"Quick, put out the fire quickly!"
"Oh my God! How did such a huge fire start without anyone noticing it?"
"No, no, the fire's too big! Hurry and call the Water Release ninjas in the village to put it out!"
"If this fire keeps raging, not only will the Shimura clan compound burn to the ground, but even the surrounding areas will be affected!"
A monstrous inferno raged, painting the otherwise silent night sky in shades of angry orange and red. In that moment, a figure clad in a black windbreaker stood atop Hokage Rock, gazing down at the blazing sea of fire below him.
"What a beautiful view~" a voice murmured, filled with a strange sense of emotion.
Ren, almost one with the night itself, felt the gentle breeze stir his cloak. It was evident he was in a remarkably good mood. He then clapped his hands, flicked some invisible ash from his body, and leaped, vanishing into the darkness.
---
At Ren's Residence
Ren had barely stepped through the door when he was met head-on by a pair of firm, substantial objects – Tsunade's chest.
"Why are you just standing here?" Ren asked, calmly looking at Tsunade.
Tsunade, hands on her hips, glared at Ren, her face a mask of displeasure. "Hey, boy, where were you all night?! I just finished raising hell with old Sarutobi and the Anbu! I was going to wait for you to come and join in, but you just vanished without a trace! Do you know how busy this old lady has been tonight?!"
"How did it turn out?" Ren asked casually, as if he couldn't care less about the outcome.
Tsunade sighed, seemingly reluctant to recount the events. "We recovered the Scroll of Seals. That Nine-Tailed brat is fine; he just got knocked out. I went to Sarutobi-sensei, thinking it was that old man Shimura Danzō pulling the strings. But, unexpectedly, it turned out that conniving Shimura Egawa was behind it all! He's now being held in Konoha Prison by the Anbu."
"Shimura Egawa, huh?" A sarcastic smile touched Ren's lips.
Tsunade noticed the peculiar expression on Ren's face. "Do you think there's something wrong with this?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
"There's nothing 'wrong' with it," Ren replied with a faint smile, then explained. "But you were right earlier. The true mastermind behind this matter is indeed not Shimura Egawa, but Shimura Danzō."
"What??"
Tsunade's beautiful eyes widened in utter surprise. She shot up from her stool, grabbing Ren's arm, her voice filled with excitement. "Do you have any evidence of Danzō's involvement?! Come with me to see Sarutobi-sensei! This time, I'm sure that old Danzō won't be able to escape!"
Ren's expression remained calm. He gently placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder and pushed her back onto the stool. "Don't rush. Listen to me slowly."
"I don't have any concrete evidence that Danzō is the mastermind, so there's no need to go to Sarutobi Hiruzen."
No evidence? Tsunade's expression darkened slightly. She frowned, a hint of doubt in her eyes. "Then how do you know that Danzō is the mastermind behind tonight's incident?"
"Because I fought him tonight."
"What??"
Tsunade's stunning eyes widened even further in shock. Then, immediately, a look of concern crossed her face. She looked Ren up and down. "Hey, boy, are you injured?! I'll treat you!"
"I'm not injured. Danzō is no match for me. If it wasn't for that ninjutsu… he would have been dealt with by me tonight," Ren said, smiling faintly and reassuring Tsunade.
"Which ninjutsu?"
"Izanagi."
"!!"
The moment she heard the name, Tsunade was so utterly shocked she couldn't even close her mouth. As a member of the Senju clan, she naturally possessed a deep understanding of the various ninjutsu techniques of the Uchiha clan. She couldn't even control her volume, exclaiming, "Isn't that the Uchiha clan's ninjutsu?! How could Shimura Danzō use it??"
"What if he stole the Sharingan eyes of the Uchiha family?" Ren asked calmly.
"But aside from Uchiha clan members, if you transplant a Sharingan, your body will definitely have a rejection reaction!" Tsunade countered, speaking from her extensive knowledge as a medical ninja. No one knew these things better than she did. So, after hearing what Ren said, her first reaction was to vehemently deny it.
Ren didn't react to her denial, simply continuing, "Then what if… there are cells from your grandfather, Hashirama Senju?"
The words were like a thunderclap, exploding within Tsunade's mind. She instantly felt an overwhelming sense of dread envelop her entire body. It was as if she had been plunged into a thousand-year-old ice cellar, a cold shiver running through her.
If there are cells from my grandfather, would there be a rejection reaction if the Uchiha family's Sharingan were transplanted? The answer was no. The cells of the First Hokage, who possessed the regenerative power of Wood Release, had the potential to be compatible with transplanted Sharingan eyes. But at this moment, Tsunade didn't even dare to conceive of such a thing in her mind. Horrible… It's so scary… This is definitely a forbidden-art level of experimentation.Is there truly someone in Konoha doing such things behind the scenes?
Just as Tsunade's mind went blank from the violent shock of this information, Ren's voice resonated in her ears again. "Even though you haven't been in Konoha Village for many years, you shouldn't be unaware of Orochimaru's defection from Konoha over ten years ago, right?"
She knew. Orochimaru's forbidden technique studies had caused a massive upheaval throughout the entire Land of Fire; it was impossible for her not to know. Even after her return to Konoha this time, the only survivor from that era, the boy who had inherited her grandfather's Wood Release ninjutsu, had now grown into an adult and become the current Anbu Captain. Just a few days ago, he had even purposefully come to visit her.
So Shimura Danzō really had my grandfather's cells transplanted? And used them to nullify the rejection of transplanted Sharingan? Does that mean…
"Although Orochimaru defected from Konoha back then, the village's experiments on Wood Release cells never stopped." Ren directly stated the very thing Tsunade had been too terrified to even consider.
"How so…" Tsunade's face suddenly turned deathly pale. She clutched Ren's arm tightly, utterly panicked. "Then we have to tell Sarutobi-sensei about this quickly! Sarutobi-sensei would never allow such a thing to happen in the village! He will definitely punish such evil deeds as Danzō's!"
Ren shook his head, sighing. "Tsunade, you're too naive. Do you truly believe that if someone was doing something like this behind his back, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi, wouldn't know at all?"
"You, what did you say?" Tsunade's expression was like that of someone struck by lightning. All of a sudden, she was completely dumbfounded.