When this group of people—most of whom were never meant to survive until the start of the original story—stood by his side, Ren Uchiha felt a strange resonance. He struggled to lift his head.
Through his blurred vision, he saw a thin figure with a resolute back. The old man drew his blade and stepped forward, shielding him from the storm.
"Great Elder..."
Ren froze, a wave of inexplicable panic surging in his chest.
Setsuna Uchiha didn't look back. He merely suppressed his exhaustion and spoke with a calm, steady voice:
"Ren."
"You have done more than enough."
"Wait..." Ren couldn't hear him, but he gritted his teeth, his eyes wide with alarm.
Setsuna had awakened the Mangekyo, but he had forgotten his unique ocular jutsu, Heavenly Standing, and one of his eyes was permanently blind from using Izanagi. He couldn't even manifest the legendary "Third Power," the Susanoo—not even in its skeletal form.
Even if the Mangekyo boosted his genjutsu, chakra, and insight, it only barely pushed him to the threshold of Kage-level. Against a monster like Kakuzu, he would struggle; against the Third Raikage at the peak of his power, it was a death sentence.
The only thing the old man had left was that technique.
"Great Elder, you..." Ren wanted to tell him to stop.
Leave me. Get out of here. Just hold on a little longer, someone is coming to save you...
But Setsuna interrupted him without turning around.
"Do you remember what I told you back at the volcano?"
"I said—you have a firm will and a long-term vision. Compared to a mediocre man like me, you have a better chance of reaching the 'other shore.' You are more capable of carrying the clan. You... have more right to live!"
"And now, you have proven you can do those things."
"The final lesson I wish to teach you is this—"
Setsuna took a deep breath, his single eye locking onto the Third Raikage. He gripped his blade tight and let out a low shout:
"True victory isn't defeating the strong. It is protecting the things that matter to you until the very last moment."
"That is victory!"
The moment the words left his lips, flames and lightning roared simultaneously!
A brilliant blaze ignited, lighting up the night sky. Setsuna set his very heart on fire, funneling it into his blade.
Fire Style: Chakra Mode—Activate!
He lunged forward, blade held to his chest, and thrust!
BOOM!
The blade transformed into a massive, elongated pillar of fire, like a heavy hammer of flame, slamming toward the Third Raikage's One-Finger Nukite!
In that instant, the physical blade in Setsuna's hand melted away. He immediately formed hand seals with blinding speed: Rabbit-Ram-Boar!
Forbidden Jutsu: Izanagi—Activated!
The Fire Style: Chakra Mode allowed a mortal body to burst with the power of a Kage, but it didn't guarantee victory. It was a forbidden technique that traded life for attack power, and it had a ceiling. Ren had already demonstrated that ceiling—the Raikage's Two-Finger Nukite and Black Lightning could tear through it.
Against the even stronger One-Finger Nukite, Setsuna's flaming sword was instantly shattered, reduced to four trailing beams of fire that whistled past A's body.
A was barely slowed. He closed the distance in a flash.
Squelsch!
The lightning concentrated at his fingertip tore straight through Setsuna's chest!
Ren's fist clenched so hard his knuckles turned white. Even knowing the old man had used Izanagi and wouldn't die from this hit, the sight was agonizing.
But Setsuna, his single eye staring at A from inches away, flashed a savage, cold smile.
"Now! Do it!"
The moment he used his physical body to stall the Raikage, the other Konoha ninja didn't hesitate.
"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm!"
The two Hyuga ninja struck simultaneously, combining their air palms into a blast strong enough to deflect even the Ten-Tails' attacks. The massive shockwave slammed into the Raikage, halting his momentum once more!
Then, several figures in Konoha flak jackets leaped out!
"Eight Trigrams: Mountain Crusher!"
"Leaf Dragon God!"
"Secret Technique: Insect Bog!"
"Secret Technique: Insect Spear!"
Hizashi Hyuga led the charge with a full-power Mountain Crusher, a laser-like beam of chakra slamming into A's chest.
"Is this... gentle fist? Point striking?" A was shocked. The force of the strike bypassed his armor and hit the pressure point near the hole in his chest, causing his lightning armor to fluctuate and weaken significantly!
Immediately, Ryoma Aburame's Insect Bog swarmed up, binding the Raikage's limbs. Chen-sensei's Leaf Dragon God—a spinning tornado kick—slammed into the weakened spot on A's chest!
The lightning flared and scattered, creating a brief opening in the armor.
"IT MUST HIT!!"
"Go, my insects!"
Shikuro Aburame gritted his teeth, his hands forming the Ram seal. He condensed his nano-sized poisonous insects into a Spear. The insect spear spiraled through Setsuna's chest and, without losing speed, shot toward the Third Raikage's heart!
A's eyes narrowed. A heavy sense of crisis washed over him. This combo was too fast, too coordinated. They had been planning this while he was busy with Ren!
However—
"Lightning Style: Black Panther!"
A roared. Black, leopard-shaped bolts of lightning erupted from his body in every direction. This was a nature transformation at the absolute pinnacle of Lightning Release—similar to the "Purple Electricity" Kakashi would later develop. Its power far exceeded normal lightning.
The black lightning pulverized the insect spear into dust and sent the surrounding Konoha ninja flying, their bodies tossed like ragdolls.
At that moment, the body of Setsuna—still impaled by A's finger—turned translucent and vanished.
This was Izanagi. By sacrificing an eye, the user could rewrite reality, turning unfavorable events into illusions while keeping the favorable ones. For its duration, the user essentially had infinite "respawns."
Setsuna emerged from the gap between reality and illusion, bypassing the black lightning pillars to appear right in front of the Raikage. He thrust a condensed blade of white fire toward A's heart!
"He's still alive?!"
A's pupils shrank. He didn't have time to wonder why. Snap! He caught the white fire blade between his lightning-clad palms, stopping the thrust. He then spun and delivered a hand-blade strike that exploded the old man's head.
A second later, Setsuna vanished and reappeared.
But without the other ninja to create openings, Setsuna—despite his infinite revivals—couldn't land a lethal blow. He could only harass and stall.
For Setsuna, that was enough. His goal was to keep the Raikage away from Ren until the very last second.
The battlefield fell into a stalemate. The Raikage was forced to defend against an old man who kept dying and reappearing with a flaming sword that could actually threaten his armor.
In the sky, a bolt of blue lightning flashed.
—RUMBLE!!
Thunder shook the air. The thick clouds finally broke, and it began to rain. Large droplets hammered down on the charred ruins, a mournful, weeping sound that filled the air with tragedy.
Ren watched with growing despair.
Izanagi had a time limit. Without the power of the Senju, Setsuna's Mangekyo could only sustain the jutsu for so long. Once time was up, they were all dead. And Minato's promised arrival was still ten minutes away.
It was all for nothing.
Ren couldn't understand why this old man would go this far for something so futile. He counted the seconds in his head, his gaze becoming vacant, his expression wooden. He watched Setsuna charge and get crushed like a fly, over and over.
In this moment, it wasn't anger or sadness that filled him. It was a heavy, suffocating despair—the feeling of being utterly alone and helpless.
CRACK!
Lightning lit up the world again. Amidst the chaos, a new set of footsteps echoed.
Step... step...
A tall man in a black robe, wearing a Takigakure rogue headband and a black mask, walked slowly through the rain. His eyes glowed with an eerie green light.
The hearts of the Konoha ninja sank even further. This was the S-rank rogue, the strongest bounty hunter in the world: Kakuzu!
The Raikage, still fighting Setsuna, narrowed his eyes. He recognized him. Decades ago, Kakuzu had worked with the Gold and Silver Brothers. He was a powerhouse with the strength of a Kage.
"Kakuzu?" A growled.
Kakuzu's cold gaze landed on the prone Ren Uchiha. A dark smile played under his mask. He looked at the Raikage.
"Raikage—is the previous offer still on the table?"
A's lip twitched. A month ago, Chiyo of the Sand had hired Kakuzu to ambush the Konoha reinforcements. He had been "captured" by the Uchiha, but seeing him now—uninjured and well-fed—it was clear he had been biding his time to strike a better deal.
"Kakuzu!" A shouted, leaping away from one of Setsuna's strikes. "I'll match whatever the Sand promised. Just leave!"
"Tsk, tsk. I'm afraid not," Kakuzu said, closing the distance. "Taking the money and finishing the job is the rule of my trade."
He paused, his voice low and raspy. "Besides, this brat's head is worth sixty million ryo. The exchange gave me thirty million as a down payment. That's ninety million... quite a bit more than your sixty, wouldn't you say?"
"Let me calculate... if I take the boy and flee, I wonder how much the Uchiha would pay me to get him back? Would it be more than ninety million?"
A's face darkened. He knew bounty hunters had no loyalty. "Try it... if you aren't afraid of dying."
Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, weighing the risks. After a moment, he said, "I'm only joking, Raikage. Why would I do such a thing?"
His tone shifted. "I'll help you kill the brat. But I want it all: the exchange's sixty million, the Sand's thirty million, and your sixty million."
He paused. "Otherwise..."
A huffed, annoyed at being extorted, but he didn't refuse.
With the deal struck, Kakuzu's eyes crinkled. In a blur of motion, he lunged forward! The Konoha ninja watched in horror, too broken to stop him.
Ren's internal clock hit the three-minute mark. He looked up.
Setsuna's crimson eye suddenly turned a hollow, dead white. The string had snapped. Like a bird with broken wings, Setsuna fell from the air—and the Third Raikage caught him by the throat.
Ren opened his mouth. Two warm, metallic-tasting tears rolled down his face. He couldn't hear a thing. His vision was fading.
He could only feel his face twisting into something monstrous. His lungs burned like they were filled with smoke. His blood felt like it was boiling. His eyes, dark from lack of chakra, suddenly flared into a brilliant crimson! Two tomoe spun frantically around his pupils!
Chakra began to surge from every corner of his body!
But then—a hand grabbed Ren by the hair and yanked his head back! He was lifted up, forced to look into the eyes of his captor.
Kakuzu.
Ren froze. He saw Kakuzu's other hand moving with blinding speed!
SPLAT!
Blood sprayed. Fingers like diamond dug into his eye socket, crushing the brow bone and plunging into the eye!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
Ren screamed in agony as half his vision vanished in a burst of white-hot pain. Through his one remaining eye, he saw Kakuzu pull his mask down, revealing a cold, stoic face.
In Kakuzu's fingers was a blood-soaked eyeball, already showing the shape of three tomoe.
Before the other eye was taken, Ren saw Kakuzu's mouth move. In the silence, the rogue ninja silently mouthed two sentences:
"Jump!"
"Just like you did before!"
Then, the final agonizing strike hit.
Ren fell into total darkness and silence. He felt sharp objects pierce his body, and the hand holding his hair let go.
Then came the endless, nightmarish sensation... of falling.
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