That was what made it so frightening.
The Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, had already been overwhelmingly powerful to begin with.
And now he had undergone yet another transformation.
That could only mean one thing—
his strength and abilities had risen again by a staggering margin.
Just thinking about it was enough to make people shiver.
Because of that, the shinobi of Konoha, the Rain Village, Takigakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure all wore surprisingly relaxed expressions, even while forced to kneel.
If anything, the stronger Uchiha Ren became, the more excited they felt.
Rise together. Fall together.
That was the feeling.
After all, they had already submitted to Konoha. They had already thrown their lot in with the Fifth Hokage.
The atmosphere in Iwagakure and Kumogakure, however, was entirely different.
The moment they sensed that familiar aura—now far stronger than before—many Iwa and Kumo shinobi felt their hearts drop.
Their faces turned pale with despair.
What kind of joke was this?
Ren had already been nearly impossible to deal with.
And now, after merging with that terrifying force, his aura had surged again.
It was enough to make people feel like there was no way left to survive.
"Why… why did it turn out like this?"
Perhaps because the shock was too great, Ōnoki lost control of his footing and fell out of the air, crashing hard onto his desk.
No one needed to explain it to him.
He might not know exactly what had happened—
but with his experience, he could tell one thing clearly:
Uchiha Ren had become even stronger.
And not by a little.
This was the kind of leap that could shake the entire shinobi world.
Inside the office, Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi, and the other Iwagakure officials all looked dimly at one another. They opened their mouths, wanting to speak, but in the end said nothing.
Truthfully, none of them had supported submitting to Uchiha Madara.
But their Tsuchikage had chosen that path anyway.
And now Ren had become even more overwhelming, to the point that a single breakthrough from him was enough to shake every nation.
It was suffocating just to think about.
"…Sigh."
After a long while, Ōnoki let out a weary breath.
"Judging from that aura just now, Uchiha Ren has become stronger again."
"Far stronger than Madara."
For the first time, his voice carried open regret.
"Perhaps… I made the wrong choice."
The moment he said it, he seemed to age another decade.
He understood it better than anyone—
one wrong decision from him might drag all of Iwagakure into a pit it could never crawl out of.
"Lord Tsuchikage, at this point… we can only keep moving one step at a time."
"That's right."
"Everything depends on how Madara responds now."
Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi, and the others exchanged looks before forcing themselves to speak, trying to steady him.
There was no other road left.
Iwagakure had already boarded Madara's ship.
Now the only option was to keep going until the end.
"…I can only hope so."
Ōnoki shook his head, looking utterly exhausted.
"Iwagakure will move one step at a time."
"And if it comes to the worst, I'll sacrifice myself to leave the village one last chance to survive."
At the same time, over in Kumogakure, A was in no better mood.
When he sensed the Ten-Tails' aura, he had still managed to hold himself together.
But the moment he felt the presence of Uchiha Ren as the Ten-Tails jinchūriki, everything changed.
That familiar aura—
now vastly stronger—
dragged him straight back to the old fear Ren had burned into his bones.
"Why?!"
Bang!
A smashed his fist down onto the desk. The force shattered it instantly.
In the end, though, even after the wood splintered and scattered across the room, his anger only turned hollow.
"Madara… don't fail me now."
At last, A slumped heavily into his chair, his face dark and unreadable.
Unlike Ōnoki, he did not regret submitting to Madara.
Not even a little.
After all, one of his brothers had been killed, and another captured. From the moment that happened, he and Uchiha Ren had become mortal enemies.
There could be no reconciliation between them.
Meanwhile, in Ancient Loran—
Buzz.
After becoming the Ten-Tails jinchūriki, the pressure radiating from Uchiha Ren became even more terrifying.
For most people, it was simply overwhelming.
But for Urashiki, who stood closest to him, it was something worse—
it was crushing.
It made his whole body tremble.
His heart pounded wildly.
His instincts screamed.
"I have to leave. Right now."
In the midst of his panic, Urashiki finally understood one thing with perfect clarity:
he was no match for Uchiha Ren anymore.
Not now.
Not after this.
And if he didn't run now, he would never get another chance.
Whoosh!
Before anyone else could react, Urashiki's Byakugan shifted under a surge of chakra and transformed into a blue Rinnegan.
A violent wave of dōjutsu power rolled outward.
"Uchiha Ren, I admit it—you're strong."
"Far stronger than I expected."
"But you know nothing of the true horror of the Ōtsutsuki main family."
His voice rang through the sky, equal parts rage and stubborn pride.
"I… will return."
"Paper Crane Teleportation!"
As soon as the final words left his mouth, Urashiki's body split apart into dozens of glowing crimson paper cranes and vanished from sight.
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