Ocular Jutsu: Nine Blood Dragon Seals!
This was the brand-new ocular power Ren Uchiha obtained after merging the Sharingan with the Ketsuryūgan.
Of course, the fusion of a basic three-tomoe Sharingan and a standard Ketsuryūgan couldn't possibly awaken a technique as broken as a Mangekyō ability. This was a derivative jutsu based on the Ketsuryūgan's native traits.
Its primary effect: using ocular power to manifest Yin Release from nothing, creating a blood dragon. This dragon inherited the Ketsuryūgan's ability to manipulate blood; it possessed a physical form and could perform physical attacks, serving essentially as a short-lived "mini-Gundam."
When the blood dragon successfully struck an enemy, it triggered the Ketsuryūgan's secondary effect: Blood Manipulation.
By controlling the enemy's blood and obstructing its flow, the victim would suffer cellular necrosis and death within thirty minutes unless someone neutralized the ocular power.
Admittedly, this secondary effect was somewhat redundant. The "Blood Truck Dragon" itself possessed immense mass and impact. Generally, being hit by this dragon without a defensive jutsu was no different from being plowed over by a semi-truck traveling at 180 km/h.
Beyond acting as a battering ram, its core utility was even more sinister: once the dragon hit, the user could manipulate the target's internal blood flow to seal their chakra, rendering them defenseless—effectively turning them into a "blood slave."
On paper, this ocular jutsu was incredibly strong, and in practice, it lived up to the hype. However, it shared a fatal flaw with all sealing jutsu: It had to actually hit the target.
Shinobi are not stationary targets. They move. A standard Jonin moving in an L-pattern had a decent chance of dodging such a straightforward collision, and extreme experts could practically stop the dragon with their bare hands.
Fortunately, this jutsu had a special property that allowed it to synergize perfectly with Ren's other ocular power: Its appearance was extremely deceptive.
The blood dragon of this jutsu and the red dragon released by the White Striking Pupil looked almost identical. As the creator, Ren could further camouflage its form to mimic the White Striking dragon's appearance. Unless an opponent had been hit by Ren's combos multiple times, it was almost impossible to tell which jutsu was coming at them.
Ocular Jutsu: Nine Blood Dragon Seals!
Sage Art: Sharingan · White Striking Pupil!
One real, one fake; one physical, one illusory. This created the perfect trap.
When Minato saw the blood dragon, he instinctively hallucinated that he had been hit by the Sage Art version. But he hadn't.
At this moment, Minato lay there in a daze. Even with his "CPU" overclocked and smoking, he couldn't figure out when he had fallen into Ren's Genjutsu—or more importantly, why Ren was hitting him! He truly couldn't tell left from right anymore!
Thus—
"ROAR!!"
Under the command of Ren's wide-open left eye, the surging blood dragon whipped up a violent gale, lunging at Minato with a savage roar. It slammed him into the ground and pinned him down, plowing a ten-meter-long trench through the hall!
BOOM!
The floor shattered into a dense web of cracks. As the dust settled, Ren finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In the blink of an eye, the legendary "Yellow Flash"—who had just been the object of everyone's awe—had been taken down by a sneak attack from his own short "attendant." The change was as sudden as a whirlwind. The people in the hall didn't even have time to process what had happened; they only felt the rush of wind and saw a flash of red light before peace returned.
The only difference was the golden-haired youth now slumped in the corner of the hall. The wall behind him groaned, dust and gravel trickled down, and cracks spider-webbed across the entire surface.
Sugaya Ryuzoji finally opened his eyes, which had been forced shut by the gale.
He saw the supreme ninja he had pinned all his hopes on—the man he saw as his ticket back to power—slumped against the wall. Minato's eyes were wide, staring in Sugaya's direction, his blood-stained lips moving as if trying to ask a question... before his head rolled to the side and he passed out.
And the culprit was this black-haired, "blind" brat who looked like a servant?! Wait... he seemed to have eyes again? Did he just kill the "Yellow Flash" Minato Namikaze?!
"You..."
Sugaya Ryuzoji swallowed hard. He looked up in terror at Ren, who stood in the center of the hall. Ren held the 2.7-meter-long Futsu-no-Mitama in one hand and slowly lowered his other hand from his face, his expression cold and stern.
Looking at this youth who killed without a second thought, a bone-chilling coldness rose from the depths of Sugaya's heart. In twenty years of peace, he had never witnessed such a ruthless shinobi struggle. Today had taught him exactly what kind of cold-blooded creatures ninjas truly were—and what a dangerous position the nobility had put themselves in by trying to sit atop their heads!
Ren exhaled a long breath and turned a cold gaze toward Sugaya Ryuzoji. After observing the man's behavior, Ren could roughly deduce his character and what he wanted.
Undoubtedly, he was a greedy, self-unaware fool—a man who valued his life so much he'd die for it.
In Unming City right now, with the Tenshu Pavilion collapsed and the "Daimyo" proven to be a fake, the most noble person remaining was this Daimyo's son, the Young Lord. All the plots, frame-ups, and kidnappings aimed at the Lightning Daimyo would now fall squarely on this unlucky bastard's shoulders.
The real Lightning Daimyo didn't care about his son's life, just as he didn't care about the relatives who died in the collapse. Sugaya was desperate, which was why he had agreed to Minato's terms. To survive the night, he had to cooperate.
His goal was simple: survival. For that, he would sacrifice his status, his prestige, his father's life, and even the national treasure in Ren's hand. From that perspective... maybe he was a smart man?
Ren narrowed his eyes and began walking toward Sugaya Ryuzoji.
Tap, tap...
The footsteps echoed in Sugaya's ears, each one feeling like a heavy boot landing directly on his heart. He could almost hear his own heart shrieking under the unbearable pressure of his terror.
"Stop! Stop! Don't you damn well come any closer!"
"Get back! Stay away from me! Get away from the Young Lord!"
Sugaya stared at the approaching youth, sweat pouring down his face, which had turned paper-white. "Who... who are you?!"
"Me?" Ren smiled, his gaze deep and haunting. "Look at these eyes. Trust me, you've heard my name before."
Sugaya looked up at those eyes. The crimson pupils glowing in the hall were more eerie, colder, and more sinister than any Sharingan he had ever seen—and yet, they were hauntingly beautiful.
"Those eyes... you're of the Uchiha... An Uchiha in the Land of Lightning?!"
A terrifying thought struck Sugaya. He gasped, his throat feeling as if invisible hands were strangling him. Finally, he blurted out the name that made his scalp tingle with fear:
"You're... Ren Uchiha!"
The Uchiha of Unming City, the leader of the Immortal Cultists, the one who brazenly assassinated the Daimyo and ordered an end to the war! The Uchiha who fought three Kage-level experts at Hell's Valley, killed one Jinchuriki, severely injured another, and even wounded the Third Raikage!
Ren Uchiha!
But... wasn't he supposed to be a fake?! Why is there a REAL Ren Uchiha standing in front of me?! Are the rumors true or false?!
Sugaya stood frozen, his mind a blank void. As Ren drew closer, the world seemed to blur. Who was he? He was Ren Uchiha! Then who was the little brat who tried to kill his father? Which one was real? He truly couldn't tell!
Ren walked calmly past the dazed and terrified Young Lord, not even sparing him a direct glance. As their shoulders brushed, he slowed his pace and stated with cold indifference:
"The era of the Daimyo is over."
Ren paused, adding a final, pointed remark just to complete the intimidating display:
"You're a smart man. You should know what you need to do for me."
"If you still want to live..."
The moment Ren passed him, the crushing pressure around Sugaya vanished. He gasped for air and spun around, staring blankly at Ren's back. "I... I..."
He wanted to say something, to prove his worth, to offer everything he had—but at that moment:
"DAMN YOU!!!"
A roar exploded from beside Sugaya, making him flinch. His pupils shrank as a "it's over" expression crossed his face.
"Insolence! Killing in the hall and threatening the Young Lord!"
"Brat, do you think we are invisible?!"
Shing!
A flash of cold steel lit up the room. A samurai clad in grey-white armor, sporting a chonmage hairstyle and a face full of fury, stepped out from the crowd. He leaped high into the air, one hand pressing his scabbard and the other gripping the hilt.
In an instant, sword-flashes blossomed like spider lilies! A sharp, beautiful, and utterly decisive strike was drawn, aimed straight at Ren Uchiha's completely unguarded back!
The technique: Secret Sword · Iai Slash!
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