Within the chaotic stone forest, Ren Uchiha flickered up and down, parrying left and right. The Kusanagi sword in his hand had become a continuous, blurring shimmer of light. His body was covered in countless gashes, yet each wound healed and repaired itself at a visible speed the moment it was inflicted, leaving him whole once more.
The Sand ninjas engaged with him grew increasingly terrified. At the start, the boy's swordsmanship was stiff, and they could find openings to wound him. But it was useless—the kid fought as if he were unkillable. Moreover, his proficiency with the blade was skyrocketing at an illogical rate.
Cloud Style, Uchiha Style, Hozuki Style, Yuno Style... combined with basic swordsmanship and efficient, lethal Taijutsu, various techniques were becoming second nature to him. The pressure on the Sand ninjas surged.
In this moment, Ren felt a sudden moment of clarity, as if some invisible shackle in his mind had been brutally torn asunder! A subtitle appeared before his eyes:
[Swordsmanship integration complete. You have mastered: Unnamed Kenjutsu (B+, Expert)]
Ren looked up sharply. Through the vision of his Sharingan, he noticed a slight dissonance between the Sand ninjas' movements and their actual intent. He could practically see their next moves.
For instance, a Sand ninja holding a kunai infused with Wind Style: Vacuum Blade was about to step and slash toward his midsection. Previously, Ren would have had to tank the hit, trading an eviscerated stomach for a counter-slash. But now—
Ren twisted his body to halt his momentum, evading the slash while sliding beneath the man's feet. His left hand whipped out a kunai and drove it through the ninja's exposed toes.
"AAGH!" A scream erupted above him. Ren pushed off the ground with one hand, leaping into the air. He slammed the hilt of his sword against his heart to flare his chakra and performed a spinning horizontal slash!
SHING!
A circle of flaming sword light drew a stunning arc through the enemy ranks. A ring of fire expanded outward, sweeping and blasting the surrounding ninjas away. For a moment, no one was left standing near him.
Ren ignored the flood of tactical subtitles and focused on one specific line:
[You valiantly defeated a Sand Special Jonin. Obtained random skill: Wind Style—Vacuum Blade (B, Proficient).]
[Counterattack force was significant; target is deceased. Reward Critical Hit triggered!]
[Skill evolved: Wind Style—Super Vacuum Blade (A, Expert).]
[You have obtained multiple Wind Style jutsu. You may now attempt Wind Nature Transformation training.]
Wind Style: Vacuum Blade.
Ren remembered this move. Danzo had used it against Sasuke, and a Cloud ninja had tried it on Madara. It was highly versatile—attaching wind chakra to a weapon to create a blade of sharp wind. It was remarkably similar to Ren's Water Style: Water Fang Blade and his fire-infused Flame Odachi.
The moment he saw this skill, the prototype for a new ability in his mind found its key. If there were "Combined Ninjutsu," then there had to be "Combined Kenjutsu!"
Ren focused, wanting to test this theory immediately. But suddenly, a high-pitched, distorted screech filled the air. He looked up to see a massive shadow covering the ground, spanning dozens of meters.
From the distance, three cold voices shouted:
"Wind Style: Great Gossamer Net!"
"Earth Style: Earth Pillar Explosion!"
"Combined Ninjutsu: Wind Style—Super Scythe Weasel!"
Ren's pupils shrunk. The net of wind sliced the earth and lifted boulders; the explosion shattered pillars into bullet-like fragments; and the Super Scythe Weasel gale propelled it all forward.
The sky went dark as a yellowish waterfall of wind blades and rock shrapnel saturated the area. Even with an immortal body, Ren would be shredded into mincemeat and buried on the spot.
Ren pulled his wires and retreated frantically. Far away, the Sand Commander listened to reports from fleeing Genin while weaving seals.
"I see... so that 'gliding' ability relies on wires," he sneered. "After this strike, this area will be leveled. Without your mobility, how will you respond?"
He leaned back and spat out a condensed Vacuum Great Sphere, followed by eleven more from the elites beside him, all curving toward the retreating boy.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The desert plateau shook. The stone forest was pulverized into dust by the waterfall of Ninjutsu. Ren's wires were instantly severed by a stray wind blade. He plummeted like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the ground and rolling seven meters, snapping several ribs.
He scrambled up, but before he could even wipe the dirt from his face, a wind sphere slammed into his previous spot. He flipped backward, dodging a chain of wind pulses, and was finally forced to block a direct hit with his Flame Odachi mid-air.
The impact sent him flying, cratering him deep into the ground. He looked up at twelve more wind spheres coming his way and cursed. "F*ck!"
He pushed his Physical Rebirth to the limit to heal his broken ribs and rolled away from the next volley. He tried to charge forward, but the continuous barrage forced him back. He had started forty meters away; now he was sixty meters back. The gap felt like an impassable abyss.
Worst of all, the Sand ninjas' ruthlessness exceeded his expectations. They were killing their own men just to clear the zone. Ren couldn't even "charge" the Zero-Tails because there were no survivors nearby to feed off of. His own chakra was hitting the red line.
"This isn't working," Ren gritted his teeth, looking at the Kusanagi sword. "I have to gamble."
The Vacuum Blade reminded him of a future technique used by Naruto and Yamato: Hurricane Water Vortex. That move combined Water and Wind to create a protective water tornado. It was a defensive move that could buy him the window he needed to breach the enemy core.
He also remembered Kakuzu's fire-wind combinations—Searing Migraine and Pressure Damage. Those combos reached S-rank levels of destruction.
Ren couldn't use those exactly, but he had the Water Fang Blade, the Flame Odachi, and now the Super Vacuum Blade.
"If I collide these three together..." Ren's eyes burned with resolve. "It might just create a brand-new swordsmanship system!"