Chapter 143: Strategies

Kurara's breath was a faint whisper in the silence of the night.Ren was still kneeling beside her, muscles tense, eyes fixed on the slow, almost imperceptible rise and fall of her chest.

She was breathing.

That was all that mattered at that moment.

And yet, it wasn't enough to make him relax.

Time was still a cruel unknown.

Every breath, every heartbeat of Kurara, could be the last.

The blood that had once gushed so profusely had stopped. The wound no longer bled. But that didn't mean she was safe.

Not yet.

The Glycina Nebula was a risk. A gamble.

He had chosen to use it because he had no alternatives, because science could offer hope where medical ninjutsu alone would have failed.

But it wasn't a perfect cure.

Its long-term effects were unknown, and even though his experiments had shown promising results, Kurara wasn't an experiment.

She was a person.

She was his friend.

Ren felt his jaw clench tightly.

Had he made the right choice?

What if Kurara's body couldn't withstand the forced chakra stimulation?

What if her mitochondria, instead of responding positively, suffered a shock?

If you lose her anyway... it will be your fault.

His hands tensed against the damp ground.

This feeling...

This damned feeling of helplessness.

He had felt it before.

And he had hated it.

The others were there, just a few steps away. Waiting.

Yukiko, Jun'ko, Aoi, Shinji, Hiroshi.

He could sense them without even looking.

He knew they were watching him.

Waiting for an answer.

But Ren had no answers.

All he had were hypotheses, calculations, and uncertainties.

Kurara was improving.

Her pulse was still weak but steady.

Her vital signs were holding.

And yet, fear wouldn't let him go.

He had spent so much time planning, controlling, calculating… and now, he was forced to wait.

To rely on time.

It was torture.

How much longer do I have to wait before I know if I've saved her… or condemned her?

But beyond fear, beyond uncertainty, there was something stronger.

Something much darker.

Rage.

An emotion that was devouring him from the inside, accumulating like a fire smothered for too long.

The masked man—most likely Zabuza.

Misaki.

Sora.

They had done this to her.

They had done this to Kurara.

And he had let them go.

He had let them escape.

There was nothing he wanted more than to hunt them down.

To find them.

And make them pay for what they had done.

Every fiber of his being wanted him to stand up right that instant and chase them down to hell.

But he couldn't.

Not yet.

Because Kurara came first.

Because Kurara had to live.

Only afterward, only when he was sure she was stable, would he unleash his fury.

Only then would he seek vengeance.

He exhaled slowly.

He had to keep his mind clear.

There was no room for chaos.

Not now.

With one last careful glance, he released the barrier.

The seals dissolved, the chakra's glow fading into nothingness.

The others moved immediately, rushing toward him and Kurara.

He felt their tension, their desperate need to know.

He heard their hurried breaths, their silent terror.

They want an answer.

But he had no answers.

Not yet.

Aoi knelt beside Kurara.

His trembling hands rested gently on her, checking her pulse, assessing the depth of the wound.

He expected the worst.

He expected to have to say something terrible.

But then—he stopped.

His eyes widened in astonishment.

"It can't be..."

He ran a hand across Kurara's forehead, then over the wound that was already beginning to close.

Her skin was no longer cold.

Her pulse was still weak, but stable.

Aoi lifted his gaze toward Ren, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Ren... you've performed a miracle."

Yukiko stepped closer, observing Kurara with a mix of relief and wonder.

"I didn't think it was possible to recover so quickly from a wound like that..."

Ren remained silent.

It wasn't a miracle.

It was science.

It was the Glycina Nebula.

But he said nothing.

Better not to reveal too much.

Shinji, who had been watching everything without speaking, crossed his arms and scrutinized Ren carefully.

Then, in a low but firm tone, he asked:

"What do we do now?"

The air around them was heavy, saturated with accumulated tension.

Kurara was breathing.

She was still fighting.

But Ren didn't relax.

He couldn't.

It was still too soon to lower his guard.

Even though Kurara's vital signs were improving, her condition remained unstable. The pulse was there, the wound was closing… but the Glycina Nebula was still an unknown.

Only time would tell if it had been a cure... or a death sentence.

And Ren hated relying on time.

I can't do anything more for her now.

But I can do something for all of us.

When Shinji broke the silence with his question, Ren knew the moment had come to look beyond.

"What do we do now?"

For a moment, no one spoke.

But then—

"We make those bastards pay."

Hiroshi's voice was hoarse and filled with resentment.

It wasn't just anger—it was pure hatred.

But moments later, a harsh cough forced him to double over, clutching his chest with a muffled groan.

He was still too weak to fight.

Ren looked at him without saying anything for a moment.

Then he closed his eyes, letting the cold night air hit his face like a mental ice bath.

A way to quell the fire burning inside him.

Because if he only listened to his fury, he would have said the same words as Hiroshi.

I want to hunt them down.

I want to tear them apart.

I want them to pay for what they did to Kurara.

But he couldn't afford to.

Not now.

When he reopened his eyes, his gaze was colder.

"Right now, we're vulnerable."

His voice was calm, but deep inside, frustration still burned.

"Acting now would be suicide."

The words fell into silence, heavy as stones.

And no one dared to challenge them.

Aoi, who had been quiet until then, stood up and approached Ren, his brow furrowed.

"So we're just going to let them go?"

There was doubt and anger in his voice.

Ren remained impassive.

"It's not about letting them go," he replied firmly. "Shin is still out there, with one of my clones. Soon, we'll meet up, and that will increase our chances."

He turned toward Shinji, locking eyes with him.

"But until then, we can't move in this condition."

He glanced at the others, one by one.

Everyone was worn out.

Kurara was still unconscious.

Hiroshi was on his knees, his breathing labored.

Jun'ko was bandaged, but still fatigued.

Yukiko had completely run out of chakra.

Even though he himself still had a considerable amount of chakra left, it was useless if the others weren't able to fight.

He had to make the rational choice.

"I'm going to set up a secure perimeter."

His words carried firm resolve.

"Tonight, Shinji and I will take turns keeping watch so that everyone else can regain some strength."

He turned slightly toward the dark forest.

"We have no idea how many more allies they have."

They would not be caught off guard.

Shinji remained silent for a moment.

He wanted to fight.

He wanted to settle the score.

But he also knew that Ren was right.

He didn't respond immediately, but in the end, he gave a small nod.

"It's the right choice."

Not the one he wanted.

But the one they needed.

- - -

The night cloaked the forest in an ominous and oppressive stillness. The leaves rustled under the push of the wind, and a lone night bird let out a haunting cry, shattering the absolute silence.

Among the trees, two figures moved in perfect synchronization—shadows among shadows.

Shin Kaguya advanced with absolute caution, every muscle tense, every fiber of his being ready to react to any danger.

He had a bad feeling.

It was as if an invisible thread was about to snap, as if the forest itself was hiding a truth that didn't want to be discovered.

At his side, Ren's clone moved with the same agility, but with a more controlled, more analytical presence.

There was no hesitation in its movements. No uncertainty. It was as if the clone wasn't just searching for Kurara—but rather observing everything around them, analyzing the situation without missing a single detail.

Shin's breathing was calm and measured, but the tension was tangible.

Still no trace of Kurara.

It was strange.

Too strange.

There should have been at least some sign. A trail. Something.

And yet—nothing.

It was as if the forest had swallowed everything.

After a long moment of silence, Shin finally broke the waiting.

"What do you think about this exam?" he asked, never stopping his scan of the darkness between the trees.

It wasn't just a question.

It was a test.

He wanted to know what Ren thought about all this.

If his instinct was telling him the same thing his was.

Ren's clone didn't respond immediately.

It stopped for a moment, carefully choosing its words.

Then, with its usual cold and analytical calm, it said:

"Something doesn't add up."

Its voice was flat, controlled.

But loaded with meaning.

Shin wasn't surprised by the response.

Ren wasn't the kind of person who was easily deceived.

"I have the same feeling," he admitted, his gaze never leaving the forest.

Ren's clone gave a barely perceptible nod.

"We need to be cautious," it added. "The rules of this exam are not what they told us they would be."

Shin remained silent.

This was the confirmation he had been looking for.

- - -

Further north, deep within the forest, other shadows moved in the darkness.

Misaki.

Sora.

The masked man.

Their breathing was labored, their bodies still tense from the earlier battle.

The air was thick with tension, and the damp ground crunched softly under their steps as they advanced toward their designated meeting point.

Waiting for them—Mizuchi.

Arms crossed, an expression hovering between boredom and irritation.

But as Misaki and the others stopped in front of him, the first thing that caught their eye was the absence of the others.

Misaki noticed it immediately.

A thin shiver ran down her spine.

Where the hell are they?

Her gaze turned cold, suspicious.

"Where are the others?" she asked, her tone neutral, but with an underlying tension.

Mizuchi shrugged, lazily dropping onto a fallen log.

"No trace," he replied nonchalantly. "They've probably been taken out."

The atmosphere grew heavier.

If the others had disappeared, it meant Ren's group was still standing.

Misaki ran a hand through her hair, mentally assessing the situation.

Aside from Shinji and Ren, the others are no problem.

It was highly unlikely that Kurara had survived.

One less threat.

Or at least—that's what she wanted to believe.

But for an instant, an image flashed in her mind.

Kurara. Injured.

Her ragged breathing.

The blood spreading across the ground.

Misaki clenched her teeth.

She pushed that thought away.

I can't afford to feel remorse.

If she's dead, it was necessary.

It had to happen.

I had to get there first.

She had to prove her worth.

I can't afford to waver.

For a moment, silence enveloped her.

Then she lowered her gaze to the people now surrounding her.

Sora. Mizuchi. The masked man.

All there for the same purpose.

But they weren't her comrades.

They were pawns.

Pawns to be sacrificed if necessary.

The Kurushimi Clan does not accept weakness.

And I... I cannot be weak.

And yet, in a hidden corner of her mind, the echo of her life at the Academy haunted her.

The friendships.

The bonds she had, for an instant, thought she could have.

But all of that was over.

Now, there was only the goal.

Only victory.

For the clan.

For her father.

And, most of all—for herself.

- - -

Not far away, Ren was working in silence.

His hands moved swiftly and expertly, carefully tracing the final tracking and protection seals along the perimeter.

Beside him, the clone he had created earlier was finishing the last details, reinforcing the barrier to prevent any unwanted intrusions.

They needed to be prepared.

The exam wasn't over yet.

Ren observed the completed work for a moment, feeling the flow of chakra interconnect between the seals.

A secure perimeter.

A temporary refuge.

Better dispel it now.

He closed his eyes for a moment and allowed the clone to dissolve in a vortex of dispersed chakra, recovering some of his energy.

Two more days until the end of the exam… and I've already a lot of chakra.

Ren turned slightly, making an apparently casual movement, as if he were simply scanning the forest's horizon.

But in reality, he was looking exactly in the right direction.

There, among the dense shadows of the trees, someone was watching them.

An ANBU.

"Did he see me?"

Impossible.

And yet—something felt off.

Ren Mizutani was definitely someone to keep an eye on.