{A quick recap- 6 months time skip after the Danzo debacle, Ren left the village to save his dad who was being hunted Kakuzu and his partner after Danzo's request to Obito to keep Ren out of the village for Danzo's trial. Juichi survival is still a question for now, but he's safe and kills Kakuzu's partner, Ren fights Kakuzu and wins after killing him. However the problems do not end there, Obito invited Cloud and Stone shinobi with Zetsu's help, however Ren had already healed too much, so they aren't being too much of a problem to him currently, Ren is currently on a rampage killing off many shinobi from the alliance, and even C had died so the chances of this ending peacefully is even less now, now the Stone and Cloud forces are almost on their last legs, and the true fight would begin from now.}
~Leaf Village~
~Hokage Office~
Hiruzen sat behind his desk, the old wood creaking faintly under his arms as he leaned forward, his eyes moved between the two men in front of him, Danzo and Yoru. Two men he never expected to see sitting in the same room without blood being spilled in the recent times.
For a long moment, no one spoke. The faint smoke from the incense pot drifted lazily in the air, curling and twisting in the dim light that filtered through the open window. Finally, Hiruzen sighed, a long, weary sound that carried decades of frustration and exhaustion and turned his gaze to Danzo.
"Danzo," he began, voice firm but edged with disappointment, "why did you escape custody when your trial is in just a few days? You do realize this only makes you look more guilty, don't you?"
Danzo's one visible eye hardened, and his lips pulled into a cold snort. "I received information that certain unsightly elements have entered the Land of Fire's borders. I know what you all think of me, that I'm guilty of crimes I haven't even committed. But I am still a shinobi of the Leaf. The village's safety comes before my own convenience. Even if I must risk my so-called innocence for that, then so be it."
Hiruzen's brows tightened, but before he could respond, Yoru's voice cut through the air, calm, dry, and sharp as a knife.
"Firstly," Yoru said, "you violated the agreement that kept you out of a cell in the first place. You were allowed house custody on the condition you wouldn't move without permission, and yet here you are. Second, all your visible Root forces have been detained, which means you've been hiding another private force that was never reported to the council."
Danzo's single eye turned toward Yoru, but he remained silent.
Yoru's tone didn't shift in the slightest as he continued, "And third, even that so-called secret force of yours doesn't seem to be very competent, since they didn't know the 'unsightly element' you're talking about is already being handled as we speak."
Danzo leaned slightly back, his face impassive. "Oh? Then do tell, Commander Yoru, who exactly did you send to handle him? Because anyone capable of facing that kind of threat is either sitting in this room or tied up with other missions."
Yoru leaned back in his chair, arms crossing loosely. "I didn't send anyone," he replied. "He volunteered. I simply gave him the go-ahead."
Danzo's expression darkened slightly, but Hiruzen's gaze sharpened. "You sent Ren?" he asked, his tone low, controlled, but clearly weighted with concern.
Yoru nodded once. "Yes."
There was a flicker in Hiruzen's eyes, a subtle tightening of his jaw. He leaned back in his chair, the pipe on his desk untouched. For all his complicated feelings about the boy, especially after the Danzo incident Hiruzen still saw Ren as the village's future. A weapon, yes, but also a symbol of what the next generation could become.
Sending him to face someone like Kakuzu… it was far from a safe decision.
Yoru said nothing further. He didn't need to. The silence that followed said enough.
Before anyone could speak again, a knock echoed through the office.
"Come in," Hiruzen said.
The door opened, and Utakata stepped in. He looked a little tired, his robe dusted with dirt as if he'd come straight from a mission.
He gave a brief bow. "Hokage-sama," he said. "One of Ren's clones just appeared near me carrying an unconscious Juichi. The clone handed him over and asked me to inform you that the mission has been completed. However… there have been some unexpected changes. Because of that, he won't be able to return immediately."
Hiruzen's eyes lifted slightly, surprise flickering behind them.
Across from him, Danzo's expression darkened for the briefest second almost imperceptibly but the man smoothed his face almost instantly, pretending disinterest.
Hiruzen caught the movement, but let it slide for now. Instead, a small smile formed on his lips as he exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"So," Hiruzen said quietly, "it seems young Ren will finally have his official entry on the S-rank list."
Utakata blinked, then his face lit up with genuine surprise and pride. He opened his mouth to ask something, but before he could speak, another flicker of movement filled the room.
An ANBU knelt beside Hiruzen, whispered a few words into his ear, and vanished just as quickly as he came.
Hiruzen's hand, which had been reaching for his pipe, paused midair. His gaze flicked between Danzo, calm and unreadable and Yoru, who looked as detached as ever, leaning back like he was watching a play unfold. Utakata, still standing near the door, looked between them in confusion.
With a tired sigh, Hiruzen finally reached for his pipe, lit it, and took a slow drag before speaking. "The Daimyo," he said, exhaling smoke through his nose, "has just sent word. An unexpected situation has arisen in the capital, and because of that, he's decided to prepone Danzo's trial to tomorrow."
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
Hiruzen continued, "He's already on his way to the village as we speak."
Utakata's head turned immediately toward Yoru, his expression uncertain, but the ANBU Commander didn't react. He stayed still like a man watching a game of shogi play itself out. Seeing him calm, Utakata didn't say anything either just gave a small nod and remained by the door.
Danzo's lips pressed into a thin line, his fingers resting lightly on the armrest of his chair. Whatever calculations were turning in his head, he kept them buried under his usual mask.
Hiruzen finally stood, his joints creaking faintly. He looked out through the wide window of his office, the village below bathed in the golden-orange light of dusk.
"I'm getting too old for this," he muttered, half to himself, half to the smoke curling from his pipe.
The words hung in the air for a long moment before he spoke again, his tone turning sharp and commanding once more.
"Prepare for the Daimyo's arrival. Arrange for Danzo's trial at sunrise. And…" His eyes narrowed slightly. "…find out what the hell this 'unexpected change' is that's keeping young Ren from returning."
The room was silent for a beat before Yoru stood, gave a crisp nod, and disappeared in a flicker.
Utakata followed soon after, leaving only Danzo sitting across from the Hokage, both men staring at each other, their thoughts hidden behind decades of masks.
Hiruzen exhaled again, his pipe glowing faintly in the dim light.
~Yoru's Office~
Yoru sat back in his chair like a man who'd been waiting for this conversation all morning; his posture was casual, almost indifferent. Facing him were Shikaku and Utakata, their faces were taut with unease.
Shikaku was the first to break the silence as he asked. "How did Danzo's trial get moved up to tomorrow? It was supposed to be a week from now. And why didn't you object?"
He leaned forward, fingers steepled. "We've been shaping Ren as the spearhead of the village's future. Right now he's out on a mission. If the trial goes ahead while he's away and things spin out of control afterwards, who do we have to steady the place? He's the best person for that. Either the trial waits until he returns or we make damn sure he gets back before dawn."
Yoru didn't move he just exhaled once, slow and deliberate, then answered without haste. "There are reports coming in from several of the micro-villages across the Land of Fire. Rumors of rebellion, isolated skirmishes that could spread. The Daimyo has decided those threats take priority over any internal trial. He believes the stability of his seat is at stake. That's why he's asked for the trial to be done sooner, handle Danzo first, then deal with the rebelling villages."
Shikaku's eyes flickered, annoyance and disbelief trading places across his face. "Does the Daimyo not see the pattern? Danzo's trial appears, his son goes missing, now reports of uprisings crop up around the same time. If he still doesn't see the connection, what hope do we have for the future?" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, the motion heavy with pessimism.
Yoru's tone did not change, but his voice carried a steely edge. "He understands," he said quietly. "But he is not a shinobi. He reacts like a lord worried about his house. When his son disappeared, he feared the political fallout; he delayed because he thought he might be able to save his bloodline. Now the threat is to his rule directly, rebellion on his borders. He's scared, and a scared ruler makes short-sighted decisions." He paused, watching both men absorb the logic. "That said, this can be turned to our advantage."
Utakata's brow creased; Shikaku's mouth tightened. "What are you talking about?" Shikaku asked. "How is Danzo's trial without Ren advantageous for us?"
Yoru leaned forward for the first time, hands resting on the armrests with deliberate calm. "If the Daimyo is tied up managing border uprisings, his attention is torn from Konoha's internal matters. We'll have a window. A distracted lord doesn't have the bandwidth to micromanage a village. That gives us flexibility to take more decisive measures internally, measures we couldn't contemplate if the Daimyo were focused squarely on Konoha's affairs. Some extreme measures could also be undertaken which we couldn't before."
"The word you used, 'extreme' measures," Utakata said slowly, voice low. He and Shikaku exchanged a glance that said more than any question. "You mean…"
Yoru's reply was as detached as ever, almost clinical in tone.
"Yes. A cleanup. Purging elements that would destabilize the village before we hand it off to the next generation. If Ren isn't here, the decision to press forward remains unchanged; the trial will occur. But with the Daimyo preoccupied, we will have the breathing room to carry out what is necessary without immediate external interference."
Shikaku's jaw worked. He looked older in that moment, the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. "So you're really going forward with this," he muttered, more to himself than to Yoru.
Yoru's nod was small, unadorned. "Yes." He folded his hands and leaned back again, voice flat. "The village needs a cleanup. A pond that's been left to rot will poison the whole stream if it's not drained. We can't leave Konoha to the whims of people who'll squander it. Better a hard, quick cut now than years of infection."
~~~
~Battlefeild~
The surviving Stone and Cloud shinobi stood opposite Ren, their breathing heavy, chakra reserves thin, eyes bloodshot and trembling. In contrast, Ren stood amidst the rubble, alone, unmoving, faint steam still rising from his body as the aftereffects of the Fifth Gate rippled faintly through the air. His gaze was calm, almost detached, scanning every movement, every flicker of chakra around him.
The tension was suffocating. The stone shinobi couldn't comprehend it, how Ren, even while constantly shifting through the battlefield at impossible speed, could still maintain the fight of control of the sealing formation. It made no sense. To them, that level of multi-tasking, controlling a battlefield-wide Fuinjutsu while engaging multiple elite opponents should have been impossible for a human. And yet, Ren did it as if it was nothing more than breathing.
The uncertainty was eating away at their nerves. So, they did what came most naturally to them, they changed their approach. Kitsuchi, who had been silently watching Ren's movements, exhaled deeply and turned to the older Fuinjutsu master beside him, his face drawn with fatigue but his tone steady.
"Tell Elder Hishiro to hold the formation as long as possible," Kitsuchi ordered firmly. "If he loses control, abandon the array and come here. We'll make our final stand." His voice lowered, grim resolve setting in. "The chances of escaping are already slim. So, let's stop thinking about retreat. We turn this into a death match."
The Fuinjutsu master hesitated briefly, reading the seriousness in Kitsuchi's expression before nodding and rushing off toward the back lines. Kitsuchi's eyes flicked toward Ren again, he could see that monster's calm gaze, unreadable and unmoving, staring back at him through the rising dust. It made his heart tighten.
Then, he turned to Yugito, who stood a few meters away, her chakra still flaring faintly from her earlier transformations. "Yugito," Kitsuchi said, his tone low but commanding, "we don't have much of a choice left. Turn on full Jinchuriki mode."
Yugito's eyes flickered slightly in annoyance as she heard Kitsuchi order her. But she saw the determination in Kitsuchi's face and knew he was saying it because he was desperate.
"…Alright," she finally muttered, her voice firming as she crouched slightly and pushed off, landing a few meters away to create distance. Her chakra began to shift violently, flickering between blue and violet flames as the beast within stirred.
Kitsuchi inhaled sharply, turning back to his troops. "All Stone shinobi!" he shouted, his voice booming across the battlefield.
"Formation Five! Support and surround him!"
Dozens of battered voices responded in unison. "Yes, sir!"
Even though they knew what awaited them, death, most likely, they moved.
They were Stone shinobi.
They had seen their comrades die, and many had already made peace with their own end. Their eyes turned bloodshot, filled with rage and grief as they surged forward, spreading out around Ren, closing the circle. The ground trembled under the synchronized stomps of their boots and the activation of chakra-infused jutsu beneath their feet.
Kitsuchi raised his hand and roared again, "Even if we die here, we'll make sure the killer of our comrades dies too! Follow me!"
~~~~~
{Too many things happening all at once, hope everything goes well for Ren.}