Ren finished washing up after his training, drying his hair with a towel as he looked out the window. Today was a rare holiday, and for once the academy would not demand his time.
There were a few places he could visit in the village, yet his mind remained focused elsewhere.
A month earlier, the birds his clones had sent across the sea had finally returned with results.
Four deserted islands had been discovered.
Ren leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes briefly as memories from a clone flowed into his mind.
"Good," he murmured quietly. "Let's see what you found."
---
One shadow clone appeared on the first island through the Flying Thunder God marker attached to a bird's leg. The summoning contract Ren had designed contained a one-time signal feature.
Once the birds located a completely deserted island, the signal would activate and alert the original.
"That part worked perfectly," the clone muttered as he looked around.
The island was mostly desert.
Sand stretched across large portions of the land, broken occasionally by sparse trees and scattered rock formations. In the center of the island stood something far more interesting.
A volcano.
"Well… that's unexpected."
The clone activated a chakra storage seal placed on his wrist and formed a hand sign.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Twenty clones appeared instantly.
"Alright everyone," the original clone said. "Search the island and map everything."
The clones dispersed quickly across the terrain.
After several hours of exploration, an interesting discovery was made.
Natural hot springs.
Steam rose gently from several rocky pools near the volcano's base.
"Well that's convenient," a clone said, crouching near the water.
Another clone nodded. "The geothermal activity explains it."
The original crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"This island is perfect as a testing ground."
Explosive ninjutsu.
Area-of-effect techniques.
Large-scale experiments.
Everything that could not be safely tested near civilization.
"We'll turn this place into a training field," the clone declared.
Several Flying Thunder God markers were placed across different parts of the island.
"Okay guys," he said. "Let's start improving the hot springs."
"Yah!"
A few clones teleported away and returned moments later carrying building materials disguised inside storage seals.
Money had not been a major problem.
Ren's clones were not merely searching for islands during their travels.
They had also been bounty hunting.
One clone chuckled.
"And there's that thief who steals from corrupt nobles."
Another laughed. "He must be a good guy."
The clones began constructing small structures around the hot springs.
With Six Eyes assisting them, learning construction techniques had been surprisingly easy.
Precision measurements, structural balance, and material distribution were calculated instantly.
Within hours, the island began transforming.
---
Meanwhile, the second clone arrived on the second island.
This one was very different.
The land was rocky and uneven, covered with valleys, cliffs, and jagged stone formations.
Small hills made entirely of layered rock stretched across the island.
The clone looked around slowly.
"Hmm."
He placed several Flying Thunder God markers across key points.
"This place is useful… but not essential."
The terrain would be excellent for specialized training.
Rocky environments forced different combat adaptations.
Still, Ren did not have the right student for that.
"If Sakura were my student," the clone muttered thoughtfully, "this would be perfect."
The rock formations would have been ideal for practicing monstrous strength techniques.
He imagined it briefly.
"Main body could bring Hinata and Ino here later," the clone added. "Monster strength training might be possible eventually."
After leaving several teleportation markers, he departed.
---
The third clone arrived on another island.
He scanned the environment for several minutes.
Nothing remarkable.
Poor soil.
Limited water.
Sparse vegetation.
"Not worth it."
The clone left immediately.
---
Then the fourth clone arrived on the final island.
The moment he stepped onto the shore, his eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
This island was completely different from the others.
The soil was rich and fertile.
A clear lake shimmered at the center of the island, fed by a clean flowing stream.
Dense forests covered most of the land, creating natural concealment.
Birds and small animals lived freely here.
The clone slowly smiled.
"This is it."
He spread his arms slightly as if presenting the land.
"The perfect location for the safe house."
He activated the chakra storage seal and summoned multiple clones.
Dozens appeared instantly.
"Search the entire island," he ordered.
"With Six Eyes, mapping this place should be easy."
The clones spread through the forest.
Within hours, they had already located the best location for construction.
A hidden clearing surrounded by tall trees.
"Well," one clone said, nodding approvingly. "Perfect."
The original spoke again.
"Alright. Start setting up a genjutsu barrier."
"Cover the entire clearing."
"No one should be able to see what's inside."
The clones immediately began weaving complex illusion seals.
A subtle distortion field slowly spread across the area.
Once completed, outsiders would see nothing but ordinary forest.
"Good," the clone said.
"Now we find builders."
Another clone raised a hand.
"Are we kidnapping them?"
A third shrugged.
"We could just place them in genjutsu and teleport them here."
Another suggested a different approach.
"Or we disguise ourselves as ninjas hired by nobles."
"Ask them to construct the hidden building normally."
The first clone nodded.
"That works too."
Money truly was not a concern.
Their "corrupt noble friends" and one particularly greedy businessman named Gato had unintentionally funded most of their operations.
"Plenty of resources," a clone said with a grin.
They began dividing tasks immediately.
Some clones maintained the barrier.
Others departed to find skilled builders.
---
Back in Konoha, Ren sat quietly while receiving the memories of one returning clone.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"Nice."
"I found good training areas."
He leaned back thoughtfully.
"Now I just need to finish the safe house and place sealing barriers across the island."
Even for him, the task would be enormous.
Island-wide fuinjutsu networks required massive time and resources.
"Money isn't a problem," Ren muttered.
"But I'll need to send clones daily to build the barrier network."
Another concern remained.
"Zetsu must never find this place."
He tapped the table lightly.
"That part is mandatory."
Thankfully, only the safe house island required a full fuinjutsu barrier network.
The desert island needed far less protection.
"Hot springs construction, defensive barriers, and illusion seals will be enough."
"The rocky island only needs a small house and teleportation marker."
Nothing more.
Ren exhaled slowly.
"Good thing I learned to control which memories return from shadow clones."
Otherwise the flood of information would have killed him long ago.
Just then—
Knock. Knock.
Ren stopped speaking immediately.
He dismissed the clone in front of him and deactivated the privacy barrier around the room before walking toward the door.
When he opened it, two familiar girls stood outside.
Ino Yamanaka puffed her cheeks.
"Ren! What were you doing?"
Ren laughed lightly.
"Oh, I was planning our next training program."
Both Ino and Hinata Hyūga froze.
Their eyes immediately lit up.
"What is it?" Ino asked quickly.
"When are we starting?" Hinata added.
"Is it ninjutsu?" Ino leaned closer. "Please tell me it's not taijutsu again!"
Ren grinned mischievously.
"Yep. We will be moving into ninjutsu, fuinjutsu, and other things."
Both girls gasped slightly.
"But not yet," Ren continued.
Their excitement paused.
"Give me a little time."
"I'm preparing a surprise for you two."
Their eyes sparkled again.
"A surprise?" Ino repeated.
Hinata nodded eagerly.
Ren chuckled.
"So keep training your taijutsu for now."
Ino crossed her arms.
"You better not forget."
Hinata nodded seriously.
Ren winked.
"You'll love the surprise. I promise."
The girls looked at each other.
"Fine," Ino said. "We believe you."
Hinata smiled softly.
"Let's go then."
Ino suddenly snapped her fingers.
"Oh right!"
"You promised everyone a yakiniku party!"
Ren blinked.
"…Did I?"
"Yes you did!" Ino said immediately.
Hinata nodded.
"You promised after the last sparring session."
Ren sighed in defeat.
"Alright."
"Let's go."
As the three walked away together, Ren couldn't help smiling slightly.
Soon the safe house would be complete.
Soon their training would enter a completely new stage.
For now though—
A barbecue party awaited.
And somehow, that felt just as important.