The distance required to sprint to where Killer B stood was, at a shinobi's speed, a matter of a single breath—or even less.
But between them stood the Third Raikage, A.
Like a wall of sighing thunder, he had effectively sealed off every path for Ren Uchiha's advance. At this moment, however, Ren had no time for calculated thought.
Could he break through the Raikage's blockage with everything he had?
After crossing him, would he have enough strength left to stop Killer B from firing the Tailed Beast Bomb?
What would be the consequences of failure?
His tangled thoughts pulled tight into a single, straight line. There was no hesitation.
A long, concentrated breath of white air was sucked into his chest and exhaled like a dragon. Ren sprinted toward his target, dragging the Kusanagi Sword, glowing with four colors, behind him. In that same heartbeat, his left hand blurred toward his waist, drawing a blade and driving it directly into his own throat.
The kunai's edge punctured his larynx and vocal cords, then sliced downward to open the trachea connecting to his lungs!
The human vocal apparatus consists of the lungs, diaphragm, trachea, vocal cords, mouth, nose, and pharynx. By cutting off the air circulation and temporarily disabling his vocal organs—while refusing to heal his ruptured eardrums or open his closed eyes—Ren Uchiha had effectively made himself blind, deaf, and mute!
By not looking, he could not be deceived by speed that surpassed the eye!
By not listening, he could not hear the Third Raikage's call!
By not answering, he could not be sealed by the Amber Purifying Pot!
And that Six Paths artifact, which required massive amounts of chakra to activate, would instead become a burden to the Raikage. After their brief, intense clash, Ren already had a clear grasp of the man's speed.
Right now, A wouldn't be any faster than he was a moment ago.
In a silence that seemed to harbor countless unspeakable horrors within the darkness, Ren began to remember. He remembered with every ounce of his being. Now that his heart had been punctured and he couldn't simply "burn" it to stay in the fight as a mindless beast, he had to recall...
Every foundation laid during this month and a half of special training as an Uchiha shinobi.
The timing of strikes, the counters of jutsu, the integration of intelligence... and the swordsmanship he had practiced day and night without rest!
Thus, in this deep, lightless, and soundless void, Ren suddenly realized something—something that transcended powerful ninjutsu, genjutsu, or taijutsu. Something primal, hidden within the blood itself.
As the saying goes: What is lost in the morning is gained in the evening.
His past reliance on flashy, powerful moves, complex combinations, and the endless pursuit of raw power had allowed his own innate, brilliant talent to gather dust. Having discarded it all, a line of text quietly flickered before his inner eye:
[Talent: Combat Intuition (S+)] Development level increased. You can now perceive the world with greater clarity and use your senses with mastery.
[Current Rank: Combat Intuition (SS), Proficient.]
[Talent: Combat Intuition] gained a new suffix: Master of All Arms.
[Master of All Arms]: Upon acquiring any ability, its proficiency level immediately increases by one rank (including talents).
[Affected by talent]: Your skill, Uchiha Style: Halo Dance (S), has increased in rank. Current: Mastery 0/1000. Skill gained a new suffix: Precognition.
[Precognition]: The root of Uchiha swordsmanship was formed over generations of ancestors using the Sharingan to copy swordsmanship, taijutsu, and nintaijutsu from every sect in the shinobi world. Within this scope, you can predict the opponent's movements through swordsmanship alone.
The sublimation of his abilities felt like a silent, nourishing rain. There was no sudden surge of power like the Zero-Tails eruption, but Ren felt that he could now take on ten of his former selves without breaking a sweat.
Sublimated Combat Intuition paired with the Heart of Steel—this was where its brutal, overbearing side truly manifested!
Master of All Arms. No prerequisites. It ignored all conditions to raise the proficiency of every ability by one rank. And that included his bloodline talent: the Sharingan!
In the next instant, Ren Uchiha snapped his eyes open!
Two tomoe spun frantically around sharp, pitch-black vertical pupils. Snake-slitted Sharingan, already modified by natural energy, possessed insight no less than a three-tomoe. Now, it was as if a thin membrane had been punctured.
They were still two-tomoe, but the world before him seemed to slow down to 0.5x, 0.25x, then 0.125x speed. Everything became crystal clear!
The Raikage charging at him, raising two fingers, stepping forward to unleash the Two-Finger Nukite... the slight ripple of his muscles in this stance, every strand of his bristling hair, his mouth open in an unheard roar, even the trajectory of every bolt of lightning flickering around his body... Ren could see it all perfectly!
"So this is the insight of the Mangekyo level!"
"Excellent!"
Ren pulled his lips back into a grin. Using his overwhelming dynamic vision, he locked onto his target and widened his eyes.
"Since I can see through every move you make with these eyes... then..."
Ren's expression tightened. While sprinting at top speed, his hands gripped the Kusanagi Sword. He threw his head back savagely.
"Raikage!"
"With this one strike, I defeat you!"
Everything happened in a heartbeat. The savage figure shrouded in pale lightning and Ren Uchiha, dragging four-colored sword light, collided!
"Hell Stab: Two-Finger Nukite!"
Two fingers lunged straight forward. As before, relying on his precognition of danger, Ren kicked off the ground and spiraled high into the air!
The lightning streaked beneath him. As he passed through like a bolt, A's gaze grew fierce. He pivoted his focus.
"The same evasion won't fool me twice!"
The lightning flared wildly, his heart thundering! A slammed on the brakes, his feet grinding into the earth.
Crack! Crack!
Spiderweb cracks crawled and spread across the ground before it collapsed. Having forced himself to stop, A coiled his legs and looked up, staring directly at the mid-air, defenseless Ren. He braced the Amber Purifying Pot on his back and bellowed:
"Ren Uchiha!!"
"Now, let me hear you scream!"
Bang!
Electricity surged! A leaped again, swinging his arm back and driving a hand-blade straight toward Ren's temple! The temple—a classic vital spot, packed with nerves, major vessels, and thin bone. A single thrust would shatter the bone and pierce the brain's artery, sending a wave of agonizing pain through the system.
However, facing this incoming strike, Ren's mind was sharp.
"I see it!"
"The Third Raikage's taijutsu and the Cloud Style swordsmanship share the same root!"
"And the foundation of this hand-blade is derived from Cloud Style: Shadow Lightning Thrust!"
"In that case..."
Ren twisted his body in mid-air, leaning back. Then, without a hint of hesitation, he gripped the Kusanagi with both hands and slashed back at the Raikage's incoming hand-blade!
"Trying to cut off my hand at the cost of your life?"
Seeing this, the Third Raikage's gaze turned icy, but he didn't slow down. He grew even more savage. He had let the Two-Tails go just to kill Ren Uchiha. If it cost him another hand to kill this brat, it was worth it!
In an instant—the brilliant sword glowing with gold, crimson, indigo, and white met the hand-blade wreathed in thick lightning!
However, in the next moment, A's face changed abruptly.
The sword that was about to collide with his hand suddenly veered off, grazing past his swinging arm! During this process, Ren twisted his body and spun rapidly behind the Raikage!
In a move reminiscent of his battle on the walls of the Land of Hot Water, he could have turned and stabbed back. With the Four Symbols Sword—a composite jutsu of Wind, Fire, Lightning, and Water—he could have pierced the lightning armor and run through the Raikage's heart.
But he didn't.
Ren, having used the sword for a feint and spun behind the Raikage, didn't deliver the strike. He took a massive leap, rolling as he hit the ground. Ignoring the dirt on his face or the Raikage who could strike from behind at any second, he continued to sprint forward!
Charging toward Killer B! Charging toward the Eight-Tails!
His crimson Sharingan locked onto the Tailed Beast Bomb that was nearly formed—the one about to annihilate old Setsuna Uchiha! Ren gritted his teeth, withdrawing the chakra from the Kusanagi Sword, and raised his hands to form seals!
Facing the high sky where dark clouds swirled, he hooked his index finger and exhaled the final dregs of chakra left in his body! This was the very jutsu that had lit up the darkness in his eyes when Setsuna first appeared before him:
"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!"
A concentrated beam of flames roared out! Yet, compared to a world-shaking beast like the Eight-Tails, this tiny fire jutsu seemed pale and pathetic. It was like trying to burn an elephant with a cigarette lighter!
But in the soundless void following his ruptured eardrums, amidst the confused stares of the Raikage, the Tailed-Beastified Killer B, and the Konoha shinobi...
Ren Uchiha wasn't actually stupid enough to try and burn an elephant with a lighter.
His choice was to throw the lighter into the sky. And then... ignite the endless dark clouds piled above the night! He would use the fury of heaven and earth to push this hellish night to its absolute climax!
After a brief silence, before the confusion on the faces of the onlookers could turn into mocking laughter—
Ren Uchiha raised a single hand, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the Full-Body Eight-Tails preparing to fire its bomb.
Standing at the edge of the cliff, silhouetted against the terrifying lightning that suddenly cascaded down from the heavens, he roared in a silent, raspy voice:
"Lightning Style: Kirin!"
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