"Kaguya's Child?"
When Ren saw the reward name, the first figure that flashed through his mind—almost instinctively—was that legendary existence known as the Founder of Ninshū, the Savior of the Shinobi World.
The so-called root of all chaos.
The father of Indra and Asura.
The Sage of Six Paths—Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.
Of course, Ren knew perfectly well that there was no chance in hell he could have anything to do with the Sage of Six Paths at his current level. Which meant that the most likely source of this reward…
Was Black Zetsu.
"The third brother of the Six Paths trio?"
Ren pursed his lips, feeling a trace of disappointment.
Compared to his two "brothers," Black Zetsu's presence was honestly lacking. Sure, he was the biggest幕后黑手 in the entire shinobi world—but his presence was on a completely different level.
Still.
No matter how you looked at it, Black Zetsu was Kaguya's child.
And anything that dropped from him was unlikely to be trash.
"And this reward feels similar to [Ninjutsu Doctor]."
Ren blinked.
He'd briefly wondered whether he might be able to "roll" a pair of eyes out of the system—but clearly, that was wishful thinking.
So far, the most interesting reward he'd ever received was still [Ninjutsu Doctor].
Even if it was a one-time effect, instantly gaining a fully usable ability at a decent level was already absurdly valuable.
As for [Kaguya's Child], this was something he absolutely needed to examine carefully.
[Special Ability: Kaguya's Child]
[Black Zetsu is Kaguya's third child, born from her will itself. He possesses extremely high mastery of Yin–Yang Release and extraordinary mental control abilities]
[Once you complete Yin–Yang Release fusion, you may inherit his Yin–Yang Release proficiency, raising your own Yin–Yang Release to its maximum potential]
The moment Ren finished reading, only one thought echoed in his mind.
The old bastard actually dropped gold?
Black Zetsu truly lived up to being Kaguya's son. Even though his combat power was laughable and his "presence" questionable, no one could deny how terrifying he actually was.
Forget anything else—just his understanding of Yin–Yang Release alone, as a manifestation of Kaguya's will, was beyond imagination.
And then there was his signature method—mental control combined with Yin–Yang–derived assimilation techniques.
That alone was enough to make anyone shudder.
Just look at what he did to Uchiha Obito.
Forced him to cast Rinne Tensei to resurrect Uchiha Madara.
Then personally "reached into his chest" and had a heartfelt conversation with Madara himself.
Those were all legendary achievements.
"Yin–Yang Release…"
Ren felt genuinely excited.
He'd long had his own theories about Naruto's power system.
Yin–Yang Release wasn't simply extreme Yin or extreme Yang—it was the complete fusion of both forces.
Even the Ōtsutsuki constantly relied on this power, and the Sage of Six Paths had pushed it to its absolute peak.
Creating something from nothing—and granting it life.
That description alone was practically the textbook definition of Yin–Yang Release.
In Ren's eyes, the only thing with a comparable ceiling was Senjutsu.
Of course, these were still just his own theories. In the shinobi world, power always depended on the individual.
And no matter how you ranked things, the true T0 still belonged to Kekkei Tōta.
That said, Yin–Yang Release's potential had already been demonstrated by Naruto and Sasuke in his previous life.
"Still… fusing Yin and Yang really isn't that simple."
Ren sighed.
Obito had essentially handed him the "formula card," but actually pulling it off was another matter entirely.
Especially when his Yin Release and Yang Release were both only LV7.
To reach true fusion, he still had a long way to go.
"Yin–Yang Release…"
A genuinely top-tier reward—but also one with a heavy future potential tag.
"…Is the system telling me to stir up even more chaos?"
Ren rubbed his chin.
From Obito's temporary experience card to this [Kaguya's Child], the message was obvious.
Go harder.
And honestly, he didn't disagree.
Without Yin–Yang Release, how was he supposed to fuse Kekkei Tōta in the future?
"Tasks…"
Ren let out a soft sigh.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
Could Black Zetsu's control abilities work on Kaguya herself?
That would be peak rebellion.
Absolutely upside-down.
…But also kind of tempting.
"Troublesome."
At the same time, Jiraiya let out an equally pained groan nearby.
Ren turned his head and saw Jiraiya scratching at his hair so hard that white strands were falling out.
"What's wrong with him?"
Ren glanced at the silent Yagura trailing behind them, then looked at Yūgao.
"Probably stressed about something," Yūgao replied softly.
But Pakura, walking beside her, scoffed.
"Don't play dumb. You know exactly what he's stressed about."
"Your Konoha is about to become famous."
"Tch."
Ren snorted.
What did Konoha becoming famous have to do with him?
He was just a humble public servant, a dedicated civil employee working tirelessly for the village!
"Ren, do you know what's going on?"
Tenzo looked genuinely confused.
Kakashi's dead-fish eyes followed immediately.
"You should ask your captain," Ren said with a grin.
"That'd be more polite."
Kakashi stared.
With you around, does this kid even remember who the captain is?
Ren shrugged and finally explained.
"It's not hard to understand why Captain Jiraiya is stressed."
"The moment he agreed to negotiate with Yuan Shi and accept the Fourth Mizukage, this trouble became inevitable."
"Of course, he didn't really have a choice—we still needed Kirigakure's cooperation to investigate Uchiha Obito."
"But the real problem comes afterward."
"That's the Fourth Mizukage we're talking about."
Jiraiya shot him a resentful glare.
And now it's my fault again?
Tenzo blinked.
"But… what's the problem?"
"I remember you guys once tied up the Fourth Raikage—"
"Cough, cough! Watch your wording!"
Ren shot Tenzo a glare.
Tenzo instantly corrected himself.
"I mean—you 'invited' the Fourth Raikage to Konoha. Isn't this the same?"
"Naive."
Pakura cut in mercilessly.
"The Raikage could go back. The Mizukage can't."
"And if you forcibly send him away, Konoha's reputation takes a massive hit."
"An active Kage who never declared defection—treat him poorly, and you'll pay for it in missions and diplomacy."
"And that's before we mention," Ren added, spreading his hands,
"that we can't kill him, and we can't interrogate his memories either."
"Image matters."
"We're not Kumogakure bandits."
"Everyone has a public persona."
"If people found out Jiraiya-sama was a shameless pervert, what would they think?"
"HEY! Don't drag me into this!"
Jiraiya protested weakly.
"I've never hidden it—it's research!"
"…Then people probably wouldn't give him missions anymore," Tenzo nodded seriously.
Jiraiya's fist twitched.
"Exactly," Ren said approvingly.
"The same applies to villages."
"Besides, killing the Mizukage and ripping information from his mind would only make things worse."
"Kirigakure would retaliate. Other villages would condemn us."
"An 'image insulted Kage' is basically a declaration of war."
"And don't forget," Pakura added cheerfully,
"He's still carrying the Three-Tails."
Ren sighed.
"Yes. Another headache."
"Kirigakure might not care, but the rest of the shinobi world absolutely will."
"Nine-Tails plus Three-Tails? That's a provocation waiting to happen."
So yes—sending Yagura back was impossible.
Keeping him was dangerous.
"That's why this is such a mess."
Ren glanced at Jiraiya.
"So, Captain… why did you agree again?"
Jiraiya's eye twitched.
Because I had no choice, you little demon.
Ren laughed it off.
"Still, we gained a lot from this mission."
"Akatsuki, Obito, Yahiko, Nagato—I got plenty of intelligence."
Jiraiya decided to shut up.
At least they'd completed the mission.
They'd exposed Obito, destabilized Kirigakure's hostile policies, and even opened negotiations.
From Konoha's perspective, this was a massive success.
Later, as they walked toward the Sunagakure survivors, Pakura kept quietly reassessing Ren.
His value kept rising.
Ally—or future enemy—either way, he needed to be understood.
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Nagato sat silently as Konan pushed his wheelchair through the forest.
Ren's words echoed endlessly in his mind.
Politics.
Action frameworks.
Long-term systems.
Things he'd never truly considered.
If I suppress the world today… what about tomorrow?
What about after we're gone?
For the first time, Nagato realized—
Ren wasn't just looking at the present.
He was looking at the future.
And that realization unsettled him more than any battle.
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