Chapter 100: The Beast Unleashed A low, guttural groan escaped Naruto's lips as his consciousness fled, the psychic backlash from the failed Summoning and the psychological torment of the Tsukuyomi finally overwhelming him. He collapsed to his knees, then onto his side, his body twitching. And then, the air changed. A low, sub-audible hum began to emanate from his still form, vibrating through the very stone of the ruined temple. The temperature spiked. A flicker of deep, bloody red chakra sparked around him, then another, and another, until his body was wreathed in a seething, volatile aura. *Finally,* Ren thought, a cold smirk touching his lips. *The wait is over.* He allowed his Sharingan to fade, the crimson light dying out as he returned his full attention to the physical world. In reality, the transformation was even more visceral. The flickering aura around Naruto coalesced into a churning, bubbling sphere of pure, malevolent energy. It pulsed like a monstrous heart, radiating a pressure so intense it felt difficult to breathe. The very air tasted of ozone and rage. "What… what's happening to him?!" Kankuro stumbled back, his puppeteer's instincts screaming danger. He looked frantically from the bubbling chakra sphere to Shikamaru. "This feeling… it's worse than anything I've ever felt!" Shikamaru's face was pale, his mind racing through possibilities and coming up terrifyingly short. "I don't know! He just rushed at Ren and then… this! It has to be Ren's doing!" His shadow, so useful moments before, was useless against this formless, erupting power. The spherical chakra shuddered. Then, with a sound like a thunderclap, a colossal pillar of blazing red energy erupted from its top, punching straight upward. It obliterated the ancient stone ceiling of the temple ruins, carving a perfect hole through rock and earth and shooting like a beacon of doom into the sky above. A moment of dead silence followed the beam's disappearance. Then the sphere *exploded*. A shockwave of pure force and heat blasted outwards, hurling shattered stone and clouds of dust in every direction. Ren didn't flinch. With a thought, the familiar, spectral blue ribs of his Susanoo snapped into existence around him, deflecting the deadly debris with a series of sharp, ringing cracks. Find the newest release on NoveIＦire.net Shikamaru wasn't so fortunate. With a grunt of effort, he scooped up the unconscious Sakura and dove behind the largest chunk of wall he could find, shielding her body with his own. Rubble pelted his back and legs, and he cried out as a sharp fragment gouged his arm. Kankuro was sent tumbling, his bulky puppet, Karasu, taking the brunt of the impact to protect its master. As the dust slowly settled, a figure stood where the sphere had been. "N-Naruto…?" Shikamaru whispered, his voice hoarse with disbelief and dread. The thing that had been Naruto was now crouched on all fours. It was encased in a shell of bubbling, dark red chakra that mimicked the form of a feral beast. Four massive tails of pure energy lashed and writhed behind it like angry serpents. No human features remained—just a bestial silhouette radiating an overwhelming, predatory hatred. A continuous, low growl rumbled from its core, a promise of pure violence. "Naruto! Snap out of it!" Shikamaru yelled, his heart hammering against his ribs. The beast's head—a featureless shape of chakra—turned slowly towards the sound. There was no recognition in its gaze, only a blank, animalistic assessment. Then, with blinding speed, one of its chakra-formed arms elongated, a clawed paw swiping through the air towards Shikamaru's throat. Gasping, Shikamaru shoved Sakura further behind the rubble and threw himself backward. The razor-sharp claws missed his face by inches, tearing a deep gash in the stone where he'd just been standing. "Dammit, Naruto! It's me! Shikamaru!" he tried again, desperation creeping into his voice. The only answer was another savage swipe. "What the hell is his problem?!" Kankuro shouted, scrambling to his feet and readying his puppet's weapons. "I don't know! But he's gone! He doesn't recognize us!" Shikamaru panted, his mind a frantic whirlwind. *Troublesome! This is beyond troublesome!* "Heheh… I'd advise a strategic retreat," Ren's voice cut through their panic, cool and amused. He stood calmly within his protective skeleton. "The Nine-Tails' chakra has eroded his mind. You are not his comrades now; you are prey. And it shows no mercy." "You! This is your fault!" Shikamaru snarled, turning his fury on Ren. "What did you do to him? What's your goal?!" "My reasons are my own," Ren replied dismissively. "The 'why' is irrelevant to you. Now, leave. I give you my word, I will not kill him." "Like hell we'll believe that! We're not leaving him with you!" Shikamaru shot back, his shadow stretching out, searching for an opening on the bestial Naruto. "Suit yourself. Just don't get in my way." With that, Ren let the Susanoo's ribs dissipate into nothingness. He began to walk deliberately towards the snarling beast, his hands coming together to form a sequence of seals. "Uchiha Ren! Stop!" Shikamaru yelled, but his warning was ignored. The beast-Naruto's attention snapped fully to the approaching figure. It saw a challenge, a threat. With an earth-shaking roar, it launched itself at Ren, a blur of red malice and destructive intent. Ren didn't break his stride. His expression was one of cold focus. "Let's test this integration," he murmured, completing the final seal. "Wood Style: Thorn Killing Technique!" The ground at the beast's feet erupted. Thick, powerful tendrils of dark wood shot upwards with incredible speed, coiling around its limbs and torso with the force of constricting pythons. The beast roared in fury, its immense strength straining against the bindings, but the wood, infused with the unique properties of Hashirama's cells, held firm. It thrashed violently, its claws scraping furrows in the wooden vines, but it could not break free. "Nani?!" Shikamaru's jaw went slack, his strategic mind utterly short-circuiting. "That's… that's the First Hokage's… Wood Style?! How is that possible?!" Ignoring the stunned Konoha ninja, Ren closed the final distance. From a pouch, he produced a strange, syringe-like device with a large, glowing canister at its base—the Tailed Beast Chakra Collector. The glass chamber was empty, waiting. The bound beast snapped and growled, its hatred a physical force. "Just hold still," Ren said, his voice almost conversational. "This will only hurt a tremendous amount." With a surgeon's precision, he drove the needle-like tip of the collector deep into the chakra-formed body of the Four-Tails cloak. For a split second, nothing happened. Then, the beast let out a shriek of pure, unadulterated agony—a sound that was both human and demonic. The dark red chakra surrounding it began to churn violently, like water circling a drain. A visible stream of the viscous, malevolent energy was forcibly sucked from its body, flowing through the device and into the canister, which began to glow with a fierce, ominous red light. Ren watched, his Sharingan now active again, carefully monitoring the process. He was not just stealing power; he was harvesting it. And in the depths of Naruto's mind, something ancient and furious felt itself being violated, and its rage began to boil over. YOU CAN ALSO JOIN MY                   Follow My Insta At gehrmansparrow9 :👉 .com/The_Ripper_87 FOR ACCESS TO MORE CHAPTERS AND BONUS CONTENT UPTO 15 MORE CHAPTERS SHOUTOUT TO DRAGONSLAYER29 ELLIE,JRMAN2 AND NANO FOR BEING A YONKO