Half an hour later, atop a massive rock.
Ren Uchiha committed every detail of the scroll to memory. Without a moment's hesitation, he woven signs with his hands and exhaled a Great Fireball to incinerate the scroll into ash right where it lay.
Then, he assumed a cross-legged position.
Closing his eyes, he focused his entire attention on his breathing. Gradually, the howling of the early spring wind faded from his ears.
Slowly, the steady thump-thump of his heart began to resonate like thunder.
With the full moon floating behind him and the wilderness stretching to the horizon, Ren snapped his eyes open under the cold moonlight. Within his crimson pupils, the black tomoe spun slowly; the world around him seemed to hit a slow-motion button.
He stared intently at his own chest. Under the vision of the Sharingan, a flicker of Fire Nature Transformation ignited from his heart!
Blazing flames instantly surged through his entire body. Ren felt as though he had returned to that moment of confrontation with the Cloud trio—the moment the paper bombs erupted and scorched his body and soul.
But unlike then, the surging power was now confined within this physical vessel, like a highly compressed depleted uranium shell ready to mushroom-cloud at any second.
Sizzle— Sizzle—
Under the intense heat, his body began to make a sound like meat sizzling in oil. A sudden, agonizing pain gripped his heart! Ren's pupils shrank, and he immediately cut off the chakra supply.
Rows of subtitles appeared in front of his eyes.
[You have mastered Fire Style: Chakra Mode (Entry, A-Rank, Extremely Dangerous)]
Hiss—
Violent steam erupted from every pore of Ren's body. He gasped for air, a lingering fear gripping his heart. If he hadn't mastered Elder Setsuna's "Wire Strings" technique to an extraordinary level—giving him supreme control over his body—he wouldn't have realized the danger in time to stop.
If he hadn't stopped, he would be dead right now. And a death like that would only count as suicide.
"As expected, it's dangerous. The process is irreversible; once fully ignited, chakra burns chakra in a chain reaction like a nuclear blast. There's no turning back after that."
With his heart still aching, Ren exhaled a long, concentrated white mist and pushed himself up. With a thought, he opened his status panel.
[Employee: Ren Uchiha][Title: Hero from the Heavens][Talents: Heartsteel (SSS), Sharingan (Single Tomoe, B+), Combat Intuition (Entry, S)][Skills: Uchiha Style-Wire Strings (Exquisite, S), Ultra-Deathmatch Barrier (Proficient, S), Great Fireball (Entry, C), Phoenix Sage Fire (Practiced, C), Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson (Proficient, B), Dragon Fire (Entry, C), Air Cutting Decapitation Wave (Proficient, B), Basic Academy Techniques, Basic Taijutsu (Practiced)][Special Skill: Fire Style: Chakra Mode (Entry, A-Rank, Extremely Dangerous)][Heartsteel Stacks (Expandable)][Insurance Status: Premium Paid]
Seeing the "Fire Style: Chakra Mode" fixed on his panel, Ren's heart finally settled. Besides this core forbidden art, the scroll contained a sword style called "Dance of the Sun Halo." However, it required weapons made of chakra-conductive metal. On its own, the sword style was B-Rank, but combined with the Sharingan, Genjutsu, a chakra blade, and the Fire Chakra Mode, it formed the ultimate S-Rank Forbidden Sword Art.
In the original series, Shisui Uchiha mastered this sword style, though perhaps because Setsuna was long dead by then, Shisui never learned the core Fire Chakra Mode. Of course, for Shisui who could manifest a Susanoo, that didn't matter much.
Ren looked up at the moon and took a deep breath. Now that he was prepared, all that remained was to head to the Jashin Cult headquarters and raise hell!
But—
Just then, a familiar voice came from behind, filled with questioning and anger.
"You really planned to go alone?"
"You wanted to say all those pretty words and then charge off to die by yourself?"
"Ren Uchiha, who exactly is the one running away now?"
"Do you really want your ideals to end in a tiny corner like the Land of Steam?! ANSWER ME!"
Ren whipped his head around, only to see a small fist flying straight at his face! His instinctual combat intuition made him tilt his head just in time to dodge. Behind the fist was Hidan's furious face.
Ren's guard dropped in shock. Hidan seized the chance, leaped up, grabbed Ren's collar bandages, and slammed him against the giant rock.
THUD!
The impact echoed. Hidan's eyes were bloodshot as he roared:
"Bastard, say something!"
"You..." Ren was stunned. He had told Hidan to go home and be a shut-in, but the kid had caught up in less than an hour. And he looked ready to beat his "big brother" to a pulp.
"You what?! I'm so annoyed right now! Seriously, Ren Uchiha, enough is enough!"
"Without me to lead the way, do you even know where the Jashin Cult headquarters is?!"
Ren froze. A grim realization hit him. Wait, he's right. Where the hell IS the headquarters?
Ren frowned, his powerful frame tensed as he effortlessly repositioned Hidan back to where a "little brother" should be. He put on a cold face and scolded:
"Stop messing around, Hidan! Even without you, I could just catch a cultist and beat the location out of them."
Then, Ren shook his head with righteous conviction. "But, you came at the right time. Your task is simple: tell me the location, and your mission is complete. I'll even let you take some credit for wiping them out. That way, you can brag to the Steam Ninjas that you once fought alongside the future ruler of the world, Lord Ren Uchiha. Doesn't that sound like a win?"
Hidan stared at the "righteous" Ren with a face that said he was seeing a ghost. How can someone be so thick-skinned? One hour ago, this guy was a legendary mentor; now he was trying to scam info out of a kid?
"You bastard!" Hidan snarled, slapping Ren's hand away. He turned his head away defiantly. "I'm going with you!"
"Tch." Ren felt a headache coming on. "Kid, why won't you listen?"
He finally understood how Setsuna felt when he tried to stop Ren from taking missions. This was a suicide mission; the kid didn't have insurance, so why was he acting tough?
Hidan shook his head, his eyes burning with resolve. "I'm definitely going! Ren Uchiha, I want to watch you. I need to see for myself... if you really have what it takes to be my Evil God!"
Hidan took a deep breath. The light that Ren had shattered seemed to rise again, even more brilliant, in his eyes!
"Like you said, right? All I want is the god I need! Whether it's you or that freak in the cult doesn't matter! I'm going to end the chaos in this land, kick out the Great Nation ninjas, and become the next 'Demigod'! That is my Ninja Way!"
Hidan stared intensely at Ren. "And for the first step, let's take out that tumor called the Jashin Cult!"
Ren went silent. Though he felt a small spark of emotion, his logic told him that if Hidan went, history might repeat itself—or get worse.
But just as he was about to refuse, a voice as clear as a silver bell rang out from behind.
"Then follow along, Hidan. I'll agree to it on his behalf!"
Ren froze and turned around.
Standing in the silvery moonlight was the girl with the clear emerald eyes. She had her arms crossed over her chest, a faint smile on her lips like a spring flower in bloom.
She opened her cherry lips and said softly:
"And I'm coming too."