Under the suffocating silence following that most brutal and barbaric display of force, a sound suddenly broke through.
"Hahahaha... Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"
A string of low, suppressed laughter descended from above, echoing through the entire field. Everyone looked up to see—
Ren Uchiha, standing atop the Four-Tails' shoulder. His head and face were drenched in blood, his expression twisted like a ferocious demon. He tilted his head back, one hand covering his face, while the golden snake pupils visible between his fingers flashed with cold, murderous light. He surveyed the surroundings as if unsatisfied, as if he hadn't had enough, and chanted with palpable fury:
"Too weak!"
"Too weak!"
"Too weak!"
"You animals... you're so weak I can't even muster the will to fight!"
After a brief, heavy silence, Ren let out a long, deep breath. His icy gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on the trembling Killer Bee, who looked on with suppressed rage and fear. Ren let out a mocking snort.
"Fine. I'll leave you with your life!"
"Listen well—"
"Carve these words into your hearts, and tell those spineless cowards hiding behind the scenes!"
The golden slits in Ren's eyes narrowed to points, and his killing intent manifested physically! He raised a hand and pointed at the only structure still standing in the inner city—the central sub-pavilion of the Tenshu, which had been shaved in half.
"Six days from now—"
"I shall descend upon the Five-Nation Summit!"
"And I will personally take the heads of the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning and the Third Raikage!"
The words fell like a gavel.
Silence.
After such a blatant declaration of assassination, no one dared to voice a single objection! Every gaze was fixed on the boy standing on the shoulder of the headless Tailed Beast. There was tension, horror, trembling, burning battle intent, relief, and cold calculation.
However, while everyone else viewed Ren as a descending god of war and waited for his magnificent exit, Ren's face twitched ever so slightly. He found himself in a staring contest with the ninjas below, and the atmosphere was becoming... awkward.
His body began to shiver. He stole a glance downward at the 70-meter drop beneath his feet, and his vision swam. He swallowed hard.
The thirty-second "Strongman Experience Card" had expired. An unprecedented wave of weakness surged through his body. Natural energy: exhausted. Chakra: exhausted. Physical stamina: at its breaking point. He couldn't use a single ability. Right now, even a Chunin could take his life.
70 meters... that's about 25 stories high.
With his current state, if he jumped, he wouldn't be "Ren Uchiha," he'd be "Ren Uchiha Jam." This forced him to face a very embarrassing problem:
Wait, seriously... how do I get down?
Everyone, please stop looking at me! If you keep staring, I have to jump to save face! I don't want you all to see me crawling down like a bug!
The wind on this "rooftop" is so strong. It's cold. I'm shaking! Where are my teammates? Come help a brother out!
Ren bit his dry lip and glanced at Terumi Mei, who was staring at him with a look of pure infatuation, tears of excitement almost leaking from the corner of her mouth. He glared at her with "tough love" in his eyes.
Hey, flower girl! Move! Do something!
However, at that moment—
"BEE!!!"
A panicked roar erupted. A brilliant flash of lightning shot from the distance. A tall, dark-skinned youth with pale yellow hair, wearing the Kumo-nin uniform, landed beside the battered Killer Bee.
It was A, the son of the Third Raikage and the future Fourth Raikage!
Seeing his brother beaten so badly, A's face darkened instantly. He looked up in fury, and then... he saw the scene.
A city in ruins. A ground burning with flames and lava embers. A radius of a thousand meters where the walls and palaces had been sliced clean as if by a giant blade. And the boy standing 70 meters up on the headless beast.
When those indifferent golden snake pupils glanced over, a chill climbed up A's spine. It felt like being wrapped in a thick, suffocating darkness. The icy gaze (or so A perceived it) froze the rage on his face.
"What... what happened here?"
"Is that... Ren Uchiha!?"
A's heart hammered against his ribs. Cold sweat soaked his back.
On the ground, the bruised and swollen Killer Bee grabbed A's pant leg. "Brother... don't be impulsive!" He was terrified A would charge up and try to fight that "humanoid disaster" in a fit of rage.
The ninjas hidden in the ruins assumed Ren was staying behind specifically to wait for A.
But on top of the Four-Tails, Ren's heart skipped a beat. His jaw went stiff.
No, wait... I was just about to jump toward Terumi Mei. Why did another "birdman" show up!? I can't fight this!
But as the saying goes, whatever you fear most will happen.
From the ruins, a figure with spiky hair and green face paint sprinted out, his hands held in a 'Ram' seal for sensing. He yelled at the top of his lungs:
"Bee! Lord A!"
"That kid... he has no chakra left! This appearance is a bluff!"
The two brothers froze and turned to the newcomer. "Motoi?"
Motoi, a sensor from Kumo, nodded firmly. "I'm sure! I've been sensing him from the start. I don't know how he pulled off those last moves, but right now—even if we do nothing, he's about to pass out! That weak chakra fluctuation doesn't lie!"
A and Bee's eyes flashed with cold light. "Damn it! This brat tried to deceive us!"
"Bee!" A growled, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Can you still move?"
Bee nodded heavily, forcing his paralyzed half-body to function and bumping fists with A. "This evil Uchiha is too dangerous. We must... kill him here!"
The two brothers locked eyes on Ren with heavy killing intent. Around the city, other ninjas began to whisper, realizing the "Strongman" was actually at his limit.
On the wall, Terumi Mei's expression shifted. She realized Ren hadn't been "posing"—he was stuck. She prepared to leap to his aid, but a pale arm stopped her.
"Terumi Mei, you can't go!" Ghost Hozuki stood up, gripping his Hiramekarei. He pointed a trembling finger at Ren's forehead—specifically at the Leaf forehead protector with the horizontal slash through it. "He's a rogue ninja now. And he just declared a massive assassination plot. From this moment on, the Five Great Nations will put him on the most-wanted list. If you help him, you throw away your future!"
"I don't care about that!" Mei snapped, her eyes narrowing. "Get out of my way!"
"No," Ghost Hozuki said firmly. "I'll go! I'll be the one to save him!"
Mei stared at him as if he were an idiot. "What are you talking about?"
"Because you can't become a rogue, but I can. For the sake of the village, Ren Uchiha is an asset worth winning over, especially now that he's a rogue." Ghost Hozuki gave her a cunning smile. "I won't let him die before I get a rematch!"
But before he could jump, someone else beat him to it.
A figure leaped from the ruins, landing between the A-Bee brothers and the Four-Tails. He wore stylish square sunglasses and traditional clothing from a century ago. Behind the glasses, his eyes were bloodshot and red.
It was En Oyashiro, Ren's "lost" teammate.
"You want to kill my partner?" En Oyashiro sneered, his Chinoike bloodline eyes narrowing. "Did you ask me first?"
"Who is this guy?" A frowned, but he didn't take En seriously. With Bee at his side, they were nearly invincible.
However, En's words were like a signal flare. One by one, figures with terrifying chakra fluctuations leaped from their hiding spots.
First was a tall man in a black cloak with the forehead protector of a Takigakure rogue and glowing green eyes. Kakuzu.
Then, a red-haired youth with an indifferent expression leaped from the wall. Sasori of the Red Sand.
"Kakuzu? Sasori?" A's expression turned cautious, but he steeled himself. "Even with you two, you won't stop us today!"
Just then, a clear, confident voice rang out. Three figures clad in black cloaks with red clouds manifested alongside a massive chameleon summoning.
"Then how about adding us to the list?"
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