Uchiha Ren made no attempt to hide his presence. As the chakra within his body erupted outward, many people throughout the village sensed something unusual and instinctively looked toward Konoha Training Ground Seven.
Among them, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had already anticipated this and had been waiting, reacted immediately. He took out the crystal ball he normally used for… "research" at the bathhouse, and cast the Telescope Technique, projecting the scene of Training Ground Seven onto the crystal sphere.
Sensing the gaze spying on him, Uchiha Ren stopped waiting.
He swung his blade through the air toward Minato Namikaze.
"I'm coming—Fire Release: Torch Flame!"
Blazing flames erupted from the blade of the Zanka no Tachi, forming a gigantic tornado-like wall of fire that spiraled toward Minato.
The fiery vortex grew larger as it advanced, engulfing Minato's figure in an instant and sweeping across more than half the training ground. A pungent smell of scorching spread through the air with the wind.
The power of a single slash was terrifying.
Yet Ren did not relax in the slightest.
In this world, there were indeed few people capable of surviving that strike—but Minato Namikaze was certainly not an ordinary shinobi.
At that moment—
Whoosh!
A sharp sound split the air as a special Flying Thunder God kunai shot through the sea of flames straight toward Ren 's face.
Ren tilted his head slightly, allowing the kunai to brush past his cheek.
But the instant it passed him, Minato's figure appeared in midair, grabbing the kunai and instantly slashing toward Ren 's neck.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
"So fast!"
Ren laughed lightly in admiration.
The next moment, his head flew into the air.
Yet no blood sprayed from the severed neck.
His headless body continued moving on its own, raising the Zanka no Tachi and slashing toward Minato in midair.
Minato's expression did not change at all. His figure flickered and vanished again.
The two of them had sparred many times before. Each understood the other's abilities extremely well.
Ren had long been wary of Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique, so he would never be caught off guard by its mobility.
Likewise, Minato was fully aware of Ren 's elementalized flame body, and he remained vigilant against it.
Before Ren 's body could fully reassemble—
Whoosh!
Another special kunai shot toward him from behind.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
With Minato's shout, the flying kunai multiplied in midair.
One became two.
Two became four.
Four became eight.
In the blink of an eye, dozens—then hundreds—of kunai rained down like arrows, covering every angle around Ren .
"Fire Release: Mirror Flame Wall!"
Ren swept his arm forward.
A massive wall of flames erupted, blocking every incoming kunai.
His expression grew serious.
Flames ignited across his body as he entered a Fire Release Chakra Mode, while the surrounding fire rapidly contracted and was absorbed into the Zanka no Tachi.
Minato's mobility was simply too strong.
Ordinary attacks that couldn't land would only waste chakra.
If he wanted to defeat Minato, the only way was to seize the instant Minato attacked—and deliver a single decisive killing strike.
When all the surrounding flames had been absorbed into the sword, the blade revealed its charcoal-black surface.
The temperature of the surrounding area soared instantly.
Grass and trees withered.
Moisture in the air evaporated rapidly.
"…This feeling…"
Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered as he sensed the environmental changes.
"So it really was Uchiha Ren that day."
He recalled the destroyed training ground at the edge of the village not long ago.
At the time, he had suspected Ren —but without evidence.
Now he finally had confirmation.
"That youngster… is truly something else."
Hiruzen's expression grew grave as he stared unblinkingly at the crystal ball.
Meanwhile—
"Zanka no Tachi — East: Rising Sun Blade!"
Ren 's face turned cold.
Looking toward Minato dozens of meters away, he lightly tilted the blade.
The air shimmered, as though even space itself was beginning to warp under the extreme heat.
Minato gave a helpless smile.
Ren 's current stance was terrifying—he almost didn't dare approach.
"If you're not coming to attack…"
Ren said calmly.
"…then I will."
Before he finished speaking, his figure disappeared.
In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Minato, raising the Zanka no Tachi high before bringing it down in a devastating strike.
"So fast!"
Minato's eyes widened.
Ren 's speed was now no weaker than the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Boom!
The blade landed lightly on the ground.
Yet within a radius of more than ten meters around the sword tip, everything instantly melted away, leaving behind a deep crater that emitted a scorching stench.
"That was close…"
Minato reappeared dozens of meters away, his expression tense.
If that strike had landed on him, there wouldn't even be bone fragments left.
But before he could think further—
Ren appeared again in front of him, swinging another devastating slash.
Minato did not hesitate and immediately used Flying Thunder God to teleport again.
However, Ren followed like a shadow.
Almost the instant Minato appeared in a new location, Ren would arrive a moment later and continue his assault.
The two figures flickered continuously across the training ground.
After more than a dozen repetitions, urgency finally appeared on Minato's face.
Although Ren 's attacks hadn't hit him, each strike destroyed the special kunai Minato had left behind.
And Minato was running out of them.
If this continued, he would fall into a disadvantage.
Ren sensed that he had already shown enough strength. To avoid revealing too much information, he looked at Minato and spoke calmly.
"Minato."
"If this keeps going, it's just a waste of time."
"Let's decide the winner with the next strike."
Minato was about to reply—but suddenly seemed to sense something.
A smile spread across his face.
"Finally finished."
Poof!
In the distance, a Minato who had been sitting cross-legged suddenly exploded into smoke.
The real Minato opened his eyes again.
His pupils transformed into frog-like eyes, and an orange pigmentation appeared around them.
Sage Mode — Activated.
Ren 's expression did not change.
He simply raised his blade and swung.
"So this is your trump card…"
"Zanka no Tachi — North: Ashes of Heaven and Earth!"
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