Chapter 203: Ren Gets Called Short and Declares War on Danzo

Chapter 203 - Ren Gets Called Short and Declares War on Danzo {Did you like this arc that much or were you just glad that it finished that we directly entered top 10?} ~~~ It took Ren only a few seconds to reach the ship. The moment his feet landed on deck, a collective sigh of relief passed through the shinobi on board as his return meant one thing, the worst was over. They'd seen the giant toad. Felt the earth-shaking chakra in the distance. They all knew exactly who had arrived. Jiraiya of the Sannin. Whatever anyone said about his personal habits, especially the women of the Leaf, his strength wasn't up for debate. If Jiraiya showed up to save you, you were going to make it home. Still, no one fully relaxed. The aftershocks of battle continued to ripple across the ocean behind them. They could tell that the two of them were still fighting. So Four didn't stop. He remained at his post near the mast, wind release still flowing from his hands to accelerate the sails. The ship kept surging forward, cutting through the water at high speed. For a long time, no one spoke. Only when the tension finally began to ease, when the chakra signatures faded, and the sound of clashing jutsu grew distant, did the air shift slightly. There was no cheer. Just a quiet exhale shared by everyone aboard. Eventually, the core team gathered on the deck. Ren had already taken a seat beside Hitoshi, who lay flat on his back, unmoving. Ren's brows were furrowed in concentration as he gently poured chakra into Hitoshi's chest, focusing on stabilizing his flow. Utakata approached from behind and sat beside them. Ren glanced up and asked, quietly, "How did Hitoshi end up like this? His chakra network's almost destroyed." Utakata sighed, brushing damp hair away from his face. "He took a direct hit from Samehada." Ren paused for a moment, then exhaled through his nose. That explained it. He didn't need to ask more. They kept working together in silence, both kneeling by Hitoshi's side. Ren maintained the steady healing stream while Utakata targeted deeper layers, repairing the finer damage in the chakra channels. It didn't take long for the worst of it to stabilize. Hitoshi's wounds had been severe, but his body was still young and resilient. Within a few minutes, he stirred. His fingers twitched and his eyes slowly opened. He stared at the sky overhead for a long moment. Then his gaze drifted sideways, toward Ren and Utakata. "...Thanks." That was all he said as he knew he didn't need to say more. Ren and Utakata didn't respond. They simply nodded and remained beside him, the three of them sitting there in quiet understanding, letting the sound of the waves fill the silence. A moment later, Yugao arrived. She dropped to her knees beside Hitoshi and, without a word, pulled him into a tight hug. "Oh sage! You're fine," she breathed, voice trembling. "I thought I'd lose you." Then she froze, realizing the two men beside her had gone quiet. She felt their gazes on her and opened her mouth, maybe to explain, maybe to retreat, but before she could say anything, Hitoshi weakly raised one arm and hugged her back. "Sorry for worrying you," he murmured. Yugao tried to pull away from Hitoshi, suddenly hyper-aware of the two gazes locked onto her from the side, one warm and amused, the other, deeply neutral, yet somehow worse. She already knew what was coming. Sure enough, the moment she sat back down beside Hitoshi, she turned her head and saw Ren, grinning like a fox, one eyebrow raised in a ridiculous wiggling arc. She flushed on the spot. Ren tilted his head dramatically. "Oh my... my poor heart's gonna shatter. I fought a literal shark, and all you care about is your boyfriend?" He clutched his chest like a theatre actor. "What about me, huh? I'm your teammate. Shouldn't I get a little concern? Maybe a hug? A tear, even?" Yugao's blush deepened as she felt the second stare, this one coming from Utakata, who was just quietly watching the exchange. No grin, no judgment. Just that calm, unreadable stare and somehow, that made it worse. Ren didn't miss a beat. "You could at least pretend to care, y'know. Maybe ask how many limbs I lost? Compliment my absolutely great fight?" Before Yugao could fumble for a reply, Utakata sighed and stood up. "Alright, enough teasing. We all need rest," he said simply. "Talk later." He turned to walk away, but didn't make it more than three steps before Yugao's shout echoed down the deck. "WHAT?! SENSEI HAS A FIANCEE?! AND THEY'RE LIVING TOGETHER?!" Utakata stopped walking. He didn't even have to look back. He already knew who let it slip because Ren was the only one who knew about that on the ship. He sighed again. "Why did he had to know so soon?" he muttered under his breath and kept walking. But Yugao wasn't going to let him go that easily. She dashed after him, launching a barrage of questions before he could disappear below deck, "What's her name? How long? Do we know her? Is she prettier than me? Why does she like you? Did you propose or did she?" Utakata's responses were little more than awkward grunts and incomplete sentences, growing fainter as they vanished into the ship's interior. Back on deck, Ren finally allowed himself to relax. The wind felt cooler now and the ocean a little calmer. He leaned back on his arms. But the peace didn't last long. Hitoshi, who had been resting quietly, finally stood up. His steps were a little unsteady, but his chakra had stabilized, and his body was slowly recovering. As he passed Ren, he spoke softly, almost too softly. "If sensei has a fiancee... then that means in Team One, you're the only one without a partner. No one to love. No one to share your life with. That means..." He glanced over his shoulder, "...you're alone, aren't you?" Ren blinked. Words caught in his throat. "...Dude, I'm eleven." He stood up, arms raised in exasperation. "The only reason I don't have a love life is because I'm too young! I'm gonna grow up and get a girlfriend, heck, I can get as many girlfriends I want, I'm great!" Hitoshi barely nodded as he walked away, voice barely audible. "...It's doubtful. With your height." Ren stood there stunned. Speechless. Offended. Deeply wounded. Short. By the time he shouted back, Hitoshi had already turned the corner. "I'M IN MY GROWTH STAGE, DAMN IT!" There was ofcourse no reply. Ren crossed his arms and grumbled, "If Kimura was here, he'd tell you how great I am. Hmph. So what if I'm short? I'm definitely gonna grow taller. Just you wait..." Muttering under his breath, he stomped toward the front of the ship and jumped onto the sheep-head figurehead near the bow. There, he plopped down, arms folded, and sat in a full sulk, ocean breeze rustling his hair, dignity in shambles. And somewhere in the distance, the faint sound of laughter carried over the waves. ~~~ The lone ship sailed steadily through the ocean, the tension from earlier fading into a calm rhythm. However, that calm didn't last. Boom. The ship tilted hard to one side as Jiraiya landed squarely on the back deck, his weight causing the entire vessel to lurch. Several shinobi stumbled to keep their balance. At the very front, Ren, still perched on the sheep-head figurehead, snapped out of his sulk and quickly steadied the ship with a chakra-reinforced stomp. Then came Jiraiya's booming laughter, echoing across the open sea like a cannon shot and those who didn't know would never think he'd just been trading jutsu with a walking tsunami. His entrance drew attention, as expected. One by one, the main team assembled on deck. Utakata, Kakashi, Itachi, Tenzo, Four, Yugao, Hitoshi, all of them gathered, waiting. Utakata sighed and stepped forward, as he asked, "How is it?" Jiraiya gave him a once-over, mildly surprised at how tired his student looked despite having so much time to rest, then answered with a shrug. "He splashed around a bit more, then retreated. Still pissed, though. That one's not gonna calm down anytime soon. He's out for that brat's blood." He paused, then frowned. "...Any of you know why he's that mad? I mean, sure, the brat's last teasing might have got to him, but the way he was howling, like someone keyed his sword." The group exchanged looks but no one answered. Jiraiya blinked. "Seriously? Nothing?" They all shook their heads in sync. Jiraiya scratched his chin. "Huh. Weird." Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he turned toward the bow. Ren was still seated on the sheep-head carving, legs dangling, arms folded across his chest. He hadn't even looked over once during the whole exchange. Jiraiya strode toward him. "Oi, brat! What the hell did you do to that shark? Did you find some secret? Steal his diary or something?" Ren didn't turn. He just raised a single hand and with a faint puff of air, a wind clone materialized beside him and rushed straight at Jiraiya. Jiraiya flinched slightly, preparing to react, but right before contact the clone dispersed into a cool breeze, swirling gently around Jiraiya's face. His shoulders loosened. His posture relaxed involuntarily. It was calming. Too calming. A beat passed and then it hit him. "...Wait. You did this to him?" Jiraiya burst out laughing. "In the middle of a fight? Ahhh, no wonder he was ready to kill you. That's just mean." The rest of the group sighed in unison, now fully understanding why Kisame had gone feral. Only Ren would troll a Kage-level opponent during live combat. The team finally settled down on the deck in a loose circle. Ren shifted around on the sheep-head to face them, finally looking serious. He turned to Four and asked, "Casualties?" Four already had the details prepared so he began, "We lost all three members of the medic squad out of the thirteen who came for the mission. Of the agents extracted, ninety-one made it out safely during the first extraction." "But during the retreat from the inner Mist and later at the beach sixteen died. Five are severely injured. The rest have minor wounds or chakra depletion." Ren clicked his tongue. His voice dropped. "Damn it, Danzo." Jiraiya caught it and his casual demeanor vanished. "Danzo?" He stared at Ren, now entirely serious. "He was involved in this mission?" Ren nodded toward Four. Without a word, Four pulled out a sealed scroll and unsealed the body of a fallen Leaf agent onto the deck. Then he looked at Jiraiya. "Place your hand on my head, please." Jiraiya knew of the Yamanaka's memory sharing so he didn't wait as he rested his palm atop Four's head. Four placed his hand on the fallen agent's forehead. A pulse of chakra passed between them, and Jiraiya's eyes narrowed as memories flickered into his mind like a movie. They skimmed past surface-level details and memories and finally reached the locked section of the memory where a seal popped up. Jiraiya's hand lifted from Four's head as he exhaled slowly. The flickering remnants of the memory transfer faded. His gaze shifted to Ren and even without speaking, Ren's anger was palpable. Jiraiya stepped forward and lowered his voice. "Listen to me, kid. You need to handle this carefully. Otherwise, it's going to cause problems bigger than you think." Ren didn't even hesitate. "To hell with being careful," he said flatly. "That bastard caused half the losses in this mission. If I don't get a real answer from him, I'll finish him and his little Root circus once and for all." There was no bluster in his voice as he spoke, if Danzo had been standing there, Ren might've drawn blood then and there. He wasn't just angry at the ambush or the losses, he was angry because the whole mission had been compromised from day one. By his own estimate, they should've reached the target zone before being detected. He'd prepared contingencies, plans and extraction routes even before entering. But someone had sold them out on day one and Ren was sure who it was. Jiraiya read all of it in Ren's face. He sighed and tried again. "Be rational, kid. You know Danzo's methods. He's not someone you confront head-on. Wait it out. The time will come." Ren's eyes narrowed. "You might be afraid of him," he said, "but I'm not." He stepped forward, voice calm, "I don't know what kind of grip he has over you, over the elders, the Third, but he has nothing on me. I know things about him that even the Hokage might not. I've traced every thread. I know what he's done." He flicked his fingers once. "And if he crosses the line, I'll show him what happens." Without waiting for a reply, Ren vanished with a flicker, leaving only the soft hum of the ocean and a cold silence behind him. The group remained still for a moment then Utakata turned to Four. His voice was low and serious. "You're really sure Danzo's involved?" Four nodded once. "Based on this agent's memory, about 70%." He adjusted the collar of his cloak before continuing. "But once we return to the village, Ren will definitely ask me to examine the memories of all agents who acted suspiciously. When that's done, I expect it to jump to around 90%." Utakata crossed his arms. "You know better than anyone, anything less than 100% won't stick to Danzo." Four's sighed slightly. "I know. And I'm sure Ren knows too." He glanced toward the spot Ren had vanished from. "But he wouldn't have said all that unless he was truly furious or if he had a plan" The others were quiet. Yugao, Hitoshi, and Itachi didn't fully grasp the details, but the weight of it kept them silent. They trusted Ren more than some shady old man who was being accused so they all supported Ren. But Tenzo, his fists were clenched at his sides. He knew. He'd seen firsthand how Root operated. What silence and obedience cost. The tattoos. The dehumanization. And Kakashi, who'd remained silent until now, stepped forward. His voice was quiet, but resolute. "It doesn't matter what Danzo does," Kakashi said. "Ren's not backing down this time." Both Jiraiya and Utakata turned, surprised to hear him speak like that. Then Kakashi slowly reached up and removed his ANBU dog mask, letting it hang loosely in one hand as he looked directly at Jiraiya. "Even if the village, or the whole world, turns against him, spreads lies or slanders his name, he won't give up. He won't break. Not like someone else did." Jiraiya's eyes widened slightly. He knew who Kakashi meant. The memory hit like a slow echo. Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang. A hero turned pariah. Driven to suicide by pressure, guilt, and betrayal. A man crushed not by the enemy, but by the people he saved. Kakashi held Jiraiya's gaze a moment longer. Then, without another word, turned and walked toward the inner deck. The others watched him leave in silence. Only Jiraiya remained standing by the railing, wind tousling his hair, eyes half-lidded in thought. He looked out over the open sea, past the fading sun, past the dark horizon. '...So he understands now. His father's death wasn't just a suicide after all.' The wind shifted again. He looked down at the deck, then toward the direction Ren had gone. A faint chill settled in his bones. 'A storm's coming.' ~~~ At the back of the ship, Ren sat perched on the wooden railing, one leg dangling over the ocean, the other propped up lazily. The salty breeze brushed through his hair as he leaned back on his palms, eyes half-lidded and lost in thought. The sea was finally calm. Most of the agents had gone below deck to rest, and even those on guard duty were quiet now. The tension had thinned, the chaos left behind, at least for a while. Then he remembered Jiraiya had brought a message from Yoru. Ren reached into his belt and pulled out the small scroll and opened it. He unrolled the parchment and his eyes scanned it once. Then a second time. A beat passed and then, a grin stretched across his face, slow and wide. There weren't paragraphs. No tactical assessments. No cryptic instructions. Just two bold characters scrawled in Yoru's unmistakable handwriting. GO WILD. ~~~~~ {Well, Ren has Yoru's instructions now, and he can't defy a superior can he?} {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!!!!}