Chapter 236: The Law of the Nadeshiko
BOOM!
The force of the blow didn't just kill the man; it sheared clean through the mechanical suit he rode. A shower of sparks erupted from the bisected machine before it detonated in a concussive fireball. The shockwave was nothing to Suigetsu, who stood firm amidst the debris, but the girl who had been standing nearby was sent stumbling backward, her fine features dusted with grime and soot.
"Tch," Suigetsu scoffed, flicking a piece of scrap metal from his shoulder. "All that noise for a bug." He slid the massive Kubikiribōchō back into its harness on his back with a practiced motion and sauntered back to Ren's side. "Problem solved. What a waste of space. The nerve of some people."
"Let's go," Ren said, his voice devoid of any interest. He turned on his heel, dismissing the two kunoichi from his world as if they were mere scenery. His momentary peace had been shattered, and his patience had run its course.
But trouble, once invited, is seldom so easily dismissed.
"Wait!" a sharp, feminine voice called out from behind them. "You think you can just walk away after that?"
Ren paused, then slowly turned. His cold gaze fell upon the young woman, Princess Shizuka. She was glaring at him, her body trembling slightly—whether from anger, adrenaline, or the lingering shock of the explosion, he couldn't tell and didn't care.
"Is there something you need?" he asked, his tone flat and utterly uninterested.
"You…!" she sputtered, infuriated by his dismissive demeanor. The sheer audacity of his indifference after such violence left her speechless.
Seeing her struggle for words, Ren's lip curled in a faint sneer. He turned away once more. "We're leaving."
"Damn you! Nadeshiko Ryū: Whirlwind Fist!" Enraged by his repeated disregard, the princess lunged. Chakra flared around her right fist, condensing into a vortex of air as she aimed a powerful, spiraling strike at the center of his retreating back.
Ren didn't even bother to fully face her. He sensed the attack coming—the shift in the air, the flare of chakra. It was clumsy, telegraphed, and slow. At the last possible moment, he shifted his weight, his body moving just enough for the chakra-laden fist to whistle harmlessly past his shoulder. Carried by her own momentum and the force of her missed attack, the princess stumbled forward, her balance lost.
She never regained it.
In the same fluid motion he'd used to dodge, Ren's hand shot out, the edge striking the back of her neck with surgical precision. There was a sickening thud of flesh meeting nerve cluster. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious before she even registered the impact.
The entire exchange lasted less than two seconds.
"Lord Shizuka!" the middle-aged kunoichi cried out, finally snapping out of her stunned paralysis. She rushed to the girl's side, cradling her head and checking for a pulse. Finding her only unconscious, she let out a shuddering breath of relief, her terrified eyes lifting to meet Ren's impassive stare.
He looked down at them, his expression one of profound boredom. He turned to leave for the third and final time.
"P-Please… wait!" the older kunoichi stammered, her voice trembling.
Ren stopped. A wave of palpable agitation rolled off him. He turned his head, and this time, his gaze was not merely cold—it was lethal. He did not shout. He did not need to. A suffocating wave of killing intent erupted from him, so dense and heavy it felt like the air itself had turned to ice water, freezing the kunoichi's lungs and making her heart stutter in her chest.
"I… I mean no offense!" she gasped, sweat beading on her forehead. "I just… I must know… your name!"
The sheer, primal terror she felt was overwhelming. How many lives… how many souls has this man reaped to possess a killing aura this profound? And Lord Shizuka was defeated by him… According to the law of our village… this…
"Uchiha Ren," he stated, the name dropping into the frozen air like a shard of obsidian. "You are welcome to seek vengeance. If you dare."
With that, he turned and walked away, Suigetsu and the others falling into step behind him without a backward glance. They left the middle-aged kunoichi kneeling in the dust, the name echoing in her mind.
"Uchiha… Ren," she whispered, the blood draining from her face. "The one who brought Konoha and Kumo to their knees… No wonder. With his power… our entire village would be nothing to him. If he does not honor our law… then we are lost." She could only sigh in utter helplessness, hoisting the unconscious princess onto her back and retreating from the scene.
***
Having lost all interest in the town, Ren and his team made their way toward the outskirts to find lodging.
"Heh~" Suigetsu grinned, his sharp teeth showing. "I really thought you were going to turn them into red paste back there, Boss. Letting them off so easy? That's not like you. But I get it, she was a cute one. Hard to smash a pretty face, right?"
Ren's gaze slid toward Suigetsu, the temperature around them seeming to drop several degrees. "Suigetsu," he said, his voice dangerously quiet. "You talk too much."
While he would never admit it aloud, Suigetsu's assessment held a grain of truth. The girl's youth and spirit had been mildly amusing, a fleeting distraction not worth the effort of a true execution. Had it been anyone else, the outcome would have been far less merciful.
"The two of them were from the Nadeshiko Village," Karin stated suddenly, having been quietly processing the information.
"Nadeshiko Village?" Suigetsu's interest was piqued. "Oh, right, that all-female ninja village. I've heard of it. Not a single guy in the whole place."
Ren's curiosity was faintly stirred. A village comprised entirely of women—the Naruto world's equivalent of the Kingdom of Women.
"Correct," Karin confirmed, pushing her glasses up her nose. "Because it's a women's village, their candidate for leadership must prove her strength by challenging powerful outsiders. It's a core tenet of their law: any man who defeats their champion is to be… recruited… into the village. Given that girl's status, she was likely their next village chief."
Suigetsu's eyes widened, and a loud, barking laugh escaped him. "Eh?! Wait, so by their law, since the Boss defeated their future leader… does that mean he has to marry into their village? He's supposed to become the 'First Man' of Nadeshiko?"
A profound silence fell over the group. The sheer, absurd irony of the situation was not lost on any of them.
Ren's eye twitched, the only outward sign of his internal reaction. He continued walking, his pace unwavering. "Their primitive customs are of no concern to me," he stated, his tone final. "We have a Mizukage to intercept. Do not speak of this again."
But as they moved on, the ghost of a thought lingered in the air—the image of Uchiha Ren, the man who challenged nations, being bound by the quaint and formidable laws of a village of women. It was a notion so bizarre it was almost… intriguing.
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