When Ren heard Kakuzu's flat words, he shut his mouth without protest. It wasn't cowardice, far from it, it was wisdom.
He had learned long ago that sometimes silence did more work than a clever tongue. Right now, he wanted to stall for as long as possible. Even if he couldn't fully mend the damage inside his body, even a partial recovery was worth the effort. His organs were still a mess despite the rosy color returned to his face, and though his regeneration paired with his control over yang chakra was impressive, deep, complete healing was not something that came instantly.
He needed time.
The easiest way to buy time against enemies wasn't with flashy jutsu, it was with words. If they were the kind of opponent who enjoyed talking, who had the patience for a conversation, Ren could sometimes stretch those moments into five, even ten whole minutes before blows were exchanged. That could mean the difference between victory and disaster.
But others, the short-tempered ones, the restless killers, they attacked instantly if they felt mocked. Kakuzu had already proven himself to lean toward the latter type. If Ren pushed too far, he might not even get a few more seconds. So, wisely, he fell silent.
Seeing him stop, Kakuzu's hollow eyes studied him for a beat before he finally spoke, his voice like gravel dragged across steel.
"So, you're the runt who's been interfering with my business?"
Ren shook his head immediately, his expression twisting into an almost comical look of innocence.
"No sir, I would never dare."
Kakuzu tilted his head, a flicker of confusion crossing his otherwise lifeless face.
"So you weren't doing bounty hunting?"
Ren nodded without hesitation.
"I was."
The older man's face darkened noticeably at that, his voice dropping lower and becoming heavier.
"Then why refuse?"
Kakuzu was a straightforward man. He didn't have much tolerance for word games or people who bent meanings around just to be clever. His mind was too direct, too practical for that. Ren, however, smiled faintly and replied in the most literal way possible.
"Well, you asked if I was interfering with your business, which I wasn't. I was just training, testing myself. Trying to increase my strength… and, of course, collecting bigger bounties."
The grin that followed only made Kakuzu's aura shift, the atmosphere thickening as his face grew completely dark. He looked ready to end things right there, to slice the boy apart without another word.
But before the strike could come, Ren spoke again, his voice light, almost conversational.
"By the way, I heard you survived against Granduncle. Is that true, or just some story people made up?"
Kakuzu blinked once. A low mutter left his lips.
"Granduncle?"
Then his hollow eyes widened a fraction, something old stirring in their depths.
"That's right… I remember now. Who you remind me of. That bastard Hashirama." His voice dropped, tinged with a weight of memory. "You've got that same annoying mouth he had. Always running. Never shutting up."
Ren tilted his head, rubbing the back of his neck with mock shyness.
"Oh come on, you're gonna make me blush if you keep saying things like that."
Kakuzu's gaze lingered on him in silence. His instincts screamed at him to simply rip the boy apart and be done with it. He wanted to. His body leaned toward the kill, but something made him hesitate.
Nearly a century of survival had sharpened his instincts beyond reason, and his gut told him clearly, charging in blindly would be a mistake.
The brat wasn't normal.
There was something off about him. He could feel traces of residual chakra lingering near the roots of the tree, they were faint but undeniable, which was a proof that preparations had been made.
If Ren knew what was happening in Kakuzu's head, he would've laughed and patted his past self on the back. His simple act of using water release to clean away the blood earlier had paid off far more than expected. That little trick had planted doubt, bought him hesitation, and with hesitation came time.
And time was all Ren needed.
Five minutes.
In just five more minutes, his body would recover enough that the damage inside him wouldn't hinder his fighting ability anymore.
That was more than enough.
~
Since Kakuzu wanted to make sure there wasn't any Fuinjutsu formation hidden nearby, and Ren wanted more time to heal, both of them were strangely content letting the stalemate drag on a little longer.
Neither rushed and neither moved. The air was still, save for the faint creak of leaves overhead and the slow drip of melted ice cream running down Ren's fingers.
And since Ren was a good boy who followed the teachings of generations to "respect his elders," he decided to take the lead in conversation again.
"By the way," Ren began casually, "your partner's pretty weak. Why would someone like you willingly team up with him?"
Kakuzu's pale eyes shifted slightly, his voice flat.
"He's dead?"
Ren nodded without a shred of hesitation, answering like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yeah. Didn't even need me to lift a finger. My dad handled him alone." He paused, then snickered as he added, "Lol, imagine how he feels. Gets killed by someone weaker than him, missing an arm, and still couldn't keep himself alive. Bet he's writhing in the Pure Land."
Kakuzu didn't respond at first. His face gave nothing away, but his thoughts stirred.
'I was considering swapping out my water heart with his. Shame. He died before he could be of any use to me.'
His gaze slid back toward Ren, who was absently licking at his ice cream like nothing in the world mattered. The boy let the melted cream drip onto his hand and lazily cleaned it off in small licks, almost like a cat grooming itself. On the surface, he looked harmless, even childish.
But Kakuzu knew better.
Because of Earth Grudge Fear, he was highly attuned to elemental chakra, sensitive to its signatures, its density, its shape. And what he felt radiating from the boy made his long-dead heart clench in annoyance.
Ren wasn't just sitting on one or two affinities. Kakuzu could feel traces of all five elements flickering in his body, and none of them felt shallow. They weren't just passable or weak imitations, there was refinement there, the refinement of real mastery.
The water chakra was the one that lagged slightly, faint compared to the others. But the earth chakra… the density, the weight of it, the depth of control, it was strong. Strong enough to match his own.
That truth made Kakuzu feel worse than he expected. He had lived nearly a century, spent his entire life perfecting his elemental control through endless battle and survival, and yet here sat some brat, what, nine? Maybe ten years old?, with earth chakra that rivaled his own.
It was unfair.
But Kakuzu had long ago accepted that the shinobi world was full of unfairness. Talent, bloodlines, luck, opportunity, none of it mattered if the other person ended up dead. The only thing that lasted was what you took for yourself.
And if the brat had good talent? Even better. If he killed him, the boy's heart would belong to him anyway. That thought alone cooled whatever frustration lingered.
With that settled, Kakuzu finally began to concentrate again. His senses extended, patient and sharp, combing over the area carefully. The chakra traces around the tree caught his attention, they were faint, like a spill quickly cleaned up but nothing pointed toward a sealing formation. Not a large one, not even something subtle and dangerous. Just scraps of chakra use. The type of thing that didn't pose a real threat.
After a long while, Kakuzu was able to confirm it.
There was no hidden Fuinjutsu array. No trap waiting to spring.
Which meant… he could finally begin the attack.
~
Glancing at Kakuzu, Ren suddenly let out a quiet sigh.
'It seems like I can't get any more time. Oh well.' He gave a little mental shrug. 'Didn't expect to get this much time in the first place.'
He looked at the man in the black cloak, clearly calculating his next move, and Ren started running through his own options.
'Alright… Eight Gates are off the table. My body's still wrecked; forcing them open now would be suicidal. Hardening is usable. But even with hardening , engaging in hand-to-hand with someone like him in my current situation is just asking to get ripped apart.'
Ren had spent years memorizing the fighting styles of high-level shinobi, so he wasn't walking into this blind. Kakuzu was dangerous for two main reasons.
The first was obvious, his "immortality" trick, the Earth Grudge Fear with its five hearts and so many tendrils. To most shinobi, that was the stuff of nightmares. But for Ren, it wasn't as terrifying. He had a couple of methods tucked away that could deal with multiple lives so that part of Kakuzu's kit didn't worry him much.
The second reason, however, was what made things complicated, Earth Spear. Ren had knowledge from anime and manga and even gathered enough intel after arriving here to know what that meant. Kakuzu could harden his body to absurd levels. Taijutsu against him wasn't just risky it was borderline suicide in Ren's current state.
Even if he could match Kakuzu blow for blow with his baseline stats, it wouldn't last long. His strength, speed, and stamina without the Gates weren't enough for a prolonged brawl against someone like this.
Ren's mind flickered back to the anime, Kakuzu overpowering Choji when the boy had gone full giant, shrugging off Kakashi's jutsu like it was nothing. That wasn't someone you played with in close quarters.
'So hand-to-hand is limited. Jutsu spam, then?'
He thought back to Kisame. Against him, Ren had simply flooded the man with attacks until he had no space to breathe. That could work here too as Kakuzu didn't have Kisame-level chakra reserves, not by a long shot.
In theory, overwhelming him with ninjutsu should force mistakes, break through his defense, and burn out those hearts.
But the problem wasn't execution. The problem was Kakuzu himself.
Unlike Kisame, who had a hot head and a love for brutal head-on battles, Kakuzu wasn't emotional. He was cold, practical and detached. If he saw the fight turning unfavorable, he wouldn't keep pushing forward out of pride. He'd cut his losses and slip away, vanish into the mist of history. And if that happened, Ren already knew what the shinobi world would say.
More rumors and even more exaggerated tales about Kakuzu escaping from the Senju line. "The man who survived Hashirama," they'd call him again, and the story would only grow.
That couldn't be allowed. Not if Ren wanted to keep his peace for a bit longer and not going around slaughtering people who would definitely chew his ear off.
He rolled his tongue against his teeth, his gaze steady on Kakuzu.
'So… straight Taijutsu's out. Jutsu spam alone won't corner him. Which means I need to adjust. My strategy has to keep him locked in, cut off his retreat, and force him into a situation where he can't just run away.'
Ren shifted slightly on the branch, his face still the picture of boredom, ice cream dangling loosely in one hand. Inside, though, his Hyperfocus was already spinning gears. Options layered themselves. Earth and water for control. Fire and lightning for offense. And wind, his natural element which he hadn't used in a long time, that had to be saved for the finale.
After all, wasn't there a perfect, tried and tested finishing move ready to be used and becoming known in the world.
The Rasenshuriken.
~~~~~
{Btw Ren's 11, about to turn 12 in a week, he's just thinking nine or ten due to Ren's height.}
{Also, do you think Ren would actually succeed in killing Kakuzu or would Kakuzu leave Ren in a dire starits?}
{Don't worry though, this time it won't be like with Kisame, even though Ren is mildly injured, he still has a lot of things up his sleeves, some of which even I don't know so he's not really at a disadvantage, plus he's got no load to carry this time, just him and murder, how fun.}
{BTW this arc has been finished on pat and the next one has already started and that one is an action heavy arc too but with a bit more dialogue.}
{If you want, you can support me on pat-reon}
{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }
{You know what else}
{STONES!!!!}