here contained her chakra.

He couldn’t locate her.

But he could predict everything.

Ice spears missed. Avalanches fell late. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"...Yomotsu Hirasaka," he muttered.

"What a pain."

If she refused to emerge, he couldn’t force her.

Unless—

He looked at the ground, where ice formed a gaping maw beneath him.

"Did you really think I can’t use Ice Release?"

The ice lunged.

And froze in place.

Tōma stood calmly, his eyes pale and cold as snow.

Ice Release stabilized instantly.

He hadn’t bothered learning it before. Not worth the effort.

But now?

He was at the Six Paths level. He understood chakra far too well to fail at something this basic.

Wind and Water. Combined. Simple.

And this world itself was the perfect training ground.

Standing atop the glacier, Tōma pushed back against Kaguya’s will directly.

He was losing. Badly.

But that wasn’t the point.

She couldn’t kill him here.

Not with ice.

"So?" he said calmly, voice echoing across the frozen world.

"Aren’t you coming out, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?"