Boom!
While Ren Kurogane was leisurely soaking in the bath and sipping on a bottle of milk, the roof of the inn suddenly vanished, and the glow of dusk flooded his vision.
"So beautiful~"
"AAAHHHH!!!"
Just as Ren was appreciating the sunset, a piercing scream erupted from the women's bath next door!
His relaxed mood vanished instantly. He turned into a black blur and lunged toward the neighboring section.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
Hikari had wrapped herself tightly in her bathrobe, with only her head peeking out. Seeing Ren suddenly appear, she opened her mouth to speak but her face turned a sudden, violent shade of crimson.
"Idiot! Put some clothes on!"
Ren, currently wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and still holding a bottle of milk, stood there awkwardly.
Thwack!
Naturally, Ren was sent flying out.
With a small wooden basin balanced precariously on his head, Ren helplessly put his clothes back on. When he returned, Hikari had already finished changing. She gave him a look sharp enough to draw blood.
Ren, thick-skinned as ever, ignored her glare and pointed at the missing roof. "A roof doesn't just disappear for no reason. This must be a conspiracy!"
Hikari gave him a deadpan look. "Isn't that obvious?"
While they were talking, two more figures streaked across the sky. This time, Ren saw them clearly. One was black-haired, with an active Sharingan; the other was blonde, with a Byakugan, and they seemed to be chasing something.
A quick thought told him they were likely pursuing the bastard who had leveled the roof. Fortunately, their guest rooms were on the ground floor, so their luggage was intact.
"Want to take a look?"
"Let's go!"
Neither of them was the type to sit still. When something like this happened, they had to see it for themselves. Packing their bags and leaving some money for the proprietor, they followed the trail.
In the mountains, Urashiki Otsutsuki looked frantic, cursing under his breath: "Damned inferior creatures! To think they actually caught up!"
"Chidori!"
Chirp—!!
An ear-piercing sound like a thousand birds rang out. A bolt of blue lightning shot from a distance. Urashiki reached out; the Byakugan in his eyes shifted into a purple Rinnegan, and the lightning was instantly absorbed into pure chakra.
"Hehe! Thanks for the chakra, Sasuke Uchiha!"
In the distance, a pair of Rinnegan stared at Urashiki. In the next heartbeat, Sasuke appeared directly in front of him, a kunai piercing Urashiki's chest!
"You grew careless!"
"You bastard!"
Boom!
An invisible repulsive force erupted from Urashiki, blowing Sasuke back. Both landed some distance away. Urashiki's wound began to heal instantly, and a blonde-haired boy landed beside Sasuke.
"This time, we're taking you down for good!" The blonde boy had a confident smile, showing zero fear toward the Otsutsuki.
"You damned brat!" Urashiki glared at the boy with murderous intent. Sasuke he could accept—the man was a Six Paths level powerhouse—but what was this blonde kid? Even if the true power of the Jougan was terrifying, right now he was just a child. How did he dare look down on an Otsutsuki?
Just as the two sides were about to clash, two more figures appeared behind Sasuke and Boruto: Ren and Hikari.
Sasuke turned around. Seeing a "familiar" face, he felt a slight wave of relief. Beside him, Boruto was about to speak, but Sasuke pressed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't say a word!"
Hikari watched their interaction, her brow furrowing slightly. She was certain she didn't know these two; she had never seen them in her life!
Ren, however, didn't care about the duo. His gaze was fixed entirely on Urashiki. The heat in his eyes was so intense it made Urashiki feel physically uncomfortable.
"You bastard! What's with that look?!"
It was the look of someone examining a lab rat! It was even more infuriating than the indifference he had felt during their first meeting!
Ignoring the angry Otsutsuki, Ren spoke to the two in front of him: "Kill him. Give me the corpse."
Sasuke and Boruto both froze. Then, Sasuke seemed to realize something, and his expression became quite vivid. "This..."
"Forget it. If you won't help, I'll just kill him myself!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Ren turned into a black blur. He moved so fast Urashiki couldn't even react before a punch infused with Conqueror's Haki sent him flying. His body smashed into the mountain behind them, piercing clean through to the other side. Urashiki struggled to stabilize himself, using a Shinra Tensei to pulverize the falling boulders. He activated his Byakugan, staring fixedly at Ren!
"How is this possible! You're just a child—how do you have this much power?!" Urashiki roared hysterically.
Ren's speed was inhuman. Almost the instant Urashiki cast the Shinra Tensei, Ren appeared before him again, holding a blade that he swung toward Urashiki's head!
"Die!"
Shink—
The blade flashed. Ren landed on the ground and turned back to look at the stunned Urashiki as if he were a specimen.
"Y-You bastard!" Urashiki was suffocating with rage. If he hadn't reacted at the last second and used his ability as Ren's blade fell, he would have been decapitated!
He wasn't Kaguya; he didn't have absolute immortality. A severed head was almost certainly a death sentence—after all, in the original timeline, he was killed by a Rasengan.
But before he could counterattack, Ren's figure appeared before him again. That fist wreathed in black lightning slammed into his face once more!
"Impossible! I clearly dodged it!" Urashiki's eyes bulged with disbelief as he stared at Ren.
Last time, he had been sent flying. This time, he had specifically tilted his body to avoid the original trajectory. So why did he still get hit? And why was it the right cheek again?!
In Ren's perspective, however, he had activated his Time Acceleration the moment he moved. Urashiki's attempt to dodge was slower than a turtle under the weight of time. Ren simply adjusted his fist's path mid-swing and accurately struck Urashiki's face.
Ren noticed the Otsutsuki's mental state was crumbling. After being hit, Urashiki's expression was as foul as if he'd swallowed a fly, screaming about how he was going to eliminate Ren.
"This guy looks so pathetic," Hikari remarked suddenly.
Ren, who was about to move in for the kill, paused and looked around instinctively. The sky was dimming; the sun was about to set. Urashiki was staring at him, panting heavily. Originally, Ren thought Urashiki was just exhausted from being chased by Sasuke and Boruto, but Hikari's comment sparked a realization.
"You... you've been resetting time, haven't you?"
This time, Ren didn't lead with a "friendship-shattering" punch. Instead, he looked at Urashiki with a playful, mocking smirk.
At that moment, Urashiki's blue Rinnegan widened in horror. He stared at Ren, unable to comprehend how the boy had figured it out!
Ren didn't need a verbal answer; Urashiki's reaction confirmed the theory.
"Time Rewind... My eyes are Acceleration and Stasis. If I get Urashiki's Rewind, the time-type abilities will be complete, won't they?"
Suddenly, a wave of primal dread washed over Urashiki's entire body!