Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara locked eyes.
Neither spoke.
Neither looked away.
Yet somehow, an invisible battle erupted between them.
No chakra.
No hand seals.
No weapons.
And yet the tension was more than enough to make nearby students instinctively step back.
It was the kind of rivalry neither girl should have been old enough to understand.
And yet…
They understood it perfectly.
The night before, after returning home, Kurenai had spent hours replaying Ren’s confession in her head.
By now, she’d reached an uncomfortable conclusion.
Ren probably hadn’t been entirely serious.
At least not about the timing.
The confession had clearly been aimed at provoking Asuma.
The problem was that she couldn’t tell how much of it had been fake.
And now, less than a day later, he’d confessed to Rin too.
Kurenai, you idiot.
She silently berated herself.
You should have accepted immediately.
Whether Ren had been sincere wasn’t the important part.
Feelings could develop later.
Opportunities couldn’t.
Suddenly, her mother’s drunken wisdom resurfaced from the depths of her memory.
“When you find a good man, grab him before someone else does.”
At the time, Kurenai had dismissed it as nonsense.
Now?
She wasn’t so sure.
Across from her, Rin wasn’t any calmer.
The two girls continued staring at one another.
Silent.
Evaluating.
Calculating.
Trying to establish territorial rights over a boy who wasn’t even aware territory was being claimed.
Then Rin unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself.
A faint blush crept across her cheeks.
“Ren’s arms were surprisingly strong…”
Kurenai’s eye twitched.
A short distance away, Asuma looked like a man suffering from internal bleeding.
“What exactly do they see in him?”
Had the entire world gone insane?
Ren was obviously a terrible choice.
The guy had confessed to Kurenai yesterday.
Rin today.
At this rate, he’d probably confess to a tree tomorrow.
And somehow the girls were glaring at each other instead of him.
Asuma’s heart hurt.
Deeply.
Still, he forced himself to calm down.
He exchanged glances with several nearby classmates.
A silent signal passed between them.
Then they began moving.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Like hunters stalking dangerous prey.
Asuma remembered every word his father had said.
“Solve your problems like a shinobi.”
At first, he hadn’t understood.
What did instructors always teach?
Shinobi relied on deception.
Ambushes.
Traps.
Misdirection.
Winning before the enemy even realized a battle had begun.
Especially against opponents stronger than yourself.
And in Asuma’s mind, nobody was more dangerous than Ren Akihara.
Therefore, his father’s meaning was obvious.
Ambush him.
Beat him.
Take revenge.
Asuma felt incredibly clever.
Together with several accomplices, he slowly closed in on Ren.
Their killing intent hidden.
Hands slipping into ninja pouches.
Waiting for the perfect opportunity.
Meanwhile, Ren had nearly finished another educational session with Obito.
“Honestly, Obito.”
He shook his head.
“You need to train harder.”
Obito lay face-down in the dirt.
Too exhausted to respond.
“At this rate, next year you’ll be babysitting my future children with Rin.”
Silence.
Then—
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
Obito exploded back to life.
The boy sprang upright like a corpse escaping its grave.
“You want Rin to have your children?!”
“Of course.”
Ren looked genuinely puzzled.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
Obito nearly suffered a fatal emotional injury.
Meanwhile, Ren remained completely serious.
He had never understood people who claimed relationships got in the way of becoming stronger.
A sword became sharper through proper maintenance.
That seemed obvious.
The real problem was effort.
Dating sounded exhausting.
Romance sounded exhausting.
Courtship sounded exhausting.
Why spend months carefully building a relationship when—
“AAAAAAHHHH!”
Obito charged again.
Ren casually swatted him back into the dirt.
The discussion ended immediately.
And that was the moment Asuma struck.
“NOW!”
His eyes flashed.
The trap sprang shut.
A brick appeared in his hand.
“DIE, REN!”
Several accomplices moved at the same time.
Steel pipes.
Wooden clubs.
Improvised weapons from every direction.
For a brief moment, it actually looked impressive.
Silent approach.
Explosive attack.
A textbook ambush.
Far away, two hidden observers reacted instantly.
Beside him, Shisui Uchiha’s expression changed.
“That’s bad.”
Neither of them had interfered earlier.
Kids fighting was normal.
This wasn’t.
A brick to the head?
Steel pipes?
Were these idiots trying to commit murder?
The two prodigies moved immediately.
Unfortunately—
They were too far away.
Asuma grinned.
For the first time in years, victory felt within reach.
No restraint.
No mercy.
No hesitation.
This was revenge for every beating.
Every humiliation.
Every—
CRACK!
The brick shattered.
Asuma froze.
Fragments fell from his hand.
Then—
SNAP!
A steel pipe smashed into Ren’s arm.
The pipe broke cleanly in half.
Then—
CRUNCH!
A wooden club exploded against his back.
Splinters flew through the air.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Asuma slowly lowered his gaze.
The brick in his hand was now several smaller bricks.
Then he looked at Ren.
Not a scratch.
Not a bruise.
Not even a wrinkle in his uniform.
Hell, his hair wasn’t even out of place.
Ren slowly turned around.
His expression was strangely disappointed.
“I was wondering why you all kept sneaking closer.”
His gaze drifted over the battlefield.
The shattered brick.
The broken pipe.
The splintered club.
The frozen attackers.
Then back to the remains of the brick.
A long pause followed.
Finally, he spoke.
“…That’s it?”
The disappointment in his voice was devastating.
Asuma felt his soul leave his body.
In the distance, Kakashi and Shisui fell silent as well.
For the first time, a troubling thought surfaced in both their minds.
Is this kid actually human?