Seeking death... is also a technical skill.
Especially in a situation like this, where he was running a side-quest in the Land of Steam.
On a battlefield, two sides fight without burden because of opposing stances and ideologies. But when flying solo, one must be extremely cautious about how they seek their end.
If Ren were to just rush in and start a mindless massacre without being provoked, forcing an enemy expert to kill him... that wouldn't be "insurance fraud." That would just be suicide—a total lack of brain cells.
Even if he knew the enemy was pure evil and destined to commit atrocities, they were terrorizing the people of the Land of Steam. What did that have to do with a ninja from the Land of Fire?
In such a situation, one must endure. A ninja's stance is never a simple matter of good versus evil; it depends entirely on which side of the fence your backside is sitting on.
The Jashin Cult would become mass murderers in the future, sure—but was the Uchiha clan any better? Even the currently dim-witted Obito Uchiha would eventually become the ultimate villainous mastermind behind the scenes, opposing all of humanity.
So, if Ren wanted to claim his insurance... ahem, strike down evil! He first needed to clarify his position.
Being a citizen of the Land of Fire, a Leaf Shinobi, and a member of the Uchiha clan obviously had zero connection to the suffering civilians of the Land of Steam.
But, as the "Great Brother" of his savior, Hidan... if he were to charge into the Jashin Cult's headquarters to save his "little brother" from a stray path, get provoked into a righteous fury, and then tragically die due to a "miscalculation" in battle?
Now, that was an act of brotherly loyalty so epic it would move people to tears.
And it didn't stop there. He even held the moral high ground of a "Hero from the Heavens" destined to fix history.
This move... this was Zhuge Liang climbing a high tower—everything was ready, all he needed was the "East Wind!"
That's right, Ren Uchiha had never been a "nice guy." Everything was proceeding exactly according to his plan.
The full moon hung high, casting a silvery glow over the fields of fragrant grass.
After bidding farewell to the trio, Ren walked against the wind. His upper body was swathed in bandages, his lower body clad in the cargo pants he wore when leaving the village, and his ninja tool pouch was completely empty.
After facing the Cloud trio and the Jashin cultists, he had thrown every last kunai and shuriken he owned. Not even a single strand of ninja wire remained. Even the one-time Ninja Cat contract he had for supplies had been given to Seiichiro.
It could be said his equipment slots were empty. He had nothing.
Charging into the Jashin Cult's headquarters in this state, with only the strength of a Genin, was undoubtedly a suicide mission with zero chance of survival.
Since his death was already a settled matter, Ren thought that perhaps he could do a little more before he went. After all, he had promised Hidan he would wipe out the cult. Naturally, he had to give it his all!
Ren thought for a moment and pulled the scroll left for him by Elder Setsuna Uchiha from his leg wrap.
[Uchiha Style: Secret S-Rank Forbidden Sword Art Secret Technique]!
Unrolling the scroll, Ren stared at one particular technique, lost in thought.
The reason this scroll was classified as an S-Rank Forbidden Jutsu wasn't because the swordplay was flashy, the power was immense, or the training was difficult. It was because of a single A-Rank Nintaijutsu (Ninja-Taijutsu) at its core:
Fire Style: Chakra Mode.
When people think of Nintaijutsu, the famous ones are the Eight Inner Gates and the Lightning Style Chakra Mode (the "Lightning Armor"). The former was a masterpiece perfected by the Father-Son duo of Might Duy and Might Guy. In the near future, Duy would open the Eighth Gate of Death and single-handedly turn the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist" into the "Three Ninja Swordsmen." The latter was the signature technique of the Raikage line in the Hidden Cloud. Kakashi's Chidori and Old Man Roshi's Lava Style Chakra Mode could also be counted in this category, as they all enhanced physical capabilities.
Basically, anything related to Nintaijutsu was no joke.
So, if Lightning Style could be developed this way, why couldn't Fire Style?
This involved the issue of physical endurance. Simply put, Nintaijutsu development is based on increasing the metabolic rate of the ninja's cells. Lightning stimulation is like injecting a tube of adrenaline; it boosts you, but the side effects are within an acceptable range.
Fire Style, however, is naturally high-temperature. In the process of stimulating the body, it would literally cook the cells to death. There was no "development" to speak of—you'd be lucky if you didn't burn yourself to a crisp instantly.
Roshi could use Lava Style Chakra Mode because he was the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, and his mode was more like forming a Tailed Beast cloak outside his body.
But the Uchiha clan, as masters of fire who had copied countless jutsus, had a repertoire of basic techniques even richer than the Second Hokage. Naturally, they had researched this powerful Nintaijutsu. Using the precise observation of the Sharingan, they could micro-manage Fire Chakra to burn cells and squeeze out power.
This formed the core A-Rank Nintaijutsu of this S-Rank Forbidden Art.
However, due to the high-risk nature of the element, the control time was extremely short. The user would endure the agony of a body on fire in exchange for a brief, uncontrollable strike of immense power.
Once used, you'd burn yourself to death. In a literal sense, you would truly be "burned out."
Over time, this technique became a "chicken rib"—useless to keep, but a shame to throw away. Those who could use it didn't need that kind of power; they could achieve the same effect by swinging a "Gundam" (Susanoo). Those who wanted to learn it but couldn't manifest a Susanoo had to first consider if they were even capable of learning it without burning to death during training.
Secondly, they had to ask if it was worth paying such a price for a single, suicidal strike. Even an Uchiha with Izanagi would find such a terrifying side effect hard to bear.
Setsuna Uchiha, the Elder of the clan, had used this forbidden art to draw a forty-meter flaming sword and swing it a few times. Currently, that old man's status was still "unknown/missing."
However...
Ren stared at the scroll in his hand and swallowed hard.
After reading the description of this technique in full, he couldn't control his excitement. His breathing became rapid, and his face lit up like a fanatic seeing a holy relic. His eyes were literally glowing!
This... this... this!
Wasn't this exactly what Ren Uchiha needed most?!
Setsuna Uchiha had Izanagi to burn himself and then reset. Ren, however, had neither Izanagi nor the three-tomoe Sharingan required to use it!
One swing, and he would be dead-dead!
This move... this was "Burning the Body!" A full funeral service where you skip the ceremony and go straight to the crematorium—hell, you even bring the crematorium with you!
The cremation speed was basically the speed of light. Ren truly didn't know how he could possibly lose this time!
Please, tell me... how do I even lose?! (Hands on hips, looking smug.jpg)