Naruto: The Flame That Reshapes Fate

The sword technique that burned people to ash stunned the Root shinobi. Their bodies, governed by residual instinct, reacted with unfamiliar fear toward that terrifying power—so much so that, for a split second, fear froze them in place. Normally, such a brief hesitation wouldn't matter, as Root shinobi would recover almost instantly from this kind of paralysis.

However, at this time, in this situation,

That brief moment of stiffness was enough for Shisui, Hyūga Hiashi, and the others to take full advantage.

Even Shisui showed no hesitation or mercy. His short katana sliced through the air with flashing arcs of light, mercilessly reaping the lives of the Root ninja. Even high-ranking jōnin could not block Shisui's blade.

"Body Flicker" Shisui's speed in close-range killing might not have been much slower than the late Fourth Hokage.

Together with Hyūga Hiashi and his elite jōnin-ranked guards from the Hyūga clan, the three swiftly capitalized on the perfect opportunity Rēn had created. In the blink of an eye, they had eliminated more than half of the five remaining survivors.

Only two were left alive.

Unfortunately, by that point, even the numerical advantage had been lost. The two remaining Root shinobi were no match for Rēn, Shisui, and Hiashi's group. Their jōnin rank did nothing to prevent their deaths. As for their comrades who hadn't yet made a move—there was no hope to begin with.

The moment they accepted this suicidal mission, none of them expected to live through it.

The entire battle lasted less than thirty seconds.

Three elite Root squads were annihilated.

The speed of the slaughter caused Aburame Torune, who had been gathering intelligence from a treetop, to frown deeply. As expected of the Uchiha—strong to the point that one would despair cause of it. Even after suffering such losses, they had gained almost no valuable intelligence.

Everything shown thus far was already known.

That absurdly powerful shuriken-jutsu, that overwhelming original Uchiha-style kenjutsu—these were things Rēn had already revealed on the battlefield. Naturally, anyone paying attention could have gathered the information. With Root's resources and authority, such details were not hard to obtain.

Before the mission, Aburame Torune had already distributed intel on the target to all participating operatives.

Even the twelve who launched the assault at the front had been briefed on some of Rēn's abilities.

But knowing something and countering it are two different things. Put simply: their brains understood, but their bodies had no idea how to respond. They knew Rēn's shuriken-jutsu could pierce through rock and steel—but that knowledge didn't give them the time to dodge.

And then, the Uchiha Style: Great Fire Blade.

That technique was also without a clear counter. Either dodge it or take the hit. There was no third option. At least, Torune couldn't think of one.

"Proceed with the original plan."

A new command was issued.

Aburame Torune knew he wasn't the type to adapt on the fly. He had little confidence in his improvisational ability. Rather than command blindly, it was better to stick with the original plan. This time, Root had deployed nearly all its elite. They had personnel to spare.

Even if it meant using lives as fuel, he would wear Uchiha Rēn down to death.

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In a room soaked in blood, Uchiha Obito silently emerged from behind a column, enveloped in White Zetsu's body. His head lowered, and his scarlet eyes gleamed through the lone opening of his spiral mask, filled with grim gravity.

"'Flame Demon Uchiha Rēn, is it…"

Obito looked at the human-shaped ashes on the floor. His gaze passed through the hole scorched into the ground and landed on the still-steaming, half-melted famed blade. The intense heat hadn't fully dissipated. Shifting his eyes again, he examined the four people struck down by thrown shuriken.

He was verifying the intel on Uchiha Rēn with his own eyes.

"Obito, what a terrifying guy! His Fire Style is definitely stronger than yours!" White Zetsu, as always, was careless with his words—saying whatever came to mind, with no regard for how the subject might feel.

Fortunately,

Obito nodded in agreement.

"If we're only talking about Fire Style, I'm no match for him."

"And that shuriken-jutsu... Obito, does your clan's shuriken-jutsu really get that insane? It can cut through steel? That's just crazy! I mean, I haven't seen it myself yet, but still…" White Zetsu rambled on endlessly.

Obito said nothing.

He was pondering how to deal with Uchiha Rēn—a young clan head who seemed poised to restore the Uchiha to their former glory. A powerful Uchiha didn't fit his vision for the future. Decline, decay, even extinction—that was what he needed.

"To eliminate someone that dangerous won't be easy. The best strategy would be to force Uchiha Rēn into situations that drain his chakra and eye power. Once his Mangekyō burns out, he'll cease to be a threat," Black Zetsu calmly offered his analysis.

"You mean using Kirigakure?"

"Do you have a better option?" Black Zetsu's smile was cold.

"If Root's people manage to burn through even some of Uchiha Rēn's eye power, that alone is a decent outcome for us. From the look of things, Root is clearly no match for him. Rather than hoping for a miracle, we should start preparing for what comes next."

"No rush. I still want to see if Uchiha Rēn will use his Mangekyō Sharingan's dojutsu." Obito hadn't forgotten that Rēn had awakened the Mangekyō. More than anything else, that was what concerned him.

"That works too."

Speaking of Mangekyō Sharingan—

Black Zetsu didn't continue trying to persuade Obito. Truthfully, he was also curious about what kind of eye technique Uchiha Rēn had awakened. In his thousand-year life, most of it had been spent secretly observing the Uchiha, the Senju, and the Uzumaki.

Across the centuries,

He had witnessed many strange and powerful Mangekyō abilities. Though some abilities repeated in some form, the Uchiha always found a way to surprise him every few decades. Even now, Black Zetsu didn't know how many powers the Mangekyō Sharingan truly held.