The surface of the lake was torn apart as if by an invisible giant hand, water surging and rolling violently to both sides.
A massive, armored beast with three enormous tails broke through the lake's surface, slowly emerging into view.
It looked like a gigantic turtle, its entire body covered in countless jagged spikes.
Its crimson eyes burned with rage, locking fiercely onto the small human on the shore who dared to provoke it.
It had been resting peacefully at the bottom of the lake, and now—this damned human had disturbed its slumber. Unforgivable.
It had to tear him to pieces.
The shadow cast by the colossal body of the Three-Tails completely engulfed Renya.
A crushing wave of Tailed Beast pressure burst forth like a tsunami, scattering the surrounding mist—but it had no effect on him whatsoever.
"Three-Tails, stop your meaningless resistance."
Renya stood calmly at the water's edge, his hood already removed, revealing his cold and sharp features.
The three tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly, intertwining into three overlapping black scythes that radiated a terrifying aura.
This was the first time he was using the Mangekyō Sharingan in actual combat.
He wondered if its power was enough to directly control a Tailed Beast.
In the original timeline, both Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito had done it. There was no reason he couldn't. The only question was—how much chakra would it consume to control a Tailed Beast?
He didn't possess the Eternal Mangekyō, so he had to minimize its use whenever possible.
"ROAR—!!!"
The Three-Tails, sensing an overwhelming threat from those crimson eyes, let out a deafening bellow that nearly shattered eardrums.
Renya's clothes fluttered violently in the wind, but he stood unmoving.
"Noisy beast."
He hadn't come here to talk. His goal today was to capture the Three-Tails, nothing more.
His mind raced—how could he subdue the beast with minimal eye strain?
Forget it. Better to just use the Mangekyō's power to control it directly.
That way, nothing unexpected could happen later.
Renya unleashed the genjutsu of his Mangekyō Sharingan on the Three-Tails.
A powerful force erupted from his eyes—
It wasn't a physical impact, but a direct assault on the target's mind and soul, an absolute, dominating pressure.
The single massive eye of the Three-Tails instinctively met Renya's crimson gaze.
In that instant, its furious expression froze. The beast went still, stunned and motionless.
The Mangekyō Sharingan—wielding the absolute power to control Tailed Beasts!
The Three-Tails felt an irresistible spiritual force invade its consciousness, wrenching away its control over its own body.
It tried to fight back, but resistance was futile against the power of the Mangekyō.
Compared to the normal three-tomoe, the Mangekyō's ocular might was vastly superior—so overwhelming that the Three-Tails had no power to resist.
In the end, the beast fell completely silent, docilely floating on the surface of the lake.
Renya slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his Sharingan had reverted to its three-tomoe form—but a streak of blood had already slid down from the corner of his eye.
"Tch… the side effects really are intense."
He wiped away the blood with his hand, staring at the crimson smear on his palm as he muttered softly.
Just one genjutsu, and the backlash was already this severe.
He hadn't even used his unique Mangekyō technique yet.
If he did, the strain on his eyes would only grow worse.
For now, his vision hadn't weakened—but best not to tempt fate.
Even if blindness didn't come immediately, vision loss was inevitable with overuse.
Renya leapt lightly and landed on the giant head of the Three-Tails, looking down at the massive weapon of war beneath his feet.
The genjutsu would keep it under control for a while.
But the beast was far too large to bring along to meet Uchiha Madara.
If he tried, Kirigakure would surely detect them long before they left the Land of Water.
The only viable option was to use a summoning contract—to summon it again later when truly needed.
...
Renya formed hand seals rapidly, biting his thumb and pressing the bleeding hand against his palm.
He crouched down and slammed his hand onto the head of the Three-Tails.
"Summoning Contract!"
This was a jutsu Madara had taught him before he departed—one that could forcibly establish a summoning bond.
It was the same method used to contract the Nine-Tails.
The contract… was completed by force.
And just like that, Renya had obtained his own Summoned Beast—
A powerful Tailed Beast.
"ROAARRR—!!"
The Three-Tails let out a furious roar, filled with unwillingness.
It had actually become someone's contracted beast.
That meant it had completely lost its freedom.
"Beast, behave yourself!"
Renya reactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan and once again used its eye power to subdue the Three-Tails.
He then guided it to sink back into the depths of the lake.
When all was done, Renya rubbed his eyes gently, worried about any loss of vision.
Fortunately, after two uses, there seemed to be no major problems.
He let out a quiet sigh of relief, then departed the area.
...
Moments after Renya left, several Kirigakure patrol squads rushed to the scene.
"Report back to Mizukage-sama! We've located the Three-Tails' habitat!"
"The missing Three-Tails has finally been found!"
They had heard the beast's roar and concluded that it was hiding in this lake.
Kirigakure's sealing techniques had always been weak.
That was why the previous Three-Tails' jinchūriki lost control, allowing the beast to break free from its seal.
At that time, the Second Mizukage had been busy fighting the Second Tsuchikage—there had been no time to deal with a rampaging jinchūriki.
By the time the war ended and the Third Mizukage took office, the Three-Tails had long vanished.
Now that it had finally been found, they had to seal it again at all costs.
The Kirigakure shinobi hurried back to the village to report the discovery.
...
A few days later, inside a mountain cave.
"Renya, where have you been these past few days?" Senju Hashirama asked curiously.
He had just returned after escorting Mito, only to find Renya missing.
He'd asked Madara, but Madara refused to tell him anything.
Renya scratched his head awkwardly, unsure whether to tell Hashirama the truth.
Since Madara-sama hadn't mentioned it, he couldn't either.
"Kid, did you succeed?" Uchiha Madara ignored Hashirama and turned to Renya.
"Yes, Madara-sama."
"Then summon it." Madara stepped out of the cave.
"Renya, what are you two talking about?" Hashirama asked in confusion.
"Hashirama-san, you'll find out soon enough."
Renya didn't rush to explain. He simply followed Madara out of the cave into an open area.
Seeing this, Hashirama quickly followed.
He wanted to see exactly what the two had been keeping from him.
"Here?" Renya asked.
"Yes," Madara nodded. "Summon it."
Hearing that, Renya didn't hesitate. He bit his finger and began forming hand seals.
"Summoning Technique?" Hashirama's eyes lit with curiosity.
What kind of Summoned Beast was Renya about to reveal?
As far as he knew, Renya only had Scar as his summon...
"Summoning Technique: Three-Tails!"