BOOM!
With a dull crack, Ren stomped the ground and shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, hurtling toward Uchiha Fugaku with a death-defying aura blazing off him.
CLANG...
A sharp metallic screech echoed across the training grounds. The shockwaves from the clash sent the nearby grass into a frenzy and blew dust into the air like a rising sandstorm.
Wind Release chakra—razor-sharp and vicious—flashed in pulses from Ren's uniquely crafted chakra blade. The strange, jagged knife clashed against Fugaku's kunai, and for a split second, both weapons froze mid-air, held by raw will and skill.
Ren drove his right leg forward, shifting his center of gravity fully onto it. He pressed his arms outward with everything he had. Fugaku leaned slightly back, blocking with a kunai held in his right hand. He coated it with chakra directly to keep it from being shattered by Ren's chakra-infused weapon.
"Hmph. A good charge, I'll give you that. But a Genin is still just a Genin. So what if you can use Nature Transformation? So what if you have a chakra blade? You're still a green little Genin."
"Oh really?" Ren smirked. His body suddenly burst into a pale blue glow—pure Wind Release chakra enveloping him like a second skin. He bent his left knee slightly, then drove it down with explosive force.
BOOM!
The ground quaked. Wind roared in a sudden burst. With one final push, Ren's exhausted momentum reignited like wildfire.
Fugaku's eyes narrowed sharply. The kunai wrapped in chakra cracked—then shattered in his hand. His instincts screamed danger. He twisted his torso at the last second, but it wasn't enough. Pain lanced through his body as a deep wound tore from the back of his hand to his shoulder. Teeth clenched, he flung himself into the grass to the side, tumbling away from the killing blow.
CRASH!
Ren's wind-wrapped body collided with the wall behind Fugaku, demolishing it entirely. Debris and dust filled the air, swallowing the sunlight in a gray haze.
"What the hell kind of jutsu was that? Wind Release activated across the body? No... that wasn't a full-body Wind Style jutsu—it was pure Wind-nature Chakra usage. That kid—he's terrifying."
Fugaku watched the swirling dust with cautious intensity. He knew Ren wouldn't be knocked out from such a direct charge—not when his whole body was shielded by Wind Release. As expected, a few seconds later, Ren emerged from the broken wall, completely unharmed.
"Yo yo yo~ Fugaku, what happened to your arm?" Ren mocked, laughing while casually rubbing his right bicep with his left hand. "You dare to do this too?"
Dare? Hell no.
Despite having dodged fatal damage, Ren's attack left Fugaku's right arm torn up badly. Blood spilled from a nasty gash that ran up his arm like a crimson river. Bone glinted under flayed flesh. That arm wasn't going to be useful any time soon.
That second Wind-enhanced strike... it was monstrous. And without the Sharingan, Fugaku's reflexes were simply too slow to match it. The regret burned hotter than the pain. If only he hadn't wasted time letting Ren provoke him, this fight would've ended long ago.
Taking a slow breath, Fugaku steadied his heartbeat and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again—Sharingan.
His irises were now deep crimson, and two tomoe circled each pupil like watchful blades.
"Sharingan, huh?" Ren grinned. "Didn't you say you didn't need it to handle some 'worthless ninja academy dropout'? I never expected you, the next Uchiha patriarch, to go back on your words. Tch. That pride of yours... guess it's negotiable."
"Shut your damn mouth, brat," Fugaku growled. "You'd better start begging for mercy. Maybe, maybe, if you kneel and bang your head on the floor a few times, I might let you crawl away."
A strip of white medical tape unraveled mid-air and wrapped tightly around Fugaku's bleeding right arm. His Sharingan spun with cold fury as he formed the Tiger seal with his left hand, inhaling sharply.
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
("Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!")
A flaming dragon burst forth from his mouth, roaring straight at Ren. Ren clicked his tongue and leapt into the air.
Fugaku was ready.
He chased right after, just as Ren's back turned mid-air. The Wind chakra surged again into Ren's leg. He twisted mid-flip and delivered a chakra-infused spinning kick sideways.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
They clashed in mid-air, blow after blow. With the Two-Tomoe Sharingan activated, Fugaku's reactions became razor-sharp. He read every movement of Ren's with eerie precision.
Ren started to frown.
Fugaku had the edge—barely. His taijutsu was stronger, and his body was better developed. After a few fierce exchanges, Ren's muscles were burning. His limbs grew heavy.
"Dammit... I can't win head-on. I need an opening. A trick."
Just as that thought hit him, the flaming dragon struck a small tree below them—BOOM!
The explosion sent flames spiraling up like hellfire.
Seizing the moment, both Ren and Fugaku kicked off each other and bounced in opposite directions, narrowly dodging the erupting fire.
The inferno between them grew hotter, wilder. Fugaku squinted through the blaze—barely making out Ren's silhouette.
He blinked once. Then twice.
His expression twisted in shock.
Whoosh—
A piercing sound cut through the crackling fire—barely audible—but fast.
Too fast.
A pale blue glint flashed across Fugaku's vision.
No time to think. His hips jerked downward, and his body dropped like a ragdoll.
The blade missed his face by a whisker.
"Wait... that's—"
BANG!
The chakra knife struck the dirt—and transformed instantly into Ren!
"Shit—it's the Transformation Jutsu!"
The Sharingan was supposed to see through simple illusions and transformations. But Ren had blocked his vision with fire, and his clone standing across the flame had been a decoy.
The real Ren had turned into the blade itself.
Fugaku had no time to move. Completely exposed.
Ren was already mid-air above him. His skin was scorched, his breathing ragged, but his eyes burned with savage glee.
BOOM!
Elbow met skull.
Even with a last-second chakra shield, the impact rocked Fugaku's brain. His vision blurred. Pain like thunder cracked through his mind—
Then nothing.
Darkness.
The fire still roared in the alleyway. Ren stood hunched over, hands on his knees, panting like he'd run a thousand laps.
Uchiha Fugaku lay unconscious on the ground, blood trailing from his forehead in thick drops.
"That damn Sharingan almost caught me... almost."
At the last second, Ren had used his secret trump card—The Heart of the Strong (White).
"For one second, boost the power and speed of all techniques—Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu—by 100%."
That included the Transformation Technique. With its visual output doubled, even the Sharingan was fooled in the crucial moment.
Ren grinned like a madman.
"Guess it was good for something..."
Anyway, I win!
His whole body trembled from adrenaline, nerves, and euphoria. Seven years. Seven years of training, of questions—finally, an answer was about to reveal itself.
He looked skyward.
A crimson force field erupted above him—the power of the Face Fruit igniting like a waterfall of blood-red energy. It descended upon Fugaku's fallen body like a hungry spirit.
Ren blinked.
His jaw dropped.
Eyes wide as saucers.
From Fugaku's unconscious body, something began to rise—
An illusory book, glowing and spectral, floating mid-air.