Although the Konoha leadership didn't reach any solid conclusions, they had already silently agreed on the idea of approaching Yuki.
Ren had completely blended in as an ordinary citizen of Konoha. How should he describe it? Poor.
Despite Konoha having excellent natural resources, it was still poor. Ren guessed it might be because he had intercepted the Akimichi clan.
This clan, due to their secret techniques, required consuming large amounts of food. They were the most knowledgeable in agriculture. Without the Akimichi clan, Konoha was struggling to manage its food supply.
"Judging by the current situation, the Third Great Ninja War might come soon, even without Madara secretly provoking it," Ren concluded after observing Konoha for some time.
"You're not from Konoha, are you?" a young man with blond hair approached Ren. He had a friendly demeanor, and most villagers remembered him.
"What makes you say that?" Ren's current appearance was black-haired and approachable; after all, red hair was too conspicuous.
"I have never seen you before in the village," Minato Namikaze said with a smile.
"Is that the only reason? Have you met everyone in the village?"
"I know most of the young adults. But you… I don't remember you at all." Minato had already confirmed his suspicion. Villagers wouldn't question him further.
"I'm not from the village. I came to Konoha as a wandering ninja, just to see this ninja village."
"Do you have a purpose?" Minato had already assumed he was a spy from another village.
"Uchiha Madara."
Minato's eyes widened instantly. That existence should have been dead, yet hearing the name now was still shocking.
"He's my target."
"He's already dead. Even if he weren't, he's already defected from the village," Minato said, already preparing to drive him away.
"I advise you not to act. If you can't take me down instantly, Konoha could face consequences you can't predict," Ren said calmly throughout.
Minato didn't reply. He simply followed Ren. The man had entered Konoha without triggering any barriers, and his abilities were not to be underestimated. Acting recklessly without intel could bring disaster to the village.
"What's your name?" Ren asked, slightly curious. The man looked familiar, probably a character from the original story.
"Minato Namikaze."
"Oh." Ren thought he might have broken an original pairing, but he had no intention of matching anyone. Kushina was comfortably in the Land of Whirlpools, acting like a little demon queen.
For a while, Minato became Ren's shadow, following him everywhere, until he received a mission.
"What's your goal?" Minato Namikaze asked, confused. For some time now, day and night, he had been following the other person, but there had been no unusual actions.
They claimed their target to be Uchiha Madara, yet they had no interaction with the Uchiha and were living like any ordinary civilian of Konoha.
"I told you from the start, didn't I? But so far, I haven't discovered the target," Ren rested his chin on his hand, showing patience.
Since Madara had a goal, he was bound to make a mistake. All Ren needed to do was wait quietly.
Seeing that he wasn't joking, Minato left. It was clear he was going to report to the Hokage.
"Who are you?" A group of masked figures surrounded him, like rats emerging from the shadows.
"Are you Root of Konoha?"
The masked ninjas exchanged glances and immediately attacked Ren. There was no need to hold back; they intended to protect Konoha from the danger at all costs.
Ren yawned, calmly dodging every attack. At this point, he had no interest in the Konoha shinobi. After kicking all the Root ninjas away, he sat back in his original spot.
Root ninjas would use any means to eliminate their enemies, and these opponents could not be subdued by conventional methods.
"Poison?" Ren noticed the spreading gas. If he was in the right location, it was okay but this was inside Konoha. Though there weren't many people passing by, someone had to be here. The opponents were ready to sacrifice some of their own to take him down.
"What are you doing?" Minato quickly used his space-time ninjutsu to disperse the poison in the area.
Seeing this, the Root ninjas retreated. Continuing the fight now would be meaningless.
"The Hokage wants to see you," Minato said plainly.
"I'm not going," Ren refused without hesitation. What was the Hokage's position to make him voluntarily show up?
"In that case, I apologize," Minato said and attacked. He had mastered the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique and moved at incredible speed, aiming to test Ren's strength.
As the creator of the Flying Thunder God Technique, Ren knew it better than anyone. With a single kick at Minato's appeared location, he sent him flying.
At this moment, Minato Namikaze's expression grew even more serious. The opponent had struck him with perfect precision.
Their space-time ninjutsu was likely superior to his, and combined with their taijutsu used earlier against the Anbu, he realized he was in trouble.
"Do we keep fighting?" Ren squinted at him.
"No, Minato. Stop." The words came from Hiruzen, who had arrived with Danzo.
"Yes, Lord Hokage." Minato stepped aside.
Nearby, Root shinobi wasted no time and activated a barrier, isolating the area completely.
"Your target is Uchiha Madara?"
"Hiruzen, that person was already taken down by Lord Hashirama long ago. In my view, he must be here for Konoha's intelligence. We should just eliminate this enemy directly." Danzo was eager for action. Someone could act so brazenly in Konoha—he would not tolerate it.
In truth, Hiruzen shared the same thought. A stranger suddenly appears claiming their target is Uchiha Madara—no one would believe that. The real purpose was clearly being hidden.
"Unfortunately, I have no intention of causing chaos." Ren used space-time ninjutsu to leave the barrier. The reason for not fighting was simple: he didn't want the White Zetsu to flee, which would only prolong the timeline further.
"Space-time ninjutsu? This is troublesome." Hiruzen quickly realized how the opponent had entered Konoha. They had been here before, though he couldn't recall exactly who it was.
"Investigate immediately. Search all of Konoha. We must find this spy." Danzo waved his hand, sending Root agents to investigate.
Minato thought carefully. The opponent's words and actions must have a purpose. Since they mentioned Uchiha Madara, they were probably not far from the Uchiha Clan lands. It was best to investigate first.
This time, Ren arrived at the Uchiha Clan territory. He skillfully changed into a fan-bearing outfit, and with his black hair, he felt confident pretending to be a regular Uchiha member.
"Much closer this time. Hopefully, no one notices." Ren, like a common civilian, hid in the shadows once again.
Konoha was far from peaceful. Anbu agents under the Hokage had begun searching house by house, which angered both shinobi and civilians alike.
But there was no choice. They had to track Ren. Even if he had already escaped, they needed to confirm the traces he had left behind. He might have valuable Konoha intelligence in his hands.
**********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 20 early chapters.
patreon.com/PirateKing24