Mangekyō Sharingan… and Wood Release.
i wasn't unfamiliar with those words.
If anything, she knew them too well.
That was why, when Ren linked the mission's failure to a Konoha shinobi who possessed both, the pressure crushed her so hard she nearly suffocated.
"Konoha…" i whispered, trembling as she leaned heavily against the scarred tree behind her. "They've already raised a monster like that?"
Her eyes flicked to the blackened blood still trapped in the tree's old wounds, then back to Ren—whose gaze held no lies.
i hugged herself tightly, voice shaking.
"Then what was it all for?"
"The people we sacrificed… the feelings we threw away…"
"All the effort we made to grow stronger—so we could one day seize land, fix the Land of Water's shortages…"
"What were we doing?"
She swallowed hard, and sothing bitter spilled out.
"Were we just… propping up the village's pride with cruelty?"
"Pretending we haven't already fallen out of the great nations?"
Ren stepped closer and patted her shoulder, his voice low and steady.
"That's what it ans."
"If the route is wrong… then the harder you push, the farther you get from success."
i's shoulders shook.
Ren's hand stayed there, firm.
"Now," he said softly, "do you understand why I said what I said… and why I brought you here, i?"
"I don't," i said.
Ren blinked. "…Huh?"
i kept her head lowered, voice small, stubborn, and a little too raw.
"You idiot."
Ren stood there, awkward for once.
i exhaled shakily and muttered, "Learn to read the room. At a ti like this… shouldn't you be showing so 'manly spirit' that gives hope?"
Ren stared, then answered at once, with utter sincerity.
"My fault."
That blunt acceptance—so like him—pulled i back from the edge. She pressed a palm against her chest as if steadying her heartbeat, then looked up with a faint spark returning to her green eyes.
"…You said a lot just now. My head's still spinning."
"But thinking back—when you talked about failing the mission… you didn't sound afraid of those two monsters at all."
Ren whistled lightly. "Because I beat them up."
i's gloom cracked.
"I knew it." She punched his shoulder once, a little too hard, and looked away as if embarrassed by her own relief. "If you ca back, ate dango like nothing happened, and dragged out here to say treasonous things… there's no way you'd do that without confidence."
Ren smiled and bumped her back.
"Then I'll ask again. Do you understand now?"
i caught his fist and, petty as ever, dug her nails into the back of his hand—leaving crescent-shaped marks.
"I think I do," she said slowly. "You want to stage a coup before the Third declares war on Konoha. Replace him. Cancel the plan to enter the Third Shinobi War."
Ren stared at her.
Then he clicked his tongue.
"Still not even close."
i: "…What?"
Ren flicked her forehead.
"Seriously, did the shock scramble your brain?"
"Think about it. Mist hasn't fought a large-scale war in ages. So long that every shinobi in the village has stockpiled emotions that only a brutal war can drain."
"And now Konoha—exhausted from fighting multiple fronts—sits right there."
He looked at her sharply.
"Do you think most people in this village will carefully investigate Konoha's remaining strength, assess risks, and decide calmly whether to declare war?"
"…Or will they see a once-in-a-lifeti chance to carve fertile land out of Konoha—and rush in without thinking?"
i's jaw tightened.
"…The second."
"Exactly." Ren spread his hands.
"Then it's simple."
"From top to bottom, the village wants war. So whether the Mizukage wants it or not, he has to answer that demand."
"But that war against Konoha?"
Ren's voice dropped, cold and certain.
"We can't win it."
"The gap is too big. The mont Namikaze Minato is freed from the Lightning and Earth front…"
"It becos a one-sided slaughter."
i's eyes widened.
Ren's smile turned sharp, almost mocking.
"And the reason Mist is this weak? That's the fruit of the Third's wrong policy."
"If I take power through a coup now… what happens?"
"I beco the one who inherits his ss."
"I beco the one who carries the bla when the war fails."
Ren shrugged.
"I'm not interested in doing sothing that stupid."
i's eyes narrowed. She was finally following.
"So your plan is—"
Ren lifted his right hand toward the dark sky, fingers curled like a claw, eyes burning with a wild gleam.
"After the war ends in total defeat…"
"I return as a hero of the battlefield."
"And I impeach the Third for gross failure."
Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world—
"I take the position of Fourth Mizukage."
i's breath caught.
Ren's grin widened.
"The Third—representing the blood-mist ideology—and the stubborn fools who believe in him… fall with the defeat."
"And the new generation that fought, bled, and killed on the front lines—yet couldn't carry the village alone…"
"Replaces them."
He looked at i, and sothing fierce and hungry flashed across his face.
"Then we rebuild Mist—correctly."
"Tell , i."
"Is there a better script than that?"
i stared at him, then whispered—
"A failed war ans a lot of people die, Ren."
Her voice shook.
"Even if you have to watch comrades die in front of you… you don't care?"
Ren's body stiffened.
Slowly, he turned back.
And the smile he wore this ti was ugly—woven from bitterness and self-mockery.
"I'm a demon who graduated by killing my best friend."
"That kind of pure hero who saves everyone…"
"I stopped being qualified to beco that a long ti ago."
i stepped closer, clumsy and unsure, and took his cold left hand in hers.
Their fingers interlaced.
"Yeah," she whispered. "I guess so."
People born in the Bloody Mist…
Who among them had the right to stand in the light and save everyone?
Ren gazed up at the sky—black clouds pressing down, storm on the verge of breaking—and spoke softly.
"War's coming soon."
"Live, i."
"And when I challenge the Third… when the knives co for my back…"
"I want to see you behind ."
i lifted her bangs, revealing her right eye—rarely shown—and studied his profile.
"Just your guard?" she asked quietly. "As soone who holds both Lava Release and Boil Release… I have my pride too."
Ren snorted. "Yeah, yeah. I know you're 'a woman who'll beco Mizukage.'"
He closed his eyes, voice lazy and sharp at once.
"Don't rush it."
"After I drag Mist back onto the right road… I'll leave you a chance to challenge that seat."
i's lips curved faintly.
Ren, still holding her hand, let himself sink into that brief, fragile peace.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon/Inkveil_
Reviews
All reviews (0)