The Eternal Pain

The abandoned industrial zone had been reduced to scorched earth, the air thick with a pungent, suffocating mixture of smoke and blood. Amidst the broken walls and rubble, the remnants of the Ten Branches were compressed into a final, narrow perimeter, putting up a desperate resistance.

Haku leaned against a charred wall, her long ice-blue hair matted to her pale cheeks by bloodstains. Every breath tugged at the wound in her abdomen, sending waves of agonizing pain through her body. Her Ice Release was long past the point of maintenance, her chakra nearly exhausted. Tie Xin of the Steel Branch lay not far from her, his Iron Sand scattered across the ground like his shattered defenses; he was unconscious, his breathing faint. Zhua of the Beast Branch lay in a pool of blood, his chest barely rising; he had taken a fatal blow to shield Gu of the Corpse Branch. Gu knelt on the ground, sustained only by sheer willpower; though his bones were shattered beyond count, he still growled like a wounded beast, attempting to brandish his bone blade. Fu of the Feather Branch, her wings tattered and her scales dim, was being driven into a corner by Temari's whirlwinds, her own chakra reserves bottoming out. Obito's situation was slightly better, but his Kamui was severely disrupted by the barrier Shikamaru had pre-emptively deployed, flickering in and out of effectiveness. Facing the relentless, storm-like onslaught of Kakashi and Might Guy, he could only struggle to hold his ground, new wounds accumulating on his body. Ren's Mangekyo Sharingan was bloodshot, the glow of his Lightning Release far dimmer than before. Locked in a struggle with the injured yet resilient Sasuke, he was in constant peril, his left arm hanging unnaturally at his side—clearly fractured.

The Allied Forces' encirclement was like an iron barrel, their attacks consuming the last of the Ten Branches' strength with mechanical, cold precision. Nara Shikamaru stood at a vantage point, his expression grim, his shadow acting like an invisible conductor, orchestrating every coordinated strike of the Allied Forces. The scales of victory had tipped completely.

Just then!

A sudden commotion erupted in the outer ranks of the Allied Forces! A figure, drenched in blood and radiating a chakra fluctuation like a volcano on the verge of eruption, tore his way inside!

It was Uchiha Sakuya!

He was clearly acting with total disregard for his own life, having forcibly broken through the outer blockade, but the price was heavy! His Uchiha robes were shredded, new wounds cut deep to the bone, and his mask was long gone, revealing a face as pale as paper yet etched with madness and resolve. Most terrifying were his eyes—those powerful Eighty Gods Mirror Mangekyo Sharingan were now dim to the extreme, his pupils unfocused and edges bloodshot, clearly overdrawn and on the verge of blindness!

But he did not care! His gaze was locked firmly onto Nara Shikamaru, who was commanding the entire battlefield!

"Must... break... must..." he growled hoarsely, his hands trembling, yet he began to weave hand seals with unnatural firmness—a complex, ancient seal filled with an aura of destruction and ill omen!

Forbidden Technique: Blood Prison Burning God!

By using his remaining life force and soul as fuel, he would instantly extract power capable of destroying the heavens and the earth! The cost—the caster would surely die, their soul scattered into nothingness!

A terrifying energy that made the soul tremble began to gather at his center! The air distorted, and the earth shuddered!

"Brother! Don't!!!" Ren was the first to realize what was happening, letting out a heart-wrenching roar. He tried to rush over, but was blocked firmly by Sasuke's Kusanagi Sword!

"Sakuya! Stop!" Haku struggled to rise, tears mixing with blood as they slid down her face, her voice weak yet filled with despair. Obito also tried to intervene, but was forced back by the desperate, sacrificial attacks of Kakashi and Might Guy.

The Allied Forces were struck with panic; Shikamaru shouted orders urgently: "Stop him at all costs! Now!"

Countless attacks rained down upon Sakuya like a downpour!

But Sakuya seemed not to notice, or perhaps, having already embraced death, he intended to use this final radiance to blast a path of survival for his subordinates!

Just as the destructive energy reached its peak and the final moment of Sakuya's seal was about to be completed—

A figure, moving with speed that surpassed everyone's reaction, lunged fiercely behind Sakuya!

It was Uchiha Ren!

He slammed his body into Sakuya, knocking him aside! At the same time, his hands did not strike, but instead moved with lightning speed to cover Sakuya's nearly blind, frantically spinning Mangekyo Sharingan!

"Illusion Technique: Sharingan: Instant Eternity!"

An ultimate illusion, condensing all of Ren's ocular power, will, and even his life force, passed through his fingertips like the gentlest moonlight and the strongest shackle, instantly invading Sakuya's defenseless, boiling spirit-ocean!

Sakuya's body stiffened violently! The forbidden seal he was about to complete was abruptly interrupted! The terrifying energy, as if choked by the throat, fluctuated violently before rebounding into his own body!

"Pfft—!" Sakuya spat out a mouthful of blood, his body trembling violently. His eyes instantly turned vacant and dazed, and he collapsed backward.

As for Ren, after unleashing this limit-breaking illusion, his complexion turned ashen, and blood flowed from his seven orifices, yet he forced himself not to fall.

He caught the unconscious Sakuya and, using his final strength, wove a simple Earth Release barrier seal with his hands. A wall of rock, though not particularly sturdy, rose instantly, temporarily isolating the two of them from the chaotic battlefield outside.

Inside the barrier, smoke and dust filled the air.

Ren looked at his brother in his arms—unconscious, breathing weakly, his eyes constantly seeping blood—and a smile appeared on his face, one that was incredibly complex, sorrowful, yet incomparably gentle and firm.

He whispered, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible:

"Forgive me, brother... this is the last time."

"This time... let me protect you."

Before the words had even faded, his right index and middle fingers curled sharply into the shape of a razor-sharp claw, and without a moment's hesitation, he plunged them into his own right eye!

Squelch! A sickening, soft sound.

An eye, still dripping with warm blood and rotating with a complex Mangekyo pattern, was gouged out by force! The intense pain caused his body to spasm, but he bit his lip hard, not letting out a single scream.

Immediately following, he repeated the process, moving with astonishing speed to gouge out Sakuya's pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, which had completely lost their luster and were nearly grey-white!

Blood stained his hands, and it stained Sakuya's cheeks as well.

The next moment, Ren carefully and precisely pressed his own still-pulsing Mangekyo Sharingan, which contained immense ocular power, into Sakuya's empty sockets!

At the same time, he pressed Sakuya's ruined Mangekyo into his own blood-gushing eye sockets!

The optic nerves began to connect...

At the very moment the transplant was completed, Ren roared in a low voice:

"Forbidden Technique: Izanagi!"

He sacrificed the ruined eyes he had just implanted—those that had belonged to Sakuya—to activate this reality-rewriting forbidden technique!

A flash of light!

The rules were forcibly twisted!

Reality was briefly overwritten!

When the light faded, the Mangekyo Sharingan in Ren's sockets, which had originally belonged to Sakuya, turned grey-white, losing all luster as if they were stone carvings. Meanwhile, in Sakuya's sockets, the freshly transplanted Mangekyo Sharingan belonging to Ren had fused perfectly; though they remained closed for the moment, the vitality and ocular power within them were clearly palpable!

Having done all this, Ren's life force flickered like a candle in the wind, rapidly extinguishing. He staggered, gently placing the unconscious Sakuya in the corner of the barrier.

He slowly stood up, facing the outside of the barrier. Though he was now blind, his eye sockets nothing more than two terrifying, blood-weeping holes, he radiated a sense of resolve and tragic heroism.

Using his final strength, he wove the hand seals and dispelled the Earth Release barrier!

The battle outside stalled for a moment! Everyone witnessed the horrifying scene within the barrier—the unconscious Sakuya, and Uchiha Ren, who stood before him, eyes blinded and bleeding from his seven orifices, yet still holding his spine straight!

"Ren..." Haku sobbed uncontrollably. Obito's face beneath his mask was filled with shock and complex emotions. The Allied Forces were also momentarily stunned by this tragic sight.

Ren "looked" toward the direction of the Allied Forces, or more accurately, "looked" toward the source of the strongest, calmest chakra—Nara Shikamaru!

He revealed a blood-stained, crazed, and liberated smile.

"Nara Shikamaru... your head... I shall claim it!"

He burned his last remaining vitality and chakra, even igniting his very soul! His entire body transformed into a roaring, humanoid bolt of lightning! Like a moth flying into a flame, or Kua Fu chasing the sun, he moved at a speed that transcended the limits of life, ignoring all attacks and all obstructions, charging in a straight line toward Nara Shikamaru at the rear of the Allied Forces!

"Protect the strategist!!" The Allied ninjas attempted to intercept him in terror, but the power Ren erupted with at this moment far exceeded their imagination! Every ninja who tried to approach him was instantly repelled and severely wounded by that violent lightning!

Shikamaru's pupils constricted, his shadows surging frantically in an attempt to bind him, but it was far too late!

"Hidden Lotus: Forbidden Thunder Soul Burst!"

As he reached a point mere meters from Shikamaru, Ren let out his final roar!

BOOM!!!!!!!!!

An intensely dazzling flash of lightning exploded violently! It swallowed everything!

The terrifying shockwave of the explosion sent the surrounding Allied ninjas flying like straw! Dust and smoke billowed into the sky!

When the dust slowly settled, only a massive scorched crater remained in the spot.

In the center of the crater, Nara Shikamaru knelt on one knee, his body charred black, his status unknown, with violent lightning still crackling across his shadows. As for Uchiha Ren... there was nothing left of his body, only his resolute will and the final burst of lightning, which seemed to linger in the air, telling the story of his choice.

In the most tragic and resolute manner, he had fulfilled his oath, severely wounding the brain of the Allied Forces and buying a final glimmer of hope for the survivors.

The entire battlefield fell into a deathly silence.

Whether it was the Allied Forces or the surviving members of Sasuga, everyone was stunned by this sudden, soul-shaking sacrifice.

And the unconscious Sakuya's eyelids trembled slightly; from beneath them, his newly transplanted Mangekyo Sharingan—which had belonged to his younger brother—leaked a trail of blood-red tears.

With his eyes and his life, Uchiha Ren had seen the final future for his beloved older brother... Uchiha Sakuya.