In an instant, the two figures collided.
Mangetsu Hozuki streaked across the water, dragging his massive blade behind him. He raised his right hand.
"Water Style: Water Gun: Rapid Fire!"
Six high-velocity water bullets, carrying enough piercing power to shred steel, locked down Ren Uchiha's avenues of escape. Mangetsu twisted his body, leaping high and swinging the Hiramekarai in a devastating overhead cleave!
Ren didn't even try to dodge.
The six water bullets whistled past his skin as he lunged forward, twisting his waist. Ignoring the giant blade falling toward him, he raised his flame blade in an upward slash, aiming straight for Mangetsu's face.
Two blades—one cleaving down, one slashing up! Both aimed for the kill. Both were moves of pure desperation.
In this moment, it was no longer just a duel of swordsmanship. It was a gamble between the Water Liquefaction secret technique and an immortal body.
"Come on!" Ren's eyes were bloodshot and manic. Ignoring the massive blade that was about to split his skull in two, he let out a roar and swung his flame blade with everything he had.
"Let's see who dies first!"
The flame blade erupted with a surge of searing heat. Before it even touched him, the intense temperature scorched Mangetsu's liquefied body, sending up plumes of white steam. The heat of the Fire Style was actually bypassing the elemental advantage, damaging Mangetsu even in his liquid state!
Mangetsu's pupils shrank. He immediately abandoned the killing blow, forcefully pulling back the Hiramekarai to parry.
In that split second, Ren twisted his hilt. The morphing blade's glowing red tip suddenly shot forward like a piston.
BOOM!
The extended fiery blade slammed into the broad side of the Hiramekarai, exploding into a burst of flames that engulfed Mangetsu. The sheer force of the impact sent him flying. He skipped across the water like a thrown stone, bouncing several times before finally skidding to a halt.
"Sss..."
Mangetsu propped himself up with his sword, his eyes filled with horror. The water on his skin churned to extinguish the clinging flames, revealing a body covered in scorched scars.
Never before had Mangetsu Hozuki found an opponent so troublesome.
The kid wasn't afraid to die. Every move he made was a suicide pact, and he was incredibly devious! You'd think he was going for an upward slash, only for him to change the momentum mid-swing and "fire" the blade forward like a projectile.
Mangetsu felt like he was seeing a ghost. Since when did sword strikes come with a "range" like that? If he hadn't used the wide surface of his blade to block at the last second, his heart would have been pierced and incinerated.
Ren flicked his wrist, sheathing the blade in a brilliant arc of sparks. He couldn't help but smirk.
Even with all the traps laid out to bait Mangetsu into a fatal exchange, the kid had survived.
Perfect! As expected of the Mist's genius!
Ren had played every card in his hand. Mangetsu, however, still had his "underwear" on—his trump cards were still hidden. Ren was now "all-in." He had only one path left: fight to the death and bet that Mangetsu could break through his tactics and grant him the death he craved!
Immortal body + Morphing Flame Blade + The Shattering Flame Fist that kills on contact.
"Mist's genius... can you break this?" Ren stared at him with genuine hope.
He was currently too hard to kill. No one below the Kage level could easily put him down. And it was predictable that once he returned to the village, that old man Uchiha Setsuna—the one who shamelessly claimed to be his grandfather—would drag him into hellish training. Once he mastered the Uchiha basics, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, and Genjutsu, he would undoubtedly reach the threshold of a Kage.
Then, dying would be impossible.
But Ren didn't want to stay in this world. In the real world, he had his own path, his own dreams, and his parents waiting for him. He had been kidnapped by "Heaven's Will."
He was a victim.
On that day, when the prompt appeared on the road, Ren had decisively chosen to refuse. But the "Heaven's Will" didn't let him go. Since that day, "accidents" followed him everywhere. Falling billboards, collapsing ceilings, bridges caving in, being taken hostage in a bank robbery, fires, chain explosions...
After every incident, the same subtitle appeared:
[Detection: This Earth organism's willpower meets the recruitment standards of Heaven's Will Corp.]
[Are you willing to become a 'Hero from the Heavens'?]
He fought that black-hearted boss for three whole days. In the end, he couldn't escape the "Isekai Truck" and was sent here. Sure, the "500 million insurance" carrot was dangled in front of him to keep him from completely giving up, but even without the money...
He just wanted to go home. The desire was overwhelming!
One could say Ren lacked ambition. The Naruto world offered power, immortality, and the chance to rule as the strongest. But what did any of that have to do with him? That's not what he wanted.
What he loved was the fight! What he craved was the struggle!
The moment Heaven's Will blocked his path in the real world, it became his enemy. Therefore, his purpose in the Naruto world had shifted. The insurance money? Yeah, that's important. But more important were the rules of this long war against Fate!
Fighting to go home! Fighting to resist this orchestrated destiny!
You want me to save the world? On what grounds?!
I won't do it. Even if I have to break this world into pieces!
That was the entire meaning behind Ren's battle! A manic smile spread across his face; he could feel his blood boiling. He loved this feeling. He took a deep, intoxicated breath.
He looked at Mangetsu and raised his blade, roaring:
"MANGETSU HOZUKI! THE GENIUS OF THE MIST!"
"IS THIS ALL YOU'VE GOT?!"
"WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? WHAT ARE YOU HESITATING FOR?!"
Ren crouched low, his neck craned, his crimson eyes blazing with insanity.
"COME ON!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"GRANT ME MY DESTINED DEATH! FIGHT ME UNTIL WE'RE BOTH EMPTY!"
Ren exploded forward, a literal arrow of killing intent. He swung his blade. The blade of fire erupted!
What was previously a six-foot flame now surged into a massive, ten-meter-long greatsword of flowing fire—surpassing Mangetsu's own eight-meter light blade in both size and majesty!
He leapt high into the air, spinning his body to deliver a downward cleave!
The peerless flaming sword tore through the air with a sonic boom, evaporating massive amounts of water before it even landed, creating a dreamlike veil of white steam. Then, the glowing red blade pierced the mist, looming over the "tiny" Mangetsu Hozuki.
Mangetsu looked up at the sword that looked like it had been swung by a god.
The shock of its size! The splendor that outshone his own!
His body began to tremble. His pupils shrank to pinpoints. The blood in his veins began to boil with pure, unadulterated rage.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
He gripped the Twin Blades: Hiramekarai with a white-knuckled force, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he screamed:
"HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY BE STRONGER THAN ME!!!"
Mangetsu's chakra exploded. He funneled every ounce of it into the Hiramekarai! He lunged upward, his face a mask of fury!
"HIRAMEKARAI: RELEASE!"
The blade ignited with a ten-meter blue chakra edge, even more powerful than before.
In the next heartbeat, one blue and one red—two titanic swords straight out of myth—clashed with a world-shattering roar!