Chapter 181: Ghosts in the Mist (Part-3) [Leadership 101: Stop Acting Like An Edgelord Lone Wolf]

Chapter 181 - Ghosts in the Mist (Part-3) [Leadership 101: Stop Acting Like An Edgelord Lone Wolf] {I am very reluctantly giving you 3 Chapters BUT, the powerstones should make up for it. MAKE SURE WE ARE AT LEAST IN TOP 20's IN THE RANKINGS (Should need about 500 stones)} ~~~ {Third Person POV} A lone brigantine ship cut steadily through the dark waters between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. On deck, scattered Konoha shinobi moved in silence, each one keenly aware of the S-rank mission they were about to face deep in enemy territory. Yet, despite the tension that hung over the ship like a fog, an oddly familiar scene had been playing out since they'd set sail, Ren, officially known as Number 5 and the mission leader, was getting a very public scolding. "I know your age is that of a kid, but your power and position surpass everyone on this ship," Utakata's voice drifted across the deck, tired yet sharp as he glared at Ren, who had been unceremoniously pulled down from where he'd perched atop the decorative lion figurehead. "So why is it that even the weakest person here is more serious about this mission than you?" This had been going on for nearly an hour. By now, even the ANBU veterans had gone numb to the one-sided lecture, all except Ren himself. He looked completely unfazed as he replied, "That's because they're afraid they'll die if they get distracted," Ren said matter-of-factually, brushing imaginary dust off his cloak. "Don't you remember, sensei? We were exactly like that too when we were in the Genin squad, carrying out A and S-rank missions for the first time." Utakata's eye twitched as he gave Ren a flat look. "The reason they're afraid isn't the mission itself, it's you," he shot back, voice low with irritation. "They're scared because their leader acts so unserious that he might actually lead them to their deaths. If you want to play around, do it on your own time. If you're the leader, act like one." With a final sigh, Utakata turned and stalked below deck, clearly done with arguing. An awkward silence fell. Ren stayed crouched by the railing for a moment, ignoring the cautious looks from the others. His eyes drifted to the five unfamiliar faces, two members of the sensory unit and three from the medical team, all new additions with the tense, half-defensive posture of shinobi who hadn't worked with him before. Ren tilted his head, studying them. "You five," he asked lightly, "you afraid I'm the one leading you?" The five stiffened. Nobody dared to answer. Seeing their reaction, Ren just snorted, pushing himself up to stand. He adjusted his cloak and mask, sunglasses glinting under the afternoon sun. "Good," he said, voice eerily calm. "You should be afraid, but not because of me being unserious. Be afraid because you are the incompetent ones." With that, he turned on his heel and strolled off, vanishing down to the lower deck without another word. For a moment, the new recruits just stood there, the tension lingering like static in the air. Finally, one of the sensors couldn't hold back his irritation. He looked to Number 4, who stood at the rail behind him, calm as ever under his mask. "Captain," Noi said, a hint of complaint in his voice, "this is obviously his fault. Why does he blame us like that?" Number 4's eyes flickered to him. He remembered this one, Noi Yamanaka, bright but green. Good sensor, excellent at the Mind Transfer Technique, but clearly still had no clue what it meant to work under Ren's style. 4's gaze shifted to the wake trailing behind the ship and the faint streaks of red that kept surfacing and vanishing in the churning water. "Before you talk about him," he said evenly, "you'd better sharpen yourself. You're supposed to be a sensor, yet you didn't even notice that he's had his clones constantly killing off the aquatic beasts attacking us since we set sail." Noi's eyes widened. He turned toward the waves and only now did he notice the faint churn of blood being swept away by the tide, always kept far enough not to stain the ship's path. He looked back at Number 4 in disbelief. "The leader's been doing that himself?" Number 4's voice didn't change. "He's efficient. He could have ordered you to handle it but the commotion might've risked a disturbance that even the seals on this ship couldn't hide. Right now, the sealing array suppresses every chakra signature so we pass for a harmless merchant ship. If we'd had a fight out in the open, the mist's scouts would've sensed it by now and we'd be swimming home if we made it out alive." Noi looked down, shame mixing with surprise. Number 4 didn't say anything else. He just turned and walked away, disappearing below deck with the quiet confidence of someone who didn't need to justify his comrade any further. One by one, the others drifted back to their posts, the deck returning to its tense quiet, the sea calm once more save for the faintest trace of blood dissolving in the endless blue behind them. ~~~ Back of the Ship At the stern of the brigantine, Utakata stood alone, quietly watching the dark sea slip by beneath the ship. The endless waves churned crimson here and there where Ren's clones had disposed of the beasts that kept testing their route. Ren approached without a sound, his usual grin missing behind his mask and sunglasses. He stopped a few paces away, then leaned against the railing with an almost casual slouch. "Wasn't that a bit unnecessary, sensei?" he asked, "I don't really care what they think of me as long as the mission's complete, it doesn't matter." Utakata let out a soft, exasperated sigh. He turned, studying the boy, the young man, really, who stood there with that same stubborn look he'd always had as a Genin. He motioned for Ren to sit and dropped down to the deck himself, back against the railing. "You got too powerful too young," Utakata said bluntly, voice calm. "You still don't really understand what leadership means. So let me explain it to you." Ren crossed his arms but didn't argue, so Utakata continued, "What you did with Kakashi earlier? That was good, necessary, even, so I didn't interfere. But this situation is different. Earlier you told them there was no need for surveillance, so they trusted you and stood down. Then, once we set sail, they saw nothing happen for hours, so they relaxed even more. Part of that's on you being so... carefree. But the other part is they didn't know there was a constant threat. If they'd known this ship was under attack the whole way, would they have let themselves go so slack?" Ren didn't answer because he didn't need to. Utakata pressed on with a tired sigh. "No. They'd have been tense, awake, ready for combat. Instead, they relaxed because you didn't tell them. The sensors didn't even do their job properly because they thought there was no need. You think you're being efficient and for you, you are, but a leader's job isn't just to do the work alone. It's to use the people they're given properly." Ren's sunglasses shifted slightly as he tilted his head. "Could've just been easier to do it myself. There's less explaining and clones don't need a briefing." "Exactly." Utakata's tone softened, but his words struck deeper. "You could've done the entire mission alone, probably better, yes, but if that were the point, the commander or the Hokage would've just gone themselves. But, they didn't, because this mission isn't about just getting it done. It's about people learning, growing, and being ready for the next mission without you." He fixed Ren with that weary, patient look of a man who'd watched a thousand mistakes repeat themselves. "Delegation is part of being a shinobi leader, Ren. You know why the commander doesn't handle every problem alone? Why the Hokage doesn't? It's because they understand the village is more than one man's shadow clones. You think your clones make you independent but they just make you isolated." Ren's fingers drummed once on his knees before he let out a low, reluctant hum. "I could've used the combat unit under Kakashi to deal with the beasts," he admitted, voice grudging. "But it would've been too much hassle to explain." "And that's where you're wrong," Utakata said, shaking his head. "That 'hassle' is your job now. Because every time you skip that, you rob them of the experience they need to handle threats without you. You're not a lone hunter anymore. You're a leader, which means you can't treat living people like your clones." Ren fell quiet. Utakata could see the gears turning behind those sunglasses, the faint twitch of his jaw as he chewed it over. So he decided to press the lesson deeper. "And one more thing," Utakata said, his tone turning sly as he leaned back to look at the clouds overhead. "Didn't you always say you want to be free in the future? To do what you want, when you want?" Ren looked up, curious now. "Yeah. So?" "Then think ahead. If the entire village knows you can do everything with clones, they'll never leave you alone. Even if you don't want to work, they'll say, 'It's fine, just send a clone.' And when that happens, you'll never be truly free, because your clones will be working even when you're not. That's not freedom, Ren. That's just being a slave to your own skill." Ren stared at him for a long moment, then let out a dry snort that carried something like reluctant agreement. "...So what you're saying is, I have a squad of slaves right now, so I should make them work instead of overworking my real slaves?" Utakata blinked, then buried his face in one palm, letting out a short, helpless laugh despite himself. "Only you could take a lesson about leadership and summarize it as 'use your slaves wisely.' Sage help me." Ren's mouth curled into that familiar fox-like grin behind his mask. "Message received, sensei. I'll delegate. But don't blame me if they're slower than my clones." ~~~ A few hours passed in tense quiet until Ren's voice rang crisply through the ship, "Gather." In under three seconds, everyone assembled in front of him, fully geared in their ANBU uniforms but standing in their assigned formations like disciplined shadows. Kakashi stood at the head of the combat unit with his three subordinates lined up behind him. Number 4 led the sensory unit with his three sensors in position, and Utakata did the same for the medical team, each of his three medics calm and ready. Ren's tone was sharp and all business as he began, "We're now inside the perimeter where the Mist usually turns merchant ships back. We'll encounter them soon enough. Everyone, transform into merchants. They don't attack merchant ships immediately, so we'll use that buffer to capture them." He continued, eyes sweeping across the squads, "Once they're onboard, the combat unit will subdue them. 4, you'll read through their memories for anything useful. I'll remove the chakra-suppressing seal on the ship after you transform, so be cautious with your chakra usage. Only the medical unit, except Sensei, will use chakra freely, you'll pose as the ship's hired guards." At his signal, everyone slipped into simple but convincing disguises. The combat and sensory squads took on the appearances of plain merchants in traveling cloaks and modest robes. Utakata's medical team transformed into rough-looking mercenary bodyguards, blades and light armor to complete the illusion. They scattered a few crates across the deck to add to the ruse that at first glance, this ship was just another merchant vessel braving uncertain waters. Minutes ticked by. Hitoshi, already disguised as a trader, murmured from near the mast, "They're here." The tension rose instantly as everyone fell into position. A minute later, two Mist shinobi flickered aboard the deck, eyes cold and wary. Ren stepped forward as a portly and hunched merchant, the perfect image of a greasy traveling merchant with a wide, oily grin stretching across his face as he let out a high-pitched laugh. "Oh my, esteemed Mist shinobi, what can this humble one do for you today?" One of the Mist shinobi answered flatly, his voice like steel, "The Mist is not accepting merchant ships. Turn around now or die where you stand." Ren sighed dramatically, shoulders slumping as his tone dropped to a flat, "Too bad." In the same instant, the two Mist shinobi collapsed where they stood as Kakashi and Itachi were already behind them. It had taken only a single clean strike each which was no surprise to Ren, The Mist shinobi were only rank-and-file, levels barely in the 50s, while Kakashi and Itachi stood at levels 73 and 76 respectively. Ren himself, at level 78, was the strongest on the ship, followed closely by Itachi, then Utakata at 75, Kakashi next, and Number 4 bringing up the rear in raw combat ability, though he knew Kakashi's true strength could easily surpass Utakata's when he went all out. Number 4 was already kneeling by the fallen enemy, two fingers pressed to their temples. He spoke a moment later, voice steady, "There's one Mist shinobi stationed every kilometer in this sector. Our ship was exactly between two, which is why both responded, normally only one would have come for merchant ships. They were ordered to stop any merchant ship crossing here and kill any unknown shinobi on sight. No details about the civil war in their memory, they're just following an elder's orders." He paused, glancing up at Ren. "Our luck's good. They rotate shifts every two days, and the last rotation was just today, so we shouldn't encounter any shinobi moving through the waters. If we're careful, we shouldn't hit heavy resistance right at the border." Ren hummed thoughtfully, weighing it. "The Mist wouldn't trust just a handful of guards so there are bound to be more hidden ahead. We'll have to stay alert on the approach. The ship will return on its own and we're moving underwater from here." He looked to Kakashi. "Dog, your unit will be responsible for eliminating any Mist shinobi who sense us. But only engage if we're detected. If not, we'll keep moving submerged all the way to our landing point." He formed a hand seal and two identical clones appeared beside him, each boarding the ship to steer it back toward Fire Country's shores, just in case anyone was watching. Without another word, Ren turned, vaulted over the railing, and slipped soundlessly into the water below. One after another, the others followed suit without hesitation. Thirteen figures vanished beneath the waves, moving as one, silent shadows cutting through the cold, dark sea on the final approach to the Land of Water. ~~~~~ {I always find it weird how any normal person suddenly turns into an experienced commander as soon as they transmigrate, but our Ren was a normal person, really, so he needs some lessons on how to utilize slaves better.} {Anyway, this arc might be a bit longer, but I'll try not to make it as long or boring as the land of iron arc, so stay put.} {If you want, you can support me on pat-reon} { h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n } {You know what else} {280 Stones = Extra Chapter} {STONES!!!!}