Ren Uchiha gasped for air, his lungs burning.
He watched Mangetsu Hozuki being swallowed by the pillar of flame from the Dragon Fire Jutsu, but there was no joy of victory in his eyes. Only exhaustion remained, followed by a hollow, crushing sense of uncertainty about what came next.
He had pushed himself to the absolute limit. His chakra was nearly depleted, and he had squeezed every last drop of reserve from the "Little Zero-Tails" inside him.
The forbidden Body Revival technique had been forced to a halt. The puncture wound in his abdomen was still sluggishly leaking blood, healing at a snail's pace through the sheer stubbornness of his immortal constitution.
Ren's face grew deathly pale. In just five days, he had gone from a piece of cannon fodder who couldn't even trigger the Sharingan to... this. Yet, even with an immortal body, he was still just a specialized Jonin-level fighter in a war where legends walked the earth.
"Gah!"
A figure in a black cloak vomited blood mixed with a swarm of Rinkaichu bugs. He was blasted through the air by a water dragon, skidding to a halt at Ren's feet.
"Cough..." Ryoma Aburame struggled to stand. He stood silently in front of Ren, unsure of what to say. He had come here confident he could protect the kid, but he hadn't expected the Captain of the Mist's Jonin squad to be this fierce.
Ryoma's cloak was in tatters, shredded by Yagura Karatachi's relentless Water and Wind Style. The Root elite looked pathetic. Despite his claims of strength, the future Fourth Mizukage was clearly on another level.
After a long silence, Ryoma spoke in a muffled tone:
"Ren Uchiha..."
"My mission is to bring you to Orochimaru."
"The water beneath us is crawling with my bugs. Soon, I will use Secret Technique: Insect Swamp to destroy everything here. You take that chance and run."
"Go to the Rain Country camp. Report to your master."
Ryoma paused, then added: "If you can... tell him to look after Shikuro, the one who will replace me in Root."
Ren's brow twitched. He shook his head, cutting the man off coldly.
"Stop with the self-sacrificial bullshit. I have no interest in doing favors for you."
"Can't you see? If we don't fight to the last breath today, none of us are leaving."
The flaming water surface erupted. A bizarre, jagged blade tore through the wall of fire—the Samehada!
Mangetsu Hozuki stood atop a massive, tower-like water construct, his face a grotesque mask of burn scars and fury. In one hand he gripped the shark-skin blade, in the other, the summoning scroll for the Seven Swords. He glared at Ren with murderous intent.
Ren pulled his threads, retracting the Kusanagi into his hand.
"The only way out is to stall until their reinforcements arrive," Ren said grimly. "And their reinforcements are Hunter-nin."
Ryoma went silent. Hunter-nin—the Mist's executioners. They didn't take prisoners. To them, killing a captive was as natural as breathing. Waiting for them was a gamble between a slim chance at life and a guaranteed execution.
"Tch," Ryoma muttered, annoyed by the truth. "That way of speaking... you really are an Uchiha. No respect for your elders at all."
Ren turned to the Root operative and, for the first time, gave a confident, predatory smirk.
"Instead of your half-baked suggestion, I have one last move. I don't really want to use it... but it should buy you enough time to escape."
"So, take Seiichiro and get out of here."
Ren glanced at the Kusanagi in his hand and frowned. He tossed it to Ryoma.
"This is a gift from Orochimaru, right? Too expensive to lose. Keep it for me."
Ryoma caught the sword, stunned. "Wait, what are you going to do? Your body is at its limit!"
Ren didn't explain. He just waved a hand and took a deep breath. Alone, he walked toward the center of the battlefield, toward the future Fourth Mizukage: Yagura Karatachi.
Yagura watched the blood-soaked boy approach. His keen eyes noticed that Ren's healing had slowed significantly.
"Kid, you're a worthy opponent," Yagura said with a touch of pity. "But you haven't grown up yet. For the sake of the Greater Good—and to eliminate a future threat..."
Yagura raised his hooked staff, his smile cold. "I will kill you here."
Ren spat on the ground. "The Greater Good?"
He gestured wildly at the flooded wasteland around them—the screams, the shattered homes, the floating corpses. "Is this your Greater Good?! Listen to those cries! Does your conscience not scream at you?"
Yagura flinched. The Third Mizukage had gone mad, unleashing massive jutsu in a civilian area just to catch him. He knew this tragedy was tied to his rebellion. But he steeled his heart.
"I am sorry for this," Yagura said, his voice firming. "But this is the price of revolution. The sins I must carry. I have long been prepared."
His eyes burned with a light brighter than the sun.
"The world is a cycle of pain. No one can save everyone. A child in the sun means a beggar in the sewer. But even so, I will protect what I cherish! Even if it means a thousand graves and ten thousand dead—I will create a new Mist that can see the light of day! That is my Ninja Way."
Ren fell silent. Who was he to say Yagura was wrong? What right did he have to judge him?
Why was he even here? A "hero from the heavens" expected to save a world where everyone had their own version of "the truth"? Everyone was right in their own eyes, even as they slaughtered the innocent and let the world dance to their whims.
Yagura looked at him coldly. "Are you pitying them? Playing the saint? Don't be naive! You are a Leaf ninja. In this Third Great War, you are a butcher too. How many civilians has the Leaf killed? With what right do you question me?"
Ren shook his head. He didn't have the answers. He didn't understand their "Grand Designs."
But then, Ren looked up and laughed—a jagged, defiant sound. He glared at Yagura.
"You ask my right?! My standpoint?!"
"Listen well! I'm just a low-life, greedy, selfish bastard!"
"But that doesn't mean I'm not pissed off when someone does something this disgusting in front of me! You like inflicting disasters on others for your own gain?"
Ren raised his chin, his Sharingan blazing with a soul-piercing light. He roared at Yagura Karatachi:
"YAGURA! YOU BETTER KILL ME HERE!"
"Because if you don't, I will make you regret it!"
"If I live to see the day I tear down the Five Great Nations and unify this world... if I live to end this cycle..."
Ren's crimson eyes narrowed, his voice dropping to a predatory hiss.
"I will be the one to wipe the Land of Water off the map!"
"I will trample the Hidden Mist into the dust!"
Silence fell.
Ryoma Aburame, clutching the Kusanagi; Mangetsu Hozuki, perched atop his water monster; the Root ninjas; Mei Terumi; and even a blue-haired Mist ninja who had just arrived...
Everyone stopped. All arrogance, all prejudice vanished. In the face of such insane, world-shaking words, every eye turned toward the bloodied boy.
Every heart skipped a beat.