"Wood Release… Ren?"
Everyone present stared at the sharp wooden spikes protruding from Ren's arm—at the vines around them that kept moving as if they were actively assisting his fighting.
For a moment, everyone's head was buzzing.
No one could make sense of it.
The scene in front of them was simply too unreal.
"Tenzo, you…"
The Third Hokage snapped back to himself first.
He looked deeply at Ren—then at the Konoha fugitive, Uchiha Obito, who also seemed to be using Wood Release.
Then Hiruzen turned his head sharply toward Tenzo, who looked just as stunned.
"Hokage-sama… it is Wood Release," Tenzo said in a low voice after recovering.
"And it's not just Ren. That wanted criminal—Uchiha Obito—is using it too."
"Wood Release…"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly, and a trace of anger flickered within them.
Wood Release was Konoha's spiritual totem—Konoha's power.
So why did it suddenly look like anyone could use it now?
Tenzo's case could be explained.
He'd been selected by Orochimaru as a child and used for experiments—and he was the only survivor.
But Ren?
What was Ren's situation?
Why could he use Wood Release too?
Could this be… another secret experiment, something Danzō had done?
"Or was it related to those medical reports… when he kept saying his chakra felt abnormal?"
Hiruzen caught the thread immediately, though he knew he'd have to investigate later.
Still—Ren having Wood Release wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Ren, at least, was Konoha's own.
But Obito…?
Why did Obito have Wood Release?
"Hokage-sama, we should move in and support Ren," Tenzo said again.
"Ren's Wood Release looks very unrefined—like he's fighting on instinct. And… his Wood Release seems stronger than mine."
"Instinct… stronger than yours?"
Hiruzen looked at Tenzo, puzzled. He didn't possess Wood Release himself, so many details were beyond him.
"Yes. Ren's Wood Release is stronger," Tenzo explained quickly, voice lowered.
"But there's something unique inside it—something… special."
"It feels like his Wood Release has life in it. It's a very strange sensation—completely different from mine."
"And it's like he doesn't even know how to use Wood Release. He's just letting that power pour out and act on its own."
Alive… but unable to control it?
A sharp light flashed in Hiruzen's eyes.
He felt as if he understood something.
"Prepare to move," he ordered, raising a hand. "We reinforce him."
Then he added, firmly—
"The Uchiha are not the enemy. The enemy is Uchiha Obito. Everyone, keep that clear!"
He had already seen Shisui nearby, clearly preparing something.
Enemy and ally were obvious enough.
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The others answered immediately—
But at that moment, the battlefield shifted again.
"Damn it…"
Obito's mood was awful.
He truly hadn't expected this Ren to be so… abnormal.
Flying Thunder God alone was already a nightmare.
Though in theory, it wasn't impossible for ordinary people to learn—his former teacher, Namikaze Minato, had used it.
And Minato had branded him with a mark. That alone was headache enough.
But now this brat could use Wood Release too?
"Is he an experimental subject…? Or… a Senju?"
Obito couldn't figure it out.
But there was no time to dwell.
He kept switching between real and intangible with Kamui, attacking and evading—
And at the same time, he began seriously considering retreat.
Continuing like this wouldn't yield a result.
Ren was like a flea—teleporting constantly with Flying Thunder God, impossible to pin down.
Worse, the mark on his body meant Ren could always ambush him at any moment.
Even using Wood Release for defense, it still wasn't Obito's main offensive method.
His proficiency wasn't high.
And no matter how careful you were—there was always a gap.
"And that Uchiha Shisui… he's preparing something too."
Obito hadn't forgotten Shisui.
And thinking about him only made Obito's anger flare harder.
He'd talked and talked, tried to "guide" and "convince"—
And in the end, Shisui was swayed more by a few sentences from Ren than by anything Obito said.
"Thinking of running?" Ren's voice rang out suddenly.
"But that's fair. The Third Hokage has already brought people here."
"And you can't do anything to me."
"So yes—like a rat, scurrying off is the correct choice."
"Shut up!"
Obito's eyes were vicious.
He didn't want to hear even half a sentence from Ren.
He didn't understand why—every time this bastard opened his mouth, his anger instantly surged out of control.
"Admit it," Ren said, still pressing the attack, smiling brightly as he fought.
"You're nothing but a sewer rat."
By now, ANBU had taken positions, sealing the battlefield in a tight ring.
The Third Hokage walked forward steadily.
He was no longer wearing the red Hokage robe—he'd changed into battle armor.
Not only that—
Uchiha shinobi were rushing in as well.
This area was close to their district. With a fight this intense, they'd noticed long ago.
"Or maybe," Ren continued, voice dripping with mockery,
"you're a pathetic coward who fell into darkness because of Kakashi and Nohara Rin—"
"A pitiful worm who can do nothing but escape reality."
"I told you—SHUT UP!"
Obito roared.
His attacks accelerated—
But his eyes were scanning the surroundings.
With sharp eyesight, he spotted Kakashi in the crowd.
And in that instant, Obito saw it—
The eye he had given Kakashi was changing.
"…His Mangekyō?"
Obito's gaze tightened.
And then he suddenly realized—
Space itself felt… disturbed.
His face changed drastically.
"Damn it… that eye—!"
"Now, Shisui!" Ren shouted.
Ren had also sensed something wrong with space. Even the Flying Thunder God mark felt unusually clear.
He immediately flashed to Yugao's side.
"Senpai—lend me your blade."
He drew Yugao's short sword in one smooth motion—
Then flashed back in front of Obito.
He didn't dare get too close.
If he got dragged into Kamui, he'd be forced to rely on Kakashi to save him.
Ren wasn't going to gamble his life on that.
"Kotoamatsukami—Radiance!"
Shisui had been preparing for exactly this moment.
In an instant, an eerie power gathered in his eyes—formless and invisible—as it rushed toward Obito.
Obito's body stiffened.
His mind slipped into a haze—
And inside his spiritual world, a gigantic blazing sun appeared, etched with Shisui's Mangekyō pattern.
The sun erupted with searing light.
In that moment, Obito felt as if everything he was—everything inside him—was being annihilated.
"Ghh—!"
A painful, feral groan tore out of him.
And at that exact second—
Ren's blade flashed.
The mask on Obito's face split cleanly in two.
His face was fully exposed before every shinobi present.
Ren's voice followed, light and cruel:
"Hello, Uchiha Obito."
"And… wow."
"You're ugly."
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