In the afternoon, Ren, realising it was getting late, stood up to take his leave, and everyone came to the door to see him off.
"Then I'll take my leave now. Please give my regards to Uncle Fugaku and Uncle Yusuke from Aunt Akito and Aunt Mikoto. Oh, and Shisui too."
"Alright, we'll definitely pass on your message."
Uchiha Mikoto said with a smile, while Uchiha Akito, beside her, gently stroked Ren's head, looking at him with some concern.
"Child, you must be careful over there too. I'll wait for you and Ryufeng to return together."
"Hehehe, Aunt Akito, don't worry. With Ryufeng and my strength, while I wouldn't say we're super strong, being careful, we can certainly protect ourselves. I'll definitely bring Ryufeng back in triumph."
Ren felt a warmth in his heart and made a relaxed promise. Then, he squatted down and, looking at Itachi, who seemed a bit reluctant to see him go, Ren grinned and poked Itachi's forehead again.
"My cute Itachi, are you sad to see your big brother leave?"
"Hmm, Ren, please be careful."
Itachi didn't mind Ren poking his forehead; instead, he earnestly told Ren to be careful. Although he was only four years old, his intelligence had already allowed him to understand the cruelty and terror of war from snippets of conversations between his elders. Therefore, while he felt a slight reluctance to see Ren leave, he knew it was useless and could only silently offer his blessings.
"Hahaha, Itachi, your Ren is super strong! When I come back, I'll take you to eat three-colored dango."
"It's a promise."
Itachi's eyes widened, and he extended his small hand, clenching it into a fist, then held it out in front of him, staring intently at Ren, his small face full of seriousness.
"It's a promise."
Ren grinned, extended his fist, and bumped it against Itachi's.
A child and a youth, bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, looked at each other and smiled.
A promise between men was made!
...
The next morning, at the Konoha Village gate.
"Cough, cough, well..."
Ren felt his situation was a bit tricky at the moment, as he was being stared at by a group of people wearing sunglasses and wide cloaks. Even though it was daytime, Ren felt a chill down his neck and could only force himself to speak.
"Excuse me, is Shibi Aburame here? I was sent by Hokage-sama."
The men in sunglasses all turned around, creating a path through the crowd. Shibi Aburame stood by the gate, looked at Ren in the distance, and nodded slightly. Then he turned to look at the others.
"It's fine now, continue with your tasks."
"Yes!"
Upon receiving the order, the many men in sunglasses immediately dispersed, continuing their preparations.
As always, he was concise. Ren, while feeling a bit embarrassed, quickly approached Shibi Aburame, wiped away the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, and said with some trepidation.
"Shibi senpai, what's going on? We're just returning to the front lines, why did you bring so many of your Clan members?"
"Iwagakure's spies sent back intelligence that Iwagakure Ninja have dispatched a group of Ninja to infiltrate the Land of Fire to cause unrest. The intelligence indicates that the invading Ninja belong to the Kamizuru Clan, who, like the Aburame Clan, manipulate insects.
The main battlefield can't spare any personnel, so the Village decided to send the Aburame Clan as the vanguard, with reinforcements departing shortly after. So, I apologise, but you might have to experience a major battle with us first."
Goodness, Ren's mouth twitched. It was rare to hear Shibi Aburame speak so many words, which meant this matter was indeed quite important. A major battle wasn't a big deal; Ren wasn't afraid. After all, they were within the Land of Fire; Iwagakure could at most engage in guerrilla warfare. Causing unrest was out of the question; with so many ninjas in Konoha Village, how could they be bullied?
Suddenly, Ren seemed to remember something and mumbled.
"So, is this a battle for the honour of insect users?"
"Exactly! But there will be no suspense in this battle, because the Aburame Clan is the strongest insect-controlling Clan!"
Shibi Aburame said in a deep voice, then turned and walked towards the ready group. Ren was startled by Shibi Aburame's sudden excited tone. Looking at the eager men in sunglasses, Ren could only helplessly rub his forehead and follow along.
Why is it so hard to just get a ride to the front lines? Forget it, I'll just use these bastard Iwagakure Ninja to test out the Thunder God Sword.
Along the way, as Ren leapt through the forest, he quietly asked Shibi Aburame beside him.
"Aburame, I think I saw something about this Kamizuru Clan in the Hokage library. They're famous for manipulating various types of bees, and the First Tsuchikage Ishikawa is from this Clan, right?"
Shibi Aburame looked at Ren beside him with some surprise, then nodded.
"You are correct. The Kamizuru Clan is also called the God Crane Clan, and they are the only insect-manipulating Clan in the entire Ninja World, besides the Aburame Clan, whose strength can be considered good. Other small countries' insect manipulators cannot even be called insect-manipulating Clans."
At this point, Shibi Aburame paused, then continued.
"Indeed, the Kamizuru Clan is also a major Clan in Iwagakure, similar to the status of the Uchiha Clan and Hyuga Clan in Konoha Village. Although a Tsuchikage have come from their Clan, their overall strength can only be described as decent. Today, they dared to invade Konoha Village with their entire Clan. My Aburame Clan will surely make them pay a heavy price!"
"Uh..."
Ren was dumbfounded. He had only wanted to chat with Shibi Aburame because he was bored on the way, but he didn't expect the other party's explanation to leave him completely bewildered. He hadn't realised before that the Aburame Clan Leader actually had a talent for teaching; the causes and effects, each logical point, were laid out so clearly and plainly. Ren felt that this might be the most words Shibi Aburame had ever spoken in his life...
Several hours later, as they neared the border, everyone grew alert. Dozens of Kikai Bugs flew out from every member of the Aburame Clan and burrowed into the forest ahead to scout, making Ren feel a chill.
"Hmm?" "X2"
Shibi Aburame and Ren both stopped in unison. After exchanging glances, both almost simultaneously sensed a large amount of Chakra rapidly approaching from a distance.
"One thousand four hundred meters away, approximately five hundred people, rapidly approaching us. It seems they've also spotted us. Most likely, it's the Kamizuru Clan, serving as Iwagakure's vanguard."
Ren touched the ground with two fingers, squinted his eyes, and soon opened them to relay a wealth of enemy intelligence. The nearby members of the Aburame Clan were bewildered. Goodness, where did the Clan Leader find such a monstrous sensory Ninja? His sensory speed is much faster than Kikai Bugs.
"Is that so? I understand."
Shibi Aburame pondered for a moment, then looked up to express his gratitude to Ren, finally saying.
"Ren, please stand aside and observe the battle. Next..."
Shibi Aburame took two steps forward, turned, and looked at everyone.
"It's our insect users' battle!"