Ren Uchiha stared at the scroll in his hand—an exact replica of the one gripped by Mangetsu Hozuki. His face twisted into a grimace as he tore it open, his eyes devouring the contents like a man possessed.
The scroll unfurled to reveal a crude map of the Shinobi world. A specific path was highlighted, cutting through the Land of Earth to the Land of Hot Water, and aiming straight for the heart of the Land of Water. Along the route—passing through the minor nations of Iron, Rice, and Grass—the scroll provided detailed intelligence on troop estimates and the lead Jonin of each squad.
At the final line of defense between the coast of the Land of Hot Water and the Hidden Mist's main island...
Green Ridge Reef.
A heavy, ominous red circle had been drawn around it.
Tucked within the map were individual profiles of elite Stone Shinobi: Mahiru, Taiseki, Kakko... and Huangtu. Ren felt a cold shiver. He vaguely remembered the first three as participants in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. But Huangtu? He was the son of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki—the father of the future Kurotsuchi. In the original story, his Earth Style: Mountain Sandwich Technique had been a spectacle of sheer terror.
Ren took a sharp, jagged breath. Everything made sense now.
No wonder the Hunter-nin had abandoned their kill after unleashing the Great Water Shockwave. No wonder Yagura and Mangetsu had looked so shaken by the intel.
But a deeper, more paralyzing dread seeped into his bones: He was the one who had made this happen.
He, Uchiha Ren, was the catalyst who had rewritten the war's trajectory. His butterfly wings had summoned a cataclysmic storm.
From the moment he stepped out of the Hidden Leaf—no, from the moment the "Ren Squad" was formed—the world had spiraled into chaos.
Uchiha Setsuna, who was destined to die, lived on, halting the Chinoike rebellion. Shennong, who was supposed to fall into Orochimaru's trap, had escaped. And Orochimaru, who should have obsessed over the Body Revival technique, was denied that path, forcing him to face reality as a Sannin rather than a laboratory hermit.
As a result, Orochimaru had remained a pillar of the Leaf's military.
Instead of diving into Danzo's dark experiments, he had thrown himself into the Third Great Ninja War. To assist Jiraiya and Minato's squad, Orochimaru and Danzo must have conspired to leak this bombshell intel to the Mist.
What should have been a lightning-fast revenge strike by the Stone Village was now being turned into a bloody war of attrition by Orochimaru's hand. And behind this move, there had to be a grander, more terrifying scheme—one that would flip the entire war on its head.
Ren's body began to tremble. His Sharingan spun unconsciously as his heart hammered against his ribs.
What the hell is happening in the Land of Rain?!
Beside him, Ryoma Aburame watched Ren's shifting expressions with confusion. Shouldn't the boy be relieved to be alive?
Why did he look like he was staring into the abyss?
"Hey... Ren? Ren Uchiha! Are you alright?" Ryoma waved a hand in front of Ren's face, his voice laced with concern.
"I... I'm fine. Just let me think. Let me think! Don't crowd me!"
Ren's voice shifted from a forced calm to a frantic, jagged edge. He was almost screaming. His brain was overclocked, trying to calculate a future that no longer followed the script.
The future was no longer a story he knew; it was a chaotic, unreadable mess.
He felt as though a giant hand had reached out of the void and squeezed his immortal heart. A soul-shaking surge of helplessness washed over him.
"This... how is this possible?!"
Ren staggered back, his hands shaking as he gripped the scroll. Sweat drenched his forehead in an instant. The tomoe in his eyes spun violently, struggling to evolve—desperate to see through the fog of fate.
But while his emotions were at a breaking point, his foundation was too shallow. His eyes had only evolved to two tomoe five days ago; they lacked the accumulated power to transcend once more.
In his dizzying confusion, Ren lost his footing. His chakra control flickered, and his foot broke through the surface of the water.
Splash!
He lost his balance, falling backward toward the dark depths.
But just as the fear of the fall took hold, a clear, bell-like voice rang out in his ear.
"Are you... are you okay?"
A pair of soft, white hands slipped under Ren's knees and waist, catching him in a perfect bridal carry.
Ren's head, which felt like it was about to explode from overthinking, suddenly landed on something very soft and very warm. The chaotic thoughts were instantly swept away by a more primal force. His mind cleared in a heartbeat.
He looked up.
He found himself staring into a pair of blinking, innocent emerald eyes. They were like the most beautiful jewels in the world—clear, bright, and slightly stubborn. They were so beautiful that, for a moment, he forgot every world-shaking disaster in his soul.
Ren widened his eyes and, almost subconsciously, adjusted his head to get a better... view.
A second later, those beautiful emerald eyes flashed with sudden, embarrassed fury.
"You bastard! What do you think you're rubbing against?!"
SPLASH!
A massive wave erupted as he was dropped. For a brief moment, the heavy atmosphere of the battlefield was replaced by the chaotic, vibrant energy of youth.