Chapter 207: The Withered Rose
The voice—clear, familiar, and desperate—cut through the cacophony of the battlefield, striking a chord deep within Ren that he thought had long since hardened to stone. He froze, his killing intent faltering. The cold fury in his eyes flickered, replaced by a fleeting warmth, and a bitter, unconscious smile touched his lips.
As he stopped, a strange, tense quiet fell over the ruins of Konoha. The swirling smoke, the shattered buildings, the exhausted shinobi poised for a final, hopeless stand—all seemed to hold their breath, contrasted against this sudden stillness.
His gaze found the source of the voice. There, under the pale moonlight, stood Yamanaka Ino. No longer the soft-spoken girl of his memories, she was a kunoichi now, her ninja vest a testament to her resolve. The determination to protect her village was plain in her stance, but when her eyes met his, they held something more—a deep, personal anguish.
"Ino..." Ren breathed her name, the word a quiet sigh. The tension drained from his body.
"Ren-kun... what happened to you all these years?" Her voice trembled, weaving anger and heartbreak together. "Why have you become this? I know the Uchiha tragedy hurt you, but... didn't you still have me? Have us? Do you really want to destroy the village we grew up in with your own hands?" She wanted to shout, to accuse, but the words that came out were a plea. "Back then, even when you were depressed, you were still kind. But now...?"
He had rehearsed this moment in his mind a thousand times, steeling himself for her condemnation. Yet, hearing the real, pained confusion in her voice, he found himself at a loss for a moment. He could withstand the hatred of the entire village, but he could not easily harden his heart against her. He remembered the days he had feigned idiocy to escape Danzō's scrutiny, how others had treated him with pity or disdain. But Ino... she had always been different.
He felt he owed her a debt he could never repay.
"Ino," he began, his voice low and controlled, forcing his emotions down. "Many things are not as simple as they seem. I never wanted you to know the full truth about the Uchiha. I don't want you to know now. I'd rather you kept a good memory of me. As you can see, I've become everything you despise. The village you wish to protect... I will tear it apart with my own hands. Make no mistake."
"I don't believe it!" she cried out, her fists clenching at her sides. "I don't believe you can be so cruel! I still believe you're the lively, cheerful Ren-kun I knew! Even when the whole village called you a traitor, I never believed that was who you truly were! From the moment you became withdrawn, I held onto the belief that the Ren-kun in my heart would come back!"
"Stop deceiving yourself!" he snapped, his resolve hardening as he flicked his sleeve in dismissal. "You know there's no turning back for me. And I have no desire to look back."
Nara Shikamaru, having broken away from the others, stepped forward. "Uchiha Ren, what happened back then... it was for the peace of the village, for the stability of the ninja world. You were young then, perhaps you couldn't understand. But don't you understand now?" As Konoha's top strategist, he had his suspicions about the Uchiha incident, and Ren's actions had all but confirmed them.
"Peace?" Ren's laughter was sharp and hollow. "What a noble peace! For peace, you forced Itachi into a corner! For peace, you slaughtered my parents! For peace, you exterminated my entire clan! Is this the peace you speak of? If so, then I, Uchiha Ren, will grant Konoha an eternal peace!" His chakra flared, a volatile aura erupting from him like a volcano ready to blow.
"Ren-kun, stop! I'm begging you..." Ino's voice was a desperate whisper as she took a step forward, then another, ignoring the violent energy radiating from him. "I don't want the village to be destroyed, and I don't want you to be hurt... Please, just listen to me, just this once..."
"Ino, get back! He's not the Ren you knew anymore!"
"Ino, it's dangerous! Don't go near him!"
"That murderous intent... Ino, don't!"
The warnings from her comrades fell on deaf ears. She continued her slow, deliberate walk toward him, as if she had been waiting for this reunion for years, never imagining it would be under such circumstances.
Watching her approach, Ren's violent aura did not abate. The Nine-Tails beside him snarled, its hostile eyes fixed on her. "Give it up! Nothing you do will change my mind!"
Ino didn't stop. She walked right up to the edge of the killing intent radiating from him.
"I said, get away from me! If you come any closer, I won't be merciful!" he roared, his voice losing its usual cold control, becoming uncharacteristically agitated.
"If I have to watch you destroy the village with your own hands... then it's better I die by them first, Ren-kun..." Her voice was steady, her gaze unwavering. "If you truly cannot let go of this hatred... then kill me first."
"I told you to GO AWAY!" With a furious sweep of his arm, he generated a concussive wave of wind pressure. It slammed into Ino, hurling her backward several feet to land hard on the ground.
She pushed herself up, her eyes still locked on him. "Ren-kun... is there really no other way?"
He offered no reply, his silence a more profound answer than any words.
"Okay... I understand." Slowly, she stood up. Her clenched fists relaxed. She reached into a small pouch at her hip and pulled out a single, withered rose. Its petals were dry and brittle. A gentle breeze stirred, plucking the fragile petals from the stem and scattering them into the air between them.
It was the rose he had given her when they were children.
"I'm sorry... I can't walk with you any longer," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind. "But I really... really wanted to keep walking with you, just like when we were children." A single tear traced a path through the dust on her cheek. "Ren-kun... I've always loved you the most."
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