In the Hyuga Clan territory, the main house, elders and the clan leader gathered.
"Have members of the branch family removed the Caged Bird Seal?"
"There really is someone in the Uzumaki Clan who can remove the Caged Bird Seal."
"What should we do, clan leader? The Caged Bird Seal hasn't improved yet, and the longer this drags on, the less controllable the branch family becomes." An elder spoke with deep concern.
"The Uzumaki are undermining the foundation of the Hyuga clan. Clan leader, I think we must go to war with them." Another elder said angrily.
"Agreed. These red-haired people need to be taught a lesson, and they must hand over the one who can remove the Caged Bird Seal."
"What about the branch family now?" The clan leader, listening to the elders argue back and forth, felt his head ready to explode.
"Some members of the branch have noticed. While gathering information outside, they secretly sought out the Uzumaki." A Hyuga elder said with frustration.
"But we can't stop our people from going out. If they don't, we won't get intelligence. If the other ninja clans target the Hyuga clan, we won't even know how we'll die."
"Sigh… Then let's go to war with the Uzumaki clan. They are slowly eating away at the Hyuga clan, trying to divide us bit by bit."
The elders' arguments were reasonable, and finally, the Hyuga clan leader agreed to go to war with the Uzumaki.
They needed to divert the clan's attention. As for an excuse for the war, unimportant clan members could die in Uzumaki territory.
Meanwhile, Ren arrived at the place where the Nine-Tails was temporarily staying. Kurama looked at Ren arriving again and immediately closed his fox eyes, preparing to ignore him.
"Kurama, do you want the other tailed beasts to come here and keep you company?" Ren whispered.
"What do you want?" Kurama opened his eyes and stared at Ren. Gathering the tailed beasts together, trying to revive the Ten-Tails?
"I'm not doing anything. Just think of it as raising nine pets." Ren smiled.
"Hah, I'm no pet." Kurama lunged forward, baring his teeth.
"You can say that when you can beat me," Ren said, jumping onto Kurama's head, not caring at all.
Kurama thought for a moment, then closed his eyes, unwilling to deal with Ren any longer.
"Is that so? Fine, then. I'll bring one tanuki to see you."
"You…" Kurama opened his eyes again. He didn't even need to think about it—Shukaku would definitely mock him mercilessly.
"Don't worry. What you're afraid of won't happen. I don't have that kind of power, right?"
"Uzumaki Ren, how much do you actually know?" Kurama stared at Ren, trying to get answers from him.
"Kurama, will you agree or not? Either way, I can find out myself; it just takes a bit longer." Ren gently stroked Kurama as he spoke.
Kurama recalled the first time he met Ren. He had been sleeping when a voice woke him up, calling his name and asking if he wanted to follow him.
He was used to being free, so there was no way he would agree.
Soon after, Kurama got beaten up and was taken back to the Uzumaki territory.
A barrier was set up, and inside it, he was relatively free.
His malicious perception told him that the man in front of him harbored no ill will toward the Tailed Beasts.
Forced into it, he stayed in the Uzumaki territory.
From time to time, he fought with Ren, bickering a bit, but Ren didn't seem to exploit him in any other way.
"Forget it, the tanuki would surely enjoy having the upper hand over you. I'll go have some fun with him," Ren said, advancing by retreating.
"Uzumaki Ren, reach out your hand."
Kurama extended his fox claw.
Ren reached out his hand, meeting Kurama's, and the Nine-Tails' chakra flowed over him.
Along with it came a heavy wave of malice.
Clearly, Kurama had not yet aligned his intentions with Ren, and Ren had to resist this malice himself.
In an instant, from trivial matters to curses wishing harm on entire ninja clans, every conceivable and inconceivable human malice filled Ren's mind.
With a century of experience like Re:Zero Ren and the paranoia from the Witch Cult, he quickly adapted and suppressed all the malice.
"So this is your sensory ability, Kurama. Impressive," Ren said, very satisfied.
Sensing malice is different from most sensory abilities, which just detect chakra.
If it were White Zetsu, common sensory abilities would be useless.
"Hmph." Kurama closed his eyes.
It was precisely because of this sensory ability that he could judge whether approaching humans held malice toward him.
"Kurama, at the latest, I'll be back in a year. This barrier not only restricts your movements but can also protect you," Ren said, leaving immediately after speaking.
"Protect?" Kurama thought of Ren's strength and ultimately said nothing.
"Ren, are you really going out?" the Great Elder asked.
"Great Elder, you should understand what the barrier I set up means."
"Ren, that beast is a symbol of calamity," the Second Elder advised earnestly.
"Very well. When you return, you must inherit the position of clan leader," the Great Elder sighed.
No one was sent to follow Ren; anyone who went would only hold him back.
After bidding farewell to his clan, Ren left the Uzumaki territory and went to the place where the Hyuga siblings were waiting.
Seeing Ren appear, the siblings both sighed in relief.
They had just taken turns sensing the surroundings.
"Let's go, to the Land of Wind of the future," Ren led the way.
Hyuga Akie felt a bit puzzled.
Ren's chakra had changed again after returning this time, leaving her confused.
The three of them headed toward the Land of Wind.
With two Byakugan keeping watch in all directions, they avoided many troubles.
After all, their goal this time was the tailed beast, not playing around with other ninja clans.
They walked and rested along the way.
Seven days later, they reached the desert region.
However, someone had taken an interest in them and wouldn't let go, no matter how they tried to shake them off.
Ren and his companions decided to wait at their location for the other party to appear.
The visitor turned out to be Uchiha Izuna.
"Hm? What do you want from me?" Ren looked at Uchiha Izuna.
He didn't sense any hostility, so revenge was unlikely.
"Uzumaki Ren, I'll be straightforward. What is the Uzumaki clan's current stance?" Uchiha Izuna stated the purpose of his visit directly.
"The Uzumaki clan's stance?" Ren said, "I won't get involved in the conflicts between your Uchiha and the Senju clan, regardless of what the rest of my clan thinks. As you can see, I'm currently in conflict with the Hyuga clan and don't have time to meddle in this."
He knew that once he removed the Caged Bird Seal, he would become Hyuga clan's number one enemy.
"Is that so?" Uchiha Izuna confirmed the information he wanted and left.
He trusted that someone like Ren wouldn't lie to him.
"Lord Ren, I'm sorry. I got you noticed by the Hyuga clan," Hyuga Akie said awkwardly.
She hadn't considered the consequences when she first came to find Ren, and it had caused this big problem.
"It's nothing serious," Ren said, stroking his chin.
Now, it seemed he could act freely in the ninja world.
The group set off again, entering the desert.
The blowing sand obstructed their vision, and the vast area made finding the One-Tail no easy task.
The two Hyuga following him worked diligently, taking turns using their Byakugan to search.
This made things much easier for Ren.
The group quickly ventured deeper into the desert, looking for any sign of the One-Tail.
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