Meeting Ren Uchiha's sincere gaze, Mei Terumī felt her heart skip a beat. Her face flushed slightly, and without hesitation, she lifted her head to look into his eyes with her clear, emerald-green orbs.
"I will definitely come for you."
Ren nodded, his gaze hardening. He used his Sharingan to observe the dozens of enemies on the fortress wall below, meticulously memorizing every position. Soon, he frowned—not because the enemies looked formidable, but because he realized his Sharingan could now see further and more clearly than ever before.
The tomoe were spinning rapidly; his dynamic vision and the "bullet-time" reading ability had grown significantly stronger. Ren's heart sank. Something felt wrong. He immediately wanted to open his status panel to check his condition.
At that moment, Shinno, who had been watching him with folded arms, leaned in and sneered. "You've noticed it, haven't you?"
"That heart beating in your chest... while it granted you life, it has also become your shackles."
Ren gave him a cold, sharp look and decisively opened his panel.
[Employee: Ren Uchiha]
[Title: Heavenly Man]
[Talents: Heart of Steel (SSS), Sharingan (Double Tomoe, A-), Combat Intuition (Skilled, S+)]
[Special Equipment: Earth Grudge Fear Heart (Earth): After equipping, obtain the jutsu Earth Style: Earth Spear. Other elemental attributes are wiped; you can only use Earth-attribute jutsus. Training in other chakra natures can unlock more attributes for the heart.]
[Skills: Uchiha Style: Manipulated Shuriken Technique (Transcendent, S), Ultra Death-Match Barrier (Proficient, S), Fire Style Jutsus (LOCKED), Wind Style: Vacuum Great Wave (LOCKED), Water Style: Water Fang Blade (LOCKED), Earth Style: Earth Spear (Entry, B).]
[Special Skills: Fire Style: Chakra Mode (LOCKED), Forbidden Jutsu: Physical Rebirth (Skilled, S), Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear Stitching (Entry, A).]
[Insurance Status: Premium Paid.]
Looking at the panel, Ren's frown deepened. It was as he suspected: he was alive because Shinno had transplanted Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear heart into him. The side effect was obvious: the nature of the secret technique restricted him to only one element per heart.
His tactical arsenal had been gutted. He was down to a single jutsu: Earth Style: Earth Spear. He went from being a multi-elemental "artillery" ninja to a melee fighter restricted to a defensive Earth-style technique.
However, Ren wasn't upset. In fact, his heart felt heavier for a different reason.
He was stronger! And way tankier!
Attributes can be re-learned through training, but Earth Spear? This technique was the absolute peak of standard ninjutsu, an advanced version of the Hardening Technique. It turned the body as hard as diamond, making it nearly impervious to physical attacks while massively boosting offensive power. Except for Lightning-style attacks, which countered it, there was virtually no standard ninjutsu that could break it.
Ren fell into a profound silence. He would eventually be able to "take a bath" in a sea of enemy ninjutsu without taking a scratch.
Shackles? What the hell are you talking about, Shinno? he thought. I'm terrifyingly buffed right now!
Seeing Ren's "miserable" expression, Shinno's eyes gleamed with an irrepressible pleasure. He chuckled, putting on a menacing face to scare the "kid."
"How does it feel? That sense of emptiness?"
"All the ninjutsu you practiced in the past... turned to bubbles. All your hard work until now... has betrayed you. Do you understand reality yet?"
Ren: "..."
He didn't know how to respond. Should he say: "Thanks for cleaning out my trash bin and handing me a +20 Dragon Slayer blade?"
"Hmph." Shinno folded his arms, looking like a supreme expert. He leaned into Ren's ear and whispered coldly, "Why do you think I saved you? I want to see you sink, step by step, into this world of eternal pain. I want you to realize how cruel this world is, and then... give up on those ridiculous ideals of yours."
Shinno paused, patted Ren's shoulder, and sneered. "The shinobi world isn't so naive that it can be ruled by a brat like you. And those ninjas from the 'Bloody Mist'? They aren't worth your trust. Now, go home and cry for your mother, kid."
The morning wind swept across the cliff, carrying falling leaves. Ren narrowed his eyes and slapped Shinno's hand off his shoulder.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Ren asked coldly.
"Does it even need a 'why'?" Shinno replied. "What can you do now that you have nothing? Continue to act tough? Stick to that nonsensical 'ninja way' of yours? Oh, don't tell me you think I'm pitying you?"
Shinno sneered. "I don't pity the dead. From the moment you 'stole' my forbidden jutsu, Physical Rebirth, your fate was sealed. It's a forbidden jutsu because it consumes the user's life force. After using it, you have maybe three to seven years left to live."
"And I'll tell you this: the only way to bypass the cost of a forbidden jutsu is to find a 'consumable' to pay the price for you. And that consumable... is a Tailed Beast!"
Ren looked at him, unfazed. He had guessed there would be a price. Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation was built on the foundation of Shinno's Physical Rebirth. Orochimaru's host bodies would start to reject him after three to seven years. To solve the side effects, one either needed the power of a Tailed Beast like Shinno, or a lab to swap bodies like Orochimaru.
Shinno narrowed his eyes, as if delivering a final interrogation. "Do you see reality now? Without your powers, without that strength that could burn your brain into idiocy... do you think you can become a Kage-level expert in three years? Or do you think you can take on the Great Hidden Villages and steal their Tailed Beasts?"
Shinno was projecting his own past dilemmas onto Ren. Back then, Shinno chose to flee and study the incomplete "Zero-Tails." He wanted to know what this arrogant brat would choose.
Would he run? Or face the despair?
Shinno's smile grew distorted, his expression almost ecstatic. He pointed toward the 400-meter drop below the cliff and whispered:
"Well? Do you want to prove me wrong?"