38:the man beside me…is stronger than me
Three full years had passed since Benimaru had first crossed the bridge to the demon realm. And now it was time to go back.
His blank eyes stared at the black portal without interest. His feet moved forward and crossed—his vision changing instantly.
What surrounded him was a luscious green forest filled with wildlife and plants. His eyes roamed around the area as he began to move.
The land was covered by rivers, which made the forest even more beautiful.
The feet of the boy moved steadily and slowly as he traversed the land. The boy's ears perked at the sound of fighting.
Once close enough, his gaze caught an interesting sight. Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi were locked in a battle with an unknown figure.
The figure was clad in a pure black cloak with dark clouds.
Their battle raged on for several minutes as Benimaru simply watched.
Through their battle, the figure who had been identified as Deidara was dodging their attacks using his clay bird—until Kakashi destroyed it.
Causing him to fight on land—making the fight flow in their favor.
But Benimaru couldn't care less about that. What he cared about was the mistakes the team were making.
Naruto's chakra flow is too inefficient.
Sasuke's positioning should've been better.
Kakashi should coordinate his team better.
All were things that wouldn't change the outcome, but would make the fight a lot easier.
As Sasuke's lightning blade pierced cleanly into Deidara, a declaration flew from his mouth.
His ultimate technique, CO, would be unleashed—and would kill everyone here.
Deidara's body puffed and absorbed air from the surroundings—preparing to blow himself up.
Team 7 had nearly accepted their fate. A feeling of helplessness washed over them.
But at the last second, a blade pierced cleanly through Deidara's heart. Infused with the flame of hellblaze, it nullified any form of chakra manipulation—effectively preventing his explosion.
Before the sensation of agonizing pain could even course through his body, he could see his own body.
Deidara's head dropped to the ground as he could clearly see himself. His frame burned intensely before evaporating into ash.
The body of Benimaru stood over his severed head—the light fading from his eyes. Team 7 stared at the man who had saved them.
Benimaru had used a transformation jutsu, changing his appearance seamlessly. His golden hair switched to an ethereal white.
His bright yellow eyes burned with a searing red glow—piercing the heavens themselves.
Naruto's face twisted into pure awe, while Kakashi and Sasuke had similar expressions. Their faces morphed into suspicion and caution—never dropping their guard.
Throughout the fight, a nagging suspicion had gnawed at Kakashi that someone was watching. He couldn't sense them—but he never doubted his instincts.
As he noticed their suspicion, Benimaru's hands were lifted into the air as Astral was sheathed.
"I'm not here to fight you," his tone was calm, like stating a fact. "I helped you kill him." His foot kicked the decapitated head of Deidara.
Sasuke and Kakashi's guards were lowered slightly, but their fingers never lost their grip on their weapons.
"Who are you?" Sasuke's tone was sharp as he spoke first.
"Ren Takumi, a bounty hunter without a village," Benimaru's voice was calm as a lie escaped his lips. He had already decided his course of action once arriving.
"Why did you help us?" Kakashi took a more steady approach to his questioning. A sly smile graced his lips.
"I saw you in danger and decided to help," despite the kind implication of his words, the tone Benimaru used never changed—still as monotone as ever.
His tone caused angst to gather in the two ninja's hearts—but Naruto was none the wiser.
The young ninja stepped forward, a gleeful grin spread wide across his face.
"Wow, you're really strong. You didn't even get hurt," Naruto's tone was a mix of honesty and genuine awe as his teammates sweat-dropped. He was too trusting.
But Kakashi decided to trust his student.
"Since you don't have anywhere to go, would you like to join the Leaf Village?" Kakashi's offer was genuine, and it caused an uproar within Sasuke.
"Are you sure about this, Sensei? We don't even know him," the frantic tone in Sasuke's voice was evident.
Kakashi casually waved him off.
"Don't worry about it. I trust Naruto's judgement. Besides, I can't sense any bad intent from him."
But Kakashi's inner thoughts were rather inconspicuous.
'In fact, I can't sense any intent from him at all.'
Ren accepted their request, and the team of four traveled back to the Sand Village—countering Sakura and Chiyo on the way.
After explaining the scenario about Ren, the group arrived at the village along with the entire population—mourning the loss of their leader.
Naruto held Gaara's cold, lifeless body in his arms as he clutched him tightly. A hand tapped at his shoulder lightly.
Lady Chiyo took Gaara's body into her embrace, using her secret technique—she revived Gaara—sacrificing her own life in return.
At the end, Gaara was revived, and a celebration was held in his honour. Team 7 couldn't stay, however, as they had to report the mission to Lady Tsunade.
After about half a day of travel, the group had arrived at the gates of Konoha. The guards immediately recognized them—but a weird look was directed towards Ren.
Although it was to be expected, he was a person who had never been seen before. Of course, he would create confusion.
The team eventually separated, as only Ren and Kakashi proceeded to the Hokage office for the briefing.
Tsunade made a side glance to Ren when he entered but didn't question it. After letting Kakashi finish, she finally spoke.
"So who's your friend?" Her eyes twitched slightly. "You can't just bring a random ninja into this village."
Ren chose to keep quiet while Kakashi spoke for him.
"He isn't just any random ninja," Kakashi's voice held total seriousness. His previous playfulness was gone in an instant. "This man beside me…is stronger than me."
"Kakashi," Tsunade's eyes sharpened like a predator sizing up prey. "Do you understand the weight of what you are saying?"
"Yes, I do, Hokage-sama," the white-haired ninja replied seriously.
The female Hokage simply sighed in response. Her gaze shifted to Ren.
"Why did you come to the Leaf?"
"To become a ninja."
The fist of Tsunade slammed downward against her table—breaking it instantly.
"Don't fuck with me," her tone deadly as her anger rose to extreme heights. "Someone as powerful as you could have gone to any village, yet you didn't. You could've easily denied Kakashi's invite—so why didn't you?"
Her words hung in the air for a second as Ren considered his options.
His first option was to simply kill Tsunade and Kakashi. He could transform into her and use a demon summon to replace Kakashi—granting him control over the village.
'But that's too impractical,' he thought. 'Someone would find out eventually.'
So Ren chose his next best option.
"Because it's where I can make the difference that matters." His words were tinged with a false sincerity that left a bitter taste in his tongue.
But it seemed to fool the two shinobi, as Tsunade calmed herself. She grabbed a headband off her table and handed it to Ren.
"Your ninja evaluation test will be tomorrow. Be prepared."
As Kakashi opened the door for him, they both exited the room together.
In the crevices of his mind, Astra's voice echoed.
'Doesn't that sincere smile contradict your emotionless tool mentality?'
'Not at all. After all, a tool must be capable of hiding its true nature at will. How much more a perfect tool such as I?'
A fake smile graced his lips, which caused a tint of pink to appear on Astra's cheeks. But a frown immediately struck her face.
The only reason she didn't oppose his new mentality is because it's the only thing keeping him sane.
"I hope you can find someone to be your light in this cruel world…Benimaru."