"It should be here, right?" Ren looked at the map in his hand and muttered to himself. Although he had always lived in Konoha Village, this was his first time entering the depths of the forest behind Hokage Rock. He had heard that many kinds of birds resided here, making it the best place to collect feathers. He only needed black and white feathers for the materials to forge the Ame no Haneoromo, so Ren had come out specifically to collect them.
Deep in the forest, tall trees shaded the sky, and specks of sunlight shone like stars, falling from the cascading leaves.
"Huh?" Ren made a surprised sound. He saw hundreds of wooden birdhouses hanging on tall trees in the distance, enough to accommodate thousands of birds living within them. Such a huge scale had to be man-made. Are the birds here raised by someone?
At this moment, Ren saw a person wearing a Konoha forehead protector and the Uchiha clan's fan logo – Shisui Uchiha! Unexpectedly, these birds were raised by him. Ren saw Shisui Uchiha carrying a large bucket of meat, feeding it to the birds. These birds seemed to adore Shisui Uchiha, landing on his side, on top of his head and shoulders, affectionately nuzzling him. Shisui Uchiha looked at these birds, a happy and relaxed smile on his face.
Suddenly, Shisui Uchiha sensed someone approaching. He frowned, instantly alert. He raised his head and looked at the newcomer. Then he saw that a child who looked only seven years old was standing not far in front of him. He froze for a moment. He had just sensed the person's strength, and it was already approaching Chunin level. Didn't expect the other party to actually be just a seven-year-old child? Are kids these days this strong? Itachi also often boasted in front of him that his younger brother was very talented. The two of them are only one year apart, but the difference in strength is an earth-shattering gap. Even Itachi Uchiha, the most talented of the Uchiha clan, didn't have such strength at the age of seven, right?
"Who are you?" Shisui Uchiha asked.
Since these birds were raised by Shisui Uchiha, I'm afraid I'd have to ask for his help if I wanted to collect some feathers. After these thoughts flashed through his mind, Ren said very politely: "Presumably, you are Shisui Uchiha, known as the 'Shunshin no Shisui' in the village, correct?"
"My name is Ren. My family runs a ninja shop in Konoha Village. I need to use some feathers and would appreciate some help from you. Of course, I'm willing to pay the right price for it, or anything else within my power." Ren didn't like to beat around the bush or mislead. So he said it all at once.
The expression on Shisui Uchiha's face changed several times. It seemed there were many things he wanted to say but didn't. In the end, he only asked a very strange question: "You don't care... that I am from the Uchiha clan?"
A very confusing sentence, but Ren quickly understood. If one thought about it, the relationship with the Uchiha clan in the village had almost reached the point of outright hostility and incompatibility. The villagers in the village were very disgusted with and shunned the Uchiha clan members, even avoiding talking about them. So Ren actively approaching him at this time seemed very strange to Shisui Uchiha.
In response, Ren smiled faintly. "Because you don't understand, you will have prejudice. And I know you, who is called 'Shunshin no Shisui', is a peace-loving person. So how can something like family lineage affect me?"
Shisui Uchiha was stunned for a moment. Then he nodded thoughtfully. He felt that what this young man just said made some sense. When he looked at Ren again, he also felt that this kid was very endearing.
"I'll help you with your request. There's no charge, but you have to answer me a question."
"Senior, please speak."
After Shisui Uchiha pondered for a moment, he said in a deep voice: "When the village and the clan conflict, does it mean that someone is destined to sacrifice?" As soon as he finished asking this question, Shisui Uchiha felt a little regretful. Don't I already know the answer to this question? Why do I still want to ask it out? Like him, standing beside him, who loved both the village and his clan companions, several people had died for inexplicable reasons. And, it's just too absurd. How dare I ask a seven-year-old child such a question? Perhaps the words the child said before were too mature and calm, which made him have the urge to talk?
"No." At this time, Ren shook his head.
"No?" Shisui Uchiha was stunned for a moment. This was the complete opposite of what he had in mind before. "Why?" he asked quickly.
At this time, Ren raised his head, looking at Shisui Uchiha with eyes like a torch, and said with a smile: "Because sacrifice is a meaningless thing."
Sacrifice? Meaningless? Doesn't he know about the Will of Fire that the Third Hokage spoke of? For a moment, Shisui Uchiha had too many words in his heart that he wanted to refute, but at this time Ren continued to speak: "Because I feel that to die is to die, voluntarily or by force. There are always people who think they can change something. But in reality, dead people can't change anything."
"I think a person can only change if they are alive."
"No matter how difficult it is, as long as I live long enough, I have the opportunity to change."
Maybe, this is the legendary 'live long and see,' Ren secretly sighed in his heart. In the face of Shisui Uchiha's inquiry, Ren did not respond hastily, but gave the answer according to his own heart. He felt that in this world, nothing was more important than life.
Shisui Uchiha was silent. Because the answer Ren had given was a direction he had never thought of. Perhaps, this may be a key to unlocking this dead end?
"Here are some bird feathers I collected before. You can use them. If you don't have enough, you can take as many as you like. I'll go first." Shisui Uchiha absently pointed to a half-meter-high sack next to him and said to Ren. Then he seemed to have lost his mind and walked away into the distance.
"Thank you, Senior Shisui." Ren opened the sack. He found that there were feathers of various colors such as white, black, crimson, and emerald. There were thousands of feathers of each type, and it seemed that he must have collected them for a long time. I didn't expect him to give them to me so generously! Ren was happy in his heart. With a flash of silver light in his hand, he put all the feathers in the sack into his collection ring. Then, he left the place.