The underground complex trembled.
Seals activated in cascading waves, glowing symbols igniting across walls, ceilings, and floors. The fractured suppression chamber was already reforming itself with secondary containment arrays—thicker, darker, more ancient in structure.
Ren stood calmly at the center of ruin.
Dust floated around him like ash after a battlefield.
Across from him, Danzō didn't retreat.
He didn't shout.
He didn't panic.
He raised his hand.
"Level Three containment is insufficient," he said evenly.
A silence followed that felt heavier than the suppression pressure.
Then—
"Release the asset."
The Sage-affiliated shinobi's posture stiffened.
"Lord Danzō, that is not—"
"Release it."
The command cut cleanly.
From deep within the complex, something moved.
Not footsteps.
Not chakra.
Weight.
A heavy, dragging presence that made the stone vibrate faintly.
Ren felt it before he saw it.
The drums inside him shifted.
Not louder.
Not faster.
Alert.
Doom.
The broken chamber doors split apart completely as a reinforced gate behind them began to lift.
Darkness poured out first.
Then—
Chains.
Thick black sealing chains wrapped around something enormous.
A silhouette stepped forward slowly.
Humanoid.
Tall.
Broad.
Skin pale as bone.
Its eyes were empty.
Not blind.
Empty.
No pupils.
No reflection.
Ren tilted his head slightly.
"So this is your bigger cage?"
Danzō's voice remained calm.
"This is an asset developed to handle anomalies."
The chains clinked as the creature stepped fully into the chamber.
Its body was wrapped in sealing inscriptions carved directly into its flesh.
Not written.
Carved.
Ren's eyes sharpened slightly.
That wasn't normal shinobi.
That wasn't natural.
The Sage's voice lowered.
"It absorbs chakra on contact."
Ren smiled faintly.
"That's not what I use."
The creature moved.
Not fast.
But direct.
One step forward—
The floor cracked under its weight.
It swung an arm at Ren.
Ren allowed the strike to land.
His body compressed under the force—
But instead of stretching—
The creature's skin absorbed the recoil.
The impact vanished.
Ren's brow lifted slightly.
Interesting.
The creature grabbed Ren by the throat.
Its grip was crushing.
No chakra spike.
No technique.
Just overwhelming physical suppression.
Ren's body tried to stretch—
The natural energy interference from the Sage pressed down—
And the creature's skin absorbed the distortion.
For the first time since awakening—
Ren felt resistance that didn't bounce.
Danzō watched closely.
"Now," he murmured.
The creature tightened its grip.
Ren's feet left the ground.
His ribs compressed.
His vision darkened slightly.
The drums didn't roar.
They slowed.
Doom…
The creature lifted him higher.
It opened its mouth.
Inside—
More seals.
Layered like a cage within a cage.
Ren's eyes sharpened.
So that was it.
Absorb chakra.
Suppress distortion.
Contain inside a living prison.
Danzō stepped forward slightly.
"You are valuable," he said. "But only under control."
Ren's lips curled faintly.
"You misunderstand."
The creature slammed him into the ground.
Stone shattered.
Dust erupted.
The creature pressed its palm onto Ren's chest.
Chakra absorption activated.
The Sage increased natural energy suppression.
The entire chamber tightened around Ren.
The drums slowed further.
Doom…
For a second—
It looked like he was pinned.
Contained.
Overwhelmed.
Root operatives relaxed slightly.
Danzō's visible eye narrowed.
"End it."
The creature began channeling a sealing technique directly into Ren's body.
Symbols crawled across Ren's skin.
Black.
Binding.
The drums stopped.
Silence.
Complete.
Stillness.
Then—
Ren laughed.
Not softly.
Not faintly.
Open.
Clear.
The creature froze.
Danzō's eye flickered.
The Sage's expression shifted.
Ren's body did not stretch.
It did not distort.
It did not release chakra.
Instead—
He compressed.
All of it.
Every ounce of absorbed force.
Every ounce of suppression pressure.
Every ounce of physical crushing weight.
Compressed inward like a coiled spring inside a locked box.
The creature's grip tightened.
Trying to crush him before release.
Too late.
DOOM.
The sound didn't come from Ren's chest.
It came from the entire chamber.
A shockwave exploded outward—not chakra, not distortion—pure physical rebound magnified beyond calculation.
The creature's arm snapped backward violently.
Its carved seals fractured.
Its body was launched across the chamber and embedded into the reinforced wall hard enough to crack the entire structure.
The Sage was thrown off his feet.
Suppression pillars shattered completely.
Root operatives slammed into ceilings and floors.
Even Danzō staggered one step back.
Ren rose slowly from the crater.
Dust swirled around him.
His skin carried a faint white sheen now—more visible than before.
His hair lifted slightly as if gravity had loosened its hold.
His eyes were calm.
Too calm.
The creature tried to stand.
Ren stepped forward.
Each step dented the stone slightly before snapping back.
"You absorb force," Ren said softly.
He reached out.
Placed his hand against the creature's chest.
"Let's see how much."
The creature swung again.
Ren didn't dodge.
He let the strike land.
Compressed.
Stored.
Released.
The recoil shattered the creature's ribcage.
Sealing inscriptions split apart.
The chains snapped.
The creature collapsed.
Unmoving.
Silence filled the chamber.
Red alarms flickered erratically.
Dust settled.
Ren turned his head slowly toward Danzō.
The pale tint on his skin faded.
The drums lowered again.
Doom.
Danzō's gaze had changed.
This was no longer analysis.
This was acknowledgment.
"You are dangerous," Danzō said.
Ren smiled.
"You finally noticed."
Outside the chamber—
The deeper levels of Root trembled.
Emergency sealing protocols escalated.
Entire corridors began collapsing inward to contain the threat.
Ren looked upward.
The ceiling groaned.
"They're sealing the level," the Sage muttered.
Danzō's voice was steady.
"Collapse the chamber if necessary."
Ren looked back at him.
"You'd bury your own men?"
Danzō didn't hesitate.
"The village endures."
Ren's smile widened slightly.
"Good."
The drums echoed once more.
DOOM.
"Because I'm not done."
The ceiling cracked.
Stone began falling.
The entire underground complex started collapsing inward.
Ren flexed his fingers.
This was no longer containment.
This was war.