Ren's goal was crystal clear—
He wanted to straight-up replace Naruto and become the next generation's Asura.
Sure, it'd be a bootleg version… but when your strength reaches a certain level, who dares claim the bootleg can't beat the original?
Even so, the road to becoming a new Asura was long.
If an Uchiha wanted to replace Sasuke as Indra, it would actually be simpler by comparison.
Because Uchiha Madara had essentially laid out the entire roadmap for power—step by step.
As long as you had a brother, got lucky enough to awaken the Mangekyō… trying to reach Madara's level wasn't impossible.
Even if you fell short, during certain eras you'd still be nearly unmatched.
And even without a brother, if you could awaken the Mangekyō somehow, you could at least end up at an Obito-like level.
But Asura?
Asura had it worse—because the path was vague and hard to pin down.
"Hashirama Senju's Wood Release… Naruto's Tailed Beast Chakra Mode…"
The tailed beast stuff was something Ren didn't even dare to think about right now.
So the only realistic option was Hashirama's Wood Release.
"Yeah… Indra just needs to stack points into the Sharingan. Asura has way too much to juggle."
And for someone with no bloodline like him?
It was even worse.
Luckily—
He was a cheater.
"Yang Release, Water Release, and Earth Release… they have to reach the same tier before fusion is even possible."
The higher a single nature transformation's level, the deeper Ren's understanding became.
And the deeper that understanding, the more clearly he could sense the "connection points" where two different natures might be fused.
But those connection points were absurdly difficult to grasp—normal people would never touch them in an entire lifetime.
Otherwise, in a shinobi world packed with ninja, why were bloodline-limit clans still so rare?
For Ren, though, it wasn't a big deal.
As long as he had Free Points, everything was negotiable.
"But besides those natures… my physical stats and chakra also need to keep up."
Chakra was the foundation of everything.
And only a strong body could endure and carry more chakra.
Especially after Ren had already seen the Scorch Release experience notes he obtained from Pakura—those notes made him understand just how terrifying the chakra demands were for creating a kekkei genkai through fusion.
Honestly, with his current physical stats, Ren's natural chakra training wouldn't be bad.
But training couldn't compare to simply spending points.
And the chakra he upgraded with points—combined with his physique—made his recovery efficiency downright monstrous.
"Come to think of it… should I try fusing Scorch Release first?"
Ren walked while thinking.
Based on that experience report, he already had a rough grasp of how Scorch Release fusion worked.
He could basically "copy the homework" and reproduce it.
The problem was—
He had inherited Konoha's greatest traditional spirit:
Fire Country ninja are the best at everything except Fire Release.
His Fire Release was still only LV2.
"…Forget it. One step at a time."
Ren shook his head.
The real priority was still trying to create Wood Release.
Wood Release was crucial.
And he was counting on using it to bluff and scam his way forward, too.
If he wanted to confirm whether that Uchiha buried deep underground really existed—and even dig him out—
He had to clarify a lot of things.
He couldn't rely on the Uchiha for that.
Those idiots didn't even know where their "ultimate weapon" had fallen.
Otherwise, they'd have retrieved it long ago—after all, it was a Mangekyō.
"The only ones I can target are the Uzumaki, the Sarutobi, and the Senju… the ones who participated in that siege."
Unfortunately, the Uzumaki were wiped out, and their materials were mostly stored in Konoha.
Ren didn't have the guts to steal that.
As for the Sarutobi…
He'd rather break into Konoha's secret archives and try stealing Uzumaki intel than mess with them.
Looking around, the only realistic option left was the Senju—
A clan that looked extinct but wasn't, and still had someone like Tsunade with real influence.
And with Ren's eyes already locked onto Wood Release, no matter how he looked at it—
The best target was the Senju.
But as he walked, Ren's brows suddenly drew together.
Not far ahead, he vaguely caught sight of a shadow flickering.
And beyond that—
He sensed a unique Flying Thunder God marker abruptly appear.
"Obito, that kid is about to move."
On the highest peak of Konoha's back mountain, Obito gazed down at the village.
At that moment, the pitcher-plant monster surfaced from the ground beside him, speaking in a low voice.
"I think now is a good opportunity."
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu had been watching Uchiha Itachi these past few days.
Obito's plan—if you wanted to dress it up—was that it "wasn't perfect yet."
But whether it was perfect didn't truly matter.
What mattered was planting a seed in someone's heart.
Doubt was the most terrifying weapon.
Once doubt was born, cracks appeared.
Those cracks widened.
And without answers, everything eventually collapsed into ruin.
Obito wasn't worried the doubt wouldn't take root.
After all, by their investigation—
Ren was a Root man.
"Interesting," Obito said with a faint smile.
"That brat is running a mission this late at night. He's practically handing us a chance."
Ren had just become a chūnin, so his motivation was high. Night movement also drew less attention—cautious, in its own way.
"Then what about Shihara Ren?" Obito asked. "Where is he now?"
Obito nodded.
Back in the day, he'd been just as eager when he went on missions.
The difference was—
His eagerness had been for one person.
But things had changed.
That person was gone.
"Shihara Ren has been in contact with the new Nine-Tails jinchūriki," White Zetsu's half-face spoke up.
"Honestly, that guy's way too rough. The jinchūriki kid invited him to eat, and he almost beat the kid up!"
"…Eat?"
Obito looked completely baffled.
He was used to White Zetsu's nonsense at this point. Nothing that idiot said could shock him anymore.
"Yeah, eat!"
White Zetsu nodded, full of regret.
"The jinchūriki kid worked so hard picking mushrooms all day in the back mountain, and that's how he treats him. Obito, I support your plan."
"..."
What the hell are you even talking about?
Obito felt a headache coming on.
Thankfully, Black Zetsu knew what Obito actually wanted to hear.
"But Ren has already separated from the jinchūriki brat," Black Zetsu said.
"I think we can go draw his attention now."
"That's good."
Obito nodded, relieved to finally hear something sane.
"Then let's move. Tonight, we'll give him a big surprise."
"No problem."
Black Zetsu nodded.
Only the other half was still shaking its head wistfully.
"What a waste… that whole basket of mushrooms. They were so pretty—looked delicious."
Obito nearly stumbled.
Even if he was an idiot—
He knew those things weren't edible.
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