The crowd finally understood something—
they'd been the joke all along.
Ren might've stayed low-key. He wasn't famous like Kakashi.
But an eleven-year-old being assessed for Jōnin?
If that wasn't genius, what was?
The cat-masked ANBU seemed to sense everyone's confusion and added, almost reflexively:
" Uchiha Ren hasn't been using ninjutsu or chakra-based techniques. He's been fighting Shisui primarily with… taijutsu."
"Taijutsu…?"
Faces stiffened across the crowd.
So the rumors were true.
An Uchiha prodigy who didn't lean on the Sharingan, didn't obsess over ninjutsu—
but trained his body instead.
At that moment, even Kakashi—who'd looked half-dead inside for weeks—showed the faintest spark in his eye.
" Uchiha Ren…" he murmured.
Might Guy's thick brows lifted, excitement flaring.
"Kakashi, watch carefully. Ren's taijutsu is terrifying. His talent is way beyond mine—he's the real king of taijutsu."
"…Is that so?" Kakashi said quietly.
For the first time in a while, he actually sounded interested.
Because if Guy said it, it wasn't empty hype.
Nearby, Kurenai and Yūgao didn't care about politics or gossip.
They just looked up at Ren, eyes bright.
"Ren… you've got this," Kurenai whispered.
"Yeah. Don't lose," Yūgao added.
Up on the monument, Shisui's expression finally shifted.
Yes, Ren's body was absurd.
But to Shisui, that was still all it was—a body.
He didn't consider Ren his equal.
And now that half the village had gathered, Shisui decided to end it cleanly.
I'll finish this fast—before it gets worse.
He could use his signature technique—his perfected Body Flicker.
And if that still wasn't enough…
He had a hidden trump card.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
—Whoosh—whoosh!
Shisui vanished.
Afterimages bloomed in the air as he moved—so solid they looked real.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten—
In an instant, two dozen Shisuis surrounded Ren, each identical, each lunging in to kill.
The crowd jolted.
"Is that… the real power of Shisui of the Body Flicker?"
Might Guy's expression turned serious.
Kakashi exhaled, stunned. "Strong…"
Off to the side, Asuma smirked and took a satisfied drag of his cigarette.
"Ren's done."
But among the onlookers were a few Hyūga Jōnin, veins bulging as their Byakugan activated.
They stared—
and their faces went pale.
They couldn't tell which Shisui was real.
Not even with the Byakugan.
Ren watched the swarm calmly.
"Not bad," he admitted. "You earned that name."
Then his tone sharpened.
"But it won't help."
Because Ren's Observation Haki had already reached its peak.
To everyone else, Shisui's technique looked impossible.
To Ren, it was full of gaps.
"Enough with the flashy nonsense."
He stepped forward—
and used Soru.
BOOM—
Ren blurred.
Faster than Shisui's storm of afterimages.
Faster than the crowd could track.
Shisui's eyes widened—
and then—
BAM!
A fist smashed into Shisui's right cheek.
The real Shisui.
He didn't even understand how Ren had picked him out.
He only felt the impact—
and then his body flew backward like he'd been hit by a charging beast.
RUMBLE—!!
He slammed into the Second Hokage's stone face, rock cracking under the force.
At the same time, the other Shisui afterimages shattered and vanished.
Silence fell.
A dead, stunned silence.
Kakashi stared like he'd seen a ghost.
Might Guy's mouth was slightly open.
Asuma's cigarette nearly fell from his lips.
Because what they'd just witnessed didn't make sense.
Shisui's signature technique—
broken.
Instantly.
And the one who broke it—
did it with a single punch.
Ren landed lightly and spoke with the same flat calm as always.
"Shisui. If you're not going to show something real, then end the assessment."
A vein pulsed at Shisui's temple.
He pushed himself up from the stone, jaw tight.
"That's what you want?"
—Buzz—
A violent chakra surge burst out of him.
His pupils turned red.
One tomoe.
Two.
Three—
Then the pattern twisted, warping into a pinwheel-like shape.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
And that was only the beginning.
A green skeletal frame erupted around Shisui—towering, monstrous—
then rapidly gained tendons, armor, and shape—
until a green giant stood on the Second Hokage's stone face.
A looming presence wearing a tengu-style helm.
The crowd below couldn't even breathe properly.
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