Chapter 208: Ino's Choice
The two figures stood at the center of the battlefield, illuminated by the cold moonlight. The rose in Ino's hand was now bare, a brittle, thorny stem that seemed ready to snap in the gentle breeze. She watched the last petal drift away, then took a long, shuddering breath and cast the barren stem aside. The girl who had pleaded was gone, replaced by the unwavering kunoichi, her resolve etched onto her face.
"I am Yamanaka Ino, a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village! Anyone who seeks to harm this village is my enemy!"
Ren watched the rose disappear, his heart a turmoil of conflicting emotions. He looked at her, his expression pained. "So... it's come to this after all," he said, a bitter smile touching his lips. "The only thing in Konoha I still held any fondness for... was you, Ino. If it were possible, I truly didn't want to..."
"I can understand your pain," she interrupted, her voice firm, cutting off his sentiment. "But you must also understand my duty. As much as it hurts me... a rose will always wither in the end." She shook her head, solidifying her stance.
"Is that so..." Ren slowly closed his eyes. He drew a deep, steadying breath. When they opened again, all traces of conflict were gone. Only a cold, hollow indifference remained. "Then let me see, Yamanaka Ino! Show me what you can do to stop me!"
He moved without hesitation, a blur of motion as he lunged at her, the Ryūko a silver streak. He couldn't afford to hesitate, and he couldn't let doubt weaken his resolve. Action was the only way to silence the turmoil in his heart.
Ino's heart ached, but her will did not break. With a sharp cry, she met the charge of the person who was both her oldest friend and her greatest enemy. Their blades met—his katana against her kunai—in a shower of sparks. There were no grand ninjutsu, no secret Yamanaka techniques. Just a brutal, intimate clash of steel and will.
Ren pressed his attack, his blade shifting into a horizontal slash aimed at her neck. Ino dropped into a low bend, the deadly edge whistling just inches above her, severing a few strands of her blonde hair. As she evaded, she didn't remain passive. Her kunai-hand shot forward, stabbing toward his abdomen.
With an instinctual twist, Ren avoided the thrust. His free left hand snapped out, locking around her wrist in a vice-like grip. In the same motion, he reversed his katana and brought the cold edge to rest against her throat, halting her movements completely.
In a brief, decisive exchange, he had subdued her.
"Is this all you have?" His voice was devoid of all emotion, a cold statement of fact in her ear. "At this level, you're not even worth my full attention, let alone capable of stopping me. If you move again, I cannot guarantee I will hold back."
With a sudden, forceful shove, he sent her stumbling backward. He didn't watch her fall. Turning his back, he redirected his fury toward the main body of Konoha's remaining forces.
As Ren's resolve hardened, so did the Nine-Tails' assault. It roared, a sound of pure malice, and launched itself at the already battered Konoha shinobi. Encased in the Susano'o's armor, it was an unstoppable force. Every swipe of a paw, every lash of a tail claimed lives. Konoha's desperate counterattacks—kunai, shuriken, weakened ninjutsu—shattered harmlessly against the divine chakra armor. They were fighting a losing battle, their chakra nearly spent, their spirits breaking.
And then Ren joined the fray. He became a whirlwind of death, the Ryūko an extension of his wrath. He moved through the Konoha ranks like a vengeful spirit, his every strike precise and lethal. Where he passed, shinobi fell. The battlefield, already a scene of carnage, descended into a new level of hell. The air filled with the wails of the dying as Konoha's casualties mounted exponentially.
Ino pushed herself up from the ground, her body trembling. She saw the slaughter, saw Ren cutting down her comrades with ruthless efficiency. It felt as if all the strength had been drained from her limbs. She collapsed to her knees.
"Why...?" she whispered, the word a broken plea. "Why...?"
The pain was unbearable. Helpless, bitter sobs wracked her body.
But after a moment, her crying ceased. A new, terrifying resolve hardened her features. She picked up her fallen kunai and stood.
"If I cannot stop you..." she murmured, her voice steady with a final, dreadful decision.
She charged. Her target was Ren's back, turned to her as he decimated the Konoha forces. She aimed her kunai for a spot between his shoulder blades, a killing blow on the man who would not listen.
Ren, lost in the throes of his bloody venting, sensed the killing intent from behind. He reacted on pure instinct, spinning with blinding speed, his katana thrusting out in a lethal counter.
It was only then that he saw her face.
His indifferent eyes shattered, replaced by pure, unadulterated horror. Regret. Disbelief.
It was too late. His thrust was too fast, too committed. He could only watch, a silent scream trapped in his throat, as the Ryūko in his hand plunged deep into the chest of the woman he had once loved.
A faint, accepting smile touched Ino's lips as her life began to fade.
"Then... let me die by your hands..."
"Ino!"
💀 WANT TO READ AHEAD? 💀
👉 JOIN MY PATREON — Patreon.com/The_Ripper_87
════════ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ════════
🔥 CURRENTLY AT CHAPTER 308: THE UNRULY AND THE UNSEEN🔥
⚡ SUPPORT THE STORY WITH YOUR POWER STONES! ⚡
🖤 EVERY STONE AND EVERY PLEDGE HELPS KEEP THE STORY GOING! 🖤
10% OFF ON PATREON TILL NOV 1