Ren Uchiha lay expressionless on the ground, staring at Manda without a word. Just as the snake said, he had zero chakra left. He couldn't defeat this beast right now.
As one of the Great Summoned Beasts of the Three Sage Regions, Manda was arguably the strongest among the trio, capable of suppressing both Katsuyu and Gamabunta at once. Its relationship with its summoner was not one of loyalty, but of arrogant, bloodthirsty cooperation. It demanded live sacrifices, looked down on Kabuto, and even tried to threaten Orochimaru when he was weakened. To this snake, backstabbing was as natural as breathing.
And Ren? He had summoned it without a sacrifice, treated it like a tool, and even used it as a human shield against a nuke. That was something Manda found unforgivable.
However, having just gorged itself on the battlefield, Manda wasn't actually keen on killing Ren. It understood the difference between one meal and a lifetime of meals. It wanted to negotiate. It stared at Ren, thinking: I'll scare the kid first, then demand... 100 live sacrifices? No, let's make it 150!
Ren knew this. He was "broke," barely able to afford a snack, let alone 150 people. He had the "nothing to lose" attitude of a man with a five-hundred-million bounty waiting for him back home.
Man and snake stared each other down in the scorched ruins. Manda waited for a compromise; Ren waited for the snake to piss off.
Then, a frantic set of footsteps approached. "Brother Shinichi! That snake is going to eat Ren!"
"Shisui, I see it! Meichi, Ichiji, with me!"
"Man-Beast Clone: Fang Over Fang!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Wind fueled the fire, obscuring Manda's vision, while two drill-like tornadoes slammed into the snake's jaw, forcing its massive head back. Before Manda could react, a tall figure leaped through the flames, landing on its head.
Three-tomoe Sharingan locked onto the snake's slit pupils.
"Damn it! Sharingan again!" Manda hissed, trying to shut its eyes, but it was too late. Uchiha Shinichi's Genjutsu took hold, freezing the beast in place.
Shinichi flickered to Ren's side, his hand gripping Ren's shoulder. He looked at Ren's missing arm with a mix of shock and agonizing guilt. For a normal ninja, losing an arm meant the end of their career. And this kid had paid that price to save them...
Ren, seeing Shinichi's expression turning into that "tragic martyr" look his Great Elder always wore, hurriedly explained: "Don't get the wrong idea! This... it grows back! It has nothing to do with you!"
Shinichi blinked, focusing his Sharingan on the stump. Indeed, beneath the blood, tiny buds of flesh were writhing and knitting together. It was slow, but it was happening.
"Thank goodness..." Shinichi exhaled. "If you were crippled, I wouldn't know how to face the Great Elder. Kid, I admit you're strong—stronger than me. But... don't ever do something this insane again."
Ren looked at the ruins. The plateau was lit by a hundred small fires, the heavy black smoke drifting into the moonlight. Two massive craters marked where the "nukes" had gone off. Only now did Ren realize the terrifying power he wielded. This was war. If he hadn't been here, everyone—Shisui, Shinichi, the whole squad—would be dead.
As the rest of the squad arrived, the Root ninja who had delivered the original orders approached. He knelt before Ren, hand over his chest.
"Lord Shura, my name is Otsu!"
Ren shook his head at the codename 'Shura' and looked at the red smoke signal still wavering ten miles away. "Otsu, what is Orochimaru's real plan? Why did Aburame Ryuma release that signal? Tell me this isn't some fake crisis Orochimaru cooked up to force me into the fight."
Otsu lowered his head. "Lord Shura, Lord Orochimaru has already departed to assassinate the Fourth Kazekage. I guarantee the strategy is sound. If Lord Ryuma released a red signal, it means one thing: they have encountered a threat that truly warrants it."
Ren frowned. He had suspected a setup, thinking Orochimaru was watching from the shadows, waiting to "save" him. But the Sand's preemptive strike and Orochimaru's absence pointed to a harsher reality.
This was the "Cold-Blooded" Orochimaru. To achieve his strategic goals, he would sacrifice anyone. He had thrown the ambush squad away as pawns. He was risking his own life to kill the Kazekage. If he would risk himself and his student, why wouldn't he sacrifice Ryuma?
Ren took a breath. "Did Orochimaru say what my mission is after wiping out the Sand division?"
"He did." Otsu looked up, his voice solemn. "Lord Orochimaru told me to tell you: If you truly achieve victory, as a reward, this Konoha Ambush Squad shall be placed under your command."
Otsu pulled a scroll from his vest and held it up with both hands. Before the stunned faces of the entire squad, he shouted:
"The entire Konoha Ambush Squad will follow you... to sweep across the battlefield!"