Ren's expression suddenly froze.
Water trumps fire, fire trumps wind, wind trumps lightning, lightning trumps earth, and earth trumps water!
Hiss, good heavens, I was careless!
Ren scratched his head in annoyance. How could he be so unlucky, with neither the right time nor the right place on his side? Forget it, it doesn't matter. It's not like he only knows Water Release. After all this time, his Bloodline Limit should be making its debut...
"Ren, what's wrong?"
"Ah? I'm here, Minato-nii. Oh, didn't Kushina-nee come with you?"
Ren snapped back to reality, feigning ignorance, then quickly changed the subject. As expected, when his girlfriend was mentioned, Minato's attention was immediately captured.
"Your Kushina-nee is in the Village. Her identity makes it inconvenient for her to move around, you know."
Minato's expression was a bit helpless. After all, his girlfriend, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, couldn't easily leave the Village. Even if he was a little disappointed, he could only accept reality.
"Is that so...?"
"Although I'd like to chat with you for a while, I'm a bit tired. See you tomorrow, Ren."
After speaking, Minato smiled at Ren, a hint of exhaustion in his brows. He had secretly infiltrated the Land of Earth to get intelligence from the undercover agents, then rushed back without stopping. Two days and a night of travel and toil, even Minato felt his spirit was reaching its limit.
"Okay, goodbye, Minato-nii."
After waving goodbye to Minato Namikaze, Ren began to wander around the main camp by himself.
Unknowingly, when Ren came to his senses, he realised he had walked into the centre of the main camp, where a large number of tents stood. From the looks of it, this must be the Ninja's living quarters.
Ren, looking around, suddenly his eyes lit up. He quickly walked two steps to a person's front. Before the person could react, Ren quickly bowed, then said with some excitement.
"Long time no see, Uncle Shinku."
"Hmm?"
Yuhi Shinku turned around in confusion, his gaze falling on Ren, who had raised his head. When he clearly saw Ren's appearance, Yuhi Shinku was also stunned, then exclaimed in surprise.
"Ren? What are you doing here?!"
"Ah, hahaha, for some reason, I was transferred here from the Sunagakure Battlefield. Lord Jiraiya gave me half a day off, and who knew I'd get lost and end up here. I didn't expect to see Uncle."
"So that's how it is."
Yuhi Shinku nodded, his expression suddenly becoming a half-smile, half-frown. It made Ren feel uncomfortable all over.
"Is something wrong, Uncle Shinku?"
Ren's voice trembled slightly. Clearly, the pressure from his future father-in-law was a bit much for Ren to handle.
"Brat, did you forget something?!"
Yuhi Shinku's voice was icy cold, with a hint of "killing intent" in his gaze towards Ren. Ren instantly felt like he had fallen into a freezing hell, his teeth chattering as he looked at Yuhi Shinku opposite him.
"Uncle, I suddenly remembered! I still need to find Kurenai. Please show me the way!"
Ren leaned against the tent behind him, asking nervously. The two gazes in front of him made him feel like he had daggers in his back.
"Hmph! Go straight for two hundred meters, then turn left. The second tent under the watchtower."
"Thank you, Uncle! Farewell!"
After getting the answer, Ren turned and rushed forward, disappearing from Yuhi Shinku's sight in a few Instantaneous Body Techniques.
"Brat!"
Yuhi Shinku chuckled, then slowly walked in the direction Ren had left...
"Phew."
Ren stopped, breathing heavily, not because of physical exhaustion, but because of the pressure from a certain "old father."
"The second tent under the watchtower, this must be it..."
Ren mumbled twice, walked to the tent, nervously rubbed his hands, then pulled open the curtain and walked in.
"Who are you?"
A tent full of people was chatting lively. When Ren entered, they instantly fell silent. A middle-aged man wearing a Jonin vest stood up and asked Ren in a deep voice.
"Excuse me for disturbing you all. I'm looking for Yuhi Kurenai. Is she in this dormitory?"
Ren immediately responded with a smile. He scanned the area but didn't see Kurenai, making him wonder if he had entered the wrong tent.
The few people in the tent, who had been a bit confused just now, instantly seemed to understand something and all looked at Ren with smiles.
"I knew it. It's another pure-hearted young man smitten by Kurenai."
A short-haired girl sat on the bunk, swinging her legs, covering her mouth and giggling at Ren.
"Alright, alright, stop teasing. Wake Kurenai up. Her suitor is here."
A girl with a painted face next to her nudged the short-haired girl, a mischievous smile on her face.
"Alright, alright, I got it."
The short-haired girl got up, and everyone made way, revealing four more bunks at the very back of the tent. The short-haired girl walked to the innermost bunk and gently shook it.
"Kurenai, wake up, someone's looking for you."
"Mm... What is it, Sister Mei? I just got back from patrol, I'm so sleepy."
Kurenai, with sleepy eyes, got up and rubbed them, looking at Mei, she said with a dazed expression.
"Hahaha, still sleeping? Your suitor has come all the way to the tent."
"Huh?"
At the mention of this, Kurenai immediately thought of a certain Hokage's son. A hint of displeasure instantly welled up in her red eyes. Her gaze swept to a figure standing at the entrance, and her red eyes instantly widened.
"Long time no see, Kurenai."
Ren looked at Kurenai, whose emotions were gradually becoming agitated, scratched his head and smiled.
"Ah!"
Kurenai screamed, and before anyone could react, she pounced into Ren's arms with lightning speed.
Ren was caught off guard by the sudden "attack" and his body instinctively wanted to counterattack. Fortunately, he managed to suppress this impulse in time and gently patted Kurenai's back.
"It's been so long, did you miss me?"
"Yes."
Kurenai looked up, her red eyes slightly moist as she looked at Ren.
"Kurenai, I came to see you. Do you have... do you... have... time..."
Just then, Asuma lifted the curtain and walked in, only to see the two embracing. He instantly turned to stone on the spot.
Asuma had been secretly pleased when he and Kurenai were assigned to the same battlefield, believing he had a chance to win Kurenai's heart while Ren was away.
Although Kurenai had always been cold to Asuma, Asuma firmly believed that if he persevered, he would definitely succeed. After all, he was one of Konoha Village's most prominent rich, handsome, and tall bachelors. What was Ren better at than him, besides being a little taller and having looks on par with his own?
Brainwashed by himself, Asuma came to find Kurenai every day with a mysterious confidence, but the more he was rejected, the more determined he became. Every day, besides completing missions, he would pester Kurenai, making her extremely annoyed.
But now, Asuma felt his life was utterly bleak...