— — — — — —
Thinking about that cat and mouse, Hiashi couldn't help feeling a little envious. He saw them as the guardian Pokémon of the Uchiha and Senju clans. Deep down, he wished the Hyuga had their own 'Poké-god'—like a Tom and Jerry of their own.
What he didn't know was that Renzo was already planning to create a Hyuga dog. After all… There was a cat and a mouse—wasn't the dog the missing piece?
...
"When your power reaches a certain point, things that used to seem impossible just become… trivial," Renzo said casually with a smile.
"Maybe so," Hiashi muttered, eyes full of awe. "But it's far beyond anything I can wrap my head around. Honestly, if Hinata, Hanabi, and Neji all succeed, I'll die a happy man. From here on, I leave their future in your hands, Lord Renzo."
He gave a deep bow.
Renzo just waved him off like it was nothing.
Then Tsunade piped up again. "So… can you make a Tenseigan now? If so, make one for me and Kurenai too! They look awesome!"
"They do look amazing!" Kurenai giggled, flashing a bright smile.
"Sure. I'll whip some up for you when we get back."
Renzo nodded like he was agreeing to cook dinner or something.
Meanwhile, Hiashi stood there silently… looking like he'd just taken a punch to the soul.
So... the Tenseigan—something that felt impossibly rare and mysterious to him—was basically just something Renzo could create on a whim?
It was like being told your god was actually just some guy with a toolbox.
He felt a little crushed.
His entire worldview had just taken a direct hit to the face.
— — —
"Winner: Namikaze Naruto!"
Down below, the first round of matches had concluded.
"Gahahaha! Serves you right for underestimating me! I'm awesome, believe it, ya know!" Naruto stood proudly with his hands on his hips, grinning like he'd just conquered the world.
Plenty of people watching had straight-up facepalmed.
"What an idiot… he's so embarrassing," Sasuke muttered from the stands, trying to pretend he didn't know him.
Naruto suddenly turned and spotted Sasuke in the crowd. "Oi, Sasuke! Did you see that? Bet you're impressed, huh?!"
Sasuke scoffed, not even bothering to look down. "Tch. Who are you again?"
"Pfft, jealous?" Naruto puffed out his chest even more. "Don't worry, I'll give you an autograph after I beat you!"
Sasuke smirked. "Hah, Naruto, I didn't know you could crack jokes. Nice one—maybe you should sign up as a clown instead."
"SASUKE, I—!"
"Alright, brat! Back to the waiting area!" the ninja instructor barked, clearly done with Naruto's antics. He practically booted him out of the arena.
"I forfeit."
"Oh?" Renzo raised an eyebrow, immediately intrigued. "So it's happening after all?"
He hadn't really been paying much attention to the tournament—figured there wouldn't be anything new or interesting. So he hadn't even bothered using his sensory abilities to monitor the area in detail.
But now? His interest was piqued.
Spreading his perception outward, he instantly enveloped not just the arena, but all of Konoha and the surrounding hundred kilometers in one sweeping scan.
And then he sensed something fun.
"The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa… is being controlled? Akatsuki's here already? Oh, this is gonna be interesting."
"I haven't even started hunting them down yet, and they've decided to knock on my front door?"
Renzo grinned.
"What's up? Did something happen?" Tsunade and Kurenai both picked up on the shift in his energy and turned to him with questioning looks.
"Just a little surprise," Renzo said casually. "Looks like Akatsuki's planning to make a move on Konoha—today."
"…Huh?" Tsunade blinked. "Akatsuki? You mean that group founded by Jiraiya's three former students? Are they insane? They seriously think attacking Konoha is a good idea?"
"Do they have a death wish?"
Forget Renzo—just Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and Kurenai alone were enough to handle them.
Not to mention Konoha still had Minato, Kushina, and even the Pokemons.
And of course... the biggest monster of them all was sitting right here: Renzo.
"Heh." Renzo chuckled. "People always trust what they see. They love to overestimate their strength—and get cocky."
"And to be fair, they've done some pretty major stuff behind the scenes these past few years. One of them even has the Rinnegan, so it's not completely unreasonable."
Still, most of the ninja world hadn't seen Renzo in action in years.
Plenty of people had basically forgotten he even existed.
"Yeah, good point," Tsunade nodded. "Well, what now? Should we start evacuating civilians?"
"No need. I'll just give Minato a heads-up. There's no way they can hurt the village."
Renzo shook his head and sent a mental transmission to Minato with everything he'd sensed.
...
"…What the hell," Minato paused, blinking in disbelief as he glanced sideways at the person next to him—none other than the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
Seriously?
This guy was supposed to be a fellow Kage?
Dude got mind-controlled by Akatsuki. What a joke.
Minato suddenly felt embarrassed to even be grouped with him.
Having this guy around lowered the entire Kage tier.
Rasa, or more accurately, the one controlling him—Uchiha Aiko—could sense Minato's sudden disdain and tilted his head suspiciously. "Something wrong, Lord Hokage? You seem to have… opinions."
That condescending look in Minato's eyes wasn't exactly subtle.
"Haha, no, no," Minato forced a chuckle. "Just embarrassed about my son acting like a complete idiot earlier."
Aiko, still pretending to be Rasa, mentally rolled his eyes.
'Only just now realizing it? The kid is already back at the waiting area. Bit slow on the uptake, aren't you?'
Of course, none of that showed on his face. He smiled politely and said, "I thought the boy did quite well. A bit cocky, sure—but kids will be kids. Ours was the same at that age."
"Haha, right…" Minato gave a stiff, polite smile of his own.
(A/N: Uchiha Aiko was the one Black Zetsu was manipulating to carry on the mission in Ch 134.)
---
Meanwhile, the tournament continued.
Match after match flew by as the crowd cheered—completely unaware of the storm brewing around them.
Then came the main event: Sasuke vs. Gaara.
Thanks to Renzo's intervention in the Uchiha clan's fate, Sasuke had grown up with a loving family, a strong older brother, and a mentor like Kakashi far more powerful than in the original timeline.
Naturally, he was much stronger too.
It wasn't long before Sasuke shattered Gaara's supposedly 'absolute' defense with his Chidori, drawing real blood.
That's when it happened.
Gaara snapped—and began to transform.
From deep inside, Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, began to emerge.
"Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana Technique!"
Suddenly, an ANBU officer in the crowd formed a series of hand signs—and a powerful wave of sleep-inducing chakra swept through the audience.
Within seconds, all the regular civilians and weaker ninja in the stands had collapsed into unconsciousness.
BOOM!!!
At the same time, the man posing as Rasa exploded into action, releasing a tidal wave of golden sand straight toward Minato's seat.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Elsewhere, one of the Six Paths of Pain—the Animal Path—smashed through Konoha's barrier and summoned the entire Akatsuki squad right into the village center.
The other five Pains appeared in a flash—followed by Deidara, Sasori of the Red Sand, Kakuzu, and more.
They were ready to attack.
"Dōjutsu: Takamagahara!"
"Mass Spatial Shift!"
In the blink of an eye, the entire group felt the world around them blur.
When their vision cleared, they were no longer in Konoha.
They now stood in an open field more than a hundred kilometers away.
With them were Minato, Tsunade, Kushina, Kurenai, Obito, Renzo—and yes, still the fake Rasa.
Back in the village, Kakashi, Rin, and several others had been left behind to hold the line.
"Kakashi," Renzo's voice echoed in his mind, "you're in charge of the village for now. Keep the civilians safe and clean up the Sand Village intruders as quickly as possible."
"I got it, I got it…" Kakashi muttered, clearly annoyed. "You could've just teleported all the enemies out. Why leave any behind?"
He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, you're so extra sometimes."
Renzo chuckled telepathically. "If I'm doing all the work? What do I need you people for then?"
"Konoha's been too peaceful for too long. People are getting soft. This is a perfect chance to shake them up a little—remind everyone what it means to stay sharp."
"Never get too comfortable, even in peace."
If it weren't for Minato pushing hard to reform the village over the years, Konoha might've already gone down the same rotten path it did in the original timeline.
Neither Renzo nor Minato wanted to see that happen.
So when Renzo sensed Akatsuki on the move, he and Minato had quietly agreed: This time… they'd let the test come.
Let the younger generation witness true power and feel enough of a threat to grow stronger than they did in the original timeline—preparing themselves as a force of manpower when the multiverse begins to open up.
.
.
.