A flash of lightning suddenly brightened the darkened sky, only to disappear in an instant.
Ren looked at the masked man in front of him and spoke slowly, "As far as I know, Uchiha Madara should have been dead for decades."
"Who knows? That may not be the case," the man replied.
"Is there something you need?" Ren asked calmly.
The masked man let out a low chuckle.
"You truly are different from the others in this village."
"When I discovered that you were behind the Mist ninja's attack, it truly surprised me."
Ren's eyes flickered slightly but remained calm. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Only three people knew about this: the Hokage, Shisui, and Itachi.
Had this man already made contact with either Shisui or Itachi?
Ren thought silently.
The masked man didn't seem to care about Ren's denial. "A person like you doesn't belong in Konoha."
"Have you considered joining my organization?"
"Not interested," Ren replied curtly.
The masked man chuckled again. "You haven't even heard me out."
"We are an organization dedicated to world peace."
Ren replied indifferently, "I've never heard of any such organization in the shinobi world."
"Don't rush. We haven't revealed ourselves yet," the masked man said.
"When the time comes, the five great nations will tremble in fear of us."
"Sounds promising," Ren said with a hint of sarcasm, his expression devoid of any excitement. "But unfortunately, I'm not interested in becoming a rogue ninja."
The masked man's eyes darkened as he continued, "I have a deep hatred for the Uchiha."
"So, I intend to destroy the entire Uchiha clan."
"And you've ruined my plans this time."
"Well, I do apologize for that," Ren replied.
"If you join me, I'll spare the Uchiha. I won't make another move against them."
"What do you say?"
Standing in the rain, the masked man's expression was hidden beneath his mask, making it impossible to discern his true feelings.
"I think you've misunderstood something," Ren said slowly.
"Whether the Uchiha live or die."
"What does it matter to me?"
Ren stared at him calmly. "If you want to destroy them, you can go ahead anytime."
The masked man was silent for a moment before his voice deepened. "So, you don't trust me."
Ren replied evenly, "Not particularly."
"It's just that you're talking to the wrong person."
Another clap of thunder echoed across the sky, lightning spidering across the heavens, briefly illuminating the world.
The masked man lifted his head, staring at the pitch-black night sky. Raindrops pattered on his mask, trickling down his cloak.
"Our negotiation has failed," he said.
"Ren Kanzuki…"
"I gave you a chance."
Whoosh!
In an instant, the masked man, who had been standing on the distant utility pole, vanished.
The next moment, he reappeared behind Ren. The space around them began to warp and twist, forming a vortex that threatened to swallow everything into its center.
Bang!
But just as Ren's body was about to be sucked in, it dissolved into a puff of white smoke.
The warped space instantly returned to normal.
The masked man stood still, his face hidden, frowning slightly.
A shadow clone?
Impossible. I never saw him form any hand seals.
The masked man pondered. Could Ren have been a clone all along?
But this was the first time anyone had escaped from his space-time jutsu—besides the Fourth Hokage.
"What are you looking at?"
A voice suddenly sounded near his ear, causing the masked man to widen his eyes in shock.
That voice… It was identical to his own.
He quickly turned toward the sound, and what he saw made his eyes narrow in disbelief.
On a distant rooftop stood a man, clad in ancient red-layered armor. His long black hair cascaded down his back, and his stern face gazed down at the masked man with disdain.
Impossible…
The masked man was stunned, his mind racing.
"I am possible," the man said coldly.
"More so than you realize."
It's a genjutsu!
The masked man quickly regained his composure, his Sharingan spinning rapidly as he halted the chakra flow within his body.
For a split second, everything froze before reality shattered around him.
He was still standing on the utility pole, and Ren hadn't moved an inch from his original position. It was as if none of it had ever happened.
This genjutsu… It fooled even the Sharingan?
The masked man felt a deep unease.
"It's rare for a genjutsu to catch me off guard," he admitted slowly.
"Oh, is that so?" Ren replied calmly.
"What gave you…"
"The illusion that you'd escaped the genjutsu?" The voice shifted, now whispering directly into the masked man's ear. A hand rested silently on his shoulder.
Cold sweat broke out on the masked man's forehead. He stiffly turned his head to look.
The man in red armor was now standing beside him, without a sound.
"Surprised to see yourself?" the red-armored man asked, staring into the single eye visible through the mask.
"You call yourself Uchiha Madara. Why the shock at seeing your own face?"
"Or… are you just an impostor?"
The man reached out, as if to remove the mask from the stunned figure.
Panic flashed in the masked man's eye. He tried to move, but found his body completely paralyzed by an invisible force.
Damn it. What's happening…?
Just as the hand was about to touch his mask, the scene shattered once more.
His body was free again.
"I sensed something strange about your chakra, so I came out on my own." A quiet voice spoke, and from the masked man's body emerged a strange white creature.
It had no limbs, only a bloated body and a head that resembled a human face. It was parasitically attached to him.
"You were under a genjutsu. I've dispelled it for you."
Rain continued to pour down, soaking him to the bone. The coldness was more palpable than ever.
Ren watched as the masked man regained his clarity, his brow furrowed. He quickly deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan.
That's… White Zetsu?
Spore Technique…
"Ren Kanzuki…" the masked man muttered, but this time he didn't dare meet Ren's gaze directly.
The power… and the methods…
The masked man felt a shiver of fear.
"Consider what I said before," he said, the space around him beginning to distort and pull him away.
"I can show you the real truth of this rotten world."
That sounds tempting… Too bad the truth you know is a lie, too.
Ren watched as the man disappeared completely, his thoughts racing.
Suddenly, his vision blurred, and a sharp pain pierced his eyes.
"Ugh…"
The side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan?
Ren stood still, grimacing in pain.
Using the enhanced visual genjutsu through his Mangekyō had forced the masked man, who also wielded the same power, to fall for the illusion. But it had come with a heavy cost to Ren's own body.
His vision wavered, and the world around him swayed uncontrollably, unable to regain clarity.
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