Danzo said nothing at first—his face simply darkened.
"You can't handle the position of Hokage," Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly. "Everything Hayashi Ren did today in the MOBA space has already proven he has the potential to become a true powerhouse.
Sure, he couldn't train in the past—but that was the past. Things are different now!"
"With the existence of the MOBA space, everything has become unpredictable. And Hayashi Ren… he will absolutely become a formidable force in the future. Do you understand?!"
Hiruzen's voice was sharp and commanding.
Danzo's expression darkened even more.
He had seen Hayashi Ren's potential too—that was exactly why he'd acted so quickly to try to bring Ren under his wing.
Controlling Ren would give him the leverage he needed to eventually claim the title of Hokage.
He would never give up that opportunity so easily.
"I can make him truly loyal to the village," Danzo said in a cold, steady voice.
"Loyal to the village?" Hiruzen scoffed. "You mean loyal to you, right? Spare me the speech. Starting now, rein in your ambitions. Don't forget—I am still the Hokage of this village."
With that, Hiruzen turned around and walked out.
"You'll regret this, Hiruzen!"
Danzo's voice was low and seething with fury as he stared after the Hokage's retreating back.
Hiruzen didn't respond. He simply let out a snort of contempt and stepped out of the office.
Danzo's face was now as dark as the bottom of a scorched pot.
He slowly reached up and touched his right eye, letting out a cold laugh.
"You think you're the real shadow of this village?"
Steam filled the air.
Inside the small ramen shop, the sound of slurping echoed cheerfully.
"Slurp—gulp!"
With one final swallow, Naruko finished off a massive bowl of ramen.
Hayashi Ren chuckled softly, watching her with affectionate amusement in his eyes.
Sasuko, noticing the gentle look in his eyes, felt a twinge of discomfort in her heart. She gave Naruko a cold glare.
"You're a girl—don't you feel the slightest bit embarrassed eating like that?"
"You jerk, Sasuko! Are you trying to pick a fight?!" Naruko shot back, furious.
Her small mouth was still covered in ramen broth, and her cheeks puffed up like an angry kitten.
"Idiot," Sasuko muttered flatly, turning her head and quietly returning to her own ramen.
"Stupid Sasuko!" Naruko shouted in her shrill voice and reached out to grab Sasuko's collar—
—but just then, two slender fingers appeared in front of her holding a napkin.
"Wipe your mouth," Hayashi Ren said with a sigh, clearly exasperated.
Naruko was such a handful. Whenever she and Sasuko were together, they always bickered.
It was as if the deep-rooted connection between Asura and Indra lived on in them.
"Humph!" Naruko snatched the napkin, shot one more glare at Sasuko, and finally began wiping her mouth.
Ren shook his head with a helpless smile.
The bond between Naruko and Sasuko really did run deep.
"Ren-kun!"
Suddenly, a voice called out.
Ren, along with Naruko and Sasuko, turned in surprise.
Running toward them excitedly was Ino, dragging Sakura behind her.
Sasuko frowned. "What are you two doing here?"
Ino ignored her completely and beamed at Hayashi Ren. "Ren-kun, you were amazing in the MOBA space today! How did you do it? You were killing us like we were little chicks!"
"Ino…" Sakura blushed and tugged on her sleeve. "Could you not say it like that?"
Little chicks? That was kind of insulting.
It wasn't that easy. If anything, it was like butchering a pig, at least!
"It's nothing," Ren replied with a modest smile. "I don't normally spend much time training, so I just focus on things other people tend to overlook. Beating you guys today was just luck, really."
"Ren-kun, you're so humble!" Ino squealed, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
Unable to contain her excitement, she reached toward his hand with her own small, trembling fingers—