----------------------------------------------
Extra chapters available in Patreon⚡
[Www.patreon.com/Samurai492 ]"
_________________________________
"Fast!"
The moment Yuhi Shinku's blade came down, Ren's expression sharpened. He had expected a Jonin famous throughout Konoha for genjutsu to be dangerous, but he hadn't expected Shinku's swordsmanship to be this refined.
Then again, when he thought about it, it made perfect sense. Yuhi Shinku was a veteran Jonin in the prime of his life. There was no chance a shinobi of his caliber had survived this long relying on illusions alone. His taijutsu, movement, and kenjutsu had clearly been honed through years of real combat.
And judging from the speed and force behind that first slash…
He was terrifyingly good.
Ren's feet slid backward across the earth as the long blade tore toward him. At the last possible instant, his waist twisted sharply, his upper body bending aside with almost unnatural flexibility. His right hand simultaneously reached behind him.
Shing!
The short blade at his back left its sheath in one smooth motion.
Ren's wrist turned.
The White Fang short blade swept upward in a diagonal arc and struck the side of Shinku's sword only inches from Ren's chest.
CLANG!
Metal screamed.
A shower of sparks burst between them, briefly illuminating two focused faces in the darkness.
Shinku's eyes flashed with approval.
"Good!"
Instead of retreating, he stepped forward.
"Again!"
His long sword came around in another vicious arc.
Ren met him head-on.
Steel collided beneath the moonlight, and the quiet forest instantly became a battlefield filled with flashing blades and bursts of sparks.
Not far away, Rin finally managed to stabilize the chaotic flow of chakra inside her body.
"Release!"
The illusion shattered.
Her vision blurred for an instant before returning to normal, and the first thing she saw was Ren exchanging sword strikes with Yuhi Shinku.
Rin froze.
"Ren?! Senior Shinku?"
Her eyes widened as another metallic crash echoed through the trees.
"Why are you two fighting?"
Her confusion lasted only a moment.
Rin was no fool. She quickly connected the sudden genjutsu, the false hostages, and Shinku's appearance.
"Could it be…"
Realization appeared in her eyes.
"So this is the real test?"
Ren barely had time to answer. Shinku's sword swept past his shoulder, forcing him to shift his footing and counter with a quick thrust.
"Watch the hostages!"
Ren blocked another slash.
"And keep an eye on Obito!"
Rin instinctively turned.
Then her expression became strange.
Obito was still fighting.
Unfortunately, there was nobody there.
"Take this!"
Obito spun around and slashed his kunai through empty air.
"Stop dodging, bastard!"
Rin stared.
"…Obito?"
He couldn't hear her.
The great Uchiha Obito, wielder of a two-tomoe Sharingan, was somehow the last member of Team Minato still trapped inside Yuhi Shinku's genjutsu.
Even Rin had escaped before him.
Ren almost wanted to sigh.
What exactly had Fugaku been teaching him during those days of special training?
Then again, perhaps the answer was painfully simple.
To most Uchiha, breaking ordinary genjutsu probably seemed so basic that nobody even thought it was something that needed to be taught.
Why explain breathing?
Why explain blinking?
Why explain how to break an illusion when you had the Sharingan?
Unfortunately, Obito was proving that perhaps someone really should have explained it.
Far away from the Forest of Death, another person had reached exactly the same conclusion.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the situation through the monitoring arrangements established for the exam. His pipe remained between his fingers as he gave a small, uncomfortable cough.
"Minato."
Minato glanced toward him.
"Yes, Lord Third?"
Hiruzen's eyes remained fixed on Obito.
"After this exam, find some time to give that boy special training in recognizing and breaking genjutsu."
There was a brief silence.
Hiruzen added with unusual seriousness, "He is an Uchiha with a two-tomoe Sharingan. His resistance to genjutsu cannot remain this poor."
Minato's mouth twitched.
"…Understood."
He couldn't exactly argue.
Although Konoha's leadership remained wary of the Uchiha Clan, there were limits to paranoia. They couldn't deliberately avoid teaching an Uchiha basic anti-genjutsu methods simply because they were afraid of what his Sharingan might become someday.
That would be ridiculous.
Besides, Obito had only awakened his Sharingan in his teens. For most of his academy years, he had been known as the clan's dead last.
Surely a little extra training wasn't going to make him suddenly awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, control the Nine-Tails, and become responsible for the death of a Hokage within the next few years.
That would be absurd.
Even the most shameless storyteller would hesitate to write something like that.
At roughly the same time, in a hidden location far from Konoha, Uchiha Madara was watching Obito through his own means.
His face looked terrible.
Madara stared at the image in silence for several long seconds.
Then his eye twitched.
"What is this?"
His voice was very quiet.
That somehow made it worse.
An Uchiha with a two-tomoe Sharingan had failed to notice a genjutsu before a white-haired brat who looked irritatingly reminiscent of Senju Tobirama.
Fine.
Madara could reluctantly accept that.
But now Obito had also escaped later than an ordinary little girl.
Madara's expression darkened further.
Were those tomoe painted on?
Had the Uchiha Clan fallen so far after his departure that its descendants wore decorative Sharingan like colored contact lenses?
At this level, how was Obito supposed to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan?
For one brief, dangerous moment, Madara genuinely considered replacing him.
Then he closed his eye and forced himself to calm down.
"Not yet."
There was still time.
Once Obito awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, everything would change.
Besides, Madara had selected him precisely because of this personality.
An Uchiha who was cheerful, naïve, emotional, and somewhat foolish in youth could become far more extreme after experiencing true despair.
That kind of person was also easier to guide.
The Uchiha Clan had spent generations proving that particular phenomenon.
If Madara merely wanted an unstable psychopath, there were certainly no shortages of candidates among the Uchiha.
With a long sigh, he suppressed his irritation and continued watching.
Back in the Forest of Death, the battle had already entered another stage.
Ren had spoken to Rin for only a few seconds, but even that tiny distraction was enough for Yuhi Shinku to seize the initiative.
The Jonin advanced.
His sword flowed from one technique into another without hesitation.
Horizontal slash.
Reverse cut.
Thrust.
Diagonal cleave.
The transitions were smooth enough to look effortless, yet every strike carried enough force to end the fight if Ren made a single mistake.
This was Konoha-style kenjutsu performed by someone who had spent years refining it in battle.
Ren retreated three steps.
Shinku pursued four.
Their blades collided again.
But slowly, almost imperceptibly, the balance began to shift.
Because Shinku was fighting inside Ren's Heart Blade Domain.
Within that range, every movement of a weapon became information.
Ren could feel the direction of Shinku's blade before the attack fully developed. He could read minute shifts in the Jonin's shoulders, wrists, hips, and center of gravity.
Unless Shinku possessed an overwhelming physical advantage, defeating Ren purely through swordsmanship was extraordinarily difficult.
And Shinku didn't.
Ren's counterattack began.
The White Fang short blade blurred.
One strike became two.
Two became five.
Within seconds, silver flashes filled the space between them like a violent rainstorm.
Fast.
Precise.
Merciless.
The essence of Hatake-style swordsmanship had always been brutally straightforward. There was no need for unnecessary flourish when one perfect cut could decide life and death.
Ren drove that principle to its extreme.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Nearby branches were severed by stray blade arcs.
Chunks of bark exploded.
Small stones shattered beneath their feet.
Shinku blocked another slash and slid backward, admiration flashing across his face.
"I heard Minato mention that you learned Hatake swordsmanship from Kakashi."
He redirected Ren's thrust and immediately countered.
"Now that I'm seeing it myself…"
Shinku's smile sharpened.
"You really do carry a trace of the White Fang."
Ren's eyes narrowed.
Coming from Yuhi Shinku, that praise carried weight.
Shinku had been active during the White Fang's era. He had seen the man fight. He understood what Hatake swordsmanship looked like when wielded by its greatest master.
Ren obviously wasn't at that level.
Not yet.
But being compared to the White Fang at all meant his swordsmanship had already crossed into territory that ordinary Chunin could only dream of reaching.
Unfortunately, Shinku had no intention of letting admiration make him softer.
His attacks became even fiercer.
Then, during a brief separation caused by the recoil of their blades, Shinku's free hand moved.
His fingers formed a seal so quickly that most people wouldn't have noticed.
Ren did.
But the technique had already activated.
"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death."
The ground beneath Ren's feet changed.
Solid earth became soft and unstable.
A massive tree erupted upward behind him.
Before he could move, thick vines twisted around his legs like constricting serpents. Thorns dug toward his flesh as the vines climbed higher.
Ren's expression didn't change.
"Release!"
His chakra surged.
The enormous tree cracked.
The vines fractured.
The entire illusion peeled apart like a shattered mirror.
Reality returned—
Only for another genjutsu to strike immediately.
"Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique."
Darkness swallowed the forest.
Ren's surroundings vanished.
In their place appeared an endless black abyss.
Something moved below.
Then dozens of mutilated faces rose from the darkness.
Blood streamed from empty eye sockets.
Broken mouths stretched open.
Shrill screams stabbed directly into Ren's mind as the grotesque figures rushed toward him from every direction.
Fear.
Despair.
Helplessness.
The illusion didn't merely deceive his eyes.
It attacked his emotions.
Ren's breathing became uneven for a fraction of a second.
He immediately bit down on his lower lip.
Pain exploded across his senses.
The sharp physical stimulus disrupted the foreign chakra interfering with his nervous system.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The abyss flickered.
The ghosts distorted.
And through the instability of the illusion, Ren saw Yuhi Shinku.
No—
Dozens of Yuhi Shinkus.
Each one held a sword.
Each one looked real.
Each one radiated chakra.
Ren's eyes became serious.
This was the strongest genjutsu user he had ever personally fought.
No question.
Shinku's skill was probably superior to the vast majority of Uchiha.
Continuing to defend like this would eventually become a losing battle.
Every time Ren broke one illusion, another followed immediately.
He needed to disrupt the foundation of Shinku's genjutsu.
And genjutsu had one fundamental principle.
It interfered with the target's chakra flow.
Ren suddenly smiled.
Then there was a very simple solution.
Make his chakra impossible to control.
Shinku lunged forward.
Ren formed a hand seal.
"Instant Hell Shadow Kill Formation!"
Hum—!
His body split.
One Ren became two.
Two became four.
Then eight identical figures appeared across the battlefield.
They weren't ordinary academy clones.
Every phantom carried an almost convincing chakra presence, and every copy held a short blade radiating the same cold killing intent.
For the first time since their duel began, Yuhi Shinku hesitated.
His eyes rapidly swept across the figures.
Which one was real?
Ren didn't give him time to determine the answer.
Hidden among the phantoms, he inhaled deeply.
His chakra dropped toward the internal limiters within his body.
"Eight Gates…"
Shinku's expression changed.
Ren's voice became deeper.
"First Gate — Gate of Opening. Open!"
A violent pulse erupted through his body.
His muscles tightened.
"Second Gate — Gate of Rest. Open!"
His heartbeat accelerated.
The chakra flowing through his meridians became increasingly violent.
Then Ren opened the third limiter.
"Third Gate — Gate of Life. OPEN!"
BOOM!
Chakra exploded from him.
The effect was immediate.
The foreign chakra Shinku had carefully inserted into Ren's system was swallowed by an internal storm.
Tree Binding Death.
Hell Viewing Technique.
The abyss.
The screaming ghosts.
The false copies of Yuhi Shinku.
Everything disappeared.
Not gradually.
Not piece by piece.
They were simply blown away.
The violent chakra produced by the Eight Gates crushed Shinku's genjutsu interference from the inside.
The real forest returned.
Moonlight poured through the branches.
Ren smelled damp soil, leaves, and grass.
And directly ahead of him—
There.
Yuhi Shinku.
The real one.
Ren's eyes flashed.
"Found you."
The ground beneath him exploded.
BANG!
A crater appeared where Ren had been standing.
His body vanished.
Shinku's pupils contracted.
A chill ran down his spine.
Too fast!
There was no time to weave signs.
No time to cast another illusion.
No time to think.
Years of battlefield experience took over.
Shinku raised his long sword horizontally.
The White Fang short blade crashed into it.
CLANG!!!
The impact sounded like a temple bell being struck by lightning.
A visible shockwave rippled outward.
Leaves tore free from branches.
Dust exploded from the ground.
Shinku's arms went numb.
His expression changed completely.
Impossible!
It felt less like blocking another human's sword and more like being struck by a charging rhinoceros.
The force traveled through his weapon and into his wrists.
His palms burned.
The long sword trembled violently.
Before Shinku could recover, Ren attacked again.
His short blade became a streak of white light.
Clang!
Another strike.
Clang! Clang!
Two more.
Ren pressed forward relentlessly.
Under the first three gates, his speed and strength had surged dramatically. The raw amplification was still slightly inferior to his Overload Pulse, but when combined with the Heart Blade Domain and Hatake swordsmanship, the result was devastating.
Shinku blocked.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Seven strikes.
Eight.
Nine.
His forearms became numb.
Then Ren saw it.
A tiny weakness.
The angle of Shinku's sword had shifted.
Ren's eyes sharpened.
His blade descended.
CLANG!
The White Fang short blade struck precisely against the weakest part of Shinku's guard.
His fingers opened involuntarily.
The long sword flew from his hand.
Shinku reacted instantly.
He vanished with the Body Flicker Technique, reappearing several meters behind Ren.
While retreating, he drew kunai and shuriken with his free hand.
Three projectiles flew forward in a triangular formation.
Ren didn't chase.
His blade flashed three times.
Clink! Clang! Clink!
Every projectile fell harmlessly to the ground.
Silence returned.
Shinku stared at Ren.
Then at the faint green chakra steaming from his body.
The veins along Ren's forehead stood out, and his skin had taken on the flushed appearance caused by intense internal pressure.
Shinku's eyes narrowed.
"That…"
He slowly straightened.
"Was the Eight Gates?"
Ren spun the White Fang short blade once in his hand.
Then he slid it into the sheath on his back with deliberate calm.
He didn't answer immediately.
Because Shinku was right.
But Ren's Eight Gates were no longer exactly the same technique used by Might Duy.
Something had changed.
A new trait had awakened.
[Trait — Damage Pre-Storage]
[You have developed a deeper understanding of the Eight Gates and can temporarily store a portion of the pain and physical damage accumulated while the technique is active. The stored burden will be released gradually afterward, reducing immediate strain and dulling pain during combat.]
[Warning: Damage exceeding the body's storage limit cannot be delayed.]
Ren had discovered the trait not long after mastering the first three gates.
Its value was enormous.
The Eight Gates were powerful because they temporarily removed the body's natural limitations.
But those limitations existed for a reason.
Muscles tore.
Bones cracked.
Blood vessels burst.
The stronger the gate, the more severe the consequences.
Rock Lee had nearly destroyed his own body merely by reaching the Fifth Gate during the Chunin Exams in another timeline.
Ren's new trait didn't increase the raw power of the Eight Gates like Super Strength or Nerve Activation.
Instead, it changed something almost equally important.
It allowed him to remain in the enhanced state longer without immediately being crippled by the accumulated damage.
The injuries still existed.
The pain still existed.
He would have to pay the price afterward.
But during battle?
The bill could wait.
For several seconds, Ren and Yuhi Shinku simply stared at one another.
The forest had become strangely quiet.
Rin watched from nearby with wide eyes.
Even Obito, who had finally escaped the genjutsu, had stopped complaining.
Shinku looked toward his sword lying in the dirt.
Then toward Ren.
He sighed.
A long, resigned breath.
Finally, his shoulders relaxed.
"You pass."
Ren blinked.
Shinku continued before he could speak.
"Ren. Rin Nohara."
His voice returned to that of an examiner rather than an opponent.
"The two of you have passed this stage of the Chunin Exams."
For one heartbeat, nobody reacted.
Then—
"What?!"
Obito pointed violently at himself.
"What about me?!"
Shinku ignored him.
Obito's expression became horrified.
"Hey!"
He hurried forward.
"I'm on this team too!"
Still no response.
"Senior Shinku!"
Yuhi Shinku walked calmly toward his fallen sword, bent down, and picked it up.
"Did you forget someone?!"
Rin covered her mouth, struggling not to laugh.
Ren's lips twitched.
Shinku inspected the edge of his weapon.
A tiny chip had appeared where Ren's short blade had struck it.
His expression became complicated.
Strictly speaking, their battle had not reached a decisive conclusion.
Shinku still had plenty of chakra.
He had more genjutsu available.
He had battlefield techniques Ren hadn't seen.
If they continued fighting seriously, Shinku believed he still had the advantage.
But that was no longer the point.
He was a Jonin.
Ren was a Genin participating in the Chunin Exams.
And in a direct exchange of swordsmanship, the boy had knocked the weapon out of his hand.
If Shinku now pulled out every hidden trump card he possessed merely to prove he could defeat a teenager, he would only embarrass himself.
The purpose of this exam was evaluation.
Not protecting a Jonin's pride.
And Ren had already demonstrated far more than was necessary.
Combat judgment.
Observation.
Swordsmanship.
Genjutsu resistance.
Adaptability.
Explosive power.
Most importantly, he had shown the ability to remain composed while facing an opponent stronger than himself.
There was nothing more Shinku needed to test.
Still…
His gaze drifted toward Ren.
An image appeared in his mind again.
Kurenai sitting beside this brat during dinner.
Smiling.
Picking food up with her chopsticks.
Putting it into Ren's bowl.
Yuhi Shinku's expression darkened slightly.
"You really are talented."
Ren raised an eyebrow.
That sounded less complimentary than it should have.
Shinku continued walking.
"No wonder Kurenai…"
He abruptly stopped.
Ren's eyes sharpened with interest.
"No wonder Kurenai what?"
Shinku's face froze.
Rin immediately looked between them.
Obito forgot his complaints.
Even the forest seemed to become quieter.
Yuhi Shinku slowly turned his head.
His eyes met Ren's.
For some reason, the Jonin suddenly looked far more dangerous than when they had been fighting.
"…Nothing."
Ren smiled.
Shinku's eyebrow twitched.
Then he turned away before he did something deeply unprofessional during an official Chunin Exam.
"Go to the tower."
His tone became curt.
"Rest there and wait for the next round."
Ren glanced toward Rin.
She nodded.
Obito immediately raised his hand again.
"And me?!"
Shinku began walking deeper into the forest.
"I still have other candidates to examine."
"HEY!"
Obito chased after him two steps.
"WHAT ABOUT ME?!"
Shinku vanished into the darkness.
Obito stood frozen.
Silence.
Rin finally failed to hold it in.
A laugh escaped her.
Obito spun around.
"Why are you laughing?!"
"I'm not."
"You clearly are!"
Ren crossed his arms.
"Maybe Senior Shinku decided someone who spends that long fighting imaginary enemies needs another year."
Obito's face turned red.
"That genjutsu was strong!"
"Rin escaped before you."
"She got lucky!"
"She doesn't have a Sharingan."
"That has nothing to do with it!"
Ren nodded thoughtfully.
"You're right."
Obito relaxed slightly.
Then Ren added, "Which makes it even worse."
"REN!"
Rin burst out laughing.
The tension left the forest almost instantly.
Yet Ren's attention had already shifted away from Obito's complaints.
His body was beginning to ache.
Not badly.
Not yet.
That was exactly what made Damage Pre-Storage so dangerous.
The consequences hadn't disappeared.
They were merely waiting.
Somewhere inside his body, the strain from opening three gates was accumulating like an unpaid debt.
And eventually—
It would come due.
Ren looked toward the distant tower rising beyond the trees.
The second stage of the exam was almost finished.
Shinku had personally declared that he and Rin had passed.
But one question remained.
What exactly was waiting for them in the tower?
And more importantly—
If Yuhi Shinku had merely been the final test of this round, what kind of opponent had Konoha prepared for the next one?