"Lord Raikage, what should we do now?"
Inside a Root base, the Fourth Raikage kept his eyes fixed on his unconscious subordinate.
Seeing that the man's breathing had stabilized eased his mind slightly—but the situation with another subordinate made his fists clench again.
What to do?
What could he do now?
That brat who could use both Flying Thunder God and Wood Release had already made it clear—this incident would be publicized. And he, the Raikage, would be painted as a leader who cherished his subordinates.
A good reputation, yes. His dignity had been salvaged.
But the problem was—
He had been forced to accept it.
"Konoha's bastards are hypocritical to the extreme…"
The Fourth Raikage's fists tightened. It felt like someone had punched him in the face—then turned around and told him it was "for his own good," expecting gratitude in return.
That level of shamelessness reminded him of the earlier fight.
That little bastard had taken shamelessness to an entirely new level.
"But that kid never threw a kunai… so how did he keep appearing behind me? And always from behind?"
The Fourth Raikage was a true powerhouse. During the fight, Ren's relentless pressure—and everything that followed—had left him no time to think.
Now that he'd calmed down, the question surfaced.
Yet no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out.
In the end, he gave up and shifted his focus.
This time, he had truly suffered a loss. No matter what, he had to regain something from it.
"Wood Release… Flying Thunder God…"
He muttered the words, his expression slowly changing.
"And that other brat—the green chakra giant… that must've been Susanoo, right?"
As Raikage, the intelligence he had access to far exceeded most. He recognized things easily.
The Mangekyō Sharingan had detailed records in Kumogakure. It was described as the only power capable of standing against Hashirama Senju.
"If Konoha now possesses both of these powers…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Then Ōnoki, that old bastard, probably won't be able to sit still anymore."
Hatred toward Konoha was practically universal among the great villages.
Fertile land. Rich resources. Convenient geography. And worst of all—talent in abundance.
Whenever war broke out, Konoha was inevitably dragged in, whether it wanted to be or not.
The Third Great Ninja War was proof enough.
"Since Konoha likes publicity so much, we'll help them publicize it."
The Fourth Raikage made his decision and spoke coldly to his subordinate.
"Focus the narrative on Wood Release and the Mangekyō Sharingan. And direct it toward Iwagakure. Understood?"
"Iwagakure?"
The Cloud ninja froze for a moment, but quickly understood.
"Yes, Lord Raikage. I'll make sure the people over there know Konoha has produced new monsters."
"Hmph. I've lost face this time—but someone else will act."
Letting Iwa and Konoha tear into each other cost him nothing.
He couldn't move openly anymore. At best, he could return to the pre–Hyūga Incident state—harassing Konoha during missions.
But that wasn't enough.
Dragging Ōnoki into it would be far more entertaining.
And besides—
He still remembered clearly how Ōnoki had led tens of thousands of Iwa ninja to surround his father… and beaten him to death.
"Oh, right."
The Raikage suddenly lowered his voice.
"I heard this is Shimura Danzō's base?"
His subordinate nodded quietly.
"Yes. When the Third Hokage spoke with Tsunade, I observed discreetly. It was lip-reading, but I'm fairly certain. And that kid—Ren—appears to be one of Danzō's subordinates."
Shimura Danzō.
The Fourth Raikage had zero goodwill toward that man.
The so-called 'Darkness of the Shinobi World' was nothing but a nest of scheming vermin in his eyes.
Cowards who relied on underhanded tricks.
"No wonder that brat fought so dirty. A Danzō dog, huh?"
He snorted.
"This humiliation—I'll repay it one day."
"Shimura Danzō. I'll remember you."
Ren, of course, had no idea his former superior had just been saddled with yet another锅.
Aside from subtly increasing Danzō's pressure through Tsunade, Ren hadn't pulled any tricks on the Raikage.
After all, the Raikage would be meeting Hiruzen, and possibly Danzō as well. Saying too much could backfire.
As it turned out, Danzō did show up—so staying quiet had been the correct move.
If you were going to make your superior miserable, you had to do it in a way that left them no room to complain.
Unfortunately for Danzō—
His talent for taking blame was apparently unmatched.
But Ren didn't have time to think about that now.
He was exhausted.
"Everything cleaned up?"
Tsunade walked in from outside.
Even back in Konoha, she still wore her green haori with the 'Gamble' character on it.
The white inner robe strained against her figure, waves rising and falling. Though her pants hid her legs, the red-polished toes were… eye-catching.
"Yes."
Ren quickly looked away and nodded.
"Everything's taken care of, Teacher."
Tsunade really was a master at exploiting free labor.
And her status backed it up.
When Hiruzen later needed a Hokage, his first choice was Jiraiya. His second was Tsunade.
Sometimes Ren couldn't help wondering if that was because neither of them liked handling paperwork.
Still—under her leadership, Konoha had done well.
At least the Konoha Twelve had all grown properly under her era.
"Good. You've found your room?"
Tsunade sat down casually and tossed two scrolls at Ren.
"You'll live here from now on. No need to go back to your old place—or Root."
"That old man knew your situation and still kept you away. Senility, I swear."
Ren smiled awkwardly.
He caught the scrolls.
"These contain Senju clan history and techniques," Tsunade said bluntly.
"You likely carry Senju blood. Hard to prove—but one thing's undeniable. Almost no one awakens Wood Release naturally. Even transplanted versions lack something."
"But you have it."
"Even I believe you're Senju."
Ren blinked.
She was careful—not forcing an identity onto him.
After all, he was an orphan.
Suddenly gaining a 'clan' could be hard to accept.
Ren neither confirmed nor denied it.
The name was useful.
"And that's that. Study hard."
Tsunade stretched.
"You can ask Shizune anything. Or me. As for Wood Release—I can't teach you. I don't have it. But these materials should be enough."
"I understand."
Ren hesitated.
"Teacher—where are Shisui and Yugao?"
"Your little girlfriend went shopping with Shizune. I told her to stay for dinner."
She smirked.
"As for the Uchiha kid—he went home."
"Got it."
Ren nodded.
He didn't care much. Tsukihime and Yugao weren't even in the same unit yet.
Opportunity favored proximity.
As for Shisui—returning was inevitable. A fresh Mangekyō didn't go unnoticed.
"I'll walk him out."
"Go. He shouldn't be far."
Ren stepped outside.
Soon, he spotted Shisui.
"Oh? Ren, what are you doing here?" Shisui smiled. "Don't tell me you're inviting me to dinner."
"No chopsticks for you. Get lost."
Shisui rolled his eyes.
They walked together.
Sunset dyed everything red.
Leaves drifted. Wind stirred thoughts.
Shisui fell silent.
"Thank you, Ren."
"…For?"
"That story you told me. It helped."
Ren listened.
"But I still can't decide everything alone. Do you have… other ideas?"
Ren sighed.
"Depends. Are you talking about persuasion—or a technique?"
"…A technique?"
"Then it only gets worse."
Ren spoke calmly.
"Power that rewrites will invites fear. Distrust. Desire."
"No one wants their will stolen."
Silence fell.
"…Is there really no way?"
Ren looked at the falling leaves.
"There is."
"If I were that child—I'd kill the first group."
Shisui's pupils shrank.
"Cut off the heads. Remove the instigators. Change myself. Take control."
"Adults decide their own paths."
Wind carried distant longing.
Ren turned.
"That's all. I've said enough."
He left.
Behind him, Shisui stared at the sunset.
After a long silence—
"Shimura Danzō… I understand now."
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/lucarioTL