They came at dusk.
Seven shadows.
Three rooftops.
Two in the trees.
Two on the street.
Professional.
Silent.
Ren felt them before he saw them.
Doom.
The drums were calm tonight.
Patient.
He didn't change direction.
He didn't speed up.
He walked straight into the trap.
A blur dropped behind him.
A blade aimed for the base of his neck.
Ren didn't turn.
The blade passed through his body.
Not through flesh—
Through stretched space.
His torso bent backward like elastic pulled to its limit.
The blade sliced air.
The operative froze.
Ren's body snapped back into place.
"You're too predictable," Ren said softly.
Lightning exploded from the rooftop.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Pierce!"
Electricity tore across the street and into Ren's body.
The impact cracked stone.
Smoke filled the air.
When it cleared—
Ren stood there.
Lightning crawled across his skin.
Then dispersed.
Like water sliding off glass.
"…That tickled."
Silence.
One operative stepped back.
Another formed hand seals.
"Binding Formula: Iron Script!"
Chakra chains erupted from the ground and wrapped around Ren's arms and torso.
They tightened—
Then stretched.
Metal groaned.
The chains snapped.
Ren tilted his head.
"You brought restraints?"
He stepped forward.
His arm shot outward—
Stretching fifteen meters instantly.
His hand grabbed the lightning user's mask.
And slammed him into the ground so hard the street fractured.
The shockwave echoed.
Two more attacked simultaneously.
Wind blades.
Earth spikes.
Ren's heartbeat changed.
DOOM.
His vision sharpened.
The world felt lighter.
His skin carried a faint pale tint for a brief second.
Wind blades sliced—
His torso elongated thinly, turning cuts into harmless distortions.
Earth spikes rose—
His leg wrapped around one like rope and snapped it in half.
The operatives hesitated.
Fear entered the formation.
Ren exhaled slowly.
Then—
He stopped fighting.
The drums softened.
The pale tint vanished.
He let the remaining chains wrap around him again.
This time—
He didn't break them.
The operatives froze.
Confused.
"You're… surrendering?" one asked.
Ren's faint smile returned.
"You wanted to take me somewhere."
He met the leader's gaze.
"Let's go."
Underground.
Sealing arrays lit the chamber floor.
Ren stood at the center.
Natural energy pressure activated.
The elasticity in his body dulled.
Interesting.
So this was the counter.
Danzō stepped forward from the shadows.
Bandaged.
Cold.
"You chose to come," Danzō said.
Ren's eyes were calm.
"You chose to chase."
Silence.
Danzō studied him.
"Your body does not behave according to chakra principles."
Ren shrugged slightly.
"Maybe chakra is limited."
The air thickened.
Seals activated.
Chakra-suppressing pillars flared to life.
Natural energy pressed harder.
Ren's arm stretched slightly—
Then snapped back early.
Weakness confirmed.
Sage influence interfered.
Danzō noticed.
His visible eye sharpened.
"So you can be restrained."
Ren smiled.
"For now."
The drums echoed faintly.
Doom.
Danzō tapped his cane.
"Begin containment analysis."
Root operatives stepped forward.
Sealing ink crawled across the floor.
Ren lowered his head slightly.
Not submissive.
Calculating.
Because he wasn't trapped.
He was inside the enemy's structure.
And structures—
Could be bent.
The drums grew louder.
Slow.
Patient.
Waiting.