The tremor reached the Hokage Tower before the dust settled.
Papers shifted.
Ink trembled inside open scrolls.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up from his desk slowly.
He didn't ask what happened.
He already knew something was wrong.
Moments later—
ANBU appeared in the office.
Masked.
Kneeling.
"Report," Hiruzen said calmly.
"A vertical breach occurred beneath the Uchiha district. Underground Root infrastructure collapsed."
The room fell silent.
Hiruzen's pipe remained still between his fingers.
"Casualties?"
"Unknown. Root operatives engaged an Uchiha child. The child escaped."
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Name."
"Uchiha Ren."
That name lingered.
Hiruzen leaned back slowly.
"Danzō," he murmured.
At the edge of the forest—
Ren landed lightly on a tree branch.
The impact dented bark before snapping back into place.
His breathing slowed.
The pale tint faded from his skin.
The drums softened.
Doom.
He looked back toward the village.
Smoke rose faintly above the rooftops.
Now they couldn't pretend he didn't exist.
Good.
Ren crouched and pressed his palm against the tree.
He pushed slightly.
The wood bent.
Then returned.
Elastic rebound was improving.
But something else bothered him.
Natural energy.
That Sage user had dulled him.
That meant there was structure beyond chakra.
He needed to understand it.
Branches shifted below.
Ren didn't look down.
"I know you followed me," he said calmly.
Silence.
Then—
A figure stepped into view.
Small.
Precise.
Eyes red.
Itachi.
He stood on a lower branch, gaze steady.
"You destroyed part of the underground district," Itachi said quietly.
Ren tilted his head.
"They tried to bury me."
"That facility was hidden."
Ren's faint smile returned.
"Then it shouldn't have been there."
Wind moved between them.
Itachi's Sharingan analyzed him.
"You are different," Itachi said.
Ren's eyes softened slightly.
"So are you."
A pause.
"You will force the village to act," Itachi continued.
"Good."
Itachi's brow shifted almost imperceptibly.
"You don't fear them."
Ren leaned against the tree trunk.
"I fear cages."
The words lingered between them.
Itachi studied him carefully.
"You cannot fight the entire village."
Ren's smile didn't fade.
"I don't need to."
Below them, ANBU movement flickered through the forest perimeter.
Search patterns.
Containment lines.
Ren glanced toward the shifting shadows.
"They're not here to talk," he said.
Itachi followed his gaze.
"You won't outrun all of them."
Ren's eyes sharpened.
"I don't intend to."
He stepped down one branch.
Closer to Itachi.
"You want to understand me," Ren said quietly.
Itachi didn't deny it.
"You felt it," Ren continued.
"The distortion."
Itachi nodded slightly.
"It wasn't chakra."
"No," Ren said.
The drums rolled faintly.
Doom.
"It wasn't."
A kunai sliced through the air suddenly.
Ren leaned slightly.
The blade passed harmlessly.
ANBU surrounded the forest clearing.
Masks glinted in the fading light.
"We are under orders from the Hokage," one said firmly. "Uchiha Ren will come with us."
Ren's expression remained calm.
"To the Hokage?"
"Yes."
Not Root.
Not Danzō.
Different.
Ren considered.
Itachi stepped slightly in front of him.
"You won't survive a prolonged fight," Itachi said quietly.
Ren smiled faintly.
"I don't need to fight."
He stepped forward openly.
The ANBU tightened formation.
Ren stopped a few meters away.
"I'll go," he said calmly.
The ANBU leader hesitated.
"You will not resist?"
Ren's gaze drifted past them—toward the Hokage Monument in the distance.
"No."
The ANBU exchanged glances.
This was unexpected.
Ren stepped forward.
"I want to see him."
Hokage Tower.
Hiruzen stood by the window as the ANBU escorted Ren into the office.
The boy was calm.
Too calm.
His clothes were torn.
Dust marked his sleeves.
But his posture was steady.
The drums inside Ren rolled quietly.
Doom.
Hiruzen studied him carefully.
"You caused considerable damage today," the Hokage said.
Ren looked up at him.
"They tried to bury me."
Hiruzen didn't deny Root's existence.
But he didn't acknowledge it either.
"You are young," Hiruzen said slowly.
"And yet you forced the village to reveal things it prefers hidden."
Ren's faint smile appeared.
"Then maybe they shouldn't hide."
Silence.
ANBU shifted slightly.
Hiruzen exhaled.
"You are not a weapon," he said carefully.
Ren tilted his head.
"Tell that to Danzō."
The room grew heavier.
Hiruzen's eyes sharpened.
"Danzō operates under the village's protection."
Ren's gaze didn't waver.
"And who protects the village from Danzō?"
The question lingered.
Hiruzen stepped closer.
"You stand at a crossroads, Ren."
The drums echoed faintly.
Doom.
"You can become something that strengthens Konoha."
Ren's eyes remained calm.
"Or?"
"Or something it must eliminate."
There it was.
The line.
Ren smiled.
"So those are the options."
Hiruzen studied him carefully.
"What do you want?"
Ren didn't hesitate.
"Freedom."
The word hung in the air.
Not power.
Not revenge.
Freedom.
Hiruzen looked at him for a long moment.
Then—
"The village cannot function without structure."
Ren's reply was soft.
"Then build a better one."
Silence filled the office.
Outside the window, the Hokage Monument watched over Konoha.
Inside—
History shifted again.
Because for the first time—
The Hokage saw something in an Uchiha child that wasn't hatred.
It was disruption.
And disruption was harder to manage.
The drums rolled once more.
Doom.
Hiruzen finally spoke.
"You will remain under observation."
Ren nodded slightly.
"I expected that."
"And you will not provoke Root."
Ren's faint smile returned.
"They started it."
Hiruzen almost sighed.
Almost.
"You are dangerous," the Hokage said quietly.
Ren's eyes softened slightly.
"I know."
Outside the tower—
Danzō stood in shadow.
Watching.
Listening.
And calculating.
"This isn't over," he murmured.