Blade light wrapped in cold steel. In an impossibly small window of time, a ten-meter-long shadow was carved through the air, the tip of the blade nearly brushing Ren Uchiha's heart from behind.
"I have him!"
The samurai with the chonmage hairstyle was ecstatic. He stared fixedly at the boy's back, a cruel smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The Secret Sword · Iai Slash was a technique created by the samurai of the Land of Iron, based on chakra-flow, Body Flicker, and Kenjutsu traditions. The core of this strike was one thing: Speed!
Faster than a breath, faster than a glance, faster than a thought!
The goal was to severely wound a ninja before they could even form hand seals. Once stripped of their ninjutsu advantage, a ninja was nothing more than a lamb for the slaughter. Under this strike, the samurai could almost see the insolent brat collapsing and vomiting blood!
His expression grew fervent, his eyes danced with joy, and even his striking arm felt exceptionally powerful. At this moment, he felt his strength had reached the absolute peak of his life!
However, just then—
The boy, whose back was still turned to him, suddenly tilted his head and asked with calm indifference:
"What exactly are you looking forward to?"
As the words fell, everything before the samurai's eyes suddenly distorted. Then, clarity returned.
In the next second, he skidded to a halt, the hand gripping his hilt trembling uncontrollably!
He realized that the blade he thought he was swinging at Ren was now pressed tightly against his own neck. A mere fraction of an inch more force, and he would have decapitated himself!
"This is... Genjutsu?" The samurai's eyes sharpened.
He hadn't looked into the Uchiha's eyes before—the only moment of eye contact was that single, fleeting glance the boy just gave him.
That was it! I see, he's using ocular jutsu to interfere with my judgment. Truth is lie, and lie is truth! But in reality, with the speed of this strike, there's no way he could have reacted! In that case—!
The samurai's gaze turned ruthless. Veins bulged on his arm as he gripped the hilt tightly and shoved the blade hard against his own throat!
Squelch!
Blood sprayed high. His head and body parted ways in an instant!
Ren was left stunned by the sight, his mind filling with a barrage of question marks.
No, seriously, brother... I already deactivated the Genjutsu. What kind of pro-gamer move is that?!
Looking at the headless corpse thumping onto the floor, Ren blinked, feeling a strong urge to scratch his head.
The true source of this absurdity lay in a line of text that had floated before his eyes moments ago:
[Land of Iron Samurai, Tetsu-Uchimaru (Father of Tsubaki, personal disciple of Samurai General Mifune) has developed killing intent toward you! He intends to cut you down with Secret Sword · Iai Slash!]
This was the "Heart of Steel" talent notification that hadn't appeared in a long time.
Because he had just finished facing Minato, Ren had thought the talent was calculating the rewards for that battle. He was just wondering if he'd "steal" a powerful sealing jutsu or perhaps get Flying Raijin in one go.
But clearly, that wasn't it. Minato had never set up defenses against him, nor had he harbored a single negative emotion toward Ren from start to finish. Therefore, the fight with Minato hadn't triggered the talent. These subtitles came from this suddenly rioting Land of Iron extra, Tetsu-Uchimaru.
After seeing the subtitles, Ren had unhurriedly opened his Sharingan, expanded his 360-degree vision, and used Genjutsu to quietly warp Tetsu-Uchimaru's senses. He had deactivated the jutsu just as the man was about to commit suicide, hoping to interrogate him for information. Who would have thought this samurai was such a "stubborn" fellow...
Right on cue, the settlement subtitles floated up:
[Clang!]
[You countered Tetsu-Uchimaru with exquisite Genjutsu, causing him to lose himself. You have obtained a random skill from the opponent: Secret Sword · Iai Slash (B-Rank, Proficient).]
[The counter-force was significant; Reward Critical Hit triggered!]
[Combined with your proficiency in Uchiha Style Kenjutsu: Halo Dance, the 'Master of All Arms' trait, and various other styles previously obtained—Reward Critical Hit triggered again!]
[Final Skill upgraded to: Secret Sword · Swallow Reversal (A+ Rank, Mastery).]
[Basic Kenjutsu · Sheet Music function unlocked. You may expand to view.]
Ren didn't quite understand how the talent's math worked. The settlement for "extras" was blazingly fast—almost as soon as they were dealt with, the reward window popped up. Yet, when facing powerful opponents, it seemed to suffer from "constipation" and delay.
He didn't dwell on it, focusing instead on the reward that had crit-hit twice.
"Secret Sword · Swallow Reversal?"
As the knowledge flowed into his mind, Ren had a moment of realization. Among birds, the swallow is famed for its flight speed. This technique was a strike that could down a swallow in flight—it was faster than a single-strike Iai, even faster than the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki of the Hiten Mitsurugi style!
It involved three strikes in a single instant: one to seal the path and distract, one for the absolute hit, and one to seal the escape for the final kill. To launch three strikes simultaneously in a fraction of a second... this was a transcendent skill beyond the reach of ordinary humans.
"Well, this is interesting..."
Thinking of the possibilities this Kenjutsu opened up in the Shinobi World, Ren glanced at the Futsu-no-Mitama in his hand and let out a small smile.
However, that smile—harmless as it was—looked incredibly horrifying to the onlookers. In their eyes, the youth standing in a pool of blood, who had just cruelly forced a high-willed samurai to kill himself, was now... smiling.
Ren took a deep breath, a faint flush on his face as he looked at the 2.7-meter-long blade in his hand with a sinister, wicked grin. He looked as if he were savoring the pleasure of the slaughter!
The samurai surrounding Sugaya Ryuzoji exchanged looks, each seeing terror in the other's eyes. And then—
"Damn it!"
"This evil Uchiha brat killed Lord Tetsu-Uchimaru!"
One samurai, his face trembling, gripped his sword and stepped forward with a look of absolute resolve.
"Justice and honor are at stake today, warriors! For the Daimyo! Everyone—"
"KILL!"
The roar was "For the Daimyo," not "For the Young Lord." In an instant, the situation shifted!
Rip! Rip! Rip!
The tapestries lining the pillars were shredded simultaneously. From behind them leaped a massive crowd: samurai with drawn blades, masterless "Ronin" clutching kunai with explosive tags, and three of the Daimyo's personal Guardian Shinobi, wearing Cloud forehead protectors and "Guard" tattoos on their arms.
A swarming horde of people surged toward Ren Uchiha in the center of the hall!
Meanwhile, the three Guardian Shinobi—elite Jonin in their own right—turned their cold gazes away from the crowd and quietly drew kunai, forming hand seals as they flanked around toward Sugaya Ryuzoji behind Ren!
Ren raised an eyebrow at the display. "Ronin, Land of Iron samurai, and several ninjas with decent chakra... Is this the Lightning Daimyo's hidden hand?"
In a flash, he understood he was in a trap. He sensed the Lightning Daimyo's sinister intent—this was a net laid out for anyone who wanted to kill him.
Ren's expression instantly turned cold. He was surrounded by a sea of hungry ghosts; the cold light of a hundred blades wrapped around him, and kunai trailing explosive tags flew toward him from all directions!
The sound of footsteps, battle cries, curses, and the drawing of steel merged into a single roar. Watching his vision fill with faces twisted by greed, madness, anger, or cold resolve, Ren exhaled a heavy breath.
Facing these insignificant creatures, he plunged the Futsu-no-Mitama into the ground.
Then, he snapped his scarlet eyes open, brimming with annoyance and fury.
"You lot—"
"Are far too noisy!"
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