A fist slammed into Moroi's face with sickening force, caving in his cheek and sending him crashing against the barrier wall.
THUD!
"Ugh-ugh!" Moroi let out a muffled groan, spitting out three bloody molars.
He was at his limit. Between the long journey, the constant Body Flicker, the sealing arts, and Ren's previous combo attacks, his chakra was 80% depleted. He was gasping for air, his body and mind screaming for rest. He never imagined that Ren Uchiha—the boy hit by the Ink Flush Sealing—could not only stand back up but launch a counteroffensive!
Watching Ren crawl toward him like a vengeful spirit, his eyes bloodshot and his face twisted in a demonic grin, Moroi felt his heart seize. It was as if a devil's hand had gripped his chest.
Ren sneered, the single tomoe in his Sharingan spinning violently. He forced himself up and delivered a brutal front kick squarely to Moroi's face. The impact slammed Moroi's head back into the barrier, leaving him howling behind his hands.
Without a pause, Ren spun into a sidekick, striking Moroi's left cheek. The force sent the Special Jōnin spinning through the air, dragging a trail of dust before slamming into a pile of broken masonry.
In this moment, the world through Ren's eyes was crystal clear. He could see every grain of dust, every minute movement. A new surge of power was rising from his exhausted body, but it did nothing to soothe his rage or his terror.
Rage because his "death process" had been interrupted. Terror because the future was now a terrifying blank space.
Ren gritted his teeth, tearing a dry explosive tag from his vest. He pulled his last kunai from his leg holster, wrapped the tag around the tip, and advanced on Moroi. His expression was a horrifying blend of ink, blood, and tears. He was trembling—his jaw was set, his muscles twitching—a mask of absolute fury and fear.
Moroi struggled to his feet amidst the rubble, shaking his head to clear the stars. His left ear was ringing, but through the noise, he heard voices calling from outside the barrier.
"Moroi! Get it together!" It was Ramii. "Can't you see? He's only using Taijutsu! His chakra is completely suppressed by the Ink Flush!"
Moroi snapped back to reality just as a kunai lunged toward his face! He mobilized his remaining chakra, grabbed Ren's wrist, but Ren simply let out a manic laugh.
CRACK! Ren intentionally dislocated his own arm to break the grip! With his other hand, he slammed the explosive tag directly onto Moroi's face.
The tag ignited!
BOOM! The shockwave threw both of them back into the dirt. Moroi scrambled away, gasping in pure terror. "Madman! Psycho! You're trying to take me with you?!"
If Moroi hadn't slapped the tag away at the last millisecond, they both would have been vaporized.
Ren swayed as he stood up, his scarlet eyes burning with contempt. "You call me a madman?" He bared his teeth, looking down at Moroi with utter disdain. "Who do you think you are? Did you ever even have a basic education?"
"Do you even know what a truly peaceful world looks like? Have you ever felt the joy of sitting in a room, drinking a cold Coke, and typing away at a keyboard toward your dreams?"
"I had everything!" Ren roared. "And then I was thrown into this shitty world for some godforsaken reason! You don't understand anything! You, the Cloud, the Leaf... you're all just unevolved barbarians!"
Ren covered his face and let out a long, hysterical laugh. "I'm sick of it! Sick of it, sick of it, SICK OF IT! A world with no WiFi, no snacks, no games, no movies... nothing I care about! Nothing I want!"
He stopped laughing abruptly, his Sharingan glowing with a chilling, arrogant rage. "This world is hollow! It's meaningless!"
He looked through Moroi, as if staring at the very fabric of the world itself. He beckoned with his hand, a mocking gesture:
"Come on. Kill me."
Moroi's gaze went cold. He didn't understand what "WiFi" or "Coke" was, but he understood one thing: this "trash" Genin, this mere fodder of the Third War, was mocking him.
"You really want to die? Fine!" Moroi drew his katana, settling into a low stance. Since Ren couldn't use chakra, Moroi's superior Taijutsu as a Special Jōnin would be more than enough to crush him.
Ren didn't waste words. He lunged forward, hands hidden behind his back as if reaching for a tool. Moroi sneered, swinging his blade in a Cloud-Style: Deception Slash. It was a horizontal feint designed to force a dodge, leading into a lethal follow-up.
But Ren didn't dodge.
He let the blade carve a deep, jagged wound from his left shoulder to his right. Then, he grabbed the blade with his bare hand, blood dripping from his fingers.
His eyes were a whirlpool of madness. "This is an elite ninja's swordplay? Not enough! NOT ENOUGH!"
"Come on! Kill me! Give me everything you've got and KILL ME!"
Moroi stared in shock, his fear returning. This kid is a monster...
Suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from outside the barrier:
"ENOUGH!"
"Moroi, release the barrier! I will kill him myself!"
Dodai was making hand signs at a blistering speed, his eyes crazed. The pressure from Setsuna's bounty and Ren's madness had finally broken his composure. He was going to bury everyone—Ren, Setsuna, and even Moroi—under a mountain of lava.
Earth Style: Earth-Core Rise!
Lava Release: Rubber River!
Two A-Rank jutsus were primed and ready to erase everything!