Seeing Juichi finally wake up, both Utakata and Ren turned their full attention toward him.
Juichi groaned softly as he tried to push himself upright, muscles trembling as if even that simple motion took effort. Utakata was already there, steady hands guiding him back before he strained too much. He slipped an arm behind Juichi's shoulders and brought a cup of water to his lips.
"Slowly," Utakata said.
Juichi took a few careful sips, the water trembling slightly as his hand shook. After a moment, some color returned to his face. He leaned back against the pillow, breathing evenly, then glanced between the two men in the room.
"How long have I been asleep?" he asked hoarsely.
Ren, lounging in the chair beside the bed, answered immediately, tone far too casual for the situation. "You were half-dead, to be precise. Not merely asleep." He tilted his head. "But yeah, it's been about a day."
Utakata's brows knit together. He turned toward Ren and asked. "His condition wasn't that severe when you brought him in. What kind of injuries did he actually suffer?"
Ren leaned back further in the chair, letting it creak slightly as he exhaled. "It's… complicated," he said after a moment.
"Hard to explain without going into the details of the technique itself, and that would take a while." His gaze shifted back to Juichi, losing some of its usual levity. "But for your understanding, this wasn't a normal chakra injury or a flesh injury. It was damage from something… higher order."
Utakata frowned deeper, but before he could press further, Ren turned fully toward Juichi, posture straightening.
"And Dad," Ren said, voice firm now, "don't use that technique again. Not for a while. Even I took internal damage trying to stabilize you. That should tell you how bad it was."
Juichi's eyes widened slightly, confusion and alarm mixing together. "You…" His voice sharpened. "Did you try to fix the flow damage?"
Ren nodded once.
Juichi's reaction was immediate.
"Are you insane?" he snapped, voice suddenly loud despite his weakened state. "Of course that would leave you with internal injuries! I'm surprised it stopped there! No one is allowed to interfere with the Flow, that's the one absolute truth of this world!"
Ren nodded calmly, almost irritably. "Yes, Father Dearest. I know."
His eyes hardened a fraction. "But I learned from you. From the man who reversed the Flow entirely. So forgive me if I was a little inclined to mess around."
Juichi shook his head repeatedly, frustration clear. "That's different," he insisted. "What I did was follow the natural course and turn it around for a moment, it was something controlled. Something my body could bear the consequences of in exchange."
Ren leaned forward slightly. "And yes, your body could bear it," he agreed. "But I could see it. With both my eyes. Your Flow was cracked, splintered even. You were about to die, so I had to act even if it was dangerous."
Juichi's expression hardened instantly, fear flashing through it before turning into anger. "Then you should have left it alone!" he shouted. "Messing with the Flow is what killed your mother!" His voice trembled, raw emotion breaking through. "You think I could bear your death too? A death that happened because you tried to save me?"
The words hung heavy in the room, sharp and painful.
Before Ren could respond, before the argument could spiral further, Utakata's voice cut through them like a blade.
"Shut up. Both of you."
The sudden command snapped the tension clean in half. Ren and Juichi fell silent, their heated glares lingering on each other for a second before both reluctantly looked away.
Utakata exhaled deeply and rubbed his temple. "This 'Flow' nonsense is already giving me a headache," he muttered. "And I don't even want to know what it is."
He straightened and looked between them. "But you two are clearly agitated. So calm yourselves before speaking again. I don't want to deal with emotional explosions on top of medical ones."
With that, he turned and walked out of the room, the door sliding shut behind him with a soft click.
The room fell into silence.
Juichi lay back against the pillow, staring at the ceiling, chest rising and falling slowly. Ren sat motionless in his chair, jaw tight, eyes fixed somewhere between the floor and the bed.
After Utakata left, the room fell into an awkward, heavy silence.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke. The faint hum of the hospital's barrier seals and the distant footsteps in the hallway were the only sounds. Then, almost comically, both of them sighed at the exact same time.
"I'm sorry."
The words overlapped so perfectly that they both froze, then looked at each other in surprise.
Ren blinked first. Juichi stared at him for half a second longer.
Then both of them burst out laughing.
Juichi laughed until it tugged painfully at his chest, forcing him to wince and settle back into the bed. Ren leaned forward, elbows on his knees, grinning like an idiot.
Juichi exhaled and shook his head. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"
Ren shrugged. "Genetics."
Juichi's smile softened, then he turned serious again. "Listen, brat. I know you care about me." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "But if something happened to you because of me… I wouldn't be able to live with that. I mean it."
Ren opened his mouth, but Juichi raised a finger, cutting him off.
"So promise me this," Juichi continued. "You won't do anything that puts you in danger for somebody else, anyone. You prioritize yourself first, always."
Ren stared at him for a second, then his lips curled upward.
"Oh?" he said lightly. "That's funny. I remember you saying something very different."
Juichi narrowed his eyes. "Don't."
Ren ignored him completely and straightened, adopting a gruff tone and posture that was painfully familiar, he even tucked his right arm inside his clothes.
"You'll understand why I lost my arm later," Ren mimicked, voice roughened just enough. "When you find people you truly care for. For them, you'd even be willing to die."
Juichi stared at him in disbelief. "…Did you just quote me?"
Ren nodded solemnly. "Word for word. Tone was a bit off, though. You sounded cooler."
Juichi raised a brow. "Oh yeah?"
Ren nodded again, entirely unrepentant.
Juichi clicked his tongue and waved a hand weakly. "Well, I'm an adult. I'm allowed to change my statements whenever I want, age privilege." He fixed Ren with a look. "So care for yourself more than anybody else. Got it?"
Ren leaned back in his chair, grin widening. "Well, my age allows me to be stubborn."
Juichi sighed, already defeated.
"So I'll do whatever I want," Ren finished cheerfully. "Deal with it."
Juichi rubbed his face with his hand and muttered, "Not just your looks… even your stubbornness is exactly like your mother."
Ren flashed a peace sign in response. "Inherited trait."
For a moment after that, neither of them spoke. The laughter faded, leaving behind something quieter. The kind of silence that only existed between people who had already said everything important.
Then Ren spoke again, voice lower.
"…What did you mean earlier?" he asked. "When you said Mom died because she was messing with the Flow."
Juichi's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
"I've heard a different story," Ren continued. "More than one, actually."
Juichi didn't answer immediately. His gaze drifted to the ceiling, unfocused, as if he was staring through it instead of at it.
After a long pause, he asked, "Have you seen the Butterfly Sage?"
Ren nodded once. "Yeah."
That alone told Juichi more than a dozen follow-up questions could have.
Juichi exhaled slowly. "Then you already know that what the village believes isn't the full truth." His voice was quiet now. "What really happened is… complicated, messy and dangerous knowledge."
Ren didn't interrupt.
"I'll tell you everything," Juichi continued after a moment. "Once all of this is over. When things settle down."
He closed his eyes briefly. "You deserve the truth. Just… not right now."
Ren nodded. He already had most of the pieces arranged in his mind he just needed one final piece of information and everything would become clear.
"That's fine," Ren said simply.
He stood, stretching his arms over his head. "I'll go wash up and find the commander. He's supposed to explain tonight's plan to me." He glanced back at Juichi. "I'll visit again after that."
Juichi nodded. Then, as Ren reached the door, he added casually, "Oh, right."
Ren paused and turned.
"Happy birthday, kid."
Ren blinked, then smiled. "Thanks."
"I'll give you a proper gift once I'm not half-dead," Juichi added. "Something good."
"I'll hold you to that," Ren replied, saluting lazily before stepping out.
The door slid shut.
Juichi let out a slow breath and closed his eyes, intending to rest.
A few seconds passed.
Then his eyes snapped open.
He glanced toward the far corner of the room, where the shadows didn't quite sit right.
"Well," Juichi said dryly, "you might as well stop sneaking around."
The shadows rippled, and Yoru flickered into existence, arms folded, mask removed, his full face in clear view, especially the heterochromatic eyes.
Juichi sighed. "Hello, dear?"
~~~
Yoru's Office
By the time Ren settled into Yoru's chair, the room already felt too small.
It wasn't crowded in the physical sense, there was more than enough space to move, but the people gathered there carried weight and Power.
Ren leaned back in the ANBU Commander's seat like it belonged to him, one arm draped lazily over the armrest. Behind him stood Kakashi and Itachi, both silent, both still, both watching everything without seeming to.
It was an unsettling combination, one man who saw too much and another who felt too much, standing guard behind someone who didn't pretend to be either.
Across from them, Shikaku and Fugaku occupied the two chairs. Shikaku sat forward, fingers steepled, eyes sharp and analytical as ever. Fugaku's posture was straight, composed, his expression unreadable, but his gaze flickered now and then toward Itachi.
Along the walls, Utakata leaned with his arms crossed, while Hiashi stood rigid and silent, his presence cold and disciplined, as if he were already standing in a battlefield rather than an office.
They were all waiting.
Ren tilted his head slightly and glanced at Shikaku. "Shikaku-san," he said casually, breaking the silence, "how many people does Danzo still have? The ones we're at least aware of."
Shikaku didn't answer immediately. Instead, his eyes drifted briefly over the strange tableau in front of him. Ren in Yoru's chair. Kakashi and Itachi behind him.
It looked less like a meeting and more like a scene from the future.
Finally, Shikaku leaned forward. "Aside from Fu and Torune," he said evenly, "we estimate around a hundred Root operatives still hiding within the village."
Ren hummed softly.
"They'll probably gather once it's dark," Shikaku continued. "That's when Danzo always preferred to move. The Uchiha police force and several jonin teams are already patrolling, sweeping district by district. We'll catch some of them before nightfall, but not all."
Ren nodded, absorbing the information without comment.
"I'll walk the village too," he said after a moment. "Round up as many as I can."
Finding Root operatives for him wasn't difficult. With his observe there was no difference between hiding and not hiding. Once he started looking, they stood out like stains.
Before anyone could add more, the door opened.
Yoru walked in.
The room shifted instantly.
It wasn't dramatic, no surge of chakra, no sound but the balance changed all the same. Conversations stopped and Attention aligned.
Yoru stopped at the table, mask angled downward, and spoke without preamble.
"Finding the ones inside the village isn't the real problem."
His voice was calm, detached, but there was an edge to it.
"The real issue," he continued, "is the ones he hid."
He turned slightly, addressing the room as a whole. "Over the years, Danzo could have hidden hundreds, possibly thousands. Sleeper cells, orphaned units, contingencies stacked on contingencies. Even if half of them are dead by now, we must assume the worst."
An army.
Shikaku's expression darkened. He already knew that, but hearing it said out loud made it real in a way numbers on paper never did.
Yoru's gaze locked onto Shikaku. "Have the jonin forces and Choza on standby in full readiness. If anything moves outside the village, they intercept."
Shikaku nodded immediately. "Understood."
"Kakashi," Yoru added, not turning his head, "you'll follow them. If something goes wrong, you're the fail-safe."
Kakashi inclined his head. "Got it."
The room was already shifting into motion when Ren spoke again.
"Before we proceed," he said, voice light but cutting through the tension, "I think we should add one more name to the list."
Everyone's attention snapped to him.
Ren reached into his coat and placed two rings on the table.
~~~~~
{Well well well, more mysteries, more fun, let me know what you guys think in the comments.}
{Also, we don't do emotional dramas here, everything is sorted face to face.}