The ghastly white lightning spear that had pierced heaven and earth gradually faded. Yet, the massive hole it had punched through the thick layer of clouds remained, a gaping wound in the sky. Dark clouds swirled clockwise around that void.
At some point, the giant full moon drifted into that deep hollow, casting down a pillar of brilliant, silvery light. It looked like a column of moon-white radiance pouring into the world, illuminating the youth standing in the center of the hall, making his figure appear as majestic and remote as a deity.
However, as the gentle moonlight bathed his face, it brought no warmth. Instead, it carried a tingling sensation from the depths of his soul—an urgent, high-tension premonition of danger, as if he were being targeted by a bow drawn to its absolute limit!
Ren Uchiha took a deep breath, his expression turning heavy. He could feel the terrifying chakra auras leaping toward this location from outside the hall. Among them were two distinct, familiar auras of Tailed Beasts!
Furthermore, there were several presences that rivaled Jinchuriki... their numbers were difficult to judge at a glance! This convergence of power caused the chakra fluctuations to distort the very air into local pockets of stagnation.
"W-what are you looking at?"
On the nearby ruins, Sugaya Ryuzoji stared fearfully at the silent Ren. His face flushed red before turning pale as he clutched the hem of his luxurious kimono. He was losing his nerve.
He couldn't help but stammer, "What are you talking about?! What do you want?! You kept me alive just to—"
Ren tilted his head and spared him a cold, indifferent glance. Without letting the man finish, he snatched up a discarded katana from the rubble and swung it!
Shing!
A crescent of cold blade-light flashed through the air!
Thud!
Sugaya stared in horror as his right arm flew through the air. His face went from confusion to shock, then twisted into a mask of pure agony.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
Tears and snot sprayed as he glared at Ren in terror. "My hand! My hand! You cut off my arm, you—"
"Consider this a small advance warning," Ren said, his voice flat as he stared coldly at him. "Keep screaming, and the next blade will take your head."
Sugaya fell silent instantly, the threat enough to silence a crying child.
"I... I'm listening! No, I'll remember! I'll remember!" He was deathly pale, gritting his teeth against the pain and nodding his head like a woodpecker.
Ren nodded back. He unfastened his black cloak and, as expected, found two "Ninkai" (Ninja Love) markings—Flying Raijin seals—on the shoulder. He shook his head and tossed the cloak aside.
Then, he knelt down, silently watching the unconscious Minato. After a long moment, Ren sighed. He reached out and removed the Konoha forehead protector from Minato's brow and drew a standard kunai from Minato's pouch.
He gripped the kunai.
Screeeech!
The tip of the kunai bit into the steel plate of the forehead protector, carving a deep, horizontal line straight through the Konoha symbol!
Then, he tied the protector around his own forehead.
This was the first time Ren Uchiha—who had never properly worn a Konoha protector, even tossing the one Ryoma Aburame sent into the trash—had ever tied one on so seriously.
Doing so meant he finally acknowledged these bonds: the clan and himself, the clan and the village, the village and himself... and all the colorful Konoha shinobi he had met along the way.
The Uchiha, Orochimaru, Ryoma, Minato, Kushina, Old Chen...
At the same time, it meant he was severing those bonds to become a man walking in the darkness—a Konoha Rogue Ninja!
Before the lightless dark of a battle unto death arrived, he would fight for these people, for all the love he had received thus far! And he would pummel this cruel, heartless world until it yielded a perfect, tear-jerking ending!
"Listen!"
Ren turned to Sugaya Ryuzoji, his voice icy. "Tonight, Ren Uchiha attacked the Konoha envoy, Minato Namikaze, and defected from the village! He betrayed his home and his clan!"
"You are to spread this news!"
"In exchange—I guarantee you will not die tonight!"
Sugaya felt as if a bone were stuck in his throat, unsure how to respond. However, compared to the news, he cared much more about his own life. Under Ren's gaze, he felt a chill like a cold snake slithering up his spine. In this situation, how could he dare say "no"?
"I..." Sugaya panted with fear, asking anxiously, "How? To what extent? And how do I—"
He seemed to be asking about the method, but that didn't matter; with his status, he'd find a way once he was safe. What he really wanted to know was: What do I have to do to stay alive?
Ren looked up, narrowing his eyes as he felt the terrifying chakra fluctuations closing in rapidly. He stood up and pointed at the fainted Minato.
"Carry him. Get out of here and hide!"
"Protect him with your life. Not a single scratch—he shouldn't even trip! When he wakes up, he'll understand everything and take you out of this chaotic city."
"Until—the day the Daimyo dies and you inherit the throne!"
In the increasingly chaotic city of Unming:
"Kill!" "Kill!" "Kill!"
Amidst the roars of the Land of Lightning civilians—who had temporarily become members of the Evil God Cult—a human tide surged through the streets.
Across the giant mountain-built structures, figures darted through the night wind, leaping across suspension bridges, iron cables, and rooftops like shadows, racing toward the epicenter of the chaos at the inner city's edge!
A youth who looked like a mummy—wrapped in bandages even at night, wearing dark sunglasses and leaving only his face exposed—landed on a mountain platform with a squad of elite Cloud shinobi. He blocked the path of two other groups.
Killer B frowned deeply, asking in a cold voice, "Pakura of the Sand's Scorch Release... and Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki of the Rock?"
"What are you doing here!"
The Cloud high-ups knew someone might move against the Young Lord, but they had already informed B and made arrangements. This shouldn't have been B's concern; he was supposed to be maintaining order and suppressing the mysterious riot below.
But the moment he saw that pillar of lightning piercing heaven and earth, dead memories began to attack him. He remembered clearly—and painfully—that he had been beaten into his current state by a lightning spear just like that.
Seeing it again, B's first thought was: Is Ren Uchiha—who was supposedly killed and lost in Hell's Valley—alive?!
Driven by a need for answers, B had rushed over, only to run straight into these two.
Pakura and Roshi... were they the ones targeting the Young Lord?
B narrowed his eyes dangerously. On the other side, the two groups were also stunned to see each other. Both Pakura and Roshi were here for the Young Lord, though their motives differed slightly.
Elder Chiyo has already infiltrated, Pakura thought, moving her hand behind her back toward her weapon pouch. For Suna's future, we must assassinate the Young Lord tonight and frame Konoha! I must stop the others here to ensure the mission's success!
Roshi held a similar resolve. Unlike Pakura, he had attacked the Tenshu Pavilion during the day, only to realize later that the Young Lord's attitude toward him—his "savior"—was incredibly stiff. When he told Kitsuchi, the latter immediately deduced a flaw in the plan. To prevent the truth from leaking, they decided to eliminate Sugaya Ryuzoji tonight.
Roshi, having been the public "savior" of the pavilion, couldn't strike directly, so Kitsuchi had already infiltrated to do the deed in his stead.
The three sides stood in a stalemate. Each side's hidden move against the Young Lord was already in motion.
"B, try not to clash with these two. They are dangerous," the Eight-Tails, Gyuki, warned solemnly within their mental space. "Even with my chakra, your injuries haven't fully healed. A fight now... the odds are uncertain."
"I know..." B exhaled. Normally, he wouldn't fear them; as a perfect Jinchuriki, he could suppress both Pakura and Roshi simultaneously. But after being hit by the S-rank Kirin and his own massive Tailed Beast Bomb, he was riddled with internal injuries. Pushing his limit now risked cardiac arrest and death.
The tension was suffocating. Pakura and Roshi didn't want to move first, wanting only to stall the others, while B wanted to see if Ren was alive but was stuck in this deadlock.
Suddenly—
"BOOM!!"
A massive explosion erupted from the direction of the inner city! The three turned their heads simultaneously.
They saw the mountain where the Young Lord's palace stood. Earth and stone were disintegrating as a peak rose from the ground! It looked like a mountain was tilting. A giant earthen platform was rising, carrying a terrifying, flaming entity beyond human imagination, crashing down toward the most prosperous part of the inner city!
Roshi, the most familiar with such a sight, felt his pupils shrink.
"That's... Kitsuchi's strongest move!"
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall — Great Earth Core!"
"Who is he fighting?! And that thing... what is it?"
The three sides could no longer stand still. They exchanged cold snorts and, in unison, veered off. They accelerated, leaping toward the inner city where the explosions and fires were now raging!
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