Ren had thought about how to introduce White Zetsu cells into Tsunade for quite a long time before finally forming a rough plan.
It wasn't because he was overly generous or had some strange desire to play caretaker. He wasn't that bored.
As for Tsunade—setting aside his own small, selfish thoughts—she was someone worth doing something for.
More importantly, Ren wanted to personally observe the effects of White Zetsu cells. Only through comparison could he refine his own understanding, and for that, he needed a suitable subject.
"Giving White Zetsu cells to Orochimaru is obviously out of the question."
To be honest, that would actually be the better choice from a purely technical standpoint. Orochimaru's research ability was unquestionably top-tier.
The problem was simple: Ren wasn't close to him.
Orochimaru remembered Ren only because when Ren entered Root, Danzo had personally brought Orochimaru and Aburame Ryūma along. That kind of encounter naturally left an impression.
As for now, the only reason Orochimaru paid attention to Ren was because Ren had shown terrifying talent—and had beaten him hard.
Friendship? That didn't exist.
If anything, violence was their default greeting.
Ren also understood that for someone like Orochimaru, there were no true friends or absolute enemies. Only interests.
Still, after thinking it over, Ren shook his head.
"At least for now, Orochimaru is off the table. I'll think about him again after I inherit Danzo's assets."
Walking toward ANBU headquarters, Ren nodded to himself. In his eyes, Danzo had already become a synonym for "inheritance."
Even though the man was technically still alive.
"But I still need to prove my loyalty to Danzo," Ren thought. "Otherwise, Shisui's situation will be hard to handle."
Ren hadn't forgotten Shisui—not at all. In fact, he intended to make full use of the upcoming "interaction" between Shisui and Danzo.
As for whether Shisui would act according to plan?
Ren wasn't worried.
Worst case, he'd personally step in and tell Shisui a few carefully selected "stories."
Creating opportunities himself was something Ren was very good at.
"You're here?"
As Ren entered the ANBU facility, Kakashi, who had clearly been waiting, nodded at him.
"I've been waiting for a while. I thought you weren't coming."
"That wouldn't happen," Ren replied with a smile. "I brought the people back myself. Of course I'd come check."
He glanced around.
"Where's my little brother Tenzō? And what about Uchiha Itachi? They're not here?"
The moment Ren said "little brother Tenzō," Kakashi's exposed eye instantly turned into a dead-fish stare.
In some sense… Tenzō really was Ren's junior.
Same Wood Release.
Same Root background.
Same disregard for conventional limits.
Thinking about that, Kakashi didn't even feel like talking anymore.
Because due to the Obito investigation, he'd be working with Ren for a long time.
Left side Ren.
Right side Tenzō.
Just imagining it made his head throb.
"Tenzo is on a mission," Kakashi replied stiffly. "Not everyone can slack off like you."
"And Itachi?"
"He's in the monitoring room."
"Huh?"
Ren blinked, then showed a look of pure disdain.
"You people are really something. Letting an Uchiha personally monitor his own clan?"
"I underestimated you, Kakashi. You're playing this hard."
"Hey, don't slander me."
Kakashi immediately denied it.
"I didn't assign that mission. I don't have that authority. And don't pretend you don't understand why he was given that task."
"Tch, you're way too cautious. Can't even take a joke."
Ren sighed. Kakashi really was overly careful around him.
Thinking about it, Ren didn't feel he'd tricked Kakashi that many times. He'd only had Kakashi order the invasion of Grass Village, that was all.
Compared to Jiraiya infiltrating Iwa or Shisui facing Suna's army head-on, this was nothing.
Shaking his head, Ren smiled.
"I know. The point is to make him pass the message back—that the Uchiha are under surveillance, so they should behave."
"Exactly," Kakashi said with a shrug. "You know everything, yet you still say things like that."
Then Ren suddenly asked:
"So… does that mean you're all tacitly acknowledging Uchiha Itachi as a double agent?"
"…!"
Kakashi froze.
He really wanted to ask Ren one thing.
Why did this guy always say things that were actively harmful to unity?
Was this something you could just say out loud?!
"Of course not," Kakashi forced out. "We trust Itachi."
"Then that's even worse," Ren replied calmly. "Because the Uchiha probably aren't getting any information at all. That means we're just performing for the blind."
"..."
"So, Kakashi-senpai," Ren continued gently, "what's really going on here?"
"..."
Kakashi had stopped talking entirely.
This question had no correct answer.
Any answer he gave would be wrong.
"Can you not talk about this stuff?" Kakashi finally snapped, eyes filled with grievance.
"Just promise me you'll stop, and I'll give you all the future volumes of Icha Icha Paradise."
"..."
Ren blinked.
What kind of deal was that?
"…That's tempting," Ren said slowly. "But Kakashi-senpai—"
"What now?"
"You only read it. You don't practice. Does it really help?"
"..."
"And besides," Ren added casually, "even if I don't read Icha Icha Paradise, I already have Yūgao-senpai."
"..."
Kakashi clenched his fists.
If he could win, he would absolutely punch this bastard twice.
Why did Ren always manage to find the strangest angle and then deliver a critical hit?
Silence fell.
The silence was deafening.
"We're here."
After a long while, Kakashi finally led Ren to the location and turned to leave immediately.
"Kakashi-senpai, leaving already?"
Ren suddenly called out.
"…What?"
"You received the notice, right?"
Kakashi stiffened.
He hadn't—but he knew this wouldn't be good news.
"I already got mine," Ren said calmly. "Kirigakure is ready. We may be leaving at any time."
"…I understand."
Kakashi nodded stiffly.
"Then I won't disturb you."
"Mm."
As Kakashi turned to leave, Ren smiled again.
"Captain Kakashi, please take care of me from now on."
"..."
Kakashi paused for a split second—then walked faster.
He really didn't want to stay here any longer.
And for some reason, he felt like something heavy had been added to his back.
"Tch. Can't take a joke."
Ren shook his head lightly.
Kakashi was good in every way—except he really wasn't good at jokes.
A few words, and the man was already on the verge of mental collapse.
"And being my captain makes you unhappy? That's too much."
Ren sighed.
He decided not to tell Kakashi that Jiraiya was actually the real captain.
Let him worry a little longer.
"Still… Itachi's situation is interesting."
Ren wasn't sure how Itachi would develop. It looked like he was already heading down the same road as Shisui.
The difference was that Shisui, under Ren's guidance, at least had a direction—though incomplete.
As for Itachi?
Ren wasn't his babysitter.
He had no intention of helping someone he barely knew—especially someone he didn't like.
And especially someone whose choices Ren fundamentally could not understand or agree with.
"If I remember correctly," Ren muttered, "Shisui's death shattered him, and then he completely lost it."
In Ren's memory, the Uchiha clan's ultimate 'filial son' awakened after Shisui's death.
Unfortunately, his enlightenment went in a horribly wrong direction.
Instead of addressing the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha, he chose the simplest solution.
"If the Uchiha are incompatible with Konoha and might stage a coup… then I'll just kill my whole family."
"What kind of lunatic logic is that?"
Ren genuinely couldn't understand it.
By the time Itachi entered ANBU, even Danzo had already contacted him.
And yet his thinking ended up synchronized with Danzo's.
That was beyond absurd.
"And the Uchiha clan itself is probably about to go completely insane."
Ren shook his head.
Letting Itachi monitor his own clan was clearly meant to send a message.
We're watching you. Don't move.
But how the Uchiha interpreted that?
It could be seen as a threat—or as proof of Konoha's weakness.
Either way, it wouldn't end well.
"Birds of a feather really do flock together."
Ren pushed open the door, already planning to accelerate his investigation into the buried Uchiha.
If his plan proceeded smoothly, the Uchiha would take a heavy blow.
How many people would fall depended entirely on Shisui.
Since a blade was coming anyway, why not dig up the woman who hated the Uchiha most and let her see everything clearly?
"That saves me from having to talk them to death."
Unfortunately, the files were messy and the information sparse. Searching was troublesome.
"Ren? You're here?!"
As he entered the room, Kabuto looked up, his face lighting up with joy.
"Ren."
Yakushi Nono also looked over, disbelief still lingering in her eyes.
She had already understood everything—especially after Kabuto described their childhood interactions.
She was now certain of his identity.
The realization that she'd lived inside a web of lies for so many years shook her deeply.
If not for Ren, they would have regretted it for the rest of their lives.
During their time in isolation and interrogation, she'd also heard many things about Ren.
About how terrifyingly capable he had become.
Beyond his judgment and strategic ability, the most shocking part was—
He was a descendant of the Senju.
Wood Release.
Flying Thunder God.
Nono felt both proud and deeply worried.
As a former spy, she knew exactly what methods other villages would use against such a genius.
Not just outside the village.
Inside too.
Danzo's actions were proof.
"Kabuto, you seem to be doing well," Ren said with a grin. "You've even gained weight."
Then he turned to Nono.
"Director. You recognize me now, right?"
"Yes," Nono nodded softly. "Completely."
"I'll never forget either of you."
Her voice was sincere, though worry flickered briefly in her eyes.
"Don't worry," Ren said calmly. "It's all over."
He sat down.
"You won't need to take missions like that anymore. Jiraiya-sama said you'll need to stay with ANBU for a while—but once everything's settled, we'll all live peacefully."
Peaceful.
Nono's eyes widened.
Ren saying this so openly meant he was planning something dangerous.
Kabuto, on the other hand, remained calm.
He understood Ren very well.
If anything, he hoped Ren would push even harder.
After this incident, Kabuto was completely convinced.
Ren had predicted Danzo's moves—and then predicted Danzo predicting him.
He'd blown things up so massively that their return to the village didn't even cause ripples.
In Kabuto's eyes, the chaos in Iwagakure was deliberate cover.
Otherwise, why hadn't Danzo shown up yet?
But these thoughts stayed unspoken.
Walls had ears.
Better to communicate later—through Ren's scrolls.
We survived, Kabuto thought, lowering his head.
Next… it's your turn.
Shimura Danzo.
Far away, in a tower in the Rain Country, Orochimaru licked his lips as he read Danzo's message.
"Interesting."
Danzo clearly didn't know what had really happened.
That was good.
It avoided many complications.
"Maybe those two really are dead…"
Without confirmation, Orochimaru couldn't be sure.
But Danzo's message revealed something amusing.
A step back that was actually an advance.
Avoid Ren.
Let Ren keep "building stories."
Deepen the image of Orochimaru as the villain.
"But how do you plan to deliver that message?"
Information wasn't something you could just say.
It required verification.
Danzo's certainty was a flaw.
And Orochimaru intended to exploit it.
"And you don't want me to approach Ren?"
Orochimaru smiled coldly.
That just makes me want to even more.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu stared in disbelief at Konan and Pain.
"Me? Investigate Konoha ANBU? Are you serious?"
"If I could do that, I'd have killed that brat already!"
"Why not send Orochimaru? He's a Konoha traitor—wouldn't he be more suitable?"
Kakuzu already knew Akatsuki wanted to recruit Ren.
He'd even prepared scrolls to pass information along—another chance for "overtime pay."
Ren paid well.
Very well.
But now this task landed on him, and Kakuzu wondered if he'd been exposed.
Pain explained patiently.
"Your informant network may already be compromised by Danzo."
Because I'm the informant, Kakuzu thought awkwardly.
Konan spoke softly.
"Then we use that weakness. Feed information and let it reach Konoha. Let Ren come to us."
Kakuzu understood instantly.
"Bait him out."
"Exactly."
Pain nodded.
"Less searching. More control."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
Kakuzu frowned—not for himself, but for Akatsuki's stability.
He liked this steady income.
Pain's eyes sharpened.
"If necessary, I'll act personally."
Hashirama's power was impressive—but Rinnegan was absolute.
Back in Konoha, Danzo read Orochimaru's response with satisfaction.
He was convinced Nono and Kabuto were gone.
Now he could send Ren a message.
But—
"Damn you, Hiruzen!"
Being rejected from the negotiations enraged him.
Still, he wrote a scroll and handed it to Aburame Ryūma.
"Deliver this to Ren discreetly."
Then he asked, "How is Ren lately?"
"Unchanged," Ryūma replied. "But he's grown closer to Yūgao."
Danzo frowned.
"A civilian woman… disappointing."
Still, a child with Wood Release would be valuable.
But ideally—
Ren and Tsunade.
Senju blood plus awakened Wood Release.
The thought made Danzo's eyes gleam.
"Investigate her carefully," he ordered. "Quietly."
Back in Ren's room, he finished exchanging messages with Kabuto and sighed.
Killing Danzo now was easy.
Inheriting everything afterward was not.
"I'm not wandering the shinobi world," Ren muttered.
"And I'm definitely not going to work under Orochimaru."
He glanced at the scroll Danzo had sent and smiled mockingly.
The old man was truly being toyed with.
His list of tasks was long.
The Uchiha.
The buried Uchiha.
White Zetsu.
Kirigakure.
And his Yang Release Chakra Mode—which still wasn't registered by the system.
"Chakra Mode really is the strongest foundation."
If registered, he could push it beyond limits.
"Lv.12 physical stats…"
Ren smiled.
Then Tsunade's voice sounded.
"Still reading those boring files?"
She scoffed.
"You planning to dig up some Senju treasure?"
"…How did you know?"
She froze.
"You actually thought about that?"
"…We'll talk later."
She turned to leave.
"Prepare yourself. Jiraiya says we may depart in a week."
Ren nodded.
Then, as she walked away, he suddenly spoke.
"Teacher, wait."
"What now?"
Ren looked at her seriously.
"Tsunade-sensei…"
"…Do you want to try mastering Wood Release yourself?"
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