Chapitre 286: 285-Who said you wouldn't?
One of the Kumo ANBU, his mask gleaming in the moonlight, had broken from the pack and surged toward Takata with lethal precision, his kunai slicing through the air.
Renjiro moved instinctively, desperate, as he tried to close the distance. But it was too late—the blade met flesh with a sickening crunch, Takata's gasp mingling with the sound of the weapon piercing his chest.
The dying man's eyes widened, his body stiffening as he looked at Renjiro, shock and pain frozen on his face as he crumpled to the ground, his last breath escaping in a soft, final exhale.
For a moment, all Renjiro could do was stare, the weight of Takata's death sinking in, settling like a stone in his chest.
Something snapped within him. The decision he'd made not to use his Sharingan, not to unleash his full power, suddenly seemed foolish, a hindrance he could no longer afford.
While in Renjiro's mind, the logical action would be to capture them and see whether they could gain any information from them, it seemed that the Kumogakure shinobi were taking another path.
Unbeknownst to them, this ruthless intent was exactly as A, had intended. He recently confirmed the identities of those pursuing his men—spies from Konoha—and while he could have chosen to imprison or interrogate them, he was resolute; none of them were to leave Kumo alive.
A's squad had killed Takata's teammates without hesitation, a brutal but clear message that they weren't interested in prisoners.
Renjiro steeled himself, letting his anger fuel him. His Sharingan flared to life, the three tomoe in each eye spinning as his vision sharpened, his world transformed into a tapestry of enhanced perception.
The Kumo shinobi instantly reacted to the change, and one of them let out a warning cry;
"An Uchiha! Beware his—"
But before the warning was finished, Renjiro was there, a flash of motion as he sliced his opponent's throat, his eyes cold and unforgiving.
The shinobi fell, his final words choked off, and Renjiro moved on, pivoting smoothly to face the next ANBU in his path.
"Sharingan!"
The remaining Kumo shinobi braced themselves, adopting defensive stances, yet their wariness only fueled Renjiro's resolve. He blurred forward, his speed disorienting.
He struck one of the shinobi with a rapid combination of punches, each move precise and ruthless. The shinobi scrambled to defend himself, his movements slowing as Renjiro manipulated his reactions, subtly manoeuvring him into a position. With a final twist of his hand, Renjiro completed a set of hand seals using the shinobi's hands and spewed a massive fireball toward his opponent.
The blast engulfed the man, flames curling around him as he screamed, the fire consuming him in a blazing inferno that illuminated the forest with an ominous red glow.
Kakashi watched with grim satisfaction. He had held back as well, restrained by the mission's initial objective to extract information, but seeing Renjiro unleash his full fury spurred him on.
This wasn't the cold, calculated Kakashi of the original story; here, Kakashi fought with a steady, calculated intensity as the seasoned partner to Renjiro's unleashed power, falling into the rhythm they'd perfected as a team.
Following Renjiro's lead, Kakashi engaged another Kumo ANBU. His opponent, skilled in taijutsu, matched Kakashi's strikes, each blow ringing out into the night.
The shinobi dropped low, launching an earth release technique that sent jagged rocks shooting up from the ground toward Kakashi. Reacting in a split second, Kakashi formed hand seals, slamming his hand to the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Wall!" A wall of stone rose, absorbing the impact of the rocks, and Kakashi moved with fluid precision, dodging the crumbling debris to re-engage his opponent. He feinted left, then swung his arm around in a blur, catching the shinobi with a lightning-infused palm strike that paralyzed him momentarily. In that brief pause, Kakashi drove a kunai deep into the man's side, ending the skirmish with ruthless efficiency.
[A/N: I know at this point it seems that Kakashi only uses Earth wall, but wait, he will eventually become the copy ninja Kakashi]
Renjiro turned to see the remaining Kumo ANBU tense, their expressions barely visible behind their masks, but he could sense their unease. This was no longer a battle they could win through strength alone—they needed an escape, and Renjiro had no intention of letting them slip away.
His eyes glowed red as he locked gazes with each of them, casting a genjutsu that ensnared their minds like a trap, rendering them motionless in an illusory prison.
Two of the Kumo shinobi struggled, their bodies trembling as they resisted the illusion.
"We won't fall for your genjutsu!" one of them spat, shaking his head violently as he broke free. His companion followed suit, and together they lunged at Renjiro, blades poised to strike.
Renjiro remained still, his gaze impassive. Both shinobi stabbed forward, one from the front and the other from behind. Metal met flesh—or so it seemed. The instant their blades sank in, Renjiro's form flickered, shimmering like smoke, and then vanished entirely.
"Who said you wouldn't?" Renjiro's voice echoed in their ears, chilling as they realized the illusion they were under. Their vision cleared, and they looked down in horror to see their kunai buried deep—not in Renjiro, but in each other's chests. Blood trickled down their armour as they gasped, eyes widening with terror and disbelief before collapsing to the ground.
The remaining shinobi, still trapped in Renjiro's genjutsu, were left defenseless, their minds ensnared in nightmares of their own making. Moving swiftly, Renjiro and Kakashi dispatched them one by one, leaving no room for mercy or hesitation.
When the last Kumo ANBU fell, Kakashi flicked the blood from his kunai, a look of grim satisfaction crossing his face.
"We should have killed them before," he muttered, his voice tight with frustration.
Renjiro's gaze fell on Takata's lifeless body, his jaw clenching with guilt. "We should have," he echoed, his voice softer, tinged with regret. He'd been through countless battles, and seen death more times than he could count—so why did holding back feel like a mistake this time?
Had he grown too attached to the idea of control, of holding his own power in check?
"Maybe I'm still naïve," he murmured to himself, shaking his head as he struggled to refocus.
Kakashi's voice pulled him back to the present. "Should we return to the village with the package? Takata's gone…but his mission doesn't have to be."
Renjiro's head shot up, resolve hardening in his gaze. "No. We're not leaving Yano behind."
He shot Kakashi a look, daring him to argue. "If you want to go back, take the package and go. But I'm not leaving Yano."
Kakashi's gaze held his for a long moment before he let out a resigned sigh. "I know better than to argue with you."
He looked at Takata's body one last time before they began gathering up the fallen Kumo shinobi, storing the bodies swiftly and efficiently. With no more words exchanged, they flickered through the trees, backtracking to the area where they had left Yano.
The silence was tense, broken only by the sound of their soft footsteps as they moved at full speed. Renjiro's senses were on high alert, and suddenly, he caught the faint trace of chakra ahead. His heartbeat quickened as he focused on the signature.
'Is that…Yano?' Renjiro's mind raced, expanding his chakra field to confirm, relief flooding him when he recognized the familiar chakra signature. Without a word, he signalled to Kakashi, redirecting their path toward the disturbance.
As they neared, the scene before them grew clearer: Yano was locked in a desperate struggle with A. Even from a distance, Renjiro could feel the sheer force of A's chakra, his aura crackling with lightning as he delivered blow after crushing blow. Yano staggered, barely holding his ground, blood streaking down his face as he struggled to avoid A's relentless attacks.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Break!" A roared, thrusting his hand forward.
The bolt of lightning connected with Yano, sending him flying backwards with a strangled cry as the force of the attack tore through him. Yano's body crashed into the ground near the edge of a cliff, his form limp and bloodied. A smirked, striding over to Yano's body, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
"Any last words, Konoha shinobi?" he sneered, lifting Yano by the collar before tossing him over the edge. Yano's body disappeared over the cliff, vanishing into the dark void below.
Renjiro felt his heart drop as he watched Yano plummet, a cold sense of dread gripping him. "This is bad… this is really bad," he muttered under his breath, realizing that retreat was their only option. But before he could make a move, a chill ran down his spine.
A had sensed them.
In an instant, he was there, standing just a few feet away, his gaze sharp and piercing as he surveyed Renjiro and Kakashi with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
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