Chapter 46: The Clone Tailed Beast Plan
Summer Star once again directed her chakra bear demon to charge. Ren stood his ground, unflinching. A brilliant, light-blue sphere of chakra coalesced in his right palm—the Rasengan. As the bear lunged, he met it head-on, pressing the Rasengan against its spectral forehead. The two forces ground against each other in a temporary stalemate.
"Hmph. Much stronger than that fool Hoshino," Ren grunted, a flicker of respect in his tone. "But it's still not enough to beat me! Get lost!" With a surge of power, he shoved the Rasengan forward, overwhelming the bear demon and forcing it to dissipate in a burst of fading energy.
"Damn it! Peacock Method: Soaring Serpents!" Not missing a beat, Summer Star's hands flashed through another set of seals. The Peacock Method chakra morphed, splitting into six sleek, powerful serpents that shot toward Ren with incredible speed, surrounding him in an instant.
A bit troublesome. Too many targets, Ren assessed, his body already in motion. He weaved and dodged with fluid grace, but the chakra snakes were relentless, herding him. One struck from a blind spot, its fangs aiming for his neck.
He twisted at the last second, but not fast enough. The serpent's fangs sank into his shoulder. Or rather, they should have.
A log replaced him in a puff of smoke, the serpent's jaws clamping down on worthless wood.
A substitution jutsu? When did he...? Summer Star's eyes widened. She recalled the six serpents, forming them into a defensive ring around herself as she scanned the forest warily.
"Quite impressive," Ren's voice echoed from a tree branch ahead of her. He stepped out from behind the trunk. "You've truly mastered the Peacock Method, far beyond that trash Hoshino. I'm curious... from the moment we started fighting here, why haven't you seen me use that giant skeleton? Is it because you think I'm out of chakra and can't maintain it?"
"You mean the Susano'o?" Ren chuckled. "To be frank, your Hoshigakure is too weak. So weak that you don't even qualify to see me use my full strength, let alone force me to resort to the Susano'o again. I only used it earlier because it was a new ability I wanted to test. Your village was merely a convenient sparring partner. I was never serious."
The truth of his words stung. Hoshigakure's military strength was pathetic—mostly Genin, a handful of Chunin, and only one pseudo-Jōnin in Hoshino. They were insignificant.
"Damn you! Peacock Method: Soaring Serpents!" Enraged by his contempt, Summer Star sent her six chakra serpents streaking toward him again.
"Getting predictable. I'm bored of this." Ren's hands moved in a blur. A shadow clone poofed into existence beside him. Together, their hands met, a massive Great Ball Rasengan swelling to life between them. He launched it forward, a miniature sun of destructive energy. It plowed through the serpents and slammed into Summer Star before she could react, throwing her backward to crash against a tree.
She slumped to the ground, struggling to push herself up, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
Ren didn't press the attack. He simply stood there, watching her.
"Why...?" she gasped, pain lacing every word. "Why... don't you finish me?"
"Heh. I've killed enough for one day," Ren said with a casual shrug that was utterly at odds with the destruction he'd wrought. "Besides, unless necessary, I don't particularly enjoy killing. Especially women. That's all." The words sounded absurd coming from the architect of Hoshigakure's ruin.
Pfft! Summer Star, already grievously wounded, was so incensed by his hypocrisy that she spat a mouthful of blood. She raised a trembling hand to point at him. "You... shameless!"
"Hehe! Whatever. I have what I came for. I'll be taking my leave now." He gave a final, infuriatingly casual wave and turned to go. But internally, a doubt niggled at him. I have the Star... so why hasn't the system confirmed the mission completion? Is it a fake? No, the power it radiates is real... Maybe I need to be further away from the village?
He left the forest and the wounded Summer Star behind, returning to a small town he'd passed through earlier. Exhausted and hungry from the long battle, he found a modest inn. After a meal and a hot bath that washed away the grime and fatigue, he finally relaxed in his room. Get full chapters from novel⟡fire.net
Ding! Host has completed the mission: Seize the Star of Hoshigakure. Reward: 10,000 Points. Total Points: 46,000. Open the Exchange Interface?
"Finally," Ren muttered. "So the mission only completes once I've left their territory with it. Annoying, but whatever. It's done." He took the pockmarked meteorite from his pocket, holding it up to the light. "Now, let's see what's so special about you."
He turned it over and over. "I can feel the immense power within it, but I can't discern anything else. What's its actual use?" Frustrated, he reached out to the system. "System, what is the origin of this Star? What is its purpose?"
Answering Host: The Star is a meteorite fragment contaminated with Ten-Tails chakra. Its unique radiation reacts with and amplifies a shinobi's chakra when they train in close proximity. However, the Ten-Tails' chakra is too potent and corrupting for most humans to withstand, causing severe physical degradation and eventual death.
"That's it? No other use?" Ren was deeply disappointed. All that trouble for a toxic training aid.
It can be exchanged for points.
"Ugh. Fine." It was better than nothing.
Ding! Exchange successful. Points obtained: 30,000. Total Points: 76,000.
Just as he was about to dismiss the system, another prompt flashed in his mind, far more significant than the last.
Ding! Host has made contact with Ten-Tails chakra. Hidden Mission Triggered: Clone the Ten-Tails and become its Jinchuriki.
Mission Reward: 500,000 Points. 3x System Lottery Draws.
Failure Penalty: None.
Does the Host accept?
Ren's breath caught in his throat. Clone... the Ten-Tails? That's... insane. How is that even possible?
Answering Host: The Host must first gather the chakra of each of the nine Tailed Beasts. The system can then use this chakra to create perfect clones of each beast. These clones will be identical to the originals in appearance and power, but they will possess no independent consciousness—only bestial instincts. They will be utterly loyal to the Host. The Host can then seal these cloned beasts within themselves, becoming their Jinchuriki. Finally, the nine cloned beasts can be synthesized to form a cloned Ten-Tails.
A Jinchuriki... The thought was electrifying. His chronic chakra reserve issues would be solved overnight. Becoming the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails... that was power on a scale that could face any future threat, even the Akatsuki. And there was no time limit. The benefits were immense, the risks... manageable.
"I accept," he stated, his voice firm with newfound resolve.
The path ahead was clear, though fraught with danger. The Akatsuki would be hunting the real Tailed Beasts. He would be hunting them too, for their chakra. A conflict was inevitable.
So be it, he thought, a grim smile touching his lips. If they become my enemies, then they'll learn that Uchiha Ren is not someone to be trifled with.
He ended the communication with the system. The weight of the new mission settled on him, but it was a weight he welcomed. With a final, determined breath, he lay down and closed his eyes, the plans for the future already beginning to take shape in his mind.
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