He’s giving me life lessons about village injustice while I’m actively ignoring him to test my rock armor.

{A bit better than yesterday but the goal is still not fulfilled, so, you do not get a bonus today either, lazybums}

~~~

Roku clenched his jaw, eyes flicking once to Ren's arms still flexing like some smug boulder.

He moved again without wasting any time. His hands blurred through signs, sparks leaping from rod to rod in rapid flashes. The entire clearing snapped alive as the metal stakes hummed, each one pulsing brighter until the ground under Ren's feet vibrated.

A sharp crack split the air as Roku slammed his palms down on the dirt.

[Lightning Style: Arc Net Overdrive!]

In that instant, the entire grid lit up. Every rod linked with three or four others in a crisscross of wild arcs, dozens of thin bolts lashing out like a living cage.

Ren's eyes narrowed, but he didn't let it distract him. The first arcs struck the trees behind him, blowing bark to splinters as they danced along the trunks, trying to cut off his exits. He ducked low, stepping sideways as a web of blue light sliced overhead.

Another snap was heard as a new bolt stabbed at his chest, but he spun around it and skidded back on his heels, just missing the next fork of lightning that sparked between two rods by his knee.

Roku forced more chakra into the net as he felt sweat run down his cheek but didn't stop, sending arcs from high and low, trying to herd Ren back into the dead zone. A single direct hit wouldn't kill someone like him but it would stall him long enough for the next strike to land.

Ren's smile faded a touch as he flickered sideways, eyes darting in every direction.

One rod buried under a fern lit up again, shooting a line that nearly caught his shoulder. He dropped to one hand, feet whipping out as he kicked away, the grass under him burning from the close hit.

Two more strikes flashed by his left ear. He exhaled slowly as his eyes turned slightly more brighter now. Hyperfocus was always active but it was mostly in passive state, only when he focused a bit more could he turn the passive into active mode.

Right now every twitch in Roku's hands, every pulse in the rods, it all played out like a map in his head. He lunged left again, let a smaller bolt graze the hardened skin of his arm, once again it was but a sting, nothing that slowed him down.

Roku flung three more rods with a flick of his wrist, driving them into the trees behind Ren's new position. Before they even settled in the bark, arcs jumped between them, boxing Ren in. But Ren didn't pause. He pressed a foot to a mossy trunk, bent his knee, and launched upward just as the lightning tried to close the trap.

The rods' arcs chased him into the canopy. Thin blue lines snapped through the branches, burning leaves to ash, but Ren twisted between them, letting a few flicker over his coat. Bits of static crawled across his skin which were a bit annoying, but nothing more.

He dropped down again, landing in a crouch near the edge of the main grid. His eyes flicked to Roku, who was now breathing a little harder, one hand still pressed to the ground to keep the net pulsing. Ren chuckled once, slapping dust off his arms as sparks fizzled out.

"Nice try," Ren said, just loud enough for Roku to hear him over the hum of the rods. "But you're gonna need a bigger bug zapper."

Roku didn't answer. He shoved another surge of chakra into the stakes, arcs lashing out again, but Ren was already moving, ducking around the outer edges, pushing closer inch by inch.

The rods kept flaring, some lines missing by a hair, others landing but skidding harmlessly off the rock-hardened skin that ran halfway up Ren's forearms now. Ren stayed on the move, boots sliding over damp dirt, eyes tracking the gaps.

Roku kept hurling attacks like a possessed man, his chakra burning faster than he probably knew he could handle. His eyes had that wild edge now, like he'd finally stopped caring about conserving anything at all.

"Again and again and once again," he spat out, his voice ragged but every word was laced with decades of anger. "You damned Leaf shinobi just don't give us small villages a chance to grow!" A short, cracked laugh burst out of him, the kind that didn't sound sane at all.

He slammed another rod deeper into the ground with the heel of his boot, forcing another junction to spark to life. Ren didn't even blink as a few stray arcs whipped toward his chest his hardened skin took the hits, heat rolling off him like steam.

Ren didn't care about anything else, for now he was getting in some great practice for both his hardening and Hyperfocus, after all, he had only a brief moment before the lightning landed on him and he had to defend that area properly, otherwise if he really got injured, he'd ave to spend a second to heal himself and that second could be really fatal.

Roku's breath came in rough gasps, but he still didn't stop. His hands snapped into another sequence of signs, lightning crawling up his arms before leaping to the rods scattered through the clearing and it caused the ground to hum like a live wire.

Ren shifted his stance slightly, watching the arcs jump and snake through the trees, some striking so close they scorched his boots, others crackling past his head. He didn't bother dodging every small hit now. A few jolts slammed into his arms, but the hardened skin soaked them up like nothing.

Roku's voice cracked out between the crackle of lightning. "You think we don't see it, huh? But it's always the same. The Leaf sends us 'protection,' taxes us dry, calls it an alliance."

He kicked a half-buried rod loose and hurled it closer to Ren. It buried itself in the soil, arcs immediately jumping between it and the next rod. Ren stepped to the side, eyes locked on the points where the current formed.

Roku spat on the dirt, flicking sweat from his brow. "But every time we find something for ourselves, a new technique, a rare ore, some half-decent jutsu or even a summoning contract you bastards come knocking!"

He slammed both palms down and the rods pulsed brighter, the arcs doubled, splitting the air with sharp pops. A stray bolt caught Ren's shoulder, but the hardened flesh cracked just a bit, then sealed up again. He exhaled, let the pain roll over him, and reinforced the chakra in his arms.

"I've watched them do it for decades," Roku growled his voice had grown hoarse. "My father fought for the Leaf once, you know that? Thought the great Konoha would help us stand on our own two feet but they paid him in rice and an empty promise."

Another wave of chakra burst through the rods. This time the arcs were faster, they were thinner and sharper. Ren leaned back, dodging one, but let another snap against his side. He studied how the strike spread across his ribs, reinforcing that spot with a pulse of Earth chakra.

Roku stalked sideways, boots dragging lines in the dirt. He flicked a stake from his sleeve, drove it into the ground. "And every time one of us tries to stand up, tries to take a step out from under that big Leaf shadow, someone like you shows up to stomp us back into line."

Ren didn't answer. He stepped forward, brushing a low arc off his forearm. The hardened skin there was dark now, like stone fused with muscle. Roku sneered. He didn't care if the hits weren't doing real damage, he only needed one misstep.

"You shinobi up there in your pretty village walls," Roku snapped.

"You think we're lucky to even breathe the same air! You call us 'allies,' but what are we really? A buffer zone? Some weak cannon fodders? Your mere pawns?" He dug his heel into the ground, sliding another rod forward to close a gap. Lightning flared between three points at once, forcing Ren to hop back a step.

Ren however gave a response to this, "HEY! I'm not a celestial pig!"

Roku barked a short, humorless laugh as if he didn't hear Ren at all. "But I'm done playing the pawn. Let me tell you, the Cloud wants us and I am glad with this. At least they don't lie about it. Better to be a weapon for them than a worm for you Konoha bastards."

The arcs kept coming, the whole formation pulsing like a heartbeat now. Ren crouched, shifted left, flicked his eyes across the web.

Each strike that hit him was smaller now, the chakra spreading into his arms, reinforcing the hardened skin even more. His fingers flexed, testing the weight of his forearms. They felt dense, solid, like stone gloves he'd grown himself.

Roku's hands shook, but he didn't stop moving rods to keep the grid alive. "We train our kids from birth, you know that? To beg for scraps. One day some big village will adopt us, feed us, keep us from being swallowed whole." He spat again. "They'll take our talent, our techniques, our best fighters and when they're done, they'll toss what's left."

He dropped to one knee, slamming another rod in place. A bolt snapped right for Ren's head but he ducked, felt it sizzle the hair near his ear, but the hardened shell on his neck took the edge off. He didn't flinch. He just kept stepping, eyes locked on Roku, lips pressed shut.

Roku snarled, voice raw. "So don't look at me like I'm weak. I'd rather burn out every last drop than crawl on my knees to that damned Hokage."

He pushed to his feet, arms spread wide, the whole net blazing brighter than before. Ren rolled one shoulder, letting another arc smack his collarbone. His skin there didn't even flinch this time just a dull sting that faded as he pushed more chakra into the shell.

Roku barked one last ragged laugh. "So come on, Leaf shinobi. Come play hero one more time."

Ren didn't answer. He flexed both arms, testing the feel of the rock-like skin. Sparks jumped along his forearms, then died out. One more arc slammed into his side. He didn't move, his eyes were fixed ahead, his feet shifting to keep him in that perfect zone, which was close enough to pressure, and far enough to watch every crackle in Roku's formation.

The rods hummed. The jungle smelled like scorched wood and ozone. Roku's eyes were bloodshot now, mouth twisted in a grin that looked half-mad, half-defeated.

Ren stayed quiet, ready to see how much more his training dummy had left to give.

Roku's voice never really stopped, even as he drew in all the chakra he could squeeze out. His hands trembled from overuse, skin along his arms split in small lines where his control slipped for half a second, but he kept going. The rods embedded in the ground glowed faintly blue-white, each one humming as he forced the entire grid to its limit.

Ren didn't interrupt him. He stood there at the edge of the formation, one foot shifted forward, body half-crouched like he was curious to see if Roku would really pull it off. A stray arc snapped against his shoulder but the hardened patch turned it to a harmless spark that flickered out before it even stung.

Roku's eyes were wide, sweat dripping off his chin, his voice down to a mutter. "…No more games… no more leaf shinobi walking over us…" He clapped his palms together and forced the chakra through.

The rods vibrated and a high crackle rolled out through the clearing, echoing between the trees.

Then all of it slammed down at once.

Ren could feel it, this must be Roku's final technique.

The entire net pulled inward and dumped every last spark straight onto Ren's position.

[Lightning Style: Formation Overdrive]

There was a burst of blinding light as a sharp thunderclap that rattled the branches overhead.

Roku stumbled back his breathing ragged, eyes flicking around to catch any sign that Ren might've dodged at the last second. He saw the smoke, felt the hair on his arms stand on end from the leftover static, but there no movement.

Then the haze cleared. Roku's breath caught halfway up his throat.

Ren was still standing exactly where he'd been.

But now his skin looked like something else entirely.

His skin was jagged, rough, layered stone plates covering his arms, shoulders, even parts of his neck. Bits of lightning still danced across the surface, but they fizzled out on contact. He lifted one hand, turned it to check a fresh crack that closed up in an instant.

Roku's mouth twitched. He tried to move, but his knees buckled. Still, the words spilled out.

"No no, NO! you can't just stand there… that was everything… that was supposed to be justice, you bastard!"

His hands scrabbled at a few loose rods, tossing them at the ground, trying to pulse the net again. Small arcs jumped, flickered, struck Ren's torso but, nothing. The strikes left shallow scorch marks on the stone-like skin that faded as fast as they formed.

Ren didn't speed up or dodge anymore. He just walked. Each step was slow and extremely dramatic. The ground under his hardened feet cracked faintly when he pushed off.

Roku backed up slightly, his eyes turned wilder. "You… you call this right? You think crushing us is what the leaf calls peace? You think, you think?" Another rod came loose in his grip. He tried to ram it into the soil, but his chakra sputtered out. The arc died before it even jumped.

Ren stopped right in front of him, still not saying a word. Roku's voice dropped to a hoarse croak, looking past Ren to the trees, the sky, like he expected someone to be listening. "Again and again, you people… we bleed, we beg, we hide. It's never enough. It's never-"

He coughed. The rod slipped from his fingers and stuck in the dirt at a crooked angle. Sparks flickered at the tip, then went dark.

Ren tilted his head, rock-like skin rough and jagged where it caught the moonlight. He didn't look angry. Just a bit bored, if anything.

Roku's voice cracked one last time. "It's not… fair…"

Ren looked him dead in the eyes, shrugged one shoulder, then said flatly. 

"Well, this sounds more like a 'you' problem."

Roku opened his mouth but the words never came out. Ren's hardened fist hit him dead center in the chest. It was just one clean and brutal strike and Roku's body dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, the last sparks of his net winking out in the dirt around him.

~~~~~

{As usual, I don't explain many things in the fight so of course there will be an explanation chapter.}

{No break this week, so make sure you complete the goal if you want bonus chapters}

{If you want, you can support me on pat-reon}

{ h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / Z e e n o n }

{You know what else}

{280 Stones = Extra chapter}

{STONES!!!!}