Chapter 35: The Actor's Finest Hour
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +10,000,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +10,000,000!]
[Chakra (10,315,140 / 100,000,000)]
Renji's heart swelled with a joy so intense he could've shed tears—not from sorrow, but from the sheer thrill of his triumph. For the first time, Naruto had stirred something genuine in him, not with friendship, but with the promise of his grand ambition: to become the greatest actor in the Ninja World. This moment was his stage, his masterpiece, and the ten million chakra points flooding his system were the sweetest applause. It was as if he'd struck gold overnight, his entire being alight with the electric rush of newfound power.
Letting his clone take the spotlight had been a stroke of genius. Tragic drama, it seemed, was the oldest trick—and it worked like a charm.
As Renji reveled in the intoxicating high of his latest haul, the street trembled under a cataclysmic force. The Nine-Tails' chakra erupted from Naruto, a black-red maelstrom that tore through the air with a piercing roar. Eight tails lashed wildly, each swing ripping the ground apart, leaving deep craters in their wake. Naruto, consumed by the Tailed Beast's fury, was no longer the loudmouthed, cheerful genin. His crimson, slit-like pupils glowed with primal rage, his humanity buried beneath the beast's relentless drive to destroy.
In a flash, Naruto's monstrous form surged forward, targeting the older Renji—the doppelgänger conjured to amplify the chaos.
[Ding!]
[Human Malice Value detected: +2,000!]
[Cursed Energy converted to Chakra: +2,000!]
[Chakra (10,317,140 / 100,000,000)]
The Nine-Tails' tails swept like a tsunami, carving a massive pit into the earth. The older Renji was hurled backward, his body twisting mid-air with eerie precision. He steadied himself, only to find Naruto's beastly form already upon him, the surrounding space warped and distorted by the overwhelming chakra radiating from the Jinchuriki.
'Leave a line in your work, so you can meet well afterward. Pluck it later, and you've got a perpetual motion machine of malice!' Renji's mind hummed with glee. His clone had played its part, stoking Naruto's rage and reaping the rewards. But the act was nearing its end. The older Renji knew it was time to bow out.
"Brother, see you next time," the doppelgänger said with a sly grin, waving casually to the real Renji before vanishing in an instant. The Flying Thunder God Marks he'd scattered across Tanzaku street ensured a flawless exit.
Bereft of its target, the Nine-Tails Naruto turned its feral gaze on Jiraiya. All traces of reason had been devoured, leaving only a beast driven to kill. Jiraiya, already battered from his clash with Kisame, braced himself as a massive tail whipped toward him. The impact was devastating, sending the Sannin crashing through several walls, debris exploding around him.
"Jiraiya!" Gamaken, the towering toad cradling Renji's body, bellowed in panic.
The situation was spiraling into chaos. Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was a walking calamity, his chakra threatening to raze the entire village. Renji, nestled in the toad's palm, kept his wounds unhealed for maximum effect. Blood dripped from his mouth, his face pale as frost, his heart deliberately stilled to sell the performance. He couldn't regenerate yet—the curtain hadn't fallen on this act.
"Naruto…" Renji's voice was a hoarse whisper, blood bubbling with every syllable as he played the part of a dying hero.
The Nine-Tails Naruto froze for a fleeting moment, its fox-like head tilting. Those cold, crimson pupils locked onto Renji, devoid of warmth or recognition.
Renji staggered forward, his body swaying as if on the brink of collapse. Each step was a calculated move, his blood-smeared hand reaching out toward the beast. "Naruto!" he called again, his voice rising with desperate conviction.
Jiraiya, bloodied and battered, struggled to his feet. "Renji!" he roared, his voice thick with anguish.
Renji paid him no mind, his trembling hand stretching toward Naruto's black-red chakra cloak. The searing energy scorched his skin, the acrid smell of burning flesh filling the air as he pushed deeper, undeterred. His vision darkened, his body buckling under the strain, but he summoned the last of his strength to wrap his arms around Naruto, embracing the beast like a brother.
"Naruto, wake up… Don't… don't let it take you…" Renji's voice faded to a broken whisper, his body slumping against Naruto's, charred and seemingly lifeless.
The black-red chakra began to recede, the crimson pupils giving way to Naruto's bright, sapphire-blue eyes. The Tailed Beast's aura dissipated into the air, leaving Naruto trembling, clutching Renji's limp form. Tears streamed down his face like a broken dam, his voice quivering with fear and grief. "Ero-sennin, you've got to have a way, right? Renji can't die… right?"
Renji felt the warmth of Naruto's tears on his face, like a gentle rain washing away the blood. Inwardly, he cursed his luck. 'If only Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura were here to see this! That's at least twenty million chakra points down the drain!' But he brushed the thought aside. There'd be other stages, other audiences. For now, he had to stay in character.
His performance was flawless. To Naruto, Renji's heterochromatic eyes dimmed, his eyelids fluttering closed as if death had claimed him. "No! Renji!" Naruto's voice shattered, his body collapsing to the ground, clinging to Renji's arm as if he could tether him to life. He'd lost Renji's warmth, his smile, his voice—everything that made him *Renji*. The boy who'd taught him so much hadn't prepared him for a farewell like this.
"Little Jiraiya! Are you alright? Come quick—these kids need help!" Shima, the sage toad, hopped to Naruto and Renji's side, her voice heavy with sorrow.
"This boy, Renji… he has no breath, no heartbeat," Shima said, her eyes brimming with tears. "Such a good child…"
Renji nearly broke character, a laugh threatening to spill out. 'No breath? No heartbeat? Please, I'm the one directing this show.' Controlling his body was as simple as drinking water—he could stop his heart or heal his wounds at will. But a professional never laughed mid-performance, not unless the moment was too perfect to resist.
Fukasaku crouched beside Naruto, his expression grim. "Naruto's body is in bad shape. The Nine-Tails' power broke nearly every bone. Only Tsunade might save him now, or he'll never be a ninja again."
Jiraiya closed his eyes, guilt crashing over him like a tidal wave. Sasuke lay trapped in Itachi's genjutsu, Renji was cold and lifeless, and Naruto was barely clinging to life. He'd failed them all.
"Little Jiraiya!" Fukasaku's sharp voice cut through his despair. "No time for self-pity. Find Tsunade—Naruto and Sasuke's lives depend on it!"
Shima gently touched Renji's cheek, her voice soft with grief. "This boy… we should prepare to bury him."
'Hold it right there!' Renji screamed internally. 'The show's not over yet!'
Jiraiya stared at Renji's still face, his heart heavy with remorse. 'This child… dead because of me?' At thirteen, Renji was a prodigy, a genius who could've rivaled Minato, perhaps even become Hokage. Yet here he lay, his light extinguished, far from the comrades awaiting his return. Jiraiya's hand trembled against the ground, a choked sob escaping his lips.
"Little Jiraiya…" Shima's voice wavered, tears spilling as she watched her old friend break.
Fukasaku's expression shifted suddenly. He pressed his webbed hand to Renji's chest, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Wait… his heart—it's beating again!"
Shima leaned in, her own hand confirming the faint pulse. "It's true!" she exclaimed, joy breaking through her grief. "Little Jiraiya, his heartbeat's coming back!"
Fukasaku's gaze sharpened, watching as Renji's wounds began to close, his skin knitting together at a visible rate. The body they'd thought was a corpse pulsed with new life, scars vanishing as if they'd never existed.
Under the sage toads' hopeful stares, Renji's eyes fluttered open. His heterochromatic gaze—silver-gray and grayish-blue—gleamed with a faint, ethereal light. He took a deep, shuddering breath, his voice hoarse but steady. "I thought… I was dead."
He turned his head, catching sight of Fukasaku and Shima, then Jiraiya, whose red-rimmed eyes betrayed his relief. Renji's gaze flicked to Naruto, and his expression shifted to one of feigned worry. He scrambled to his feet, checking Naruto's pulse with trembling hands. Only when he felt the faint beat did he exhale, his shoulders sagging. "Thank goodness… Naruto's okay."
Shima's eyes softened, her voice thick with emotion. "You really did die, child—"
Renji's lips curved into a faint, bittersweet smile, his heart thrumming with the thrill of his performance. 'A miracle, huh?' he thought, suppressing a grin. 'If only they knew the real miracle is my acting.'
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