Ren froze with his chopsticks suspended halfway to his mouth.
Beside him, Rin remained motionless for a heartbeat. Then the meaning of Kushina's question struck her, and a vivid blush spread from her cheeks to the tips of her ears.
"Kushina, what are you saying?" Rin stammered. "We're not… We aren't a couple yet!"
Silence descended over the counter.
Rin's eyes widened as she realized what she had said.
Not we aren't a couple.
She had said we aren't a couple yet.
The disguised ANBU operative seated at the far end of the counter slowly turned his tanuki mask away, perhaps deciding that witnessing this conversation was more dangerous than confronting an enemy shinobi.
Kushina blinked once.
Then she burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! I understand. You aren't together yet!"
"That isn't what I meant!" Rin's face grew even redder. "I only meant that we're still young, and Ren and I are teammates, and we live next door to each other, so we spend a lot of time together. That's all!"
Her increasingly desperate explanation only made Kushina laugh harder.
"Relax, Rin. I'm only teasing you." Kushina waved one hand, although her delighted expression showed no remorse whatsoever. "You two are always together, and anyone looking at you would think you were already a pair."
Rin lowered her head and stared into her empty ramen bowl as though hoping to disappear inside it.
Kushina's laughter softened. When she spoke again, her voice carried a trace of sincerity beneath its playful tone.
"You don't have to answer me now. But if either of you ever finds someone you truly care about, don't hide from your feelings forever."
She raised one fist in an enthusiastic gesture.
"Be brave and go after them! If you wait too long, someone else might get there first. Worse, you might lose the chance completely and regret it for the rest of your life."
Rin's embarrassment faded slightly.
"Is that really how you feel?"
"Of course." Kushina crossed her arms and nodded with great authority. "Some people are dense enough that you need to hit them over the head with your feelings before they notice anything."
Several streets away—or perhaps many kilometers outside the village—Minato suddenly sneezed.
Rin stole a glance at Ren.
Her gaze barely touched his face before darting away again, but Ren noticed it.
He cleared his throat and looked toward the empty bowl in front of him. Despite the awkwardness, he was not completely ignorant of Rin's feelings.
In the original future, Rin had loved Kakashi.
This world was different.
Ren and Rin had grown up as neighbors. They had trained, attended the Academy, completed missions, and faced danger together. To call them ordinary teammates would be dishonest. They were childhood friends who understood each other's habits, tempers, and fears better than most people ever would.
Ren also knew that his appearance attracted attention. He had received more than a few shy looks and anonymous notes during his time at the Academy.
It was not surprising that Rin's feelings had changed.
As for Ren himself, he could not dislike her. Rin was gentle without being weak, considerate without becoming submissive, and far more determined than people gave her credit for.
But they were still too young.
Even in a world where children became shinobi and entered battle before reaching their teens, Ren could not treat romance casually. More importantly, the Third Great Ninja War was approaching.
Surviving it had to come first.
There would be no future relationship if one of them died before that future arrived.
Ren glanced at Rin and found her still staring at the counter.
When we're older, he thought. And when we're strong enough to survive what's coming.
For now, that was the only answer he could give himself.
Shortly afterward, the three of them left Ichiraku Ramen.
Kushina returned home beneath the discreet protection of the ANBU. Before leaving, she hugged Rin again and whispered something into her ear that made the girl's entire face turn red for a second time.
Ren decided not to ask.
He and Rin walked home together beneath the evening sky.
Konoha had grown quiet. Warm light spilled from shop windows, and the rising moon painted the stone road in soft silver. Somewhere in the distance, a family was laughing over dinner.
Rin walked half a step behind Ren.
Kushina's words continued replaying in her mind.
Be brave and go after them.
She looked at Ren's profile. His white hair shone faintly beneath the moonlight, and his expression carried the distant concentration he always wore when thinking about ninjutsu.
A strange warmth spread through Rin's chest.
"Ren…"
He turned toward her.
"Hmm?"
Rin's courage immediately vanished.
Part of her wanted to tell him the truth. She did not mind being the one to confess first, and she knew Ren would never mock her feelings.
But not like this.
There were no flowers, no special occasion, and no carefully prepared words. They were simply walking home after training, with the taste of ramen broth still lingering in their mouths.
It felt far too ordinary for something she would remember for the rest of her life.
Rin looked down, suddenly fascinated by the movement of her sandals against the road.
"Would you like to train for a while?"
Ren blinked.
"Right now?"
"We haven't practiced taijutsu together in ages," she explained quickly. "And we just ate. A little exercise might help with digestion."
In truth, Rin simply did not want the evening to end yet.
Ren's thoughts had already returned to the sealing structures Kushina had shown him. Sparring would give him an opportunity to clear his head and test Snake-Limb Hardening in live combat.
"Sure," he agreed. "Let's go."
Rin's face brightened.
They turned away from the residential district and entered a small forest training ground nearby.
At night, the clearing felt entirely different. Moonlight filtered between the branches, creating scattered patches of silver across the earth. Insects chirped within the grass, while the leaves whispered whenever the wind moved through them.
Ren and Rin stopped several meters apart.
Rin closed her eyes and took a slow breath. When she opened them again, the embarrassment from Ichiraku had vanished, replaced by the focus of a shinobi.
"I'm coming, Ren!"
Her hands blurred through several seals.
"Water Release: Water Clone Technique!"
Water surged upward beside her and divided into three human shapes. Within seconds, three identical copies of Rin stood around her, each holding a kunai.
The four Rins separated.
Two clones rushed Ren from opposite sides, their feet barely disturbing the grass. The third circled behind him while the real Rin remained at a distance and completed another sequence of hand seals.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
She inhaled sharply before releasing a concentrated torrent of water from her mouth.
The stream tore across the clearing, churning dirt and grass as it raced toward Ren. At the same time, the two clones attacked from his flanks, sealing off his escape routes.
The coordination was much sharper than it had been several months ago.
Ren waited until the last moment.
The water engulfed him.
A cloud of white smoke erupted inside the torrent, and a wooden log spun through the air.
"Substitution Technique," Rin whispered.
Ren reappeared on a low branch behind her.
He reached into his ninja pouch and spread several kunai and shuriken between his fingers. Nearly invisible steel wires were attached to their rings.
His arms snapped forward.
The night filled with flashes of cold metal.
Rin's clones reacted immediately. One raised its kunai and deflected a shuriken, while another leaped over two weapons aimed at its legs.
A third clone was not so fortunate.
A kunai struck it directly in the shoulder, causing its body to collapse into a splash of water.
The remaining weapons missed their targets and embedded themselves in the surrounding trees. Some buried themselves in trunks, while others wrapped around branches before becoming still.
Rin noticed the transparent wires glinting beneath the moonlight.
Her expression changed.
"Watch the wires!" she warned.
The clones moved to retreat, but Ren had already landed in the center of the clearing.
He wrapped the loose ends around both hands.
"Too late."
Ren pulled.
The wires snapped taut.
A metallic web formed throughout the training ground, crossing between the trees at different angles and heights. The threads contracted inward with a high, cutting whistle.
One water clone tried to duck beneath them, only for another wire to rise behind it. Its body was sliced apart and burst into water.
The final clone raised a kunai to block.
Three wires wrapped around its wrist, waist, and ankle. A sharp tug tore the clone apart before it could escape.
Rin twisted between two approaching threads, but a third caught her arm. Another looped around her waist, and several more tightened from behind.
Within seconds, the wires had trapped her limbs against her body.
"Got you," Ren said.
Rin gritted her teeth.
Before the web could completely immobilize her, her fingers formed a final hand seal.
Her body vanished in a burst of smoke.
The wires contracted around a wooden log.
Ren immediately looked up.
Rin reappeared on the trunk of a nearby tree, standing parallel to the ground with chakra concentrated in her feet. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, and a faint blush remained on her face, whether from exertion or the earlier conversation.
"Excellent substitution," Ren praised. "Your timing has improved."
"I'm not finished yet."
Rin launched herself upward.
She raced along the trunk and disappeared into the leaves. A barrage of kunai descended toward Ren from above, each thrown toward a different escape route.
Ren answered with his own weapons.
Steel collided in midair.
Sparks burst beneath the moonlight as kunai and shuriken ricocheted through the clearing. One of Rin's blades slipped through the exchange and skimmed past Ren's shoulder, cutting a narrow line through his shirt.
Her throwing technique was impressive.
Rin lacked the overwhelming chakra reserves of a clan heir and possessed no inherited technique that could instantly elevate her strength. Even so, she had trained relentlessly in water release, medical ninjutsu, taijutsu, and shurikenjutsu.
Minato's special training had refined those skills even further.
She was already among the best Genin of her age.
The branches above Ren rustled.
He turned, but Rin's kunai pouch fell from the canopy instead of Rin herself.
A distraction.
Ren sensed movement behind him.
Rin had used the falling pouch to conceal the sound of her real approach. She dropped from another tree with a kunai held in a reverse grip, her body aligned for a controlled strike toward his shoulder.
The maneuver was smooth.
Ren did not dodge.
Rin's eyes widened.
"Ren, watch out!"
The kunai descended.
Ren raised his bare right hand and caught the blade.
A piercing metallic screech tore through the clearing.
Sparks scattered across his face, but no blood appeared. Faint scale-like patterns had spread from his wrist to his fingertips, and his hardened skin held the kunai as securely as a metal gauntlet.
Snake-Limb Hardening had stopped Rin's blade.
Rin froze for a fraction of a second.
That was all Ren needed.
He twisted her wrist and stripped the kunai from her hand. His other hand closed around her forearm, redirecting her momentum and pulling her off balance.
Rin stumbled forward.
Ren stepped behind her, controlled her shoulder, and placed the blunt ring of the captured kunai lightly against the side of her neck.
"It's over."
The forest fell silent again.
Rin tested his grip before accepting that she could not escape without risking injury. She relaxed and raised her free hand in surrender.
"As expected of you." Her breathing remained slightly uneven, but there was no disappointment in her smile. "I thought I had you that time."
"You nearly did." Ren released her and returned the kunai. "The falling pouch was a good distraction. If I hadn't sensed you at the last moment, you would've landed the strike."
Rin accepted the weapon before reaching for his hardened hand.
"How did you do that?"
Her fingertips touched the scale-like markings on his palm. The skin felt cool, smooth, and unnaturally solid.
"You caught a kunai with your bare hand," she continued. "Was it some kind of genjutsu?"
"No. It's a ninjutsu I learned recently." Ren deactivated the ability, allowing the markings to fade. "It concentrates chakra into a limb and hardens the muscles, bones, and skin."
He deliberately avoided mentioning Orochimaru.
His connection to the Research Institute was not necessarily a secret, but the fewer people who knew about it, the safer everyone would be. If Root discovered that Orochimaru had recruited him, his friends might be questioned or watched.
Rin nodded thoughtfully.
"So it's similar to turning part of your body into a ninja tool?"
"That's one way to describe it. It's strong enough to block an ordinary kunai, but a chakra blade or a powerful ninjutsu could still break through."
Rin examined his hand again, fascinated by the possibilities.
"Can you use it on both arms?"
"I should be able to."
"What about your legs?" she asked. "If you hardened them before kicking someone, wouldn't it make your taijutsu much stronger?"
"That should work too, although I need more practice."
Rin's eyes brightened as another question occurred to her.
She stepped closer, completely unaware of how her phrasing might sound.
"Then this technique…" Rin tilted her head. "Can it harden any part of your body?"
Ren went perfectly still.
Rin blinked innocently.
The forest seemed to fall silent with him.
Even the insects stopped chirping.
For the first time that night, Ren had no idea how to answer her.