Chapter 114: The Monk's Request & The Shift in Guard
The Pure Land chat was a carnival of hypocrisy and barely-concealed lust. Tobirama's analytical curiosity, the Raikage's warriorly boredom, Yagura's casual interest, and Hyūga Hizashi's voyeuristic "academic review" all paled in comparison to the most shocking request.
[Regular: Fū (The Monk, Bunpuku)]: Amitābha. This humble monk… would also wish to borrow a copy for… discourse.
A beat of profound silence.
[VIP5, Admin: Tobirama Senju]: …Even the monk? I suppose the vows of celibacy ended with your heartbeat.
[Regular: Fū]: The Second Hokage misunderstands. This humble monk wishes to use this video, so full of worldly attachment and sin, to temper my spirit. To achieve a state of Zen-like stillness and unwavering resolve amidst temptation. It is… a form of ascetic practice.
[VIP5, Admin: Tobirama Senju]: You want to 'practice asceticism' by watching Fugaku and Mikoto's sex tape. Say no more. I understand. Monks are men, too. The Pure Land is boring. We all get it.
[Regular: Fū]: Second Hokage… you see through all yet speak it plainly. Please… spare this old monk some face. Amitābha…
It was the most transparent lie in the history of the afterlife. The collective, unspoken sentiment was clear: Send the link.
Fugaku Uchiha watched his private moment threaten to become the Pure Land's most requested streaming content, his horror reaching new depths.
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: YOU ANIMALS! JIANG! YOU PROMISED! DELETE IT!
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: Delete what?
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: THE VIDEO! OF ME AND MIKOTO! YOU SAID YOU'D DELETE IT IF I CALLED MINATO 'FATHER'!
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: Oh, that. I deleted it ages ago. Don't you remember? You must be confused.
[VIP1: Uchiha Fugaku]: BUT… YOU SAID YOU RECOVERED IT!
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: I was just saying that. This live stream system doesn't have a recovery function for deleted user-generated content. Yet. You took a joke seriously.
The exact same logic Fugaku had used to weasel out of the bet was now used to crush him. The poetic justice was exquisite.
Pfft— The sound of Fugaku's spectral blood pressure hitting critical levels was almost audible.
[VIP5, Admin: Tobirama Senju]: PFFT— HAHAHA! KARMA! INSTANT, BEAUTIFUL, UNDENIABLE KARMA! YOU LITTLE SHARP-TOOTHED FIEND, I ADORE YOU!
[VIP1: Uchiha Izuna]: …Idiot.
[VIP1: Uchiha Madara]: …An embarrassment.
[VIP2: Third Raikage]: A shame about the video, though. A real loss for cultural enrichment.
[Host: Ren Arakawa]: Let this be a lesson. A man's word is his bond. Even without a contract, honor should bind you. And Fugaku-sama… never doubt what I can do to make you comply.
The message was received. Loud and clear.
[VIP1: Minato Namikaze]: Ren… thank you. Truly. As a token… I have a collaborative technique. Something I derived from the Flying Thunder God.
[System Alert: VIP1 Minato Namikaze has made a donation!]
[Acquired: Flying Thunder God Technique: Lightning Guide!]
Knowledge flooded Ren's mind—a spatial re-direction technique. Not for teleporting oneself, but for instantly transferring a projectile, an attack, even a person, to a pre-marked location. The technique Minato used to save Konoha by warping the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Ball… and incidentally, vaporizing the Third Hokage's wife at Lake Biwa.
[Regular: Sarutobi Biwako]: …I was killed by the Nine-Tails' blast? I thought it was the masked man!
[VIP1: Minato Namikaze]: My deepest apologies. It was for the village. The angle… was unavoidable.
[Regular: Sarutobi Biwako]: …Using 'the village' as a shield. What can an old woman like me say?
Ren filed that tragic, messy bit of history away. So that's why Old Man Third is so stingy with Naruto's allowance. It's not just neglect; it's complicated, bitter grief.
Back in the physical world, the exhausted Naruto and Sasuke had stumbled back to Tazuna's house and collapsed into unconscious heaps on the floor, too spent to even eat.
Kakashi observed them with his customary languid eye. "Well. They're combat-ineffective. Our noon escort mission for Tazuna to the bridge is going to be understaffed."
"Mission?" Ren prompted.
"Tazuna needs to check on the bridge construction. We escort. But," Kakashi's gaze sharpened, landing on the snoring Naruto, "the primary asset's safety is paramount. You, as an Anbu intern attached to his protection detail, understand the weight of that."
Ren nodded. This was no longer a simple C-rank. With Kiri-nin confirmed, and a Jinchūriki on site, the calculus had changed drastically. Kakashi was thinking of Nohara Rin, of a Jinchūriki kidnapped and used as a weapon. The paranoia was professional, and justified.
"What's the plan, sensei?"
"Rotation. I guard Tazuna. You and Sakura stay here with Naruto. Or vice versa."
Ren considered for a moment. Sakura, despite her improved morale, was still sore and likely psychologically wobbly after the lake incident. She'd be a liability in a high-speed, ambush-prone escort mission. Here, defending a static position, she could be more useful. And he wanted a closer look at the bridge, at Gato's operations.
"I'll take Tazuna. Solo. You and Sakura hold the fort here."
Kakashi didn't object. He trusted Ren's capabilities, perhaps more than he let on. "Fine. Don't get cocky. Zabuza's still out there, and his companion is… elusive."
Sakura, who had been listening, bit her lip. A flicker of desire to go with Ren warred with the dull ache in her thighs and the sobering knowledge of her own current limitations. She wanted to be by his side, to prove herself. But the smarter part of her, the kunoichi part, knew she'd slow him down. She remained silent, a decision that spoke of a painful, newfound maturity.
"Understood," Ren said. He pulled a standard-issue kunai from his pouch and, with a flash of chakra, etched a tiny, intricate Flying Thunder God formula onto the handle. He tossed it to Kakashi, who caught it on reflex.
"Insurance," Ren said. "If things go to hell here, channel chakra into that. I'll be back before you can finish reading a page of Icha Icha."
Kakashi looked at the kunai, then at Ren, his eye crinkling in something almost like approval. "Try not to drag hell back with you."
Ren turned to leave, giving Sakura a brief, confident nod. She managed a small, determined smile in return.
As he stepped out into the noon sun with a grumbling Tazuna, the Pure Land chat finally moved on from its lecherous disappointment.
[VIP5, Admin: Tobirama Senju]: The host is dividing his forces. A risk, but calculated. He retains superior mobility with the Hiraishin. The copy-ninja is a formidable defensive asset. The team's overall survivability profile remains acceptable.
[VIP1: Uchiha Madara]: Action, at last. The waiting is tedious. Let us see if the boy can draw out the demon of the mist.
[VIP2: Third Raikage]: A solo escort against a wounded S-rank hunter-nin and his stealthy apprentice. Good. A test of true mettle!
Ren tuned them out, focusing on the road ahead, his senses fanning out, the cool weight of Minato's new technique resting in his mind alongside all the other deadly gifts from the grave. The walk to the bridge was quiet, the only sound the crunch of gravel underfoot and the distant cry of gulls.
It was the calm before the storm. And Ren was walking right into it, alone, with a smile.
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