Within the opulent Zen courtyard, a sudden, violent tremor of unease struck the hearts of the three Uchiha, led by Yashiro.
Following the boy's resolute voice, they looked toward him and beheld a pair of Sharingan unlike any they had ever seen. They were eerie, cold, and possessed a beauty that tore through common sense. Just gazing into them sent a primal chill down their spines.
"Those eyes..."
"Are they... Two-Tomoe Sharingan? No, something is wrong!"
The eldest, Takeyoshi Uchiha, knitted his white brows and narrowed his eyes cautiously. He barked a warning to his comrades:
"Do not grow careless! Yashiro, Jie—I have an ill omen. Go all out!"
"Since he only has two tomoe, we will suppress him with the advantage of our three tomoe. Yashiro, you take the lead and pin him down. I will handle the Genjutsu! Jie, cover us with Ninjutsu!"
"Just like the old days!"
The three moved in perfect synchronization. Yashiro Uchiha unsheathed his blade and lunged forward with steady, wind-cutting strides. As he charged, his left hand blurred, drawing four kunai from his pouch. He flung them with precision, the blades trailing invisible steel wires that crisscrossed in mid-air, forming a lethal web designed to mangle Ren.
Jie Uchiha—the man with the hawk-like nose and deep-set eyes—leaped backward, his hands weaving signs in a blur.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!"
He arched his body back, gathering a massive amount of chakra in his throat. With a flick of his finger, a colossal pillar of crimson flame erupted, sealing off every possible escape route for Ren.
Meanwhile, Takeyoshi Uchiha had vanished, moving silently to the flank. His footsteps were ghost-like, his movements echoing the Silent Killing technique of the Mist. He wove his signs, his crimson eyes glowing as he instantly constructed a cage of illusions with his ocular power.
In an instant, the combined might of three Elite Jōnin—strengthened by the Sharingan—descended upon Ren in a perfect trifecta of Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu.
Takeyoshi's earlier boast was no exaggeration. Against this onslaught, an ordinary Jōnin wouldn't last a minute. Even an elite would face a high risk of death if they blinked for a second.
Facing this triple threat, Ren watched with an eerie calmness. Just as the attacks were about to connect, a wild, primal hunger filled his eyes!
In Taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu, his proficiency surpassed Yashiro's. In Ninjutsu, his combined element transformations could split Jie's flames in half with a single sword stroke. In Genjutsu, his Two-Tomoe Snake Pupils possessed a spiritual potency far greater than a standard Three-Tomoe.
With his current arsenal, he could have dismantled their assault move by move. But that was too much trouble.
"Allow me to show you... my peak form!"
Ren snapped his head up, his snake-like pupils constricting. The power coursing through his body exploded!
BOOM!
It was as if a brilliant sun had risen from the ground. As he stepped forward, a violent gale erupted, creating a barrier of wind that caught the incoming flames and whirled them into a massive fire tornado.
"What... What is that?!"
Yashiro and the others gasped, their pupils shrinking. Through the vision of their Sharingan, they saw the chakra within the fire tornado shifting at a terrifying speed. A layer of incandescent white fire surged from Ren's body, consuming him instantly, incinerating the surface of his skin only to replace it with something far more ominous.
The fire tornado dissipated, revealing a humanoid figure wreathed in stark white flames. Its sheer aura was enough to scatter the clouds high above. No—it could no longer be called "humanoid."
"How can this be?! This is clearly the Version 2 form of a Jinchūriki!"
Takeyoshi, who had survived the First and Second Great Ninja Wars, recognized the horror before him immediately. The color was different, and there were no tails, but that suffocating pressure was unmistakably that of a "Tailed Beast" weapon.
Is this the 'Hope of the Hawks' the Great Elder talked about? Takeyoshi's scalp went numb. Where on earth did he catch a Tailed Beast?!
Takeyoshi instinctively flared his ocular power, attempting to use his Sharingan to suppress the "Tailed Beast" within Ren. He knew Jinchūriki became more violent as they shifted, and if the boy went berserk, he wouldn't care for kin or clan.
He cursed Yashiro in his heart. This kid is a Jinchūriki! Why the hell did you call us out for a 'trial'? Have you lost your mind or have I?!
Pushing aside the chaos in his mind, Takeyoshi locked eyes with Ren. Visual contact established. Genjutsu: activated!
Ren seemed to freeze for a moment.
"It worked!" Takeyoshi exhaled in relief, wiping sweat from his brow.
However, Ren wasn't frozen because of the Genjutsu. Rather, under the stimulation of the elder's ocular power, the Sage Art hidden within his crimson snake pupils instinctively reacted. Ren raised his head and glared back.
Takeyoshi's eyes widened. He felt his entire Genjutsu world being shattered by an ocular power far superior to his own. The world broke into fragments!
Out of the cracks crawled a crimson dragon, claws outspread, holding a black orb. The dragon circled him, lowered its head, and stared down with indifferent, bloody eyes. It opened its maw and swallowed the dragon ball.
Then, a blinding white light erupted from the dragon's mouth, accompanied by a sound so piercing Takeyoshi's entire body felt like it was being torn apart!
His vision and hearing exploded in pain. The air vibrated, his bones went numb, and his consciousness blurred!
Takeyoshi was instantly knocked unconscious by this singular ocular strike. As he collapsed, he managed one last bitter thought directed at Ren: You brat... you really don't know how to respect your elders! If you're a Jinchūriki, just say so!
Thud. Takeyoshi fell.
Ren blinked, slightly dazed. He realized what had happened and what the Sage Art within his eyes actually was.
Sage Art: Sharingan: Eye of White Rage!
This technique manifested the White Rage Technique used by Sage Kabuto within the Genjutsu space. It inflicted massive physical pain while using air vibrations to paralyze the opponent's senses and numb their bones. Combined with the 360-degree vision of his Snake Pupils, it was a near-absolute ocular strike. Unless the opponent fought him with their eyes closed, they had to survive the "White Rage" check first.
Looking at the fallen Takeyoshi, Ren felt a bit helpless. He had intended to use Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change to reflect the Genjutsu, but the old man was unlucky enough to dig out a Sage Art Ren hadn't even fully mastered yet.
Ren looked up. In the sky, four fire dragons pierced through the smoke, diving toward him.
Fire Style: Dragon Flame Caterwaul!
And from behind, Yashiro Uchiha was closing in at high speed, his blade thrusting toward Ren's back. He was trapped between the flames and the steel.
Ren laughed. A mad, ear-to-ear grin split his half-transformed face. He raised his palm, and Dark Chakra flooded into it. A pitch-black, rapidly expanding, and unstable orb began to take shape.
Dark: Expanding Rasengan!
Note: Support me and get early access to chapters on Pat reon.com/XareonMTL