Minato Namikaze nodded. Although he felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi was not quite as extreme as Uchiha Ren described, the various signs from before did indicate that Hiruzen possessed a very strong desire to control the power in his hands.
So, just to be safe, Minato also decided to keep the matter of the Rule Assembly in his heart for the time being.
Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, Uchiha Ren and Minato continued discussing other matters. They went over parts of their plan again, confirming details until dusk gradually approached.
Looking at the sky growing dim, Uchiha Ren said,
"Let's stop here for today. If we stay too long, it might arouse suspicion."
Minato smiled when he heard this.
"No need to rush. Actually, I had another purpose in coming here today."
"Another purpose?" Uchiha Ren paused. "What is it?"
Minato explained,
"Besides securing the Uchiha clan's votes and discussing the revision of the village's existing laws, the Third Hokage also asked me to test your current strength."
Uchiha Ren frowned slightly, but soon relaxed again.
With a chuckle, he said,
"So Hiruzen Sarutobi is preparing for the worst-case scenario."
Ren 's emergence—and the transformation of the Uchiha clan—had forced Hiruzen to make certain compromises. At the same time, however, it had also given rise to a strong sense of crisis within him.
Especially because Ren 's methods had repeatedly made Hiruzen feel powerless.
What was the so-called worst-case scenario?
Naturally, it meant resolving everything through force when there was no longer any room to retreat.
Just as war is the continuation of politics—when problems cannot be solved peacefully, force inevitably becomes the final option.
Only, in the past, the one pushed to such thoughts had been the Uchiha clan.
Now, however, Hiruzen Sarutobi had begun preparing for such a possibility himself.
Without anyone noticing, the balance between offense and defense had already reversed.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi was far more intelligent than the Uchiha clan had been before.
The Uchiha had always shouted about staging a coup and seizing power—but in reality, they had never taken concrete action toward it.
Enemy intelligence gathering, tactical planning, logistical preparation—none of it had been done.
It was as if they believed a coup simply meant charging forward, killing Hiruzen Sarutobi, and everything would be solved.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, began making preparations the moment he sensed danger, starting with investigating Uchiha Ren 's true strength.
That was the difference between thinking ahead and acting blindly.
Minato spoke again.
"Of course, I could make something up to report to the Third Hokage… but at the very least, we should put on a show."
"No," Uchiha Ren said, shaking his head.
"I've already entered the sight of all the major factions in the village. This is the perfect opportunity to intimidate them."
"Once they personally witness my strength, our future plans will encounter far less resistance."
Previously, Ren had relied on overwhelming momentum to force Hiruzen Sarutobi to compromise and retreat.
But such concessions always had a bottom line.
What Ren intended to do now was push that bottom line even lower—so that when Hiruzen ever considered overturning the table, he would first have to evaluate whether he actually had the strength to do so.
Of course, showing one's strength had to be done with restraint.
Too much would backfire.
Minato smiled.
"It's been a long time since we sparred. Should we do it at the Uchiha Clan Training Grounds, or at one of the village's public training fields?"
Ren stood up.
"If we're showing strength, then it should be somewhere everyone can see."
"Let's go to the village training grounds."
As he spoke, Ren extended his hand toward Minato.
Minato stood as well and grabbed Ren 's hand before activating the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Whoosh!
In an instant, both of their figures disappeared from the office. The next moment, they appeared in Training Ground Seven of Konoha.
It was already close to dusk, and Training Ground Seven was completely empty. Their sudden arrival did not attract anyone's attention.
After landing, Minato quickly distanced himself from Ren . With a serious expression, he raised two fingers in front of his chest and formed the Seal of Confrontation.
Though merely a formality, Ren respected Minato's insistence. He raised his own fingers and returned the same seal.
"Then… the spar begins."
Both Ren and Minato were Kage-level shinobi. There was no need for unnecessary ceremony.
After giving a brief warning, Minato's figure instantly vanished from where he stood.
Being known as the fastest shinobi in the ninja world, Minato relied on more than just the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Even in normal movement, his speed was astonishing—only extreme speed specialists like the Fourth Raikage of Kumogakure could surpass him.
Ren did not dare to be careless. He immediately activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
The moment he captured Minato's movement, he raised his arm and blocked Minato's incoming kick aimed straight at his face.
Thud!
Ren 's body trembled slightly as he dispersed the force of the kick. At the same time, he reached out and grabbed toward Minato's ankle.
At that moment, Minato was still in midair—his old momentum spent, new force not yet generated. For an ordinary shinobi, escaping Ren 's grab would have been impossible.
But Minato's neural reaction speed was even faster than his movement speed.
He instantly withdrew his leg, twisting his body midair and delivering a curved kick toward Ren 's head.
Ren leaned backward to evade the kick, then immediately snapped back upright and charged toward Minato.
Minato showed no fear either. After landing, he engaged Ren directly in close combat.
Their movements grew faster and faster. Hands and feet blurred into afterimages as they clashed repeatedly.
Minato truly deserved the title of a genius among geniuses. Relying on his extraordinary neural reflexes, he neutralized the dynamic vision advantage of Ren 's Three-Tomoe Sharingan, matching him evenly in combat.
A minute later, their fists collided midair.
Using the recoil, both of them retreated at the same time, widening the distance between them with perfect tacit understanding.
"The warm-up is over," Ren said calmly.
"Minato, you'd better be careful from here on."
"You should use your full strength."
Ren drew the Zanka no Tachi from his waist.
At that moment, the vast chakra within his body erupted without restraint, whipping up a violent gust of wind around him.
Minato felt the overwhelming pressure and his eyes widened slightly—but soon he broke into a bright smile, excitement rising in his eyes.
"Heh… Ren ."
"Your growth over the years has certainly exceeded all expectations."
"But I haven't been standing still either."
Although Minato had spent the past years fighting on the front lines of the Third Shinobi War, most enemies he encountered could not even last a single exchange against him.
Uchiha Ren was the strongest opponent he had faced in years.
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