Chapter 64: The Interrogation

Ren’s plan for a clean exit had shattered. Six faces from a past he had long tried to leave behind now blocked his path. The surprise of seeing Kakashi and the others was genuine, a flicker of his old life disrupting the cold precision of his new one.

The Konoha shinobi arrayed before him wore a spectrum of expressions. Kakashi’s masked calm was steady, unreadable. Shikamaru and Choji observed with guarded neutrality, calculating, waiting for a move. Ino’s eyes burned with anger and betrayal, her gaze drilling into him as though he owed her a profound debt. But it was Naruto and Sakura whose reactions were most volatile—faces alight with desperate hope and unrestrained emotion, Sakura’s already streaked with tears.

“Sasuke!” both cried in unison, voices choked with disbelief and longing.

Overwhelmed, Sakura broke from the group, running toward him, arms outstretched, as if she could physically anchor him to them, never to let go.

Ren’s reaction was instantaneous, cold, and terrifying. His left hand blurred in grotesque transformation, elongating into the head of a massive, hissing serpent. The snake lunged, maw gaping, stopping mere inches from Sakura’s face. It didn’t bite—but the threat was absolute.

“Be careful!” several voices yelled behind her, too late to act beyond shouting.

Sakura froze mid-step, hope shattering into sheer terror. She stumbled backward, eyes wide, staring at the monstrous snake—and the boy who commanded it.

“Do not come near me,” Ren said flatly, devoid of warmth. “Or I will kill you.”

“Sasuke… why?” Sakura’s voice trembled, barely above a whisper. The disconnect between the boy she remembered and the lethal figure before her was impossible to reconcile.

The violent shift snapped the Konoha team into high alert. Stances tightened, hands hovered near weapons, every sense primed. Naruto’s shock transformed into unbridled rage.

“Sasuke, what are you doing?!” he roared, fists clenched until knuckles whitened. “That’s Sakura! She’s our comrade! How could you do that to her?!”

“Let me correct you,” Ren replied, the serpent receding, merging back into his hand. “She is your comrade. Not mine. I walk alone. I have never had comrades. Anyone who approaches me uninvited is my enemy. I let her live only because we once shared a classroom. Continue to hinder me, and there will be no more warnings.”

“Dammit!” Naruto trembled, fury and desperation warring for control. “What the hell happened to you?! What about Konoha?! What about your friends?! I’ll knock some sense into you myself!” He lunged forward, recklessness overriding strategy.

“Naruto, don’t!” Sakura cried, scrambling to her feet, tears streaming. She flung herself in front of him, arms spread wide. “Please! Don’t hurt him!”

“This is such a drag…” Shikamaru muttered under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Kakashi moved with quiet authority, placing a firm hand on Naruto’s shoulder. “Enough. Stand down.” His voice was calm, carrying the weight of absolute command. He then addressed Sakura. “Fall back. Now.”

Naruto glared at Ren a long moment before reluctantly relenting, allowing Sakura to step back. Kakashi took three measured steps forward, stopping at a precise distance—close enough to talk, far enough to react.

“Sasuke,” Kakashi began, his visible eye studying him intently. “Have you left Orochimaru’s side? If so, come back with us.”

Ren let out a short, derisive laugh. “Come back with you? Back to Konoha? I carved my way out of that cage with my own hands. You expect me to walk back in because you asked nicely? Don’t make me laugh. It’s not happening.”

“Then what is it you want?” Kakashi pressed, his voice level but firm. “Is it still revenge against Itachi Uchiha?”

“Shut up!” Ren snapped, genuine anger flaring. “Do not speak that name in front of me!”

Kakashi’s gaze hardened. “Then answer me this: Did you attack Hoshigakure? Did you destroy their village and steal their star?”

Ren shrugged casually. “Yeah. So what?”

A wave of dismay swept through the team. Their former friend, once so familiar, was now capable of atrocities firsthand.

“I see,” Kakashi said, voice heavy with disappointment. “You’ve become this cold, cruel man. To steal an artifact, you massacred a village, took hostages, threatened a Kage. I misjudged you. Perhaps I never should have taught you the Chidori.”

“Call it cold, call it cruel. I don’t care,” Ren retorted, utterly bored. “Anyone in my way is an enemy. I show no mercy. Are we done here? Move aside—or strike. I’m tired of talking.”

“One last thing,” Kakashi said, hand moving to the headband covering his left eye. “Return to Konoha with us and submit to the Hokage’s judgment. If you come willingly, she may yet show leniency.”

“Leniency?” Ren scoffed. “You think Hoshigakure will accept that?”

“That’s not your concern. Just come back. The Hokage will handle the rest.”

“And if I refuse?”

“Then we have no choice.” Kakashi revealed the Sharingan beneath his headband—a perfect crimson mirror of Ren’s own eyes. “Orders are clear. You are S-Class rogue. You are to be brought back to Konoha, by force if necessary.”

“Sakura…” Ren’s gaze swept over her pleading form. Her voice was desperate, almost breaking.

“Enough, Sakura,” Kakashi said, eyes locked on Ren. “The Sasuke we knew is gone. The man before you is a threat. Capture is mandatory. Do not let emotion cloud judgment.”

“I… I understand,” Sakura whispered, heart shattering, resolving silently that if Ren’s life truly hung in the balance, she would act regardless of orders.

Ino, who had been silently seething, finally stepped forward, pale with anger.

“Sasuke Uchiha,” she demanded sharply, “what did you do with Ren? Where did you take him?”

The question cut through the tension, redirecting all attention. Even Ren’s eyes flicked toward her, briefly betraying something unreadable. This text is hosted at nοvelfire.net

Uchiha Ren? Sasuke’s… incapacitated brother? Kakashi’s mind raced. Did he take him as well?

Ren… Naruto’s face fell. He was one of the first to be my friend… I abandoned him after his… accident. I even forgot him. Damn it.

Ren’s gaze lingered on Ino, a strange, unreadable flicker crossing his eyes before it was ruthlessly suppressed.

Ino… you remember me. Foolish girl.

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