Naruto: The Flame That Reshapes Fate

Root truly lived up to its name.

Its roots buried deep in darkness supposedly nourished the towering tree above—Konoha—making it flourish... Or so the story went. In truth, the roots hidden underground may have once contributed to the tree's growth, but more often they siphoned its vitality to fatten themselves.

The stronger the root grew in darkness, the more the tree above withered in the light.

In his pursuit of expanding "Root," Danzō continuously extracted fresh blood from the Academy and pulled prodigious children from the clans, branding them with cursed seals and turning their uncertain futures into nothing more than obedient hounds at his command.

He claimed it was all for the village—but in truth, he devoured the village's flesh for his own ambition.

And now,

Even after Root had changed hands, it was once again turning its blades against part of the tree, beginning another act of self-harm.

Indeed, the conflict between the Uchiha and Root Was, at its core, Konoha mutilating itself.

But perhaps this wasn't entirely a bad thing. In Rēn's eyes, if this conflict could serve as an opportunity to thoroughly purge the rotten roots buried in darkness, then it would benefit both the Uchiha and the village. Merely eliminating Danzō alone had felt incomplete.

Only by uprooting everything could the problem be resolved once and for all!

"Shisui!"

Rēn slashed through the enemies blocking his path and reached Shisui's side.

"Rēn?"

"Enough talk. Go protect Clan Head Hyūga. Ensure your own safety, but do your utmost to keep him alive. If it becomes absolutely necessary, you may use Susanoo—but unless it's that person I warned you about, do not reveal your dōjutsu."

Rēn leaned in, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Kotoamatsukami, originally, required a long cooldown after each use. However, Rēn had used Samehada to restore Shisui's ocular power and repair his eye, allowing him to reuse Kotoamatsukami in a short span of time.

Still, if possible, Rēn didn't want Shisui exposing Kotoamatsukami too early.

Its power wasn't omnipotent, but in the right hands, it could be devastating.

"I understand."

Shisui nodded solemnly.

He no longer asked unnecessary questions as he once did. Though just a Jōnin of the Uchiha clan, he used to worry like a Hokage or a clan head. Thankfully, his thinking hadn't ossified completely. After years of subtle influence from Rēn and the repeated events of recent days, he had finally shed much of his naivety.

He didn't know what Rēn was planning,

But he knew obeying his command was enough.

With Shisui's support, the overwhelmed Hiashi gained a moment to breathe.

As for Rēn,

His eyes turned toward the approaching cloud-like swarm in the forest.

Behind that massive wave of insects, Aburame Torune's chakra surged closer. Judging from the formation, Rēn had clearly been marked as the primary kill target. Narrowing his eyes, he wasn't alarmed—on the contrary, a pleased smile appeared.

That works too.

Strike the commander first.

With Danzō already gone, if Torune was eliminated, Root would become a headless fly. No matter how fierce, disorganized remnants could no longer mount effective resistance.

"This will do for a greeting."

Looking at the black cloud swarming through the sky, Rēn formed the Tiger seal.

Most Fire Release jutsu ended with the Tiger hand seal, but Rēn had simplified all his fire techniques so that a single Tiger seal was enough for him to cast any of them at will.

In fact,

Hand seals weren't even necessary for him to use Fire Release.

But he'd never encountered an enemy that forced him to abandon seals altogether. And so, he kept this ability hidden—something that might come in handy when least expected.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation."

This was Rēn's most frequently used technique.

Its overwhelming destructive power and vast area of effect made it his favorite.

He opened his mouth and exhaled a sea of flames like a tsunami, engulfing the grassland and trees ahead, as well as the insect swarm descending like a black cloud. Perhaps tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand insects were evaporated in an instant—no longer than a single breath.

Wait—

Evaporated?

Rēn noticed something strange.

Even small insects had flesh. Once their moisture was burned off, the sheer number of corpses should have created intense combustion. But instead of burning, they had completely vaporized—like they were made entirely of water.

Water?

Recalling the dense swarm, a thought surfaced in Rēn's mind.

"Ninja Art: Mind Body Disturbance Technique!"

The sudden attack came from above.

A massive black eagle soared through the sky, carrying two figures on its back. Taking advantage of the firestorm below, the attack came from the middle-aged man riding the eagle. Invisible spiritual energy plummeted from the sky, aiming straight at Rēn.

Unfortunately, the eagle had flown too high to avoid the fire's heat, and so Yamanaka Fū's attack took too long to reach Rēn's position. Still, it was an impressive feat—ordinary Yamanaka couldn't launch mental attacks from such distance.

But even the best attack was useless if it missed.

Having already seen the faint trajectory of the mental energy with his Sharingan, Rēn dodged it effortlessly. But there wasn't just one person on the eagle. Like a rainstorm, a barrage of attacks followed as countless black birds dove from the sky toward Rēn.

"Go."

Shuriken flew from his hand.

The birds shattered and turned into black ink.

"Ink? Super Beast Imitating Drawing? This technique…"

Rēn parried the incoming birds with his blade, analyzing them as he did. He quickly made a judgment.

"A Yang Release secret art, maybe?"

Inside each of the ink birds, he sensed refined Yang chakra.

To give form life—even briefly and artificially—this technique was nearing the essence of Yang Release itself.

Only thanks to Samehada's help in studying Yin and Yang chakra could Rēn distinguish their qualities. Without that, not even the Byakugan or Sharingan would have noticed anything beyond the chakra swirling inside.

"Root really is full of talent."

Rēn looked up at the black eagle soaring above.

A thought came to him.

Yang Release and Yin Release were notoriously difficult. He'd experienced it firsthand. Yin was easier—after all, the Sharingan symbolized Yin power. His awakening of the Mangekyō with Samehada's aid proved it.

But Yang Release had stumped him.

Partly because his research focused more on Yin, and partly because there were fewer ways to study Yang. He had dabbled in medical ninjutsu, but those didn't offer deep enough insight. So far, all he'd achieved was using Yang chakra to boost physical strength or stop bleeding.

He had considered "borrowing" the Akimichi clan's secrets. But their techniques were food-based and required large body types—something he couldn't replicate. Offending the Akimichi wasn't worth it.

After all,

The Ino–Shika–Chō trio had shared deep bonds for over three hundred years. Angering one meant angering them all.

Rēn wasn't afraid of that—but only if the payoff was worth the trouble.

"Super Beast Imitating Drawing… a Yang Release secret art. Looks like my luck's pretty good today."

Dodging airborne attacks through the forest, Rēn had already made up his mind: he would capture the user alive. He didn't care about the jutsu's practical combat value. What interested him was how it tapped into Yang Release.

"So high up… looks like I have no choice but to use Susanoo…"

Rēn hadn't finished his sentence when a stabbing pain struck from below. Looking down, he saw the grass at his feet erupt with a swarm of insects. Once dormant, they now sprang to life, crawling up his legs and biting deep, trying to burrow into his body.

A trap!

He realized too late that he'd walked into a carefully laid snare. The aerial assault had been bait, guiding him into a pre-set ambush.

Insects usually needed to emit chakra to move—easily spotted by the Sharingan. But these had lain still, barely emitting anything. Their chakra was too faint to be noticed by chakra-sensing dōjutsu.

This was a trap woven specifically for him.

"Secret Art: Insect Jade!"

Aburame Torune emerged from underground. The silent man didn't waste words. He commanded the hidden insects from the grass and trees, gathering them into a dense black cloud in midair that surged toward Rēn.

In just a few seconds, so many insects could reduce Uchiha Rēn to nothing but bones.