Ren was stunned.
Mikoto's slap had been nothing short of divine intervention.
Fugaku jumped in fright as well, hurriedly setting his teacup aside and standing up.
He moved too fast—tea splashed all over his clothes.
He didn't even dare wipe it off, forcing out a dry laugh as he explained,
"Ahem… th-they're just sparring. Sparring, that's all."
"Sparring?"
Mikoto frowned suspiciously.
Before she could question further, Fugaku quickly ushered her back into the house.
"Phew…"
He wiped the sweat from his brow and turned to Itachi.
"Your mother doesn't know anything about this. Could you maybe—"
Crash—
The wooden door was pushed open again.
"Onii-san, hug."
Little Sasuke, rubbing sleep from his eyes, bounced in cheerfully and rushed straight into Itachi's arms without hesitation.
Then, nestled in Itachi's embrace, he even shot Ren a disdainful little snort.
The already tense ancestral hall grew even more awkward.
"Ahem… looks like killing's off the table tonight," Ren said after a brief pause, sounding oddly considerate.
"How about you come back in a couple days and try again?"
Itachi: "..."
He hesitated for half a second—then swung.
Thud!
Before Sasuke's shocked eyes could even fully widen, Itachi knocked him out cleanly with the back of the blade.
After gently laying him aside, Itachi shook his head.
"There won't be another chance."
As the words fell, his aura shifted once more.
Buzz… buzz… buzz…
Orange-red chakra surged over his body like rising flames.
He looked toward Ren, his voice carrying a rare gravity.
" Ren, I have reasons I absolutely must act. So—"
"So take this—Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Boom!
Before Itachi could finish speaking, his body was blasted backward.
He slammed into the courtyard wall—
Boom!
The wall collapsed, burying him beneath rubble.
"Man, you really talk too much, Itachi. I'm getting tired of it," Ren shrugged as he stepped outside, taking a deep breath.
Air Palm really was convenient.
Even a high-IQ combat genius like Itachi couldn't tank it.
Caw—caw!
But the rubble didn't hold Itachi down.
Instead, several black crows burst out, flapping into the air.
Flutter—flutter—
In the blink of an eye, the crows merged into a single figure.
Uchiha Itachi.
He looked down at his younger brother, feeling—perhaps for the first time—utterly unfamiliar with him.
After a moment, he smiled faintly.
"That strike just now… was that your dōjutsu? Choosing taijutsu instead—wrong path."
"For a shinobi, ninjutsu is what truly matters."
"Now… carefully experience this feast of ninjutsu."
"Amaterasu!"
Fwoosh!
His right eye snapped open.
Black flames erupted out of thin air—icy and scorching at the same time.
At the doorway, Fugaku's pupils shrank sharply.
"So fast… black flames that burn everything… is that the power of Itachi's other eye?"
Fast.
Too fast.
Even though Itachi had announced it beforehand and activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, Fugaku hadn't managed to catch the flames in time.
By the moment he saw them, the black fire had already appeared beneath Ren's feet.
Seeing Ren not moving at all, Fugaku shouted anxiously,
" Ren! Move! Get out of the way!"
He rushed forward—
Then froze.
The black flames passed straight through Ren's body.
As if striking empty air.
They didn't stop until they hit a cherry tree outside the courtyard wall, where they finally ignited it in roaring black fire.
"So you've gained a space-phase ability too… just like that man who called himself Madara?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes, his heart sinking slightly.
That man's intangibility couldn't last more than five minutes…
In that case—
I'll burn you until you're forced out.
He covered his left eye and spoke again,
"Amaterasu!"
Fwoosh!
This time, even faster—more black flames erupted beneath Ren, engulfing him like a blazing inferno.
But—
Soft radiance flowed across Ren's body.
Pale moonlight draped over him, turning his entire form into light itself, like an invincible golden body.
"Man, this trait is ridiculously unfair," Ren muttered, glancing up at the moon.
Sunlight is light.
Moonlight is light.
Even streetlamps are light.
Worst case? He could just use Fire Release—firelight is still light.
In other words, this "golden body" was absurdly powerful—far beyond what he'd imagined.
Drip.
Second by second, time passed.
"Cough… cough… kh—!"
Suddenly, Itachi felt a sharp pain in his throat and started coughing violently, blood splattering from his lips.
"Already can't hold on?"
He stared at the crimson in his palm, his eyes dimming.
Orange-red chakra surged around him again.
Crack—crack—
Ribs of blazing chakra condensed one after another, forming armor-like skeletal protection.
Two massive armored arms, burning with red flames, slowly manifested as well.
"Susanoo…? Itachi really is something else…"
"In just over a year, he's not only mastered both dōjutsu, he's even unlocked this ancient power."
At the doorway, Fugaku's eyes were practically popping out of their sockets.
Even though he had accepted reality—even prepared himself calmly for death—he was still shaken by his eldest son's talent.
"If Itachi had stood with the clan… maybe we really could've restored our ancestors' glory…"
The thought flickered through Fugaku's mind—only to be crushed instantly.
What mattered right now was Ren.
"He's still young. He's never seen the clan records—he can't afford to misjudge this."
Taking a sharp breath, Fugaku hurriedly tried to warn him,
" Ren, that's Susanoo—only Mangekyō Sharingan users can activate it. Its defense—"
His words jammed in his throat.
He couldn't finish.
Across from him, Ren showed no reaction at all to Itachi's Mangekyō or Susanoo.
He merely raised his hand again and repeated calmly:
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm."
Boom!
Boom boom boom!
Compressed air blasts fired like bullets, slamming into Susanoo's skeletal armor with crisp impacts.
But they did nothing.
Itachi shook his head, wiping the blood from his lips with a cold smile.
"Ridiculous. This is the strongest defense in the shinobi world."
"You think you can break it with bare hands? Ren, you're naïve."
"So what?" Ren shot back dismissively.
"Didn't you know? Some people even try stabbing it with shuriken."
He raised his right hand high.
Then brought it down slowly.
Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!
But this time, the Air Palm wasn't a colorless blast of compressed air—
It was a massive crimson chakra cannon.
Nine-Tails Power — Two Tails' Worth!
Containing nearly two-ninths of a tailed beast's power!
Itachi sighed.
"Oh? Infused with chakra nature? Nice idea, but—"
Crack!
The crimson blast tore straight through Susanoo's ribcage, ripping bone apart.
Crack—crack—crack—
Fractures echoed endlessly.
The light in Itachi's eyes faded rapidly.
All color drained from his face.
His body overloaded; Susanoo collapsed and dissipated naturally.
Thud.
He fell toward the ground—
But before he could hit it, a giant hand of crimson chakra formed instantly and caught him.
Then—
Crushed him tight.
"Pretty pathetic, huh, Itachi," Ren said softly, lifting him into the air with one hand.
"Did you really think I kept asking you those questions because I wanted to reform you or recruit you?"
"I was just giving you chances."
His fingers clenched.
Hard.
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