So fast—Body Flicker Technique!
As Uchiha Ren watched Hanzo of the Salamander appear before him and slash down in an instant, it almost felt like facing another Minato Namikaze.
But that strike didn't aim for a vital point… He's trying to capture me alive?
Ren lowered his center of gravity. His eyes turned crimson as the three-tomoe Sharingan spun into existence.
At the same time, he drew a kunai from his pouch and firmly blocked the blade of Hanzo's sickle.
Clang!
With a crisp sound, Ren clearly saw purple poison sliding off the edge of the weapon.
"The Sharingan? So you really are an Uchiha."
Hanzo sounded slightly surprised. He withdrew and created distance. Drops of poison splashed onto the sandy ground, corroding it into small pits as foul-smelling white smoke rose.
He did not press the attack.
Instead, he eyed Ren suspiciously.
"During infiltration missions, shinobi usually remove anything that might reveal their identity."
"You, Uchiha brat—why come here so openly?"
At present, Konohagakure and Iwagakure were locked in a standoff within the Land of Rain.
As the ruler of this land, Hanzo should have been a force both sides sought to win over.
Even if either side acted covertly, they would frame the other.
But Ren's blatant intrusion—something that could push Amegakure toward Iwagakure—made no sense.
Ren thought for a moment before answering,
"Don't misunderstand. I hold no hostility toward you or Amegakure."
"I came here… to wait for someone."
"Who?"
"Danzō Shimura—Konoha's Hokage advisor."
Hanzo narrowed his eyes, even more puzzled.
He was no stranger to Danzō. In fact, they had dealt with each other before.
And from experience—
Where Danzō appeared, trouble followed.
"Then why come here to find him?"
Ren smiled slightly.
"That's a long story. Perhaps we could talk somewhere else, Hanzo-senpai?"
Their brief clash had already released enough chakra to alert others.
Ren could sense numerous Amegakure shinobi rushing toward them.
He didn't mind Hanzo knowing his identity—that was part of his plan.
But he couldn't allow it to spread further. There was no telling how many spies lurked among the Rain shinobi.
And with Hanzo present, he couldn't simply eliminate witnesses.
So changing location was the only option.
Unfortunately—
Hanzo misunderstood.
Raising his sickle, he said coldly,
"If you won't talk here, then elsewhere will do."
"I'm sure Amegakure's interrogation room will satisfy you."
Before he finished speaking—
He vanished again.
A sharp flash of steel cut through the air—
Ren's body split in two.
"Don't think you can escape!"
Hanzo didn't even glance at the severed figure. He pivoted and hurled his chained sickle toward another direction.
Ren reappeared, deflecting the weapon with his kunai. Using the momentum, he flipped over a wall and dashed away.
Hanzo snorted and immediately gave chase.
Moments later, over a dozen Amegakure shinobi arrived.
"This is the place! The disturbance came from here!"
"Hm? There's chakra residue on this broken log—it's a Substitution Technique!"
"Be careful—it's Lord Hanzo's poison! Someone fought him!"
These elite shinobi quickly pieced together what had happened.
"Follow them! Don't get too close—Lord Hanzo's poison is deadly. Keep your distance!"
"Understood!"
They set off in pursuit.
"Enough of this chase."
"Water Release: Water Whip!"
Hanzo pursued Ren all the way outside Amegakure. Once he confirmed there were no civilians nearby, he finally acted without restraint.
Earlier, he had held back to avoid harming the villagers.
Now—there was no need.
He swung the chain of his weapon. A surging stream of water wrapped around it, extending its reach several times over as it lashed toward Ren.
Water alone might seem harmless—
But at high speed, it could cut through stone and steel.
In Hanzo's hands, this technique carried power comparable to an S-rank jutsu, carving deep grooves into the earth.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Ren dodged a strike and, without forming hand seals, turned and exhaled a massive fireball.
It expanded instantly—over twenty meters in diameter.
Feeling the intense heat, Hanzo reacted immediately, redirecting his Water Whip.
Hiss—!
Steam erupted as the fireball split in two.
But before he could relax—
A sea of flames surged behind it.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Thanks to the Flame-Flame Fruit, Ren's Fire Release had been drastically enhanced.
Most techniques required no hand seals.
As long as he had chakra and stamina—
He was a walking barrage of ninjutsu.
"…Such power."
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Hanzo was genuinely surprised.
With just two fire techniques, the surrounding air had already dried out significantly.
Ren's mastery over Fire Release surpassed even Hanzo's proficiency with Water Release.
Despite elemental advantage—
Hanzo was forced to match the scale to neutralize it.
And more troubling—
Ren didn't need hand seals.
If that applied to all his jutsu…
Then prolonged ninjutsu exchanges would be disastrous.
A massive wall of water rose, colliding with the flames.
Steam filled the battlefield, shrouding everything in mist.
"Quick-Draw Slash!!"
Though visibility dropped, Hanzo held the advantage.
Against a Sharingan user, obscured vision was even more disruptive.
And as a seasoned shinobi—
He thrived in such conditions.
Relying on his senses, he flashed forward and struck.
Again—
Not aiming for a vital point.
Crack!
Ren's kunai snapped. One of his arms was severed and sent flying.
…I really need a better weapon.
Ren frowned slightly—
Then drove a blazing punch into Hanzo's face.
"Fire Fist!"
Flames erupted—
Hanzo's body turned to water and evaporated instantly.
"…What is this? A fire-based transformation technique?"
Hanzo reappeared nearby, staring at the flames burning at Ren's severed arm.
Elemental transformation techniques were extremely rare.
The Hōzuki Clan's Hydrification Technique was famous—
But other elements?
Virtually nonexistent.
And yet—
Ren stood before him, his arm reforming from fire.
"…Close enough."
Ren's arm regenerated completely as he spoke calmly.
"Do we really need to continue, Hanzo-senpai?"
He hadn't come to fight.
This clash was only to demonstrate strength—
To earn the right to speak as an equal.
Without strength, no one would even listen.
That was true for individuals—
And for nations alike.
Hanzo, who had survived between great powers, understood this better than anyone.
"Equal footing?"
Hanzo let out a cold laugh.
"You think exchanging a few blows grants you that?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"With your Fire Release… you must be the rising star known as the Red Sun of Konoha—Uchiha Ren."
"Konoha produces talents endlessly."
"But in experience…"
"You are still far behind."
His voice turned colder.
"Do not forget—my true strength has never been ninjutsu."
"It is poison."
During the Second Great Ninja War, Hanzo's mastery of poison allowed him to challenge three great nations at once.
Had it not been for Chiyo of Sunagakure and Tsunade of Konoha—
He might have elevated the Land of Rain into a sixth great power.
"I mixed composite toxins into my Water Release from the very beginning."
"Your fire evaporated it—turning it into airborne poison."
"This entire area is now saturated."
"And you… have already inhaled it."
He stared at Ren like prey.
"Tell me, Uchiha brat—"
"Can you still use chakra?"
Hanzo's Choice
Because he intended to capture Ren alive, Hanzo had used a non-lethal toxin.
It clogged the body's chakra pathways, preventing circulation.
Without chakra—
A shinobi couldn't use ninjutsu.
And a shinobi without ninjutsu…
Was hardly a threat.
Hanzo was certain of his victory.
"…Poison?"
Ren raised an eyebrow.
In the next instant—
He vanished.
Reappearing before Hanzo, he drove a punch forward.
Boom!
Hanzo was sent flying back over ten meters, shock evident in his eyes.
"Body Flicker?! Impossible!"
"You weren't poisoned?!"
Ren chuckled lightly.
"Of course not."
"You're famed across the shinobi world, Hanzo-senpai. And I already suffered once because of your poison."
"How could I not be prepared?"
The moment Ren realized his earlier exposure was due to toxins—
He had remained on guard.
From the moment he entered Hanzo's estate—
His body was no longer that of flesh and blood.
But—
A mass of blazing fire.