Wind screamed past Ren's ears as he twisted mid-air, boots skimming the stone brow of the Hokage monument before he kicked off and vaulted backward into open sky. The forest yawned beneath them, dark, deep, and forgiving. Far enough that collateral wouldn't spill into the village. Far enough that mistakes could be violent.
Itachi followed without hesitation.
Fire bloomed around him as he flipped, a sharp hand sign snapping into place mid-fall.
[Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.]
A flock of compressed fireballs scattered outward, spiraling, curving, each one guided by Itachi's Sharingan, each one aiming not just for Ren's center, but his escape routes too.
Ren exhaled slowly.
He landed on a slanted rock face, palms slapping down as chakra surged into the ground.
[Earth Style: Rising Stone Bulwark.]
Stone erupted upward in layered slabs. Fireballs slammed into it in rapid succession, explosions chaining together, heat rolling over the cliffside. The outer layers shattered, molten fragments raining down, but the core held.
Ren didn't wait for the smoke to clear.
A sharp stomp cracked the rock beneath his foot and he twisted, swinging his arm.
[Wind Style: Gale Severing Palm.]
Invisible pressure screamed forward.
The wind blade tore through the smoke like a guillotine. Itachi crossed his sword instinctively, fire chakra coating the blade as he met the attack head-on. The impact detonated, wind and flame ripping outward, flattening treetops below.
Even so, the force hurled Itachi backward.
Ren vanished.
It was not Flying Thunder God, just raw speed. He appeared beside Itachi mid-air, fingers closing around the Uchiha's collar.
"Wake up, Itachi," Ren said calmly, almost gently.
Then, he threw him.
Itachi's body became a projectile, smashing through branches, trunks exploding apart as he vanished into the jungle canopy with a thunderous crash.
Ren hovered for a breath longer than he should have.
Pain flared in his abdomen, sharp and nauseating. The spatial wound throbbed like it was resentful of being ignored. He grit his teeth, forced chakra into the barrier Tsunade had placed, suppressing the damage.
The forest below ignited.
Flames surged upward as Itachi erupted back into view, clothes torn, eyes burning red. His sword traced a wide arc, fire clinging unnaturally to the metal.
"I am doing this all for the village," Itachi said, voice steady, resolute. "You're standing in the way."
Ren's eyes narrowed.
"That's the problem," he replied. "You think that thought is yours."
Itachi blurred forward, engaging in close range, too close.
Ren snapped a seal and slammed his heel down mid-air.
[Earth Style: Gravity Well.]
The air distorted and the ground below pulled.
Itachi's charge faltered as invisible weight crashed down on him, forcing his trajectory downward. He twisted, stabbed his sword into a tree mid-fall, fire erupting to counterbalance the pull.
Bark vaporized, but he used the recoil to launch himself sideways, straight into Ren's follow-up.
[Lightning Style: Flash Pierce.]
A needle of condensed lightning snapped out, precise and brutal. Itachi barely twisted in time, the attack grazed his shoulder, burning cloth and flesh alike, sending a jolt through his arm.
Itachi hissed but didn't slow.
Fire roared.
[Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.]
The sphere was massive, far larger than necessary, chakra pouring into it without restraint.
Ren didn't block.
He vanished.
The fireball detonated harmlessly against the forest floor, then Ren reappeared above Itachi, arm already swinging.
[Wind Style: Wind Bullet Barrage!]
Dozens of compressed air bullets screamed downward, shredding trees like paper. Itachi weaved through them with preternatural precision, Sharingan spinning, but one clipped his leg, another tore through his sleeve, blood spraying.
Ren landed hard on a broken trunk, breathing heavier now.
Chakra's fine.
Body's not.
Just then black ignited at the edge of his vision.
Amaterasu.
The flames bloomed from nothing, clinging to Ren's cloak, crawling hungrily toward his skin.
Ren didn't even flinch but the next instant the burning fabric vanished, teleported away in an instant, reappearing meters off to the side where it continued to burn uselessly in mid-air before falling.
Ren exhaled.
"Waste of chakra," he muttered.
Itachi was already there.
Sword first.
Ren blocked barehanded, chakra-reinforced grip catching the blade inches from his throat. The heat was intense, fire licking at his fingers, but his stance didn't budge.
They struggled for half a second, raw strength against technique.
Ren won.
He twisted, drove his knee into Itachi's ribs, then grabbed his face again.
"Wake. Up."
He hurled Itachi downward once more.
The Uchiha slammed into the earth, crater forming beneath him. Before he could recover, Ren followed with a wide, sweeping gesture.
[Earth Style: Stone Coffin.]
The ground surged, pillars snapping shut around Itachi like jaws.
Fire exploded outward from inside, stone shattering, Itachi bursting free in a flare of heat, but that moment was enough.
Ren raised both hands.
[Water Style: Rending Torrent.]
A high-pressure stream slammed into Itachi mid-air, smashing him sideways, dousing flames, driving him deeper into the forest. Trees bent, snapped, uprooted as the torrent carved a path through the canopy.
They were far from the village now.
Itachi staggered to his feet atop a shattered ridge, chest heaving, clothes in tatters. His Mangekyo pulsed, veins standing out around his eyes.
"You won't understand," he said hoarsely. "If I stop… the village dies."
Ren landed opposite him, shoulders rising and falling slowly.
"I understand more than you think," he said. "That's why I'm stopping you."
The forest went quiet.
Then, fire and wind collided again.
Ren shifted tactics, weaving elements seamlessly. Wind to disrupt, earth to control space, lightning for precision, water to blunt fire, fire of his own only sparingly, never wasting chakra on spectacle.
Itachi pressed relentlessly, sword flashing, flames roaring, Mangekyo searching for openings that never quite came.
Each exchange drove them farther.
Deeper.
Closer to the border.
~
Wind tore through the canopy as Ren and Itachi collided again, this time without preamble, without distance, without restraint.
There were no jutsu and no seals.
Just bodies.
Ren's fist snapped forward, compact and brutal, aimed at Itachi's jaw. Itachi slipped half a step to the side, forearm rising to deflect, his other hand already driving a knife-edge strike toward Ren's throat.
Ren twisted with it, shoulder rolling inward, elbow smashing down to intercept. Bone met bone. The impact cracked through the air.
They were too close for anyone else to follow properly.
Ren pressed in, footwork sharp despite the injury screaming at his core. A low kick swept toward Itachi's ankle. Itachi hopped over it and countered with a knee aimed straight at Ren's ribs. Ren took it on his forearm, chakra flaring, then surged forward and head-butted Itachi square in the forehead.
Itachi staggered half a step.
Ren didn't let him breathe.
A left hook, a right elbow, a knee rising toward the solar plexus, Itachi blocked, redirected, absorbed, each motion precise, economical, deadly. Their exchanges were so tight that sparks of chakra burst from every clash, brief flashes of blue and red light illuminating their faces.
Ren felt the drag in his movements now. Not weakness, but friction. Every sharp motion tugged at the sealed wound in his abdomen, like space itself protesting.
Itachi spun, sword sliding free in one smooth motion. Ren saw the shift in posture, the infinitesimal change in intent, but it was too late to retreat.
The blade flashed impossibly close.
Ren bent backward in a motion that defied balance, spine arcing like a bow, the sword passing so close to his throat that he felt the heat of fire chakra brush his skin.
At the same time, balancing entirely on one leg, Ren snapped his other foot upward.
Straight between Itachi's legs.
The kick was perfect.
Or it would have been.
Chakra howled and a translucent ribcage of burning red chakra erupted around Itachi's lower body in an instant, partial Susanoo forming at his waist and below. Ren's kick slammed into spectral armor instead of flesh, the impact sending a shockwave rippling through the construct.
Ren twisted mid-motion and flipped away as the Susanoo solidified further, landing lightly on a broken trunk several meters back.
Itachi didn't pursue.
They stared at each other through drifting leaves and settling dust.
Ren clicked his tongue softly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.
"You were always quite keen on protecting the Uchiha future."
Itachi said nothing, he just raised his hand as Chakra surged and The Susanoo grew.
Ribs became a spine. A torso formed, burning red armor knitting itself together piece by piece. Arms followed, massive and deliberate, each movement accompanied by a deep, resonant hum that vibrated through the forest. A skeletal face emerged, then layered armor, eyes blazing like twin suns.
A complete Susanoo towered above the trees, its presence crushing, its chakra pressure bending branches and flattening undergrowth in a wide radius.
Ren exhaled slowly.
'I need him to see Zetsu fast, I can't fight Susanoo in the condition for long.'
The giant warrior took a single step back, then another, moving deliberately away from the village, toward the darker, wilder outskirts beyond the border.
Itachi was retreating strategically.
Ren didn't hesitate.
He launched forward, hands already moving.
[Wind Style: Twin Cyclone Blades!]
Two massive arcs of compressed wind screamed upward, slamming into the Susanoo's chest with enough force to level a cliff. The impact exploded outward and the Susanoo barely shifted.
Itachi didn't even slow.
Ren's jaw tightened.
He layered his jutsu without pause.
[Earth Style: Mountain Crusher!]
The ground beneath the Susanoo surged upward, colossal stone spears erupting in a ring, impaling the construct from below. Cracks spiderwebbed across the spectral armor, then the Susanoo flexed.
The spears shattered.
Ren flickered to a new angle, already forming seals.
[Lightning Style: Heavenly Net!]
A lattice of lightning snapped into existence, wrapping around the Susanoo's arms and shoulders, electricity screaming as it tried to paralyze the construct.
Itachi's chakra flared.
The lightning dispersed like mist.
Ren didn't stop.
Water erupted next, a roaring surge that slammed into the Susanoo's legs, trying to destabilize it, followed immediately by a superheated burst of fire to flash-boil the water and obscure vision.
Steam engulfed the giant.
For half a second, then, the Susanoo's arm swept outward.
The shockwave alone obliterated the steam, flattened trees, and hurled Ren backward through the air. He twisted, dug his heel into a cliff face, and skidded to a halt, breath coming heavier now.
Blood trickled from his abdomen again.
Ren pressed chakra harder into the seal, suppressing the pain.
'Defense is absurd, as expected, I'll have to have him make it again to test my full strength later.'
The Susanoo continued retreating, step by step, each stride carrying it farther from the village, deeper toward the untamed forest beyond Konoha's borders.
Ren followed relentlessly as he changed rhythm.
No more raw force.
Precision.
Wind sharpened to needles. Earth shifted subtly under the Susanoo's feet, creating micro-imbalances. Lightning struck joints and seams, probing for weaknesses. Fire wasn't used to burn, but to herd, to force angles, to shape the battlefield.
None of it truly damaged the Susanoo.
But it slowed it.
Itachi finally turned the construct fully around.
The Susanoo raised its weapon, an enormous spectral blade of burning chakra and brought it down.
Ren vanished at the last instant, reappearing a dozen meters to the side as the blade carved a canyon through the forest floor.
He grimaced.
'FTG hurts too much in this state. Can't rely on it.'
He landed, immediately weaving another sequence.
[Wind Style: Wind Sphere Barrage!]
Dozens of compressed air bullets hammered the Susanoo's head and shoulders like artillery fire. The impacts echoed across the borderlands and did nothing.
Ren stared up at the towering construct, eyes sharp, calculating.
So this was Itachi's answer.
Overwhelming defense, controlled withdrawal and absolute deterrence.
A perfect shield for a mind trapped by someone else's will.
Ren clenched his fist.
"You're making this harder than it needs to be," he muttered.
~~~
At this moment, Ren and Itachi had drifted dangerously close to the edge of the Leaf's barrier.
The air itself felt thinner here.
The chakra barrier that wrapped Konoha like a living skin hummed faintly, invisible but unmistakable to anyone sensitive enough. Just beyond it lay the deep forest, it was older, darker, quieter. A place where the village's authority thinned, where roots grew thicker than roads, and where secrets preferred to hide.
And buried beneath that earth, motionless, ancient, and patient beyond mortal comprehension, something watched.
Zetsu.
Not the crude white husks scattered across the world like spores, but the true body, the composite existence that had survived since the age when chakra itself was still new. Its form was hidden deep in the soil, fused with roots and stone, half plant, half shadow, entirely unnatural.
Through the eyes of several White Zetsu units embedded across the village, it observed the battle above the Hokage Faces.
And for the first time in centuries, doubt crept in.
The white half, as always, was lax, its thoughts drifting lazily as it observed the destruction.
"Ooooh~ they're really going at it," it mused internally, tone light, almost amused. "Kids these days are scary. Back in my time, people screamed more before fighting."
But the black half was silent.
Focused.
Every exchange between Ren and Itachi was dissected. Every movement, every choice, every hesitation. The way Ren controlled distance despite his injury. The way Itachi retreated strategically instead of pressing for a kill because he knew he couldn't kill Ren. The symmetry of their conflict gnawed at something deep within Black Zetsu's ancient consciousness.
'This is wrong,' it thought coldly.
Clan rivalry.
Opposing lineages.
Overwhelming talent on both sides.
Former cooperation.
Mutual understanding.
Now, inevitable collision.
The pattern was too familiar.
'They look more and more like the reincarnations,' Black Zetsu admitted grimly. 'Ashura and Indra… again.'
For centuries, the script had been predictable. One inheritor of the Sage's body and vitality. One inheritor of his eyes and hatred. Drawn together by fate. Torn apart by ideology. Repeating the same tragedy until Kaguya could be revived.
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were supposed to be the latest iteration.
And yet…
Ren Senju, injured, low on reserves, still forcing Itachi Uchiha, an awakened Mangekyo wielder inside a complete Susanoo to retreat step by step.
That alone was abnormal.
More troubling was how Ren fought. There was no desperation in his chakra. No frantic emotional spikes. His control was surgical, almost cruelly efficient. Even wounded, he dictated the pace, the terrain, the direction of the battle.
And Itachi…
Itachi was not dominating, he was reacting.
The white half hummed thoughtfully.
"Hey, hey~ what if we just got the wrong blond and the wrong emo kid? Wouldn't that be funny?"
Black Zetsu ignored it.
'If my assessment is wrong,' it thought slowly, carefully, 'if Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha are not the true reincarnations…'
Then everything had to change.
Its awareness sharpened further, focusing on Itachi.
'If these two truly are Ashura and Indra reborn… then Itachi Uchiha is indispensable.'
Ren Senju was dangerous, far too dangerous to approach directly in his current state. Even injured, even drained, his awareness was monstrous. His grasp over space alone made assassination nearly impossible.
But Itachi, Itachi was compromised.
Mentally bound, emotionally fractured, carrying borrowed eyes, borrowed ideals, and a will overwritten by another's Mangekyo. Worse, his body was already under strain from prolonged Susanoo use.
Black Zetsu's thoughts aligned with cold clarity.
'If I am to intervene… Itachi must be weakened first.'
Not killed or broken beyond use but just injured enough.
Only then could Zetsu slip in, whisper, redirect. Only then could Itachi be used, either as a tool, a pawn, or a sacrifice to realign fate itself.
Zetsu shifted slightly beneath the soil, roots parting soundlessly around its form. It moved closer to the barrier, stopping just outside it, where the Leaf's defenses thinned but still held firm.
The barrier rejected it.
That was fine.
Zetsu was patient.
It would wait.
Above, the battle raged on, shockwaves rolling across the forest canopy, chakra lighting the sky in brief, violent flashes. Ren and Itachi were drawing ever closer to the borderlands, exactly as planned.
Zetsu remained still, hidden, watching.
Unaware that, for the first time since the Sage of Six Paths walked the world, its carefully cultivated certainty was cracking, not because of gods or destiny.
But because of the plans of two twelve-year-old boys who refused to follow the script.
~~~~~
{It's always quite fun to right Ren fight while he is compromised, in situations where he can't rely on FTG or things like the 8 Gates, in this way I can get a bit original, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, sword fight and many more things.
I think you guys like this kind of fight too right? Or do you just want him to vanish and reappear, vanish and reappear? Do you want that?}