Snapped back to herself by Minato's reminder, Rin hurriedly pulled a small porcelain bottle from her medical pouch. She tipped a single blue pill into her palm, then quickly fed it to Ren.
The medicine dissolved almost the moment it touched his tongue. It was cool and bitter at first, but within seconds a gentle warmth spread through his body, flowing into his depleted chakra pathways and easing the painful emptiness there.
Ren exhaled slowly. The tension in his shoulders loosened at last.
"Thank you, Minato-sensei," he said, voice still a little weak. Then he turned toward the girl beside him. "And thank you too, Rin."
Neither Minato nor Rin thought much of his condition. In their eyes, this was simply what happened when a young shinobi overused ninjutsu in a desperate battle. Ren had just killed two enemy chunin-level opponents in succession. If he were completely calm and unaffected afterward, that would have been far stranger.
Minato gave a short nod, then motioned for Rin to help Ren sit off to the side and recover.
"I'll handle the rest."
With a puff of smoke, a Shadow Clone appeared beside him.
Without wasting another second, Minato sent his original body toward the direction Kakashi and Obito had gone, intending to support them in case the situation there had escalated. His clone remained behind on the battlefield, crouching beside the scorched corpse of the tall, thin enemy shinobi.
The man had taken the full force of the Great Fireball head-on.
At this point, there was hardly anything left to identify. His clothes had long since burned to ash, and most of the flesh had been blackened beyond recognition. Minato could only inspect the bones, the density of the frame, and the scars etched into what remained. Even so, for a shinobi of his level, that was enough to form a rough judgment.
After a while, he rose to his feet.
"His strength was above that of an ordinary chunin," Minato said calmly. "Close to special jonin level. He was trained for close combat, swordsmanship, earth release, and tracking. A shinobi like that is not a random drifter."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"He was most likely one of Sunagakure's specially trained assassins. There's also a chance he came from Amegakure, or even that he was a spy from the Land of Lightning gathering intelligence in this region."
He glanced at Ren.
"Even Kakashi wouldn't find someone like that easy to deal with. The fact that you killed him alone is impressive."
Ren blinked, then gave a small, tired smile.
The praise mattered.
Not because he needed flattery, but because it came from Minato Namikaze.
Minato's gaze shifted, thoughtful now rather than merely appraising.
"The technique you used earlier… Instant Hell Shadow Kill Formation, was it?"
Ren straightened a little despite his exhaustion. "Yes."
"The concept is very interesting," Minato said. "It overlaps in some ways with a new technique I've been researching recently. But there are still parts that can be refined. The structure of the movement, the timing of the substitutions, and the way the killing intent is concealed could all be improved."
Then, in the same mild tone, he added, "After this mission is over, let's find time to talk about it properly."
Ren's eyes lit up at once.
"Really?" He almost forgot to breathe for a moment. "Then… thank you in advance, Minato-sensei."
That simple sentence meant far more than it seemed.
A jonin team leader was not necessarily a true teacher.
On paper, they were superior officers responsible for the safety and growth of their students. In practice, how much they actually taught depended entirely on the individual. Some taught wholeheartedly. Others gave only the minimum. Some passed on their signature techniques. Most did not.
Even in the future, Kakashi would only truly pass Chidori to Sasuke, and Guy would only personally guide Lee down the brutal road of the Eight Gates.
Ren and the others had already been assigned to Minato's team for over two months. During that time, Minato had taught them field awareness, discipline, survival habits, chakra control exercises, and combat judgment. Valuable things, all of them. But he had not yet begun teaching them true high-level ninjutsu, much less his personal specialties.
Not the Flying Thunder God.
Not fuinjutsu.
And now, even if Minato had only offered to help improve one technique, it was still a sign that the distance between them was shrinking.
That mattered.
A lot.
Ren silently made up his mind. He had to seize this chance. Once this mission was over, he would push carefully but firmly. Step by step, he had to get closer to Minato's core teachings.
Of course, Minato himself seemed less interested in all that gravity.
He tilted his head and added with complete sincerity, "Though I do think Instant Hell Shadow Kill Formation is decent… are you absolutely sure you don't want to rename it something more impressive?"
Ren had a bad feeling about this.
Minato smiled brightly.
"How about Body Replacement Spinning Superb Illusion Multi-Stage Assassination Technique?"
Ren: "..."
Rin bit her lip to hold back a laugh.
Even in the middle of a dangerous mission, Minato-sensei was still Minato-sensei.
Not long afterward, Kakashi and Obito returned.
The moment they appeared, it was obvious something had happened.
Their clothes were dirtied, their breathing was uneven, and Obito looked more annoyed than frightened, which usually meant he had nearly gotten into serious trouble.
After hearing the explanation, the situation became clear.
They had gone to fetch water but were ambushed midway by an enemy genjutsu specialist. The opponent had cast the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing or perhaps a layered trapping illusion similar to the Fox Heart technique, splitting them apart and dragging them into separate false environments before they could properly react.
Obito, despite being an Uchiha, had failed to notice the illusion at first.
Kakashi had been the one to detect it.
He broke free, disrupted the trap, and forced the enemy to retreat before the assassin could finish either of them off. But the enemy shinobi had been cautious and experienced. The instant the ambush failed, they fled without hesitation.
By the time Minato reached the area, the opponent was already gone.
Obito returned and, as expected, immediately rushed toward Rin.
"Rin! Are you okay? Were you hurt? Did anyone attack you? Did that guy touch you? Tell me what happened!"
Rin, used to this by now, helplessly waved him off. "I'm fine, Obito. Calm down."
Meanwhile, Kakashi said nothing.
He walked past them all and stopped at the edge of the ruined battlefield.
The crater left by the fireball was still there, blackened and ugly, its edges melted into glassy slag. Ash drifted faintly in the morning air. At the center lay the remains of the enemy shinobi, curled and ruined.
Kakashi stared at the scene for a long moment.
Then his gaze shifted toward Ren, who was leaning against a tree with his eyes half-closed, recovering what little chakra he could.
A strange light flickered in Kakashi's usually dull eyes.
He knew Minato-sensei could use Fire Release.
But he also knew Fire Release was not Minato's specialty.
Which meant there was only one likely answer.
That crater had been made by Ren.
A nine-year-old.
A silence settled inside Kakashi's chest, though he never voiced it aloud.
At the same time, Ren's own mind was anything but silent.
Inside his inner world, the familiar noise had already begun again.
[Great Fireball Technique:]Little Ren! That last blast was amazing! Truly amazing! The flames were perfect, the pressure was perfect, the impact was perfect! I've never felt so alive! Our bond has deepened tremendously!
[Clone Technique:]What nonsense. Obviously it was because of us. Without proper clone coordination, could he have created that opportunity? Please. Learn your place.
[Hatake Sword Style:]Hmph. That final slash was barely acceptable. One might say it carried one percent of my former elegance.
[Body Replacement Technique:]You're all too noisy. Precision and timing were the real keys to victory.
The chatter continued, one technique after another competing for credit, sounding less like jutsu and more like a room full of opinionated older sisters fighting over a child.
Then, as always, one calm voice cut through all of it.
[Transformation Technique:]Enough. All of you, be quiet. Let Little Ren rest. He is only nine years old. After everything he has gone through tonight, he is exhausted.
Ren's eyelid twitched.
Why did that sound so strange when phrased like that?
But thankfully, once the so-called eldest sister spoke, the others quieted down.
At last, peace.
He leaned more heavily against the tree stump and allowed himself a few precious minutes of genuine rest while Minato and Kakashi cleaned up the battlefield, erased traces, and prepared for immediate departure.
About twenty minutes later, they were ready to move.
Ren had recovered some chakra, though not much. Enough to walk. Enough to fight if he absolutely had to. Not enough for another explosive battle.
Minato quickly assigned positions.
Kakashi took the front.
Obito guarded the side while helping carry the wounded.
Rin supported Ren.
Minato remained at the rear.
Without another word, the team slipped back into the forest.
Moonlight filtered down through the sparse canopy, casting broken silver shadows over the ground. The night was quiet in that uneasy way only war zones could be quiet—too still, as if the darkness itself were waiting for blood.
No one spoke much during the journey.
Obito occasionally grumbled under his breath.
Rin kept an eye on Ren's condition.
Kakashi remained alert at the front, sharp as a drawn blade.
Minato said nothing, but the tension around him had changed. His expression was gentle as always, yet his eyes had grown colder.
The enemy activity near the border was increasing.
That much was undeniable now.
And when enemy shinobi began appearing in numbers, in coordinated ambushes, the meaning was never good.
By the following morning, the squad finally arrived at Vermilion Bird Town.
Compared to Wildfire City, this outpost was smaller and less prosperous, but it was still an important border station. Around thirty to forty Konoha shinobi were stationed there, organized into over a dozen teams responsible for patrol, reconnaissance, response, and message relay.
The moment Minato handed over the intelligence and briefed the commanding jonin, the atmosphere changed.
The man's face darkened almost immediately.
Even so, he remained polite.
"Thank you for bringing this information so quickly, Minato."
Minato noticed the shift at once. "What happened?"
The jonin hesitated, clearly weighing whether the children in Minato's squad should hear it. But after a brief pause, he lowered his voice and spoke anyway.
"We just received urgent news from the front."
His jaw tightened.
"Sunagakure has used the disappearance of the Third Kazekage as an excuse. They formally demanded entry into the Land of Fire to conduct a search."
Obito frowned. "A search? Inside our territory?"
"It was never about a search," Kakashi said flatly.
The jonin gave a grim nod.
"Konoha refused, of course. And after being denied…" He exhaled slowly. "They crossed the border anyway."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then he continued, each word heavier than the last.
"Sunagakure forces have already invaded multiple points along the border. Several Konoha outposts have been attacked in succession. Casualties are rising. The fighting is severe."
Rin's expression went pale.
Obito stiffened. "You mean—"
"Yes," the jonin said.
His voice was low, but it hit like thunder.
"War has begun."
The world seemed to fall silent for an instant.
The breeze moving through the outpost.
The footsteps of passing shinobi.
The clatter of supplies in the distance.
Everything felt faintly unreal.
Ren stood there without moving, but his thoughts had already sunk deep.
So it had finally started.
The Third Great Ninja War.
Not rumors.
Not small-scale friction.
Not secret assassinations hidden in the shadows.
A real war between villages.
A war that would swallow countless lives, shatter borders, and turn the entire ninja world into a furnace.
He knew, more clearly than anyone around him, what that meant.
This was only the beginning.
The battles to come would grow bloodier.
The enemies would grow stronger.
The missions would become more cruel, more desperate, more unforgiving.
Children would be sent to kill and die.
Heroes would be forged.
Monsters too.
Minato's gaze swept across his team. He did not panic. He did not show anger. But the calm in his face had changed into something far more serious.
"Everyone," he said, "from this moment on, treat every mission as a battlefield operation. Do not assume safety anywhere near the border. Do not lower your guard for even a second."
His golden hair stirred lightly in the wind.
The warmth of the teacher was still there, but now it stood beside the steel of a true wartime jonin.
"Stay alive first. Everything else comes after that."
Kakashi gave a short nod.
Rin swallowed and nodded as well.
Obito clenched his fists, the usual complaints gone from his face.
Ren looked toward the distant horizon.
Somewhere beyond that line, the sands of Sunagakure had already begun to move.
Somewhere beyond it, shinobi were already killing each other in the name of nations, orders, pride, fear, and survival.
A new era had opened.
And none of them would be allowed to remain children for much longer.
Sunagakure had declared war.
The Third Great Ninja War had officially erupted.
Ren slowly tightened his fingers at his side.
The medicine in his body had not fully settled. His chakra was still not restored. His muscles still ached from battle. But beneath the exhaustion, something else was rising—a cold, steady resolve.
If war had come, then he would face it.
If the world intended to crush him, then he would become strong enough to tear through it first.
This was no longer a time for hesitation.
No longer a time to hide behind age, talent, or potential.
Only strength would matter now.
And Ren intended to survive long enough to claim all of it.
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