"You are simply incorrigible!"
Kakashi's face darkened. He had laid out the logic, analyzed the risks, and yet the man before him remained stubborn and reckless, seemingly deaf to reason. It reminded him painfully of his father—the man who had carried a legacy of infamy and died a pathetic death.
"Listen well, Ren Uchiha. A ninja must remain calm and composed, making careful judgments! A ninja who does not follow the rules and discipline is nothing more than trash!"
Kakashi gripped the hilt of his short sword with both hands. His expression shifted into a cold mask, his eyes flickering with a trace of genuine fury.
"If you insist on this course of action," he growled, "I will break your legs right here!"
Ren wasn't surprised by Kakashi's choice. At this stage of his life, Kakashi Hatake lived by the creed that the mission was paramount. Furthermore, Ren was trying to save a "comrade" from another village—an act that was essentially defying the will of Konoha. It was only natural that the current Kakashi couldn't understand.
In fact, aside from that stubborn old man Setsuna Uchiha—who would blindly support Ren in anything—almost anyone in Konoha would think Ren had lost his mind. They would see this as an act of treason.
Ren didn't bother explaining further. From the moment he decided to follow En Oyashiro to this foreign capital, he had already prepared for the worst.
Kill the Daimyo. Kill anyone who stood in his way.
Whether they were from Kumo, Suna, Kiri, or Iwa. And that included the possibility of severing his ties with his past identity right here and now!
All for the sake of that kid who had bet everything on him—who had trusted him like a fanatic.
After everything he had been through, after truly experiencing the agony of losing those he cherished, Ren could no longer lie to his own heart by relying on insurance scams or convenient excuses.
He had come here for one thing: To fight.
To take his revenge. To show everyone in the world what happened when they provoked Ren Uchiha. To unleash a retribution so cruel and so unforgettable that it would be etched into their very souls!
Back in the Land of Rain, when he had met Yahiko of the Akatsuki trio, Yahiko had said something that resonated with him:
"Only by conquering the world and letting it feel pain can the future we hope for arrive!"
The only reason Yahiko had abandoned that idea and compromised with "weakness" was because he wasn't strong enough. His fists weren't fast enough, and his heart wasn't cold enough.
Ren Uchiha was different.
From the moment his Mind's Eye awakened, he realized that as long as he kept fighting—combining his Heart of Steel talent with his Universal Weapon Mastery—he could wield any ability with absolute precision! He would gather a thousand powers into one body and reach the pinnacle.
The world would eventually crawl at his feet. Ren lacked only one thing: time. Time spent in the crucible of extreme combat. And as a traveler at this specific point in history, time was the one thing he had in abundance.
Ren exhaled slowly, his face hardening as he looked at Kakashi, who was pointing a blade at him.
He prepared to open his eyes. Using the combined ocular power of the Sharingan, the Ketsuryūgan, and the natural energy provided by his mutated blood vessels, he would unleash a brand-new ocular jutsu he had been nurturing.
He would end this in one move. He would put Kakashi down instantly.
However, just then—
"You're wrong, Kakashi!"
A warm, gentle voice suddenly rang out from behind the white-haired boy.
Pat.
A hand wearing a blue forearm protector landed on Kakashi's shoulder. A young man with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a kind, handsome face materialized behind him.
It was the man Ren hadn't seen in a long time: Minato Namikaze.
"In the ninja world, those who break the rules and abandon the mission are called trash... but those who don't treasure their comrades are even worse than trash!"
Despite the warmth of his voice, Minato's expression was incredibly stern.
"Minato-sensei!" Kakashi gasped, spinning around. His face flushed a deep crimson, and he clenched his fists in frustration. "How can... even you think that way, sensei?! But the mission—"
Looking at the distraught Kakashi, Minato found himself momentarily at a loss for words, unsure of how to bridge the gap in his student's heart.
Ren, however, had run out of patience. He shook his head and lunged forward.
In a flash, he appeared behind Kakashi. Using Uchiha-style kenjutsu to predict the boy's reaction, he reached out and pinned the White Light Chakra Sabre as Kakashi tried to swing it backward.
The White Fang's swordsmanship was already something Ren had analyzed and copied through his Uchiha techniques.
Then, he delivered a swift chop to the back of Kakashi's neck.
Thump.
Kakashi slumped into Minato's arms. Minato sighed and picked him up, vanishing for a split second to place his student in a safe location before reappearing in front of Ren.
"I'm sorry. Kakashi hasn't worked through his issues yet, so..." He scratched his head, offering Ren an awkward, apologetic smile. As a teacher, failing to discipline a student effectively was a bit embarrassing.
"It's fine," Ren replied calmly.
Without facing a true life-or-death choice or seeing Rasa's ultimate sacrifice, words alone were too shallow to change a stubborn ninja like Kakashi. That change would eventually come from Rasa Uchiha; Ren wasn't the kid's father, and he had no interest in meddling.
"Anyway, Ren—" Minato looked at the intact Uchiha and let out a long sigh of relief. A massive weight finally lifted from his shoulders. He smiled broadly. "Welcome back!"
Ren, however, could not bring himself to smile.
"Minato, we can catch up later." He pointed toward the chaotic city center and asked in a low voice, "I assume you aren't here to stop me from going there like Kakashi was?"
Compared to Kakashi, a Minato Namikaze who mastered the Flying Raijin and the Spiral Ring was a formidable opponent. Even with his current strength, Ren found him troublesome.
"No!" Minato smiled. "I'm going with you!"
"Don't worry, I won't stop you. As your comrade, I will help you!"
"However, there are some things you need to see with your own eyes before you make your final choice."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Even if I'm going there to kill the Lightning Daimyo?"
Minato's lips quirked into a confident smirk. He raised his hand, palm out, toward Ren.
"Even if you're going there to kill the Lightning Daimyo."
A smile finally broke across Ren's face. He raised his own hand.
Slap!
Their palms met in a high-five. The two "looked" at each other and shared a grin.
"Then let's go make a scene!"
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