Unfortunately, Ren's fear became reality.
After the first clash drove Kushina and the Ino–Shika–Chō-led force back, Kanayama entered an eerie calm.
A place that should have been a meat grinder now echoed only with the dull rhythm of Mist shinobi sparring to maintain readiness.
If not for Kushina—who didn't trigger Ren's "Coup de Grace weakling sense"—showing up daily with Konoha's recon team to monitor from afar…
And if not for Kiri's newly assigned sensory-nin probing Konoha's camp and confirming multiple powerful chakra sources…
Ren might have thought he'd fallen into a straight-up empty-fort trap.
At the same time—
Konoha launched fierce counterattacks across other sectors.
According to intel, both major dōjutsu clans had deployed substantial forces to the front, severely slowing Kiri's momentum.
Because the front stretched too long, Hyūga and Uchiha reinforcements were forced to split among multiple strongholds, preventing a decisive concentrated threat.
Still, their arrival dragged the war into thick mud.
And for Ren—whose main mission was to hold Kanayama until Kiri broke the other Konoha positions—
It was pure torture.
"Damn it… why did I pull some cursed half-baked Toad Sage Mode instead of Flying Thunder God from Minato? If I had FTG, would I be stuck like this?"
Ren flopped onto the grass, exhausted, pressing his fingers to his temples as another shadow clone petrified into a stone toad—yet again—due to imbalanced chakra and natural energy.
He'd been grinding Toad Sage Mode nonstop for nearly a week.
The problem wasn't fear of direct combat.
The problem was this standoff.
Konoha lingered just outside lethal range, refusing to commit.
Ren couldn't pursue far without risking the stronghold.
And the rear was stretched thin.
After begrudgingly meeting Ren's earlier demands—medical-nin, sensors, herbs and materials—the main camp stopped providing anything but intel, pouring all resources into the full-line clash.
Shikaku's strategy was brutally effective.
Ren was a "small-front monster" that Konoha couldn't handle in a tight engagement.
But once the front widened, once the line stretched—
Mobility limitations and mission constraints meant he couldn't exert full impact.
Shikaku didn't know about the system's mission leash.
He didn't need to.
He only needed to see the broader war picture and decide:
Trade pieces.
Drag Ren here.
As long as Ren couldn't roam freely, Kiri wouldn't achieve surprise breakthroughs.
And once Konoha had breathing room to pull forces from Iwa and Kumo…
Anything Kiri took could be taken back.
Konoha had the Sannin.
Minato.
And rising pillars like Uchiha Fugaku and Hatake Kakashi.
But Kiri—without Ren—had who that could singlehandedly flip the board?
No one.
Even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen needed to gather to approach that.
Split apart, they were "just strong jōnin."
So Shikaku's answer became clear.
Drag. Stall. Lock.
"I can't solve you," Shikaku's strategy said, "but I can keep you here."
And as long as Konoha's comrades broke the wider line, victory would come.
Would Ren dare entrust the outcome to his own comrades?
…
"This calm won't last," Mei snapped, slamming fresh intel onto the command table in Kanayama's HQ. Her eyes were sharp as knives.
"Kanayama's ownership will be decided by force. Once it's decided here, the entire front shifts."
"Our agents report Minato has left Konoha's hospital. His arm is still wrapped in heavy bandages and plaster… but we have reason to believe he's fully recovered."
"In other words, he may be waiting—pretending to be 'resting'—for a window to strike with Kushina, reclaim Kanayama, and catch us off guard."
"With their relationship and Kanayama's importance… it's likely."
A senior chūnin swallowed, voice uneasy.
"Mei-sama… are we going to face the Yellow Flash head-on?"
"No." Mei's answer was immediate. "Ren handles Minato and Kushina."
"When Ren engages them, the enemies we likely face are Ino–Shika–Chō and Aburame's jōnin bug master."
A different chūnin frowned.
"That's a hard match. Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Aburame… famous secret-technique clans. Even with both Lava Release and Boil Release, you can't fight all of them alone."
"That's why Ren left us this."
Mei placed Ren's summoning scroll in the center of the table and pushed it forward.
"This scroll contains Ren's special clone—limited duration, but around 50% of his strength. For suppressing Ino–Shika–Chō in the short term… it's more than enough."
Cheers rose.
"Ren-sama truly…!"
"With that clone, our odds jump!"
"Let Konoha come! They'll die here!"
Mei waited until the emotion burned out, then issued orders crisply.
"I'll focus on eliminating the Aburame jōnin—he's the one I can hard counter. Then I return to regroup and crush the rest with you."
"Intel team—stay with the med-nin. Full vigilance. Don't let Konoha slip inside and cause chaos."
"Yes!"
"Patrol squads—hold key positions. If you make contact, you don't need to die in place. Stall them. If our losses spike, even if Ren wins outside, we won't have enough manpower to keep Kanayama."
"Understood!"
…
She delegated everything with startling efficiency.
Thirteen years old—yet she moved like someone born to lead.
When the room finally cleared, Mei collapsed onto the table, frowning at the scroll and rubbing her aching temples.
"You really know how to dump work on people, Ren…"
"But they're your first… the ones who matter."
"Fine. Just this once."
"But if you ever dump all the paperwork on me again while you run off to get stronger…"
Her smile turned dangerous.
"I'm going to leave you a lesson you won't forget."
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