Chapter 111: The Heartache of Responsibility & The Scumbag's Creed
Outside the seclusion of the woods, the world had moved on. Inside, Sakura Haruno emerged from behind a broad oak, her face a delicate shade of rose. She was no longer in her wet, clinging clothes, but wore a spare set of Ren's simple, dark training attire. It hung loosely on her frame, the sleeves rolled up, but pulled taut across her chest—a detail she pointed out with a shy, flustered glance.
"It's… comfortable. Just… a little tight here," she murmured, unable to meet his eyes directly.
Ren felt a flicker of surprise. This wasn't the bookish, Sasuke-obsessed fangirl or the determined kunoichi-in-training. This was a glimpse of a girl simply embarrassed by a boy's clothes, by the intimacy of the borrowing. It was… disarmingly genuine.
"Don't worry, Sakura," he said, his voice softening into a tone of gentle assurance he rarely used. He stepped forward and brushed a damp, pink strand of hair from her forehead, his touch light. "I'll take responsibility." He took her hand. "We should head back. Naruto's limited imagination will conjure something ridiculous if we're gone too long."
Sakura's blush deepened, but she nodded, a small, trusting smile touching her lips. "But… my clothes. What do I say?"
"You fell in the lake. I had spare clothes. A practical solution for a shinobi," Ren said, the lie smooth and effortless. "Simple."
"You're so clever," she breathed, her admiration plain.
But as she took her first step to follow him, she faltered. A sharp intake of breath, a slight wince that tightened her features.
"What's wrong?" Ren turned, his sensory abilities already telling him it wasn't an injury.
"It's… nothing. Just a little sore. My legs. From… from the swimming. Can we walk slower?" she asked, her voice small.
[Pure Land Live Stream – Chat Log]
[VIP5, Admin: Tobirama Senju]: 'Sore from swimming.' A statistically improbable claim for a chakra-user of her basic physical conditioning. The correlation coefficient between aquatic activity and that specific type of locomotor discomfort points to an alternate, more strenuous activity. The host is obfuscating.
[VIP1: Uchiha Izuna]: SHE CAN BARELY WALK! And he says they were just 'swimming'?! My one-minute brother had more believable excuses!
[Regular: Uchiha Mikoto]: Ren! She might be… new to this! You have to be gentle! Considerate!
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: Ren, you're being too rough. A new vehicle needs a careful break-in period. You can't just redline the engine from the start; you'll wear out the pistons and ruin the fuel efficiency for its entire operational lifespan!
The analogy was so bizarrely anachronistic that Ren nearly stumbled.
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: Fugaku-sama… sometimes I truly wonder if you've read manuals from another dimension. The terminology is… suspiciously specific.
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: Nonsense! It was in a strategic logistics pamphlet from the Land of Iron about maintaining siege equipment! Direct application of principle!
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: Right. Of course. Siege equipment. How… phallic.
They walked slowly through the dappled light, Sakura leaning on him slightly. She kept whispering, "You can't tell anyone, Ren. Promise. It would… it would look bad."
Ren squeezed her hand, his face a mask of earnest solemnity. "Sakura, I'm not that kind of man. I don't start things I can't finish. I said I'd take responsibility, and I will. To the end."
The words, delivered with perfect, grave sincerity, hit Sakura like a warm wave. Her eyes shimmered. "Really? Just hearing you say that… it's enough."
[VIP1: Kushina Uzumaki]: …He actually said that? He's… taking responsibility?
[Regular: Uchiha Mikoto]: Maybe we misjudged him. There's a core of honor beneath the shamelessness.
[Regular: Karura]: A beast with a conscience is still better than a beast without.
[Regular: Uchiha Izumi]: He looks so sincere right now…
[Regular: Rin Nohara]: To make such a promise… I'm a little envious of Sakura.
A chorus of softening female voices filled the stream, their earlier outrage melting into tentative approval.
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: Thank you for your understanding, ladies. I strive to be a better man every day.
[VIP1: Kushina Uzumaki]: You're welcome! A man who owns his actions is a real man! I support you!
[Regular: Uchiha Mikoto]: As do I! Cherish her, Ren!
[Regular: Karura]: Do your best!
[Regular: Uchiha Izumi]: Ganbatte, Ren-kun!
[Regular: Rin Nohara]: Be good to her!
[VIP2: Yagura Karatachi]: This is the natural course of youth! Do not fail her!
Ren let the wave of maternal and sisterly goodwill crest, then gently, expertly, steered it onto the rocks.
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: But, esteemed ladies… I fear there may be a slight misunderstanding. My vow to 'do my best' wasn't exclusive.
The supportive chatter died instantly.
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: As I've stated before, my dream is to offer warmth and happiness to all the wonderful girls in this world. To strive for that goal with all my heart. Sakura is one such wonderful girl, and I will cherish our time. But she is not the only destination on this journey. My heart, you see, is a public service.
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: And such a demanding public service requires support! Donations of techniques, perhaps? To help me in my noble, if arduous, quest to spread joy?
The silence in the Pure Land was absolute, followed by a psychic explosion of rage.
[VIP1: Kushina Uzumaki]: YOU UNSPEAKABLE, TWO-TIMING, SNAKE-OIL-SELLING, CON-ARTIST SCUMBAG! I TAKE IT ALL BACK! MAY YOU STEP ON A THOUSAND LEGOS!
[Regular: Uchiha Mikoto]: I REVOKE MY SUPPORT! PERISH!
[Regular: Karura]: I WAS BLIND! I'LL DONATE A KUNAI TO YOUR LIVER!
[Regular: Uchiha Izumi]: I'm glad I died young and never met you!
[Regular: Rin Nohara]: Compared to you, Kakashi's obsession with Icha Icha is a model of purity and focus!
[Regular: Sakumo Hatake]: …Please leave my son out of this.
[Regular: Pakura]: A beast's nature cannot be changed. Even a speaking beast is still a beast.
Ren chuckled inwardly, unfazed. He had successfully redirected their emotional investment from Sakura back to himself, and in a more useful form: furious attention was still attention, and it kept the stream lively.
As they neared the edge of the woods, the familiar chakra signatures of the team came into his sensory range. He gave Sakura's hand one final, reassuring squeeze.
"Remember," he whispered. "Lake. Spare clothes. Sore from swimming. Team cohesion exercise."
She nodded, her expression shifting from vulnerable girl back to determined kunoichi, though the warmth in her eyes when she looked at him remained.
The chapter ended as they broke from the tree line, stepping back into the sunlight and the waiting, complicated reality of Team 7. Ren wore the faint, unreadable smile of a man who had simultaneously comforted a girl, cemented a new dynamic, and expertly alienated a choir of dead women—all before lunch. The mission to protect Tazuna continued, but the interpersonal battlefield had just grown infinitely more complex.
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