CHAPTER 40 — The Echo Before Action
📅 23 June, S.C. 1510
👦 Ren — 7
📍 Forest Training Field → Windmill Village → Ren's Shed
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The morning sun hadn't fully risen when Ren stepped into the open field behind the village.
Zemo padded beside him silently, tail low, muscles coiled with an energy Ren had never seen before.
Kiro yawned behind them.
"Ren… it's too early…"
Luffy was somehow fully awake.
"I CAN SMELL ADVENTURE!!"
Ren didn't turn around.
"…Zemo is different today."
Kiro blinked.
"Hm?"
Ren knelt beside Zemo and touched the creature's fur.
It vibrated.
Not from fear — but from something under the skin.
Nerves.
Energy.
Instinct.
Ren whispered,
"You feel it, don't you?"
Zemo's tail twitched once.
Makino had warned Ren to rest after the Vance incident.
But Ren wasn't here to train himself.
He was here to understand why Zemo hadn't slept all night.
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PART 1 — A STRANGE REACTION
Ren set three sticks in the dirt in a triangle pattern.
"Zemo. Sit."
Zemo sat.
"Jump."
Zemo waited—then hopped lightly over a stick.
"No difference yet," Kiro said.
Ren nodded.
"Let's test reflex."
He tossed a small stone.
Zemo caught it mid-air.
Nothing unusual.
But Ren's eyes narrowed.
"…He caught that faster than usual."
Kiro frowned.
"I didn't see anything."
"Exactly," Ren whispered.
Luffy gasped.
"ZEMO IS BECOMING A NINJA!!"
Zemo ignored him.
Ren tossed another pebble—
but this time, behind Zemo's back.
Before gravity pulled it down—
Zemo spun, snatched it from the air, and landed without sound.
Kiro's jaw dropped.
"Wha—?!"
Luffy exploded.
"THIS IS NINJA LEVEL 100!!"
Ren didn't smile.
He stepped slowly around Zemo.
"…Your reflexes jumped.
That wasn't normal."
Zemo looked at him—
—and for the first time, Ren sensed something almost telepathic in the gaze.
As if Zemo was trying to say:
I feel something. And I don't understand it yet.
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PART 2 — THE WIND THAT DIDN'T MOVE
Ren set up a simple test.
A rope tied to a rock, suspended between two stakes.
A basic movement detector.
Kiro tilted his head.
"What's that for?"
"To test Zemo's steps."
Zemo stepped forward—
—and the rope didn't move.
Ren froze.
"That's impossible."
Kiro blinked.
"…What?"
"This rope vibrates when anything heavier than a rabbit walks."
Luffy whispered,
"So… Zemo is a rabbit?"
Ren ignored him.
Zemo took another step.
No vibration.
No movement.
No sound.
Ren crouched, watching closely.
"You're suppressing weight…"
His heart pounded.
This wasn't normal.
Not even close.
Zemo wasn't stepping lightly—
he was moving intentionally to avoid detection.
An ability evolved from instinct.
Kiro swallowed.
"Ren… is that good or bad?"
Ren exhaled shakily.
"…Both."
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PART 3 — THE ECHO
Ren prepared another test.
He tied a string between two trees and hung a metal spoon on it.
Any sudden movement would make the spoon sway.
Ren stepped back.
"Zemo. Run to me."
Zemo crouched—
—and the world paused.
For a heartbeat, Ren felt nothing.
No sound.
No air shift.
No footstep.
Then—
Zemo appeared right in front of him.
Kiro gasped violently.
Luffy fell backwards.
Ren stumbled back in shock.
"H-how…?"
Zemo wasn't panting.
Not exhausted.
Not strained.
He moved—
as if he predicted the path before taking it.
Ren's hands trembled.
"Fast… but not normal fast.
It felt like you knew where you were going before you moved."
Zemo growled softly—
not at Ren, but at himself.
Confused.
Overwhelmed.
Ren knelt and held Zemo's head.
"It's okay.
It's not your fault.
You're changing… adapting."
Zemo whined.
Ren pressed his forehead gently to Zemo's.
"I'll help you. I promise."
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PART 4 — TEST UNDER DANGER
Suddenly Zemo's ears shot up.
His posture stiffened.
Ren whispered,
"What is it?"
Zemo growled softly and stared at a patch of bushes.
Kiro backed up.
"Please not another boar—"
A hawk burst from the bushes.
Not big.
But its talons were sharp.
It swooped straight toward Ren.
Luffy screamed,
"REN, DUCKKK!!"
Ren froze—
—but Zemo didn't.
He moved.
Silent.
Precise.
Instant.
He leaped and twisted mid-air—
and tapped the hawk's wing with his paw.
Not a slash.
Not a claw.
A controlled movement.
The hawk spiraled away, flapping desperately, retreating into the sky.
Ren's heart thundered.
"…You didn't attack.
You disabled it safely."
Zemo looked at his paw.
Stared.
As if wondering how he moved so perfectly.
Kiro whispered,
"…He predicted the hawk's movement."
Ren nodded slowly.
"That's not instinct anymore."
He looked at Zemo's eyes.
"…That's something else."
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PART 5 — NIGHT ANALYSIS
Back in the shed, Ren's hands moved quickly over the notebook.
> Zemo Ability Observation — Stage 1
• Weight suppression
• Reflex enhancement
• Predictive movement
• Silent step
• Conditional speed burst
• Non-lethal instinct option
Possible Explanation:
Zemo's biology is evolving beyond natural limits.
He is anticipating danger before it happens.
Term:
Echo Sense — detecting micro-movements in air or ground before they occur.
Ren tapped his pen.
"Something awakened."
Zemo rested beside him, exhausted for the first time in days.
Ren placed a blanket over him gently.
"…I don't know what you're becoming.
But you're still Zemo.
My Zemo."
Zemo opened one eye and placed his paw on Ren's hand.
Ren smiled softly.
"Yeah. We'll figure it out together."
Outside, the forest stayed quiet.
Too quiet.
As if it also sensed the change.
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END OF CHAPTER 40