"Ahhh! Bastard! I'll tear you into pieces!"
Renya's indifferent attitude completely provoked Ginkaku's pride.
He, Ginkaku — the legend of Kumogakure, possessor of Nine-Tails chakra, wielder of the Six Paths ninja tools.
Not only had he been kicked flying earlier, but the opponent didn't even take him seriously!
That feeling made him incomparably furious.
Extreme rage drowned out reason. Ginkaku let out a low roar as violent Nine-Tails chakra continuously overflowed from his body.
Roar!
Ginkaku released a beast-like howl as crimson, savage chakra surged wildly.
His body swelled and distorted within the chakra. His teeth sharpened, his eyes were completely dyed red by berserk chakra, and six chakra tails whipped violently behind him.
Incomplete Tailed Beast Transformation!
Everyone present turned solemn at the sight.
If it were them facing such an opponent, the chance of victory would be extremely slim.
Not to mention that Kinkaku and other Kumogakure elite ninjas were also here.
Once surrounded, escape would be impossible.
"Heh heh heh, Ginkaku is completely enraged by you. He'll tear you to pieces soon."
Kinkaku sneered from the side, showing no intention of helping.
With his younger brother's strength, killing a rat wasn't difficult. He only needed to guard against the other rats escaping amid the chaos.
In such a tense and heavy atmosphere, Renya merely yawned boredly.
This scene happened to be seen by Senju Tobirama, and shock quickly flashed through his eyes.
This guy didn't seem to take Tailed Beast–transformed Ginkaku seriously at all.
Could it be that his strength had truly reached a level of absolute fearlessness?
Ginkaku's aura surged several times over. His gaze locked onto Renya, filled with towering fury and hatred.
"You've truly angered me!"
He had already used all his power, yet this guy was yawning.
Arrogant — truly too arrogant!
"Die!"
Tailed Beast–transformed Ginkaku charged like a maddened beast, wrapped in violent chakra.
Such overwhelming pressure was enough to make ordinary Kage-level experts change expression.
Facing the terrifying charge, Renya still stood in place, not even intending to activate the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He had killed Ginkaku once back then — he could kill him a second time now.
A defeated opponent remained a defeated opponent!
Clang—!
A clear and prolonged blade cry rang out as Renya drew the katana at his waist, calmly watching Ginkaku rush toward him.
Hiruzen and the others revealed anxious expressions.
They worried that this sudden ally might not be a match for Tailed Beast–transformed Ginkaku.
"Be careful!"
They subconsciously warned him.
All of them thought Renya stood still because he had been frightened stiff by Ginkaku.
At the instant Ginkaku's chakra-clad claw struck—
Renya finally moved.
No massive chakra eruption, no complicated ninjutsu.
He merely rotated his wrist slightly, the katana drawing an extremely simple upward arc, slashing diagonally upward.
Clang!
Metal collided with a chakra claw, producing the sound of steel striking steel.
A circular shockwave exploded outward, lifting the surrounding turf into the air.
Yet the expected scene of Renya being blown away or the katana shattering never appeared.
Renya firmly blocked Ginkaku's full-power strike!
"What?!" Shock flashed through Ginkaku's beast-like eyes.
His full-force attack had been stopped so easily, and no matter how hard he pushed, he couldn't advance even a fraction.
Unwilling to accept it, he roared angrily. His other claw, together with the six chakra tails behind him, struck simultaneously from multiple angles.
Renya's figure swayed slightly as the katana in his hand transformed into a dense web of blades.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
No matter how Ginkaku attacked, he could not break through the katana's defense.
"How is this possible?!"
The more Ginkaku fought, the more shocked he became; the more shocked he became, the angrier he grew. Chakra poured out even more violently, yet his attacks became increasingly disorderly.
Clearly, rage had clouded his mind.
"You can't even maintain basic techniques anymore?" Renya glanced calmly at Ginkaku's twisted expression and said lightly, "You're really too weak. There's no difficulty in dealing with you."
After so many years, there hadn't been even the slightest improvement.
Wait… something seemed off.
He remembered now — Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers he had met were already dead twenty years ago.
And in this timeline, the brothers were only just after the First Shinobi War had ended.
No matter the timeline, they never had the chance to live twenty years into the future.
...
"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!"
Hearing this, Ginkaku completely lost control and continued attacking wildly without any structure.
Simply put — reckless flailing.
Renya's gaze, calm at first, gradually gained a trace of… boredom.
"Roar! Die! Die!"
Unable to break through for a long time, Ginkaku's reason was completely devoured by beastly instinct and humiliation. His attacks became increasingly chaotic, riddled with openings.
Renya dodged another disorderly sweep. His eyes passed over Ginkaku's blood-red pupils, now filled only with madness, and he sighed softly.
"Too weak."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.
"This level of power doesn't even qualify as a warm-up for me." Renya tightened his grip on the hilt. "Continuing is meaningless."
The moment his words fell, his aura changed.
Gone was the previous carelessness. A cold, pure, perfectly condensed killing intent instantly locked onto Ginkaku.
Ginkaku's beastified body suddenly froze.
The eyes facing him were no longer three tomoe — but crimson eyes bearing a complex pattern.
Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Playtime's over. You can die now!"
His figure vanished instantly. When he reappeared, he was already at Ginkaku's side.
A flash of blade light passed.
Fast!
Indescribably fast!
The speed surpassed Ginkaku's dynamic vision even in Tailed Beast form.
He only saw Renya's figure blur for a moment, and then a faint cool sensation appeared at his neck.
No intense pain. No overwhelming impact.
Ginkaku's attacking motion stopped abruptly. His massive body seemed to lose all strength at once.
In disbelief, he lowered his head, wanting to see what had happened.
But his vision began to spin and tilt uncontrollably.
He saw his own headless body, still wrapped in crimson chakra, slowly falling forward.
He also saw the black-haired man sheathing his blade with an indifferent expression, already walking toward Kinkaku's direction — without even sparing him another glance.
"So… I really… was this weak… No… it's that he's too strong…"
That final thought flashed through his mind before boundless darkness completely swallowed him.
Thud!
The enormous head rolled onto the ground. The Tailed Beast–transformed body collapsed heavily, crimson chakra rapidly dispersing like air leaking from a punctured balloon, revealing Ginkaku's original corpse — the severed neck as smooth as a mirror.
Only at this moment did the blood within Ginkaku's body finally begin to gush out.