Kakashi never expected that one day… a kid would be crushing his throat with one hand.
The moment he felt that evil, scorching force right in front of his face, shock flooded his pupils. Even his intact right eye widened dramatically.
A terrible thought rose in his mind.
He forced his hands up, struggling against the crimson chakra's heat, and rasped out:
"Ren… where did that red chakra come from?!"
But when he lifted his head—he met a pair of blood-red eyes.
Those eyes reflected his current humiliation… but also something deeper:
The child Kakashi who lost his father and didn't shed a single tear.
The Kakashi who buried Obito under endless missions.
The Kakashi who killed Rin with his own hands and fell into darkness.
The Kakashi who was brought back into the sunlight by Minato and Kushina—only to lose that light again.
"I… might actually be a terrible person."
Kakashi murmured. His hands, which had been raised in resistance, slowly dropped.
Inside him, chaotic Lightning chakra rampaged through every inch of his body. Only after three full minutes—after the internal tearing pain finally eased—did he manage to lift his head again.
He stared at the small boy in front of him and said hoarsely:
"Hell-Viewing Technique? So you're that skilled in genjutsu too…"
It sounded like a joke, but his tone was heavy—like rotten wood creaking under its own weight.
The shock in his chest had already become a storm.
He couldn't believe it.
Ren wasn't just physically terrifying—his genjutsu was equally monstrous.
One glance had forced an elite jōnin into a passive state.
Kakashi clenched his jaw, forcing out a strained smile.
"Still… still… at least you're 'only' good at taijutsu and genjutsu…"
"If you were also a ninjutsu specialist, that would be truly disastrous."
Ren didn't refute him.
He only felt a quiet pity: the famous prodigy jōnin seemed to have stagnated for years—maybe even locked himself in place.
If the later "buffs" hadn't existed… Kakashi might've stayed a support forever.
That was likely why many of Kakashi's "traits" didn't even appear to Ren yet.
Ren shook off the stray thoughts and casually tossed Kakashi onto the ground.
A shuriken appeared in his hand, catching moonlight with a cold gleam—sharp enough to make the scalp prickle.
"N-No… please… don't hurt Kakashi-senpai…"
At that moment, Yamato—still "Kinoe" here—woke up again.
And with zero hesitation, he dropped to his knees and begged.
"Kinoe…"
Kakashi's eyes trembled. Something surged up inside him—fast, overwhelming—then drowned his mind.
He turned toward Ren and forced a bitter smile.
"Ren… don't worry. I won't interfere in the conflict between the village and the Uchiha anymore."
He understood Ren hadn't gone for the kill.
If Ren had wanted them dead, neither of them would be alive to beg.
And he thought he understood the reason behind this:
the village–Uchiha tension was escalating, so Ren's violence was… understandable.
He was wrong.
Ren shook his head.
"No. Whether you interfere or not… I don't give a damn."
Among Konoha's combat power, the truly terrifying one was only Might Guy with the Eight Gates.
Guy wasn't at his "kick Madara into legend" peak yet, but even now, if he opened enough gates, he could still reach absurd levels—assuming Ren didn't trigger his own invulnerability first.
As for the Konoha "big four," they were old.
Kakashi was mentally stagnant.
The Sannin wandered.
And the clans?
As long as someone else carried the blame, most of Konoha's clans wouldn't move.
And if they did move…
Then let it become extermination.
Ren exhaled softly, as if realizing something for the first time.
"Without noticing… Konoha doesn't really have anything that threatens me anymore."
"The real threats are Wood Release… and the Mangekyō…"
Moonlight laid a pale sheen over Ren's messy Uchiha hair, highlighting his still-childish face. He was under ten—expression controlled and cold—but there was still something annoyingly soft about him, like he belonged anywhere but on a battlefield.
Kakashi lowered his gaze.
"Then what do you want?"
Ren's lips curved.
"I need you two to agree to one thing."
"…One thing? You mean—chatting?"
Kakashi's expression stiffened. He suddenly remembered Ren's weird habit.
His body tensed.
For almost three years of on-and-off observation, Kakashi had confirmed something:
Ren didn't have the Uchiha arrogance or obsession…
but he had a hobby—talking.
He always talked to people for under fifteen minutes.
Sometimes he'd laugh like a lunatic afterward.
Sometimes he'd look disgusted.
Sometimes he'd start beating people.
And after beating them, his mood would magically improve.
Like Kinoe.
So the instant Ren said "one thing," Kakashi answered reflexively:
"Fine. From now on, I'll bring Kinoe to visit the Uchiha every day."
"No. Once a week is enough," Ren said calmly.
A stable NPC +2.
First: talk for ten minutes.
Then: beat him up.
But…
Ren glanced at Kinoe, thinking of his skillset.
Wood Release was the main prize, but the guy also had Water and Earth affinities.
Ren stroked his chin, curious.
"Kakashi… can you strip this guy of every ninjutsu except Wood Release?"
If Kinoe could be "purified" into a Wood-Release-only machine…
That would be the perfect NPC.
One Wood Release trait per week—within a few months, Ren's Wood Release cells could evolve.
"…Huh?!"
Kakashi froze.
He wanted to shake his head, but then remembered one tiny detail:
They were still under Ren's foot.
So he could only frown and actually think.
Caw—caw—
A crow flew past the edge of the forest, stirring a cold draft.
The night deepened.
Ren looked up briefly.
"Itachi's been meeting the Third more and more often…"
He tied his hair back and clapped his hands lightly.
"I want today kept quiet. I have no interest in the village."
"But—any old dog with ideas about the Uchiha… will die."
As he spoke, the crimson chakra no longer restrained itself.
He slammed it into a massive boulder behind him.
BOOM!
CRACK!!
The rock exploded—shattering into fragments like dust.
Kakashi and Kinoe's worldview cracked right along with it.
"One casual blow… splitting stone…"
"Even Lord Hiruzen's summon—Enma—needs the staff form to do that…"
Kakashi swallowed hard. Staring at Ren's small back, his expression darkened.
"And that power just now…"
"…That was the Nine-Tails' chakra, wasn't it?"
"Nine-Tails? What Nine-Tails?"
A voice cut in.
At the edge of the crater, a figure wrapped in bandages slowly leaned down from above.
Watching them.
Silent.
Cold.
Kakashi's blood ran cold.
That silhouette…
He knew exactly who it belonged to.
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