Silence was the only thing that occupied the battlefield tonight.
Every ninja of the Surprise Attack Squad stared in bewilderment at the boy who had just uttered those words.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"I admit you've got skills, kid, but this is pure arrogance!"
"Bastard! What do you mean by 'by yourself'?"
A wave of confusion turned into a torrent of angry shouts. They had just been fired up by his speech, and now he was telling them to pack their bags and go home?
Ren Uchiha had expected this. He raised his hand to suppress the noise, his eyes flashing with the trademark Uchiha disdain as he looked down upon them.
"That's right!" Ren barked. "I'm going alone! You bunch of useless failures will only drag me down!"
Shinichi Uchiha stepped forward, standing right in front of Ren, his voice booming with fury: "What did you say?! Ren Uchiha, don't get ahead of yourself!"
"Arrogance?" Ren chuckled, his dark eyes meeting Shinichi's with a cold, piercing gaze. "As an Uchiha Jonin, Shinichi, are you telling me you don't understand? Don't you know the terrifying gap between a true master and an average ninja?"
Ren swung his left arm, pointing toward the distant red smoke.
"I know! And because I know, I can't let you go! I'll tell you straight: the person on that mission is my superior, Ryuma Aburame! He alone could slaughter this entire squad! And any existence that forces Ryuma Aburame to fire a red signal is a monster that ordinary ninjas can't handle—a master you'll die just by approaching!"
Ren exhaled deeply, looking at the now-silent crowd.
"As your commander, I want you to live. Don't die for a meaningless goal. The world is that realistic. Those with power can ignore the weight of life in an instant. Charging in blindly will only result in you being mowed down like grass."
He gestured to the ruins around him, his voice icy: "Haven't I proved that enough already?!"
Looking at the crystallized craters and the charred remains of the Sand army, everyone swallowed hard. The pressure of the forty-meter blade, the despair of the fire dragon, and that earth-shattering explosion... if they had been the ones charging, they knew Ren was right.
When reality is stripped bare, all that remains is a suffocating sense of helplessness.
However, in that heavy silence—
"NO!"
A firm, youthful voice rang out. It was Shisui Uchiha. He stood before the crowd, right next to Ren. He stared coldly at the boy beside him, and then, he decisively let go of the arm he was using to support Ren!
"Whoa—Shisui?! What are you—?!"
Caught off guard, Ren lost his balance and collapsed onto the debris with a heavy thud. Dust billowed around him. Despite his struggles, he couldn't even manage to push himself back up.
The squad was shaken. Was this the same genius who had just dominated the battlefield like a soaring dragon? He was so weak he couldn't even stand?
"Ren Uchiha!" Shisui gritted his teeth, his eyes so red they looked ready to leak tears. He looked down at the fallen boy and roared: "I knew it! You idiot, you're doing it again!"
"Time and time again... why must you always try to carry everything yourself?!" Shisui pointed at him. "Do you see? This is the real you right now! So weak you're crawling on the ground like a worm! You spout those grand, arrogant words, but in reality?!"
Shisui suddenly drew his tantō and hurled it. The blade thudded into the ground right between Ren's legs, vibrating with a sharp hum. Ren broke into a cold sweat, feeling a literal chill between his thighs. One inch closer and he would have said goodbye to his "younger brother."
Shisui looked up, his voice trembling with emotion: "I know what you're trying to do... I know what you're thinking!"
"Ren Uchiha! You want to take this title, take the flag of the Konoha Surprise Attack Squad, and charge into a certain death! You want to prove we were here, shoulder the most dangerous task, take the blame for the mission's failure, and then gift all the glory and fame to those who live!"
"You want to use your life to build a bridge between the clan and the village... just like my ancestor, Kagami Uchiha!"
Shisui was shaking, his eyes bloodshot. He suddenly leaped forward and straddled Ren, pinning him down and landing a punch square on his face.
"Are you kidding me?! You call us childish?" Shisui grabbed Ren's tattered collar, tears finally streaming down his face as he screamed: "The truly childish one... is YOU!"
Ren blinked, his pupils vibrating in pure shock.
Holy Mother of Toads... Ren swore he hadn't thought that far ahead!
Charging with the flag? Taking the blame? Gifting glory? A bridge between the clan and the village?
Hell no! He just figured a "Heroic Man" shouldn't let the weak die for him, and a friend shouldn't be left in a lurch. With those two principles, he could dive into saving Ryuma without looking back. If he succeeded, great; if he lost, he had his "insurance" policy anyway! Plus, with Orochimaru busy elsewhere, no one could stop him from finally "clocking out."
But Shisui... this little clansman's inner monologue was so rich he had basically written an entire epic tragedy for him.
"You... you..." Ren's lips trembled. He looked at Shisui's tear-streaked face and honest, stubborn eyes. For a moment, he was speechless.
To the eyes of the crowd, this silence was the ultimate confirmation. Shisui had exposed Ren's "noble secret," leaving the boy unable to argue.
So that was it!
The squad's gaze toward Ren shifted instantly. They realized the boy's harsh words were a shield—a desperate attempt to save them. He was willing to trade his life for theirs, dragging a broken body that a three-year-old could knock over just to open a path for them.
In that moment, the way they looked at Ren Uchiha changed forever.