Naruto: The Flame That Reshapes Fate

Chapter 64: Chapter 64



The slaughter continued.

Rēn and his group had already left Shōchikutei,

But the Root operatives kept coming one after another, fearlessly throwing their lives at them to block their escape. Human life here had become the cheapest expendable—scarlet blood and gray-white ashes paved the path ahead, merging into a murky, indistinct color.

Four in the group.

Rēn stood at the very front.

Acting as the spearhead, he tore through the heavy net of Root operatives encircling them.

"Uchiha Style: Great Fire Blade."

This overpowering technique couldn't be blocked by ordinary means. Even among Root's ninja, those skilled in Earth Release hardening jutsu couldn't withstand this strike that could incinerate steel. The searing flames incinerated them directly—no need for kindling—leaving only ashes to be scattered by the wind.

Immediately behind Rēn was Shisui. Though the group had agreed to overthrow the Third Hokage together, Rēn still wouldn't trust his back to Hyūga Hiashi. Hiashi and his bodyguard took up the rear of the formation.

Of course, even at the rear, it wasn't as though Hiashi was slacking off.

The 360-degree blind-spot-free Byakugan clearly outperformed the Sharingan in reconnaissance. He identified attackers from the sky, underground, the forest, and underwater. He even spotted several enemies using secret techniques, predicted their methods in advance, and relayed them to Rēn.

"Front-left."

Hiashi shouted loudly.

"Demonic Illusion: Shiranui."

The power in Rēn's scarlet eyes surged.

He looked directly toward the bushes on the front-left and locked eyes with the hidden, hand-signing enemy. His powerful dojutsu immediately invaded the opponent's mind. Illusory flames, non-existent in the real world, ignited violently within the enemy's psyche. The pain, directed at the spirit itself, instantly incapacitated the target.

A shuriken followed—ending the opponent's life.

A second later.

"Watch out—rear left, right—"

Hiashi's intel cut off abruptly.

He had encountered an enemy with extremely poor compatibility—a wind release sword specialist had launched an attack. As fellow villagers, the Root ninja clearly knew how to deal with the Byakugan and Gentle Fist. The expert swordsman forced Hiashi into a bitter fight, needing his full attention and leaving him unable to provide Rēn with further intelligence.

Hiashi wasn't the only one in trouble—his Jōnin-level bodyguard was also entangled with a similar opponent and faring worse, suffering multiple injuries. Had it not been for help from Hiashi and Shisui, he likely wouldn't have made it out of Shōchikutei alive.

And now,

Even Shisui had become surrounded by several Jōnin-level opponents.

The Root ninja attacking him fought fearlessly, trading injuries for injuries. Their death-defying tactics forced Shisui into a desperate struggle, especially with long-range support from Earth Release specialists constantly altering the terrain. This limited his Body Flicker Technique's flexibility.

"Tch."

Rēn clicked his tongue.

After dealing with attackers from both rear flanks, he scanned the battlefield, taking everything in.

He had to admit—Danzō's Root weren't pushovers. They were tough, skilled, unafraid of death, with coordinated squads and orderly retreats. Many secret technique users were mixed in as well.

"This can't go on."

Rēn thought to himself.

He still had enough stamina to keep fighting. Samehada continuously replenished his chakra, but Shisui and Hiashi lacked that kind of endurance. If they couldn't break through quickly or receive reinforcements, Hiashi might very well die here.

Under normal circumstances, Rēn wouldn't have cared about Hiashi's life.

But after the meeting at Shōchikutei, he'd realized that the Hyūga clan—or more accurately, Hiashi himself—harbored deep hatred toward the Third Hokage. Letting him die here now would be a waste. After all, chances to overthrow the Third were rare.

But rescuing Hiashi from this crisis wasn't going to be easy—not without using the Mangekyō Sharingan.

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"Lord Torune, Team Kuroi has been wiped out. Team Tsuruta—wiped out. Team Nozawa—only Captain Nozawa remains, gravely injured... Team Seventeen... Team Twenty-Nine…"

A masked Root operative reported the casualty statistics. The long list of dead made even Torune raise his eyebrows.

Even though they'd expected heavy losses for this operation—

Seeing the staggering numbers firsthand still stirred something in his heart. But just as quickly, that ripple faded. He'd fought in the Great Ninja War, where the battlefield had been like a meat grinder. This didn't scare him—just made him feel a little regretful at the manpower lost.

"Fū, what's the current situation?"

Torune turned to his Yamanaka companion.

"Uchiha Shisui, Hyūga Hiashi, and Hyūga Mayu—chakra levels have dropped significantly from the start. However, Uchiha Rēn's chakra remains steady. The Great Blade: Samehada is replenishing what he loses. We still don't know how far Samehada's capabilities go."

This mixed news made Torune frown deeply.

As expected—

The most problematic one was still Uchiha Rēn.

A war of attrition was ineffective against him. If they had time, Torune wouldn't mind sacrificing more soldiers to wear him down mentally. The problem was—they didn't have that time. This wasn't an isolated battlefield. This was Konoha.

Even if the Third personally held back the Hyūga clan, not all the other families in the village were blind or deaf. Someone was bound to notice.

They had to end this before others caught on.

"Fū, Juri, prepare to move."

Time constraints left no room for Torune to continue commanding from the rear. He wasn't Root's second-in-command because of management skills—it was because he was the strongest operative in the entire organization.

"Right now? Isn't that a bit premature?"

That was Yamanaka Fū, Torune's teammate and master of the Yamanaka clan's full suite of mental techniques. He led all Yamanaka operatives within Root. He also had a son, Yamanaka Kaze, who remained at Root headquarters and had not joined this mission.

"It has to be now. Any more delay and we risk interference."

Torune spread his arms. Clouds of insects poured from his sleeves like a dark storm.

Their third teammate, Juri—an unnamed woman—picked up her brush. On the pristine white scroll, a few strokes brought to life vivid ink beasts.

Moments later, the creatures stirred—breaking free of the paper.

Tigers and leopards landed heavily. Hawks and falcons soared skyward.

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