What Shisui Uchiha was thinking, Ren didn't really care.
As for whether Shisui would turn around and "expose" him—like casually chatting with the Third Hokage about what Ren had implied—
Ren worried about that even less.
Shisui hadn't said a word himself. In fact, it was Ren who had covered for him.
That alone proved Shisui already had his guard up.
If he went whining to the Hokage now, the one who'd suffer wouldn't be Ren—
It would be Shisui.
"Besides," Ren thought lazily, "I'm Konoha orthodox."
"Wood Release plus Flying Thunder God—how could an Uchiha compare?"
Sometimes, that so-called "Konoha orthodox" label actually did matter.
At least in name, it made him more popular.
And the Uchiha?
"Evil traitor's blood," and quietly "trained wrong" by Danzō—like rain soaking in without a sound.
If trouble came knocking, who would be the one paying for it?
That was obvious.
"The real question is…" Ren mused, "did that little needle I slipped under Danzō's skin do anything?"
He'd always dedicated himself to giving his boss a bit of "entertainment," after all—
So his superior could one day "enjoy a peaceful retirement."
The days that followed were… dull.
Every day, Ren either pretended to study seriously—
Or dragged Yugao into blushing red-faced, just to watch her squirm.
Overall, he behaved. More or less.
Because this upgrade in physical attributes had been huge.
He needed time to adapt to his body.
And beyond that, he needed to study the remaining Dragon Vein power sealed inside him.
"It's sealed, but this stuff is bizarre," Ren thought. "It actually recovers on its own. Why does it feel like a tailed beast?"
In his memories, self-recovering chakra like this existed in only one category:
tailed beasts.
Take the Nine-Tails—its chakra was beyond broken.
Even split in half, it retained self-awareness.
Even a tiny collected wisp of it could recover on its own, seemingly capable of forming a "new" Nine-Tails.
Of course, that would likely be an empty shell. The true consciousness remained inside the Fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Naruto.
Still, it was terrifying.
If the consciousness in Naruto or Minato ever dispersed…
That "shell" might become a vessel for the remaining fragment.
"Thankfully, the Dragon Vein has no consciousness," Ren decided. "Just wild instinct."
"That makes it easier for me to store and use later."
"But I still need a way to burn off some of it—regularly."
Ren's sealing techniques were only LV5. Ever since he broke Danzō's cursed seal, he hadn't bothered leveling it further.
"Good enough" had been his approach.
But dealing with something like the Dragon Vein was different.
If that massive chakra ever broke loose…
It would be a disaster.
So periodically consuming it—or investing a point into sealing—
became necessary.
"For me, as long as the level is high enough," Ren thought, "learning techniques is basically easy mode."
And so time passed.
About a month went by in the blink of an eye.
Early one morning, just as Ren was about to go find Yugao again, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly summoned him and brought him to a training field.
"Ren-kun," the Third Hokage greeted with a smile, his wrinkled face warm—though anyone could see the smile was a little strained.
"How have you been these days?"
"Pretty good," Ren nodded. "Studying hard, and with senpai like Kakashi, Shisui, and Yugao around, it's been fulfilling."
"…Is that so."
Hiruzen's mouth twitched.
That last part—Yugao—was clearly the "most fulfilling" to Ren.
Hiruzen hadn't visited ANBU much lately, but that didn't mean he didn't know what was going on.
ANBU was his domain.
He knew exactly how Ren behaved.
He wasn't opposed to romance.
Even a young romance.
In the Warring States era, kids younger than this were already fighting and dying.
But the problem was—
Ren didn't seem to understand how important he was.
Flying Thunder God.
Wood Release.
Both were priceless.
And beyond Ren, Hiruzen was also being worn down by other fires.
The Uchiha, for one.
Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō and chosen to remain in ANBU, and the clan wasn't happy.
They'd been pestering Hiruzen nonstop.
Worse, the clan itself seemed restless—dangerously close to moving.
It was clear.
Whether it was Obito or Shisui—
their Mangekyō had ignited exactly what the Uchiha should never have been allowed to reignite.
And then there was Danzō, his old classmate—
already stirring trouble again.
Hiruzen sighed, shook off those thoughts, and looked at Ren seriously.
"I came today with good news for you."
"But before I tell you, I want to test you."
"I want to see whether you've truly been diligent."
"You are Konoha's future."
"Whether it's Flying Thunder God or Wood Release—these are things of immense importance."
"Uh…"
Ren scratched his head, then nodded.
"I understand, Hokage-sama. What will you test me on?"
"Come with me."
Hiruzen gestured ahead.
"I want to test your Wood Release."
"It may be a little harsh—you've only had a month."
"But Wood Release is too important to us."
"I want you to push yourself harder, Ren-kun."
Ren blinked.
He'd thought Hiruzen was about to personally spar with him.
So it was just a Wood Release evaluation?
Still, Ren understood what this really was.
Hiruzen had probably noticed his "slacking" and wasn't pleased.
This was a reminder: don't slack that openly.
"If you perform well," Hiruzen added, "I can consider granting you a reasonable request."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Ren said promptly.
Then, as he began forming hand seals somewhat clumsily, he asked, "But the good news you mentioned is…?"
Watching this, Hiruzen's lips twitched again.
You can't even form seals cleanly—how hard have you been slacking?!
In the end, he didn't scold him. Instead, he deliberately dangled the bait.
"We've found a lead on Tsunade."
"I originally planned to have you try bringing her back… but if you don't meet my expectations, it'll be difficult."
Tsunade?
Ren's eyes widened.
He was extremely interested.
Before Hiruzen could finish—
Ren snapped his hands together, chakra erupting inside him like a flood.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"
The grass of the training field trembled.
Thick roots burst from the earth.
They swelled and surged upward, vines twisting around each other—
And in moments, towering trees filled the space before them.
"…What—?"
Hiruzen's eyes went wide, completely involuntary.
What was this?
Wasn't this kid slacking?
What kind of joke was this?!
Ren turned back, looking at Hiruzen with sincere, earnest eyes.
"Hokage-sama…"
"I think I've met the requirement."
"…"
For a brief moment—
Hiruzen genuinely wanted to slap himself.
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