Departing from the eastern side of Konoha, Ren Uchiha did not stop for a single breath. After leaving Orochimaru's laboratory, he vaulted over the low rooftops near the Konoha Water Reservoir, crossed residential streets, passed Naruto's future apartment, the Konoha Theater, and the closed Ichiraku Ramen shop, eventually weaving through the Tea District and the Yamanaka Flower Shop.
Only then did he leave the core of the village.
Training Ground Three was located in a vast stretch of dense forest on the southwestern edge of Konoha. Beyond it lay the Forest of Death, where the future Chunin Exams would take place.
By now, the entire village had been jolted awake as if hit by a sledgehammer.
Hearing the distant, thunderous booms and seeing the lashing crimson silhouette in the sky, countless villagers woke from their dreams and rushed into the streets, staring blankly toward Training Ground Three.
Shinobi who had been on standby during the war era self-mobilized, following the commands of Anbu agents who fanned out from the Hokage building like a net. They began evacuating civilians into underground shelters. Countless other ninjas were converging on the Hokage building, forming a combat force mid-route.
In the far distance, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already cast aside his Hokage robes for his battle armor. He stood on the rooftop of the Hokage building, his forehead protector fastened tight, the ribbons fluttering in the gale.
Ren looked at the scene and thought that if it weren't for the timing being off, he'd swear he had been transported to the set of the Nine-Tails Attack after the Third Great Ninja War. Shaking his head, he charged forward alone, cutting against the flow of the crowd.
Ahead was Training Ground Three! Ren threw a shuriken with a wire attached, swinging himself onto the top of a water tower. He grabbed the lightning rod at the summit to steady himself.
Looking at Training Ground Three, Ren's eyelid twitched.
The place was unrecognizable. Massive craters pockmarked the earth, the ground had cracked open, and ancient trees were snapped like twigs. Training equipment had been shredded into dust. It looked as if the terrain had been plowed by a Category 8 hurricane. Fissures four meters wide snaked all the way to the barrier walls at the perimeter.
The culprit—Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki—was shrouded in a roiling mass of crimson chakra. She was hunched on all fours, completely entered into a semi-tailed beast state. Her eyes were blank voids of madness, and eight tails swayed behind her, radiating a heavy, ominous aura.
At that moment, Kushina looked up, staring at Minato Namikaze. Minato was flickering around her like a persistent flea, attempting to lure her toward an uninhabited area.
Fury manifested on her face. Red, blue, and black chakra particles gathered rapidly at her mouth, forming a Tailed Beast Bomb over eight meters in diameter that began to compress violently.
Ren's eyes widened. This was the real deal—a genuine Nine-Tails Bijūdama, not the "knock-off" he had created with a stack of buffs. Feeling that raw power which transcended human limits, Ren's body trembled slightly.
He couldn't tell if it was fear or excitement, but an absurd, ridiculous thought suddenly bubbled up in his mind:
I wonder... can I tank this with my face?
At that moment, Minato spotted Ren standing on the water tower. His eyes lit up, and he waved frantically at Ren, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Ren! I'll distract Kushina and lead her to the Forest of Death to create an opening! You go to the Hokage and get reinforcements!"
The voice was faint across the hundreds of meters, but through the needle-sharp vision of his Sharingan, Ren read his lips. It looked like he was saying:
"Forest of Death... opening... you go!"
Ren had a sudden realization and nodded knowingly.
He must mean for me to lure Kushina to the Forest of Death and take the opening myself! Minato hasn't learned the Flying Raijin: Guiding Thunder yet, so he can't teleport a Tailed Beast Bomb. He's asking for my help! This makes perfect sense!
With that thought, Ren twisted his feet and leapt straight from the water tower toward Kushina!
He couldn't afford to be idle mid-air. Ren immediately began stacking his buffs!
First, the Cursed Seal Stage One; then the Snake-Pupil Sharingan; then striking his heart to ignite the "Core Fire"; twisting the Eight Trigrams Seal to release Zero-Tails chakra; donning the artificial Tailed Beast Cloak; and finally, activating the forbidden jutsu Body Revival at full power...
Ren was so familiar with this routine he could do it in his sleep. In an instant, he became a streak of blinding white light in the sky!
On the other side, Minato watched Ren jump off the tower toward certain death and felt his scalp go numb.
"Wait... Ren! What are you doing?!"
Ren's plan was simple: he could not allow that Tailed Beast Bomb to detonate inside the village.
As he fell, he quickly flicked through his status panel, picking out a few clone techniques: Mud Clone and Earth Clone. These were low-level clones he had "looted" from the Sand Shinobi, barely better than the basic Academy version. He hadn't mastered Orochimaru's Snake Clone yet, so these would have to suffice.
In the center of the falling ball of light, Ren crossed his fingers.
POOF!
Smoke erupted, masked by the blinding glare of his semi-transformation. Using the light as a "Flashbang," Ren's true body threw a kunai into the ground and flickered down like a shadow, skidding to a halt in front of Minato amidst a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, the berserk, eight-tailed Kushina was about to fire the Tailed Beast Bomb at Minato.
Suddenly, a ball of intense light burst into her vision. Through the glare, Kushina saw the boy who always made her blood boil—the one she desperately wanted to slap across the face: Ren Uchiha!
"GAIA!!!"
The boy gave a clear, thunderous shout. Clad in a brilliant white Tailed Beast Cloak, he performed a textbook "Ultraman Kick," aiming his foot directly at Kushina's face!
Inside Kushina's mind, the Nine-Tails' voice reached a fever pitch.
"Kushina! What are you waiting for?!"
"He's the reason you're in this mess!"
"Tear him apart! Kill him! Blast him into nothingness!"
"Let him—let everyone who imprisons you know who you are—"
"ROAR! SHUT UP!"
Kushina clutched her head in agony. On her crimson, beastly face, her hollow white eyes looked up with ferocity.
She aimed directly at the boy flying toward her and fired the Tailed Beast Bomb!
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