By the time afternoon arrived, the underground chamber beneath Wildfire Outpost had already been transformed into something that no longer looked like a prison at all. It had once been a sealed training ground, a place dug deep below the base for dangerous ninjutsu practice and the interrogation of prisoners who could not be risked above ground. The walls were thick, dark, and heavy with Earth Release reinforcement, while dense sealing formulas crawled across the stone like black veins. Every symbol had been carved with a purpose: to absorb leaking chakra, suppress sudden explosions, and keep whatever happened inside from tearing the base apart.
Now, under Minato Namikaze's arrangement, the chamber had become a temporary research field. Several medical devices sat in one corner, their cables trailing across the floor like bundles of black snakes. Screens flickered with dim green light, waiting to catch every rise in heartbeat, every spike in chakra reaction, every abnormal tremor in the body. Recording scrolls were lined up beside the machines, already prepared for real-time notes, while several specially made heat-resistant targets had been fixed to the far side of the room. Their surfaces had been layered with fireproof materials and chakra-resistant plates, but even then, no one could say for sure how long they would last against Pakura's Scorch Release.
Minato stood near the center of the chamber with his usual calm expression, though his eyes were sharper than usual. His presence was not simply for observation. He was the one responsible for removing Pakura's Five Elements Seal, and he was also the one who had to vouch for Ren's safety during the experiment. If Pakura regained her chakra and decided to lash out, Minato would have to stop her before the situation went out of control. For that role, no one in the team was more suitable than the Yellow Flash.
Rin Nohara was also present, standing beside the instruments with a scroll and brush in hand. Her expression showed concentration, but also a trace of nervousness she could not completely hide. She was a medical ninja, and while she had some knowledge of cells, chakra pathways, and bodily reactions, this was not an ordinary medical examination. They were about to study a Kekkei Genkai from Sunagakure, and not just any Kekkei Genkai, but Pakura's Scorch Release, a power feared even on the battlefield.
Jaci, another medical ninja trusted by the team, checked the equipment one final time. He tested the wires, adjusted the chakra-sensing plates, and glanced at the sealing formulas on the ground before nodding to Minato. Everything was prepared. The only thing missing was the subject of the experiment.
A few moments later, footsteps echoed from the stone corridor outside.
Ren walked in with Pakura beside him. Her eyes had been covered on the way here, and although the shackles on her wrists and ankles had been temporarily removed, the lingering stiffness in her movements showed how long she had been restrained. When the blindfold was finally taken away and the face covering removed, Pakura's gaze swept across the room like a sharpened blade. She looked at the machines, the targets, the seals on the walls, and finally the people watching her.
There was no fear in her eyes. Only cold caution.
"Are you ready, Ren?" Minato asked.
Ren gave him a small nod. "Yes. Thank you for the trouble, Minato-sensei."
Pakura's gaze shifted toward him for half a second. The way Ren spoke made the situation sound almost polite, as though they were about to perform a normal training exercise rather than a controlled experiment on a captured enemy ninja. That calmness annoyed her a little, but she said nothing. She knew very well that her position here was not strong enough for pride to become recklessness.
Minato stepped forward and raised his left hand. A soft glow of chakra gathered at his fingertips, warm and controlled, without a trace of killing intent. He pressed those fingers gently against Pakura's abdomen, right where the Five Elements Seal had locked away the flow of her chakra. The sealing formula reacted immediately. A faint pressure rippled through the room, and then, with a quiet pulse, the seal loosened.
Pakura's chakra returned.
It rushed through her meridians like fire being poured back into a dry furnace. For an instant, her muscles tightened. Her instincts screamed at her to move, to strike, to take advantage of this one moment when her power was hers again. But the thought lasted less than a breath. Minato Namikaze was standing within arm's reach, and Ren was beside her. One of them was the Yellow Flash, the man who had slaughtered Sand ninja so quickly that the battlefield had barely had time to understand what happened. The other was a monster whose strength she still could not fully measure.
If she attacked now, five seconds of survival would already be a miracle.
Pakura slowly exhaled and forced the urge down.
Jaci approached with several electrode patches connected to thin wires. His tone was gentle, almost deliberately so, as if speaking too harshly might provoke the woman in front of him. "Please relax, Lady Pakura. We need to attach these to your main chakra points and several heart-pulse locations. They will monitor your physical changes while you use Scorch Release. Rin will record the data."
Rin nodded quickly. "Understood."
Pakura frowned, clearly disliking the arrangement, but she did not refuse. After a brief hesitation, she lifted the edge of her top enough for the patches to be placed properly. Ren and Minato both turned their bodies slightly away, giving her as much privacy as the situation allowed. Jaci worked efficiently, attaching the cold patches to her arms, chest, back, and several chakra-sensitive points, while Rin kept her eyes on the medical scroll, trying to stay professional.
The patches felt unpleasant against Pakura's skin, and the wires made her feel like some kind of captured beast being prepared for display. Still, she endured it. If Ren truly intended to analyze Scorch Release and provide her a copy of the findings afterward, then this humiliating process might not be completely meaningless. She did not trust him, not fully, but she had already agreed. Backing out now would only make her look weak.
Once everything was ready, Jaci stepped back and raised his hand. "You may begin."
Pakura rolled her shoulders once, then spread her fingers. Chakra rose from her core, hot and sharp, gathering in her palm. The air around her hand distorted, trembling from heat. A white-hot sphere of Scorch Release formed there, bright enough to cast a pale glow across her face. Her expression turned focused, controlled, and cold.
Then she threw it.
The fireball shot across the chamber and slammed into the heat-resistant target with a sharp boom. The target shook violently. White steam burst outward, hissing against the stone floor, and the air filled with a dry, burning pressure that made Rin's throat tighten.
At the same time, the machines screamed to life.
Curves on the screens spiked upward. Numbers shifted rapidly. Warning sounds beeped from several instruments at once as Pakura's body entered combat output. Jaci leaned toward the screen, his expression instantly serious. "Blood pressure rising. Heart rate increasing. Chakra temperature readings are abnormal, higher than ordinary Fire Release patterns."
Rin's brush moved quickly across the scroll. "Hormone levels are fluctuating. Muscle tension is stable for now. No signs of collapse."
Ren walked over to the screens and watched the data change. His eyes moved from one indicator to another, comparing them with the previous blood sample analysis, normal human values, and what little was known about Kekkei Genkai reactions. The problem was obvious almost immediately. The human body was complicated enough in ordinary circumstances, but ninja were even worse. Chakra did not obey simple medical rules. It interacted with organs, blood, nerves, and the spiritual energy of the user in ways that made clean conclusions difficult.
Nearly a hundred indicators appeared on the screens. Dozens of them shifted outside normal ranges whenever Pakura activated Scorch Release. Hormones, enzymes, blood heat, chakra density, pulse rhythm, cellular stress, and even the moisture reaction in nearby air all changed at once. Trying to find the true secret of Scorch Release from numbers alone was like trying to identify a single kunai in the middle of a storm of weapons.
Pakura continued firing. One sphere after another formed in her palm and flew toward the targets. Each impact burst with scorching light and waves of steam. The far wall became hazy with heat, and the targets began glowing faintly under repeated strikes.
Ren watched for a while before narrowing his eyes. Data alone was not enough. He needed to feel the chakra flow directly.
He left the machines and walked behind Pakura.
Pakura sensed him approach immediately. Her shoulders tightened. When Ren raised his right hand and placed his palm against her back through her clothing, her entire body stiffened like a drawn bow.
"What are you doing?" she asked in a low, dangerous voice.
Ren's tone remained calm. "Feeling the chakra flow inside your body. The data gives us reactions, but it does not explain the route, rhythm, or transformation point of Scorch Release. If I only watch the machines, I will miss the most important part."
Pakura turned her head slightly, her eyes cold enough to cut. For a moment, the chamber became quiet except for the faint hum of the instruments.
Then she clicked her tongue. "Fine. But be careful."
She had already come this far. Pretending to be shy now would be pointless. Besides, if the results were useful, she would gain something from this as well. The agreement was clear: Ren would provide her with a copy of the analysis afterward. Whether he kept that promise remained to be seen, but at the very least, she would watch him closely.
Ren inhaled slowly. Chakra gathered in his palm, controlled and thin at first, before he tried to send it into Pakura's body through the point of contact on her back. It was a delicate process. Chakra intrusion was not harmless. If two people trusted each other, it could be used for healing, sensing, or assisting chakra circulation. But between enemies, even a small mistake could trigger violent resistance inside the meridians and damage both sides.
Ren softened the edge of his chakra as much as possible.
Even so, the moment it entered Pakura's chakra network, her reaction was immediate.
"Ugh!"
Pakura's breath hitched. Ren's chakra pierced through the surface of her back and slipped into her meridians, pressing against the flow of Scorch Release already moving inside her. The sensation was impossible to ignore. It was foreign, dense, and invasive, rubbing against her chakra like a second current trying to force itself into a narrow river. Her body trembled despite her effort to stay still.
"No… it's coming in too fast!" Pakura snapped, her voice strained. "And the amount is too heavy! Slow down a little, or I can't focus on controlling my own chakra!"
The words themselves were normal in the context of chakra synchronization.
Unfortunately, the room did not hear them that way.
Jaci, who had been staring intensely at the instrument screen, froze. His brush stopped above the scroll. Slowly, almost against his will, he raised his head and looked toward Ren and Pakura in the middle of the chamber. After confirming that Ren was only pressing his palm against her back and performing chakra sensing, Jaci visibly relaxed, though his expression became extremely strange.
Rin did not immediately understand the problem. She was still young, and the meaning behind Pakura's words was a little too advanced for her. But she did notice the posture. Ren stood behind Pakura, one hand on her back, his chakra connected to hers, while Pakura's face showed discomfort and tension. Rin lowered her gaze to the scroll again, but for some reason, her brush strokes grew a little heavier. A faint sourness rose in her chest, subtle and confusing, and she could not stop herself from glancing at them again and again.
Ren noticed none of this. His focus was entirely on the chakra flow under his palm.
Pakura's chakra was unlike ordinary Fire Release. It was dry, sharp, and violently active, carrying not only heat but a strange devouring quality that seemed to strip moisture from everything it touched. It did not simply burn. It drained. It withered. It turned vitality into steam and left behind death that looked almost clean. That was the true terror of Scorch Release.
"Stabilize your breathing," Ren said, lowering his voice. "Don't fight my chakra directly. Let it follow the outer path. I'm not trying to interfere with your technique."
"You say that like it's easy," Pakura hissed. "Your chakra is too obvious. It feels like a stone grinding through my meridians."
"I already reduced it."
"Then reduce it more."
Ren paused for a fraction of a second, then quietly thinned the chakra again. This time, instead of pushing forward, he let it spread like a fine thread along the surface of her chakra pathway, observing without pressing. Pakura's stiff shoulders loosened slightly, and the chaotic readings on the machines began to settle.
Jaci quickly returned to work. "The rejection reaction is decreasing. Chakra rhythm is becoming stable. Rin, record this part carefully. External chakra sensing causes interference at first, but the subject can adapt if the density is lowered."
Rin nodded. "Recorded."
Pakura took another slow breath. Sweat had formed near her temple, but her eyes grew sharper. "What now?"
Ren's gaze fixed on the target area. "Now use your actual ninjutsu. Don't just throw small fireballs. Start from the techniques you used on the battlefield and release them one by one. Pay attention to frequency and density. I need to compare the change between basic shaping and true Scorch Release transformation."
Pakura gave a cold laugh. "You make it sound like you are ordering me around."
"I am asking you to cooperate."
"You are terrible at asking."
"Then consider it a professional suggestion."
For some reason, that calm reply made Pakura more irritated than a direct insult. Still, she did not waste time arguing. Her fingers curled, and the chakra inside her body began to change. Ren felt it instantly. The heat did not simply rise. It compressed. It twisted inward, passing through a transformation point near her core before surging outward through her arm. At that moment, the air around Pakura shifted.
The chamber grew hotter.
Not warm. Hot.
The moisture in the air thinned so quickly that Rin swallowed in discomfort. A faint shimmer appeared around Pakura's body, and the stone beneath her feet gave off a dry crackling sound. Jaci's expression changed as several warning marks appeared on the screens.
"Temperature spike. Chakra density rising. Her body is still stable, but the environmental readings are dangerous."
Minato's eyes sharpened. He took half a step forward, ready to intervene at any moment.
Pakura raised one hand. A blazing orb formed above her palm, but this one was different from the earlier fireballs. It was smaller, brighter, and far more terrifying. The center of it glowed like a miniature sun, and the air around it curled violently as though reality itself was being dried and peeled apart.
Her voice rang through the chamber, clear and cold.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
The orb shot forward like a condensed sun.
It did not explode immediately. It struck the target and clung to it for a terrifying instant, spinning against the surface with a high, shrill hiss. Then the entire target began to dry, crack, and distort. The protective layers warped inward. Steam erupted from the material as though every trace of moisture had been ripped out at once. A second later, the target burst apart from the inside, scattering glowing fragments across the sealed floor.
The sealing formulas on the walls flared.
The instruments screamed.
Rin nearly dropped her brush as a wave of heat slammed into her face. Jaci grabbed the side of the machine to steady himself, his eyes wide. Even Minato's expression turned grave.
Ren, still connected to Pakura's chakra, felt the entire process from within.
It was beautiful.
And it was deadly.
For a brief instant, he understood why Sunagakure treasured Pakura so much and feared losing her. Scorch Release was not just a stronger Fire Release. It was a perfect executioner's chakra nature, designed to kill living targets with horrifying efficiency. Against ordinary ninja, a direct hit would not leave a corpse worth burying.
Pakura lowered her hand slowly, breathing a little harder than before. "Satisfied?"
Ren did not answer immediately. His eyes were deep with thought, his palm still resting on her back as he traced the fading pattern of that technique through her chakra network. The transformation route had appeared for only a moment, but that moment had revealed more than all the machine readings combined.
Pakura sensed his silence and frowned. "Ren?"
The screens continued flashing. Rin's brush trembled slightly as she recorded the data. Jaci stared at the readings with the expression of a man who had just realized he was looking at something far beyond ordinary medical theory. Minato looked at Ren, then at Pakura, and his instincts told him this experiment had touched something dangerous.
Finally, Ren spoke, his voice low.
"I found it."
Pakura's pupils narrowed. "Found what?"
Ren slowly withdrew his chakra from her body, but his expression did not relax. Instead, a faint spark of excitement and caution appeared in his eyes.
"The key to Scorch Release's transformation."
For a heartbeat, the chamber fell silent.
Then, before Pakura could ask another question, one of the damaged targets on the far side suddenly gave off a sharp cracking sound. The heat-resistant plate, already drained dry by her technique, split open completely. Beneath the broken shell, the sealing rune engraved behind it flickered once.
Then it turned black.
Minato's expression changed.
"Everyone, step back!"
The failed target seal collapsed.
A violent wave of stored heat and chakra burst out from the far wall, rushing back into the chamber like a furnace door being kicked open from the inside. The instruments sparked. The sealing formulas on the floor lit up one after another, struggling to contain the backlash, while the underground room shook with a deep, dangerous rumble.
Pakura turned sharply, her face changing for the first time.
Ren stepped forward instead of retreating.
And in the roar of rising heat, he realized the experiment was no longer only about understanding Scorch Release.
Something inside the sealing system had reacted to it.
And it was waking up.
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