After spitting out the massive fire dragon, the Kusanagi sword instantly lost its luster. Ren Uchiha's radiant arm dimmed, and his entire right limb was charred into a hunk of carbon. Deep within his abdomen, the Zero-Tails had been drained to the last drop, its physical form visibly shriveled.
Consequently, the Forbidden Jutsu: Physical Rebirth ground to a halt.
Ren felt his eyelids becoming impossibly heavy. Without the support of the forbidden jutsu, the injuries across his body erupted simultaneously: the piercing wounds from the Sand ninjas' encirclement, the torn muscles from dragging the water vortex, the agonizing sting of his charred arm, and the countless slashes he had ignored to save chakra...
Pain. Unbearable pain!
The sheer agony kept him from closing his eyes, forcing him to watch as he plummeted from a hundred meters in the air.
But the price he paid birthed a masterpiece of destruction—Great Slaying Sword: Flaming Wind Dragon Dance!
In a heartbeat, the fire dragon collided with the stunned Sand forces. Before it even touched the ground, the very vegetation and stones of the plateau began to tremble. Vultures took flight, gazelles stared in terror, and every predator and prey alike fled in a desperate panic.
From his vantage point in the night sky, Ren looked down calmly at the elite Sand ninjas at the center of the impact zone. He suddenly smiled—a smile like a child who had just received a brand-new toy. Then, he whispered the final, fatal note for his creation:
"Boom."
The fire dragon slammed into the camp. Refusing to die sitting down, the Sand ninjas roared, firing their most powerful techniques toward the heavens. Countless jutsu converged into a brilliant sphere of white light, surging upward to meet the descent.
The dragon and the sphere collided.
SKREEEEE—!
The screech of distorted air nearly shattered eardrums. In the next instant—
BOOM!
A magnificent, dark-red mushroom cloud rose from the earth, swallowing all light and sound. A visible shockwave of distorted air rippled outward, blowing away, vaporizing, and obliterating everything in its path until it slammed into the pale-red Barrier of Death.
Crackle! Shatter!
Web-like cracks spread across the barrier. The mere aftershock possessed the terrifying destructive power of a Kage-level attack. With a sound like breaking glass, the Barrier of Death exploded.
A violent gale swept through, forcing the Konoha ambush squad outside the barrier to lean back and shield their eyes from the sand. Then, a long, bone-chilling silence followed.
When they finally managed to open their eyes, the members of the ambush squad stared at the Sand camp. Every single one of them gasped, their eyes glazed with shock at the ruins before them.
"A twelve-year-old Chunin... released a move like that?"
"Can anyone even be alive after that strike?"
"Captain, what did you say earlier? That you were going to save that kid?"
"Looking at this... who's saving whom?"
Uchiha Shinichi and Uchiha Shisui stood side-by-side in the front row, staring blankly. This surreal reality had completely dismantled their understanding of the shinobi world.
Shisui, though humble, had been hailed as a genius since childhood. In the clan, everyone praised him as a rising star. Yet, a genius like him had only recently awakened his Sharingan to the two-tomoe stage and could, at best, hold his own against a clan Jonin.
But Ren Uchiha... what kind of monster was he?
The last time Shisui saw him, Ren was picking up bottles and scrap metal in the rivers of Konoha, doing D-rank missions that the rest of the clan looked down upon. He was the "trash" Genin who couldn't even awaken the Sharingan, someone a stray dog could look down on.
And now?
The "trash" who carried sacks of bottles had become the prized apprentice of a Sannin and made a name for himself in the Land of Steam. Now, he had single-handedly slaughtered an army of three hundred Sand ninjas.
He had cut down commanders with a giant sword, danced through the air under the moon, and shattered the enemy formation with a blazing dragon. It was beyond terrifying! Compared to this, Shisui felt that his title of "genius" was nothing more than a joke. He was flushed with a sense of shame.
"Impossible... absolutely impossible!" Shinichi muttered, his Sharingan spinning as he stared at the ruins. "How can he be this strong?!"
"Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and even Ninjutsu... he has surpassed me in every category! He's this strong—what could I possibly teach him?!"
Suddenly, Shinichi's face shifted as if he'd realized something. His expression turned into one of resentment mixed with envy. He punched his own thigh.
"Dammit! This is a show of force from the War Hawks! The Great Elder is testing me!"
Since the death of the previous head, Kagami Uchiha, the position of Clan Head had been vacant. Fugaku Uchiha, the strongest, was the presumed successor, but the Elder Setsuna Uchiha had stubbornly refused to agree, leaving Fugaku as merely the Captain of the Police Force—the "Young Lord."
Fugaku's position was supported by the Neutrals and Shinichi's own Dove faction. Now, the Hawks had produced such a powerhouse, and Setsuna had sent him to the Land of Rain to be "taught" by a Dove leader.
What did this mean? Was it a flex? Or were they demanding the Doves recognize this boy? Was he meant to be the next Clan Head?!
Shinichi's thoughts raced. Fugaku's poor performance in the Land of Steam had already caused unrest in the clan. Now, this boy had performed a feat that defied logic. In terms of both strength and backing, this kid truly had the qualifications to compete with Fugaku for the leadership.
Shinichi looked toward the boy who had done all this to save them. He found it hard to oppose the idea. In fact, deep down, he felt a small spark of anticipation...
If this child becomes the head of the Uchiha, what kind of path will he lead us down?
Suddenly, Shisui's cry snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Brother Shinichi, look! Ren is in danger!!"
Shinichi snapped his head toward the center of the Sand camp. There, amidst the desolate, crystallized ruins, a figure shakily pushed a corpse aside and stood up.
It was the Sand Commander.
He was covered in burns, staring blankly at his surroundings. Within a fifty-meter radius, everyone was dead except for him and the squads he had sent to intercept Manda. Farther away, the lower-ranking Sand ninjas were huddling in corners like frightened quail, having completely lost the will to fight.
Half of the Sand forces had been wiped out in a single strike.
The sight of the scorched earth, the pools of molten iron from melted kunai, and the charred remains of his men snapped something inside him. His eyes bulged with madness and despair.
He turned his head stiffly and saw the culprit.
Ren Uchiha was sprawled in the rubble. His legs were broken from the fall, his right arm was a blackened husk, and his neck was twisted at a grotesque, near-broken angle. Covered in burns and slashes, only a faint, shallow breath proved he was still alive.
The Sand Jonin's breath hitched. His eyes flared with a frantic, suicidal killing intent. He lunged to his feet, pulling a sharp kunai from his pouch.
"You... you... you..."
Treading through the night and the ruins, the last Sand ninja roared, blood-red tears streaming down his face as he charged the defenseless boy.
"You demon! YOU DEMON!"
"DIE!"
"JUST DIE ALREADY!!!"