Chapter 97
2-IN-1-Chapter
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Falling pink petals swayed like spring rain. On the dense canopy, many tender flower buds still waited to bloom. Rēn reached out and plucked a small bud, heavy in his hand. Inside it held immature dōjutsu power. Normally, it was intangible and immeasurable, but spiritual energy within the illusion of Konohana-Sakuya now took on a perceptible weight.
Uchiha Obito managed to break free from Konohana-Sakuya's illusion.
For this,
Rēn felt no sense of loss or disappointment.
On the contrary, today's harvest was already pleasantly surprising. Though it was regrettable he hadn't been able to permanently eliminate Uchiha Obito, some things simply couldn't be forced. One must take each step at a time, each bite at a time. As long as he kept moving forward, that was enough.
"Interesting."
Rēn crushed the bud.
The dōjutsu power shone like starlight through his fingers and dispersed into nothingness on the gentle spring breeze.
Looking at his own palm, he clenched his fist thoughtfully.
Obito's dōjutsu differed greatly from his and Shisui's. The difference wasn't simply one of individual variance; it was something deeper. Obito's dōjutsu possessed an unreasonable stability.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was a half-finished product awakened by the Uchiha clan as the power of Yin Release inherited from Indra dwindled. It surpassed the limits of the three-tomoe Sharingan, yet its powerful force could never be stabilized, always remaining in a precarious state.
Each time the Mangekyō Sharingan was used, it struck the enemy while simultaneously harming its wielder.
But Obito's dōjutsu seemed to have been injected with a suppressant, resting in a state of stability and tranquillity, as if fed with an unending supply of nutrients to maintain it, allowing him to wield this power freely without fear of backlash.
"Is this the power of Hashirama's cells? No—it should be called the Sage's Body, or… Yang Release?"
No matter what name it bore,
Its essence was the same.
Indeed, Yin Release and Yang Release were the very core of the Six Paths Sage's teachings to mankind. Cultivating Yin and Yang Release was the straight, orthodox path.
Perhaps it lacked the speed and simplicity of cellular transplantation, but it was steady and reliable.
Unless absolutely necessary, Rēn had no desire to have half his body turn pale, nor would he ever accept a man's face growing from his chest.
"Indra was the Sage's eldest son; he inherited the Sage's 'eyes.'
Asura, the younger son, received the Sage's 'body.'
When the Sage's 'eyes' and 'body' are united, that is the true power of the Sage!"
Within this small courtyard world, Rēn was its sole and supreme master.
Not even White Zetsu could infiltrate this place to overhear his words.
His tuneless humming still echoed in the garden, but Rēn's figure had already disappeared. Soon after, this small courtyard world also faded along with the humming, like snowflakes melting into the sky, leaving no trace.
................
.......
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In the cage, the Three-Tailed opened its eyes, sensing the disappearance of the dōjutsu binding it. That cursed one-eyed Uchiha's dōjutsu had suddenly weakened to an inexplicable degree. Though he was still alive, his dōjutsu had diminished as if on the verge of death.
But,It didn't care to figure it out!
It would be best if that damned one-eyed Uchiha died—or better yet, if all those hateful red eyes died out. For a thousand years, the Uchiha had toyed with the tailed beasts like playthings, treating them as pets, weapons, and automatic chakra machines.
It shook its head, casting aside those bitter memories.
Finally free of the Sharingan's control, its mind clear again, it thought it might be best to find a place to sleep. After all, Yagura Karatachi, the unlucky host, had been tormented to the point of exhaustion by that one-eyed Uchiha. He likely had no strength left to forcibly harness its power.
Thinking back,
If not for the constant opposition between it and Yagura, that one-eyed Uchiha might never have found a way to exploit them.
But at that moment it suddenly felt something on its head.
That sensation was strangely familiar—and instinctively loathsome.
Another human?
Even the Three-Tails, who loved to sleep, felt deep fury. Why did these damned humans always like to step on its head—whether in the real world or this mental space?
Years ago, Uchiha Madara had stepped on all nine tailed beasts heads, finding that stomping on Kurama's was most comfortable. Madara had forcibly signed a summoning contract with Kurama and taken that arrogant fox away.
But things hadn't gone well for the others either.
Senju Hashirama, that monster, had beaten them all into submission and captured them, distributing them as "gifts" to various humans.
It let out a low growl, threatening the human atop its head.
Then:
"Quiet."
The man standing on its head stomped his foot.
Of course, to the Three-Tails, such an action was no different than scratching an itch. Its carapace, covered in sharp spikes, wasn't for show. Even Kurama couldn't easily break its shell without effort.
In fact,
The man's action only further enraged the Three-Tails.
It violently shook its head, trying to fling the intruder off. And it succeeded. Caught off guard by the beast's temper, Rēn was thrown down, landing on the cage's iron bars manifested by a powerful sealing technique within this mental space.
"Why so irritable? You look a lot like a turtle—I thought you'd be more obedient, but all you do is roar non-stop."
Rēn was displeased with the Three-Tailed's attitude.
The Three-Tailed froze slightly.
It widened its eyes, as large as Konoha's main gate, and stared at Rēn standing on the bars—black hair, crimson armor, red eyes…
Uchiha Madara?
The Three-Tailed panicked. It had just escaped one nameless one-eyed Uchiha, and now another red-eyed human appeared.
And he even dressed like Madara, making it think for a moment that Madara himself had returned!
"Human!"
The Three-Tailed spoke.
It sensed that this red-eyed human was another formidable opponent, his terrifying dōjutsu power no less than that of the one-eyed Uchiha—or even stronger. Honestly, it was tired of being manipulated by these red-eyed humans.
When under control, its consciousness was in a disjointed, detached state, not restful at all. In fact, it was nauseating—an utterly miserable experience.
So,
It was prepared to surrender. Even if sealed back inside Yagura's body, at least it could sleep in peace, small space though it was...Being a jinchuriki was infinitely better than being under doese eyes.
But then:
"Bow down."
Rēn had no intention of negotiating. As Konohana-Sakuya ended, he exited his illusion world and appeared directly atop the Three-Tailed's head. While he was still organizing his thoughts, the beast had already started roaring incessantly.
So, Rēn chose to feed it a signature Uchiha illusion.
Demonic Illusion: Sharingan.
His domineering, powerful dōjutsu surged into the Three-Tailed's body.
The Three-Tailed's eye, just about to open its mouth, lost all luster. That single eye turned blood-red, and under Rēn's will, its eyelid slowly closed as it obediently lay back down on the ground. Curling itself into a ball, it looked like a dull, immobile gray rock.
Then,
Rēn turned his gaze toward Yagura Karatachi, who had just leapt down from the wall.
With Obito's dōjutsu weakened, not only had the bindings on the Three-Tailed dissipated, but the metal stakes pinning Yagura had also crumbled, giving the Fourth Mizukage a brief moment of freedom. Yet after years of torment, Yagura's spirit was now was just too weak.
Otherwise,
In the instant he broke free, he would have seized back control of his body from the Three-Tailed.
"Flame Demon Uchiha Rēn, I think we should have a talk," Yagura said, his small stature and childlike face attempting to negotiate.
Just as Rēn hadn't forgotten the battle where he and Shisui had once challenged Yagura together,
Yagura, too, clearly remembered those two troublesome Uchiha brats who had given him so much difficulty at such a young age.
"I agree we should talk—but not now."
Rēn glanced at him.
Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes.
Metal stakes materialized out of thin air, piercing Yagura's limbs and pinning him back onto the wall, displayed like a specimen. Yagura opened his mouth to curse, but thought better of it.
A prisoner had no right to set conditions.
His only hope now was that Uchiha Rēn would keep his word and eventually grant a chance to talk.
In the blink of an eye, Rēn's figure vanished from this mental space.
Under the cedar tree, Uchiha Obito, leaning against the trunk as if dozing, suddenly snapped awake. Like one emerging from a nightmare, he could barely stand, staggering two steps before tripping over a vine, collapsing onto one knee.
A drop of blood fell from his chin onto the grass.
The edge of his orange mask seemed to be stained red as well.
"Obito?"
White Zetsu called out in shock.
Even Black Zetsu's gaze flickered with surprise.
That Uchiha Obito could end up in such a wretched state… Both wielding Mangekyō Sharingan, even if Rēn was better at genjutsu, Obito shouldn't be so battered. With transplanted cells bearing the power of the Sage's Body, Obito's dōjutsu, though not an Eternal Mangekyō, should still be stronger than most.
Moreover,
Why didn't Obito activate Izanagi? Uchiha Madara had left him with only a few spare Sharingan, but there should still have been enough. If memory served, Obito had installed one in his empty left eye socket.
Why didn't Izanagi activate?
"Obito, are you okay?" White Zetsu asked anxiously.
"Obito? Obito? Am I—am I Uchiha Madara? White Zetsu, why are you calling me Ob… No, no, I am Uchiha Obito, I am Uchiha Obito. Rin, Rin, I must save Rin… No, I must create a new world, a world with Rin…"
"No, no, I am Madara, I am Uchiha Madara, I will… I must kill him! I must kill Uchiha Rēn!"
Gripping his mask, Obito lifted his head to face White Zetsu. In that mask's lone eyehole, there was nothing but a blood-red madness.
Not only his pupil, but his sclera, eyelashes, and eyelid were all dyed crimson by the blood.
Everything made his vision seem completely bathed in red.
As if he had returned to hell—
No, he had always lived in hell!
"Obito? You…" White Zetsu reached out to steady him, but his hand passed through Obito's arm, touching nothing. Only emptiness met his grasp, and White Zetsu froze.
How could he activate Kamui when his dōjutsu was this weak?
White Zetsu was stunned.
He had no idea what was happening.
Then came an even greater shock: before Obito's eyes, space itself warped slightly, and a long, gourd-shaped fan fell into his hand. Without hesitation, ignoring his battered condition, he charged straight toward the deep crimson Susano'o in the distance, the only thing on his mind was to kill!!
Just two or three seconds later,
Within the protection of Susano'o, Rēn's eyelashes twitched. His blank eyes regained clarity, and his crimson pupils spun rapidly, taking in the situation. Susano'o remained unscathed, and his preset left-eye dōjutsu had prepared to counterattack automatically—but it had been unnecessary.
All that effort wasted.
Still, if the same situation occurred again, he would do exactly the same thing. A careful shinobi is a living shinobi.
The immense form of the Three-Tailed naturally drew attention.
As he pondered instructing the Three-Tailed to stand down from its Tailed Beast transformation, his peripheral vision caught sight of a figure leaping atop the treetops—holding that gourd-shaped fan.
His heart involuntarily clenched.
Was he seeing things?
He turned his head and looked closely: Uchiha Obito, wearing his orange mask, gripped a fan he had seen depicted countless times in clan portraits and books—the Gunbai, symbol of the Uchiha clan's thousand-year history and honor. Passed down through generations of clan leaders, it was also known simply as the Uchiha Fan.
Unfortunately, that fan had been taken away by Uchiha Madara when he left Konoha. Even when Senju Hashirama defeated Madara and retrieved his corpse, the Uchiha Fan was never found. As a result, successive generations of clan leaders had empty backs.
Even Rēn's own back had been filled with Samehada instead.
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