Crimson blurs of extreme speed raced in circles around him. The afterimages and the true body blurred into a single line, making it impossible to distinguish the location of the attack.
Ren Uchiha gritted his teeth so hard they threatened to shatter. Veins bulged across his forehead and temples as he gripped the eighteen-meter Futsunomitama with both hands, clutching it like a massive pillar. The scarlet glow in his eyes vanished, replaced by sharp, golden serpentine pupils.
As his chakra reached absolute zero, the Susanoo dissipated, and his Sharingan could no longer remain active. Fortunately, the eyes he had once mutated by accepting natural energy could still draw in power, barely keeping him from collapsing.
This sensation—relying neither on chakra nor on the Sage Chakra fused through Sage Mode, but simply driving the violent, raw natural energy of the world—was exquisite. Free from Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, free from the animalistic Sage Arts of the Three Great Sage Regions, and free from the Otoutsuki-descended chakra and Tailed Beast influences, his body accepted the purest, most omnipresent energy in nature.
Under the wash of this energy, his body was adapting to the rhythm. It was synchronizing.
He was breathing with the world.
[You have mastered: Unknown Sage Form. Can be named. (Rank A)]
[Unknown Sage Form: Significantly increases physical strength and enhances senses for a short duration. Intense use will lead to a three-day period of weakness. Long-term practice provides life-extending and body-nourishing effects.]
Two lines of subtitles flashed before his eyes, but Ren didn't have time to read them. He only knew one thing: Time was short.
Natural energy in a localized area is finite. Unlike the deep forests of Jigokudani, the air in a bustling capital like Unming City had a much lower concentration. By draining every drop of natural energy within range, Ren estimated he could maintain this state—granting him the strength to lift the true form of the Futsunomitama with his bare hands—for thirty seconds at most.
After thirty seconds, his chakra, natural energy, and the lightning stored in the blade would all be gone. Even the Forbidden Art: Body Transformation wouldn't be able to squeeze out another drop. Having fought five Kage-level opponents in a row, he would be defenseless.
He could hope for backup from Terumi Mei and Suigetsu, but in battle, Ren Uchiha only trusted his own hands. To find a path to survival in adversity, he had to crush every enemy in his way.
Thirty seconds to beat down two Jinchuriki.
Enough.
Ren's gaze turned savage.
At that moment, Killer Bee and Roshi, who had been circling at high speeds, narrowed their eyes.
"The Sharingan is off, and the skeletal frame holding the lightning sword is gone!"
"Is the brat finally at his limit?"
A cruel smile stretched across their Version 2-transformed faces. Now's our chance!
CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!
Bee and Roshi slammed their feet into the ground simultaneously, kicking up clouds of dust as they twisted their bodies to face Ren, preparing to blast him point-blank with Tailed Beast Bombs.
But the moment they began their move, the figure in the center of the ruins erupted with a speed even greater than theirs, leaping out like a cannonball! Waiting to die was never Ren's style.
Holding the skyscraper-sized lightning sword above his head, he leaped into the mid-air, the veins in his arms pulsing as if they were about to explode. Then, he swung—no, he thrust the sword like a massive pillar straight into Roshi's mouth just as the Jinchuriki was about to fire.
"So fast!"
"Damn it, what is this speed!?"
Roshi's eyes bulged in shock.
—BOOM!!
The concentrated Tailed Beast Bomb was rammed right back down Roshi's throat by the lightning sword. The impact smashed Roshi's head deep into the broken cobblestone street, leaving his four tails waving helplessly in the air. Half a second later, the energy detonated, sending a mushroom cloud of violent power into the sky.
Ren had chosen to attack Roshi, and Killer Bee immediately seized the opening!
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
Eight crimson tails erupted from the ground, instantly sealing off Ren's path of retreat. Then, Bee crouched on all fours, swallowed a Tailed Beast Bomb, and stared with a predatory gaze at the seemingly spent Ren.
Tailed Beast Flash!
"BANG!!"
The black-and-red beam of the Bijudama screamed forth! Without his tails for support, the recoil was so violent it sent Bee tumbling backward.
This wasn't a battle of technique anymore; it was the most barbaric, most dangerous kind of life-and-death brawl. Ren's golden snake pupils shot out two cold glints.
In a move that defied the laws of physics, he hung his arms over the hilt of the eighteen-meter sword, curled his torso, and delivered a double-legged kick in mid-air! A blast of compressed air exploded from his feet!
The Futsunomitama, which had just smashed Roshi, was yanked up like Archimedes' lever, flipping into the air.
"HA!!"
Ren roared, his muscled arms spinning like propellers as he swung the lightning sword in the air.
"To hell with you! Eat my 'Strength Over Logic' Sword Style!"
Facing the incoming beam, Ren's face was a mask of distorted veins. He "stepped" on the empty air as if it were solid ground.
Lunge!
Swing!
His arms, tensed to the limit, pushed forward!
—SHING!!!
Like a thunderbolt lighting up the world, the Futsunomitama was thrust forward, colliding with Bee's Tailed Beast Bomb! The azure lightning blade was like the Gungnir of myth; it tore the Bijudama apart. The thick black-and-red beam was as fragile as a flower before the sword, splitting into four harmless streaks of light that whipped past him.
"What!?"
"What is up with this guy!?" Bee's forehead twitched, his scalp tingling with shock.
This fighting style was the polar opposite of the Ren Uchiha he knew—the one who relied on "dirty tricks" and opportunism. This was more "Third Raikage" than the Third Raikage himself!
But Bee didn't have long to be shocked. Behind the split beam, a figure radiating a terrifying aura was racing toward him, trailing right behind the flying sword.
It was Ren Uchiha. And he was running faster than the beam, faster than the sword!
When Bee finally reacted, a plain, ordinary fist appeared before his face like a teleportation. Ren twisted his waist, his foot pulverizing the ground within ten meters. A fist covered in frantic, pulsing veins slammed directly into Bee's Version 2 face.
—BANG!!
A massive sonic boom cloud erupted, rippling the very air! Killer Bee was sent flying like a cannonball, even faster than his own jutsu.
One down!
Ren took a deep breath and glanced at his fist, a look of surprise crossing his face. This form was even more powerful than he had anticipated.
"Brat, you've officially pissed me off!"
Roshi, having just pulled his head out of the ground, glared at Ren. He clapped his clawed hands together.
"Lava Release: Scorching River Great Eruption!!"
Half of the massive Four-Tails' body was summoned, lifting Roshi into the air. By driving the full Tailed Beast form with his Version 2 state, he could use the Four-Tails' chakra to wield both Tailed Beast Bombs and Lava Release simultaneously!
The ground heaved as a massive volcano erupted from the ruins, blooming like a spider lily made of molten rock.
"Lava Release: Flower-Fruit Mountain!"
A sea of lava surged toward Ren, reshaping the entire terrain.
"Too slow!"
Ren's roar echoed from behind Roshi. He erupted from the earth with a single-arm punch, leaping high above the Four-Tails' head. In the short time Roshi had spent weaving seals, Ren—unable to use Ninjutsu or Susanoo—had literally dug a tunnel through the earth with his bare hands at a ridiculous speed to get behind him.
"Damn it, what is this kid!?" Roshi spun around, his scalp crawling. He whipped his four massive tails like God's own whips, creating a gale as they lashed toward Ren.
Ren narrowed his eyes. As the tails approached, he reached out and grabbed one, choosing to tank the impact to avoid being knocked into the lava. Without chakra, falling in would be the end.
Ren clung to the tail like a crawling shadow, his hands and feet locked on as he scrambled toward Roshi. Roshi, spooked by the "creepy-crawly" movement, spun the Four-Tails' body and slammed his tail into the city wall!
—BOOM!!
The inner wall collapsed. Ren was slammed deep into the masonry.
"Cough!" Ren spat out a mouthful of blood, his face a mask of ferocity. He gripped the tail tight. A grinding, screeching sound filled the air—the sound of a man trying to pull a squirrel apart with his bare hands.
Roshi tried to retract his tail, but found that even in his Tailed Beast form, he couldn't budge it! He looked back in horror.
Ren, covered in blood, had punched a tower into the ground to anchor the tail to the ruins. Then, gripping the lightning sword he had snatched from the debris, he sprinted down the length of the taut tail toward Roshi!
"HISS!!!" Roshi shuddered, his face turning pale as if he'd seen a ghost.
In a panic, he opened his maw, accumulating a terrifying chakra fluctuation. Black and blue chakra converged at a 2:8 ratio, forming a Tailed Beast Bomb in an instant!
Ren grinned savagely.
His arms bulged, muscles twitching as he leaped with the eighteen-meter lightning sword. He spun like a whirlwind in mid-air, swinging the Futsunomitama with everything he had!
Driven by insane centrifugal force, the sword left seven or eight afterimages.
And then, the "bat" connected!
—BANG!!
Ren could almost hear the roar of a stadium crowd.
HOME RUN!!
Using the Futsunomitama as a bat, he struck the Tailed Beast Bomb! It flew backward at a terrifying speed, pouring right back into the Four-Tails' open mouth.
The explosion blew the Four-Tails' head apart!
The Futsunomitama finally exhausted the last of its lightning, vanishing as it returned to the Susanoo's armory. The fledgling Tailed Beast Bomb arced through the sky in a perfect parabola, slamming directly into the heart of the inner city—the Tenshu Pavilion!
—BOOM!!
A grand display of fireworks signaled the end of the thirty-second countdown.
Ren stood on the shoulder of the headless Four-Tails, looking down at the battlefield. His face was flushed, his gaze dark and unreadable. He took a deep, shaky breath.
Throughout the ruins of the inner city, countless eyes watched him. Killer Bee, unable to crawl out of the rubble; Pakura in the distance; Sasori on the wall; Suigetsu, pale and staring; and Terumi Mei, who had reached out to help but was frozen in place, her hand half-extended.
You could have heard a pin drop.
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