"Just… two handclaps—and you cast two jutsu?"
Ren didn't use ninjutsu, and the crowd could still accept it as "taijutsu monster."
But the moment he did—
the entire plaza went rigid.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen—the so-called "Professor," the man praised as a living encyclopedia of jutsu—felt his pupils shrink in shock.
"You… you—!"
And now, especially after seeing the children brought forward—
Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
Hyūga Hinata, the Hyūga's little princess.
Nara Shikamaru, and the others—
Hiruzen finally understood what Ren was truly doing.
This wasn't just about killing him.
This was about killing him in front of the present… and the future.
About crushing the Will of Fire not only in this generation—
but in the next one too.
For years, to "pass on" his ideology, Hiruzen visited the Academy over and over.
He wore his warmest smile.
Spoke in the kindest voice.
Repeated the same words again and again—
until the children believed it in their bones.
And among all of them, he'd invested the most in Naruto.
He'd once even tried to have Shisui use Kotoamatsukami on Naruto…
but Shisui refused, saying the cooldown was too long.
So Hiruzen raised Naruto as an orphan instead.
A lonely child starved for affection.
Because the moment Hiruzen offered a little warmth at the right time—
Naruto would cling to it like salvation.
The "perfect" result.
The "perfect" loyalty.
And now—
every calculation had been smashed to dust.
Ren exhaled slowly, eyes cold.
"Come on, then."
"It's time to end this."
"HAHAHA… HAHAHA!!"
Hiruzen's laughter burst out—wild, cracked, full of hatred.
He'd schemed against countless people after taking the Hokage's seat…
and never imagined he'd be the one cornered like this.
Rage.
Endless, screaming rage.
Shuriken whistled through the air.
Hiruzen's chakra surged violently as his hands blurred through seals.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The thrown shuriken multiplied mid-flight—
one became two, two became four, four became eight—
until the sky inside the barrier turned into a black storm.
"I'll defeat you—right where you're proudest!"
Ren's gaze didn't even flicker.
With Observation Haki, he read the trajectory in a breath.
He tossed his own weapons—kunai flashing—
and then, for the first time, he stopped suppressing the chakra of his Sage-like body.
It erupted outward like a tidal wave.
He clapped his hands twice.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Ninja Art: Giant Shuriken Jutsu!"
In an instant, a dense mass of weapons burst forth—dark as a storm cloud.
Hiruzen gritted his teeth and forced more seals, refusing to be outdone.
"Ninja Art: Giant Shuriken Jutsu!"
But the moment he finished—
he realized Ren had already cast it first.
A series of deafening impacts rang out.
Giant shuriken—magnified to absurd size—collided head-on in midair.
Steel screamed.
Shockwaves thudded through the barrier.
Hiruzen's face paled.
Impossible—
Ren wasn't just copying him.
Ren was moving like he could see the next page before it was written.
Hiruzen's hands turned into afterimages again.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Lightning Style: Thunder Crash!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Wind Style: Cyclone!"
Five natures—one after another—ten-plus jutsu in rapid succession.
Outside the barrier, the watching shinobi gaped.
Even the children stared with mouths open.
Some people couldn't help blurting it out:
"As expected of the Professor…"
But—
Ren's response was even more brutal in its simplicity.
He didn't weave a single seal.
He just kept clapping, chakra surging like it had no bottom.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Lightning Style: Thunder Crash!"
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
"Wind Style: Cyclone!"
Same jutsu.
Same elements.
Different method.
Even a child could tell who looked more terrifying.
Ren's chakra was heavier.
Wilder.
And he was casting without hand seals.
Inside the barrier, the techniques collided in a chaotic storm—
fire and wind tearing, water and lightning exploding, earth shattering under pressure.
Boom after boom after boom—
the ground shook again and again.
If not for the barrier, the entire district would've been erased into rubble.
Even with the barrier, the sight made people's scalps prickle.
Hiruzen was already breathing hard.
His chest heaved as he stared at Ren like he was looking at something inhuman.
Seal-less casting alone was bad enough—
but Ren also seemed to "guess" what he was about to do before he did it.
And worst of all…
Ren's stamina and chakra reserves were simply overwhelming.
No comparison.
No mercy.
Ren's lips curled, almost enjoying himself.
"Weakest Hokage in history…"
"This is fun."
Ten years of signing in.
Ten years of collecting techniques.
Only now, facing Hiruzen head-on, did Ren truly feel it—
I'm this strong.
The only shame was that Hiruzen was old.
Past his prime.
Barely a dozen high-level techniques and he was already panting.
In the world Ren borrowed his strength from…
monsters fought for days without blinking.
Hiruzen's eyes burned with stubborn fury.
"I don't believe it…"
He inhaled sharply, forcing his chakra to surge again as his hands flew through seals.
"Five Release: Great Barrage Jutsu!"
He finished—
and at the same moment—
Ren clapped again.
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