{Oh dear, your reactions to Yoru were insane, however don't assume anything just yet, hehe}
~
Everyone's gaze drifted toward the two rings resting on the table as if they had suddenly grown heavier.
For a few seconds no one spoke. The faint clink they had made when Ren placed them down still seemed to echo in the room.
Shikaku was the first to break the silence. He leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowed, studying the rings like unexploded tags.
"…What are these?" he asked, voice cautious.
Ren leaned back deeper into Yoru's chair, folding his arms behind his head like this was a casual briefing instead of a declaration that could reshape the night. "They belong to an organization called Akatsuki," he said. "Every member is an S-rank ninja, no exceptions."
That alone drew sharp breaths.
Ren continued, "You've heard of some of them. Kakuzu, who is dead now. Orochimaru, Jūzō from the Mist, And Sasori of the Red Sand… the one responsible for the Third Kazekage's death."
The room didn't just fall silent.
It froze.
Even people like Fugaku and Hiashi, men who had lived through wars and stared down legends felt a chill settle into their spines. Any one of those names could destabilize a nation. All of them working under the same banner meant something far worse than a rogue faction.
Shikaku's fingers tapped once against the table, a habit he had when his mind was racing. "An organization like that wouldn't move without reason," he said slowly. "Do you think they'll involve themselves tonight?"
Ren shook his head. "Not openly, they're extremely patient. They won't want attention while the village is already on edge."
He glanced at the rings again. "But these?" A faint smile tugged at his lips. "These matter to them, A lot."
Utakata frowned. "Enough to risk exposure?"
Ren shrugged. "Yes, at least I think so. But tonight?" His eyes lifted, sharp now. "Tonight's chaos gives them cover. And if they're going to make a move, this is the best chance they'll ever get."
Shikaku nodded slowly. "You think someone specific will come."
Ren reached into his coat again and placed a photograph on the table.
The image showed a tall figure in dark robes, face hidden behind a spiral mask.
"Madara Uchiha," Ren said. "Or the man who calls himself that."
The name landed like a blade.
For a moment, no one breathed.
The title alone carried decades of weight. Even if the man in the photo wasn't truly Madara, the implication was enough to make the situation far more dangerous.
Ren continued, voice steady. "Akatsuki has a public leader. But this one?" He tapped the photo lightly. "He's one of the real ones. The kind that hides in the shadows, pulling the strings."
Everyone in the room understood the unspoken part.
This was the man tied to the Nine-Tails attack.
The man linked to the Fourth Hokage's death.
If he appeared in the village again… there would be no small consequences.
Yoru raised a hand sharply. An ANBU flickered into existence behind him.
"Increase the protective detail on Naruto Uzumaki," Yoru ordered. "No one is allowed within a foot of the boy."
Before the ANBU could vanish, Ren spoke.
"No."
Yoru turned his head slightly.
Ren straightened in the chair. "It's his birthday. The last thing he needs is to feel like the village is locking him away again. Just keep eyes on him, no interference."
He paused, then added, more casually, "I'm meeting him in the evening anyway. I'll handle it."
Yoru considered that for a moment, then nodded. "Very well."
The ANBU vanished.
Ren leaned forward again, elbows on the table. "As for this guy," he gestured to the photo "don't overestimate his raw strength. He's not unbeatable."
Ren added, "But he's troublesome. One touch and it's over if you don't know what you're dealing with."
That got everyone's attention.
"So here's the good news," Ren continued. "He'll come to me since the rings are with me. That makes me the bait."
Fugaku frowned. "You say that far too casually."
Ren grinned. "That's because it works in our favor."
He looked around the room, meeting each gaze in turn. "You don't need to hunt him. Don't engage unless absolutely necessary. If he shows up, I'll handle it."
A brief pause.
"And if he doesn't," Ren added, "then all the better. We finish Danzo, clean up his mess, and the night ends."
No one objected.
Not because they were entirely comfortable but because they trusted that Ren understood exactly what kind of danger he was inviting.
With that, the room finally shifted gears.
Yoru took the lead again, his voice steady enough to pull everyone's attention back into alignment.
"Alright," he said, folding his arms. "Now that we know there might be one more hidden enemy, we'll need to be more cautious. But the core of the plan doesn't change."
He glanced around the room, letting that settle, then continued, "Our biggest problem isn't just Danzo. It's the radical faction inside the Uchiha."
His gaze shifted to Fugaku. "Explain."
Fugaku straightened slightly. "The radical faction is led by Kyoshiro," Fugaku began. "The great elder of the Uchiha clan. He believes that if the village will never truly be ruled by Uchiha, then separation is preferable to submission."
A faint ripple went through the room.
"Most of his supporters are older shinobi," Fugaku continued. "Veterans mostly, men who lived through wars, who remember Tobirama's policies, Danzo's suppression, the ones who never let go of old grudges. Most of them possess fully matured three-tomoe Sharingan."
Ren whistled softly. "That's… not a small force."
"No," Fugaku agreed. "It's not."
He let out a slow breath. "If they rebel openly, the village will suffer. Even if they lose, the damage would be severe."
Hiashi frowned. "So why push them?"
Fugaku's eyes sharpened. "Because they're already at the edge. All we're doing is deciding when they fall."
He continued, "They believe tonight is the best opportunity. The Fire Daimyo is present. The Third Hokage's past with Danzo has been revealed. From their perspective, the village leadership looks weakened."
Ren nodded slowly. "Pressure from all sides."
"Yes," Fugaku said. "They plan to demand changes in leadership, using the Daimyo as leverage."
A faint, humorless smile crossed his face. "To sell the deception, I agreed to act as their intermediary. I'll speak to the Daimyo on behalf of the Uchiha."
Hiashi narrowed his eyes. "And you'll tell them…?"
"That he refused," Fugaku said flatly.
The room went quiet for a second.
"That rejection will ignite them," Fugaku continued. "They'll interpret it as confirmation that peaceful change is impossible. News of this will spread quickly, especially to Danzo."
Ren hummed, tapping the armrest. "So the Uchiha rebellion becomes the spark."
"Yes," Fugaku replied. "The catalyst."
Ren tilted his head. "And the Uchiha problem?"
Fugaku didn't hesitate. "Will be handled by Uchiha."
For just a heartbeat, his Mangekyo Sharingan flashed before fading again.
No one questioned him.
Ren nodded. "Fair."
He leaned forward slightly. "So… who deals with Danzo?"
That question hung heavier than expected.
Because killing Danzo wasn't the problem.
Four, no, five people in the room could do that without blinking. Ren, Yoru, Kakashi, Itachi, Fugaku. Even Hiashi in the right circumstances.
The real issue was after.
Danzo didn't play simple games. If he moved, he would move with contingencies layered beneath contingencies, sleeper agents, dead-man switches. Triggers that wouldn't care if he lived or died.
Letting him act was dangerous.
Letting him die too early was worse.
Yoru answered at last. "Whoever Danzo chooses."
Ren blinked once, then grinned. "I like the sound of that."
Yoru ignored the grin and continued, "There's no doubt he'll attempt to escape. Staying inside the village and fighting openly benefits him least."
Shikaku nodded. "If he gets out, tracking him becomes a nightmare."
"And worse," Yoru said, "whatever he's prepared outside the village becomes uncontested."
He turned toward Ren. "That's why we keep him inside."
Ren leaned back, expression attentive now.
"You and I will position ourselves near his holding cell," Yoru said. "The moment he makes a move, we don't stop him immediately."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "We let him breathe."
"Yes," Yoru said. "We let him signal his forces inside the village. Let him call them out of hiding."
A low chuckle escaped Ren. "Gather all the rats before burning the nest."
"Exactly," Yoru replied. "Once his forces reveal themselves, we eliminate them."
He paused, then added, "Danzo will rush to one of us first, he would want to deal with us one by one, not together. Whoever he targets first…"
"...wins the jackpot," Ren finished.
"That person deals with Danzo," Yoru confirmed. "The other handles the remaining Root inside the village."
Ren flashed an okay sign. "Works for me."
Shikaku spoke next, his fingers tapping lightly against the edge of the table as his eyes moved from one face to another.
"I've had our agents in the other villages keep an eye out for any disturbances," he began. "Cloud and Stone have both been… unusually active. Their top officials have been moving far more than normal."
"There was also a large-scale military movement a day before yesterday," Shikaku continued. "Nothing officially declared. Most people believe it was routine border patrol, Stone under Kitsuchi, Cloud under Yugito Nii."
Hiashi frowned slightly. "Those aren't names you attach to 'routine' movements."
"Exactly," Shikaku said. "If those two villages combined those forces and decided to pressure us tonight, with Danzo's execution and internal instability… it would be troublesome, to say the least."
Utakata added quietly. "But Jiraiya-Sensei is already on border duty."
"Yes," Shikaku agreed, "but if reinforcements arrived, even Jiraiya-sama wouldn't be able to hold them alone for long. At best, he'd buy time."
Yoru didn't speak. He simply tilted his head toward Ren.
Ren sighed, reached into his coat, and pulled out a photograph. He placed it on the table and let it slide forward.
"They've already been dealt with," Ren said casually. "So there's no need to worry."
The room froze once again.
Fugaku leaned forward first, his eyes narrowing as he took in the image. Hiashi followed, then Shikaku, then Kakashi, Itachi and Utakata.
Kitsuchi and Yugito bound to their seats, the other stone and cloud shinobi lying around them and Ren, grinning, flashing a peace sign.
For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the faint hum of the barrier seals embedded in the walls.
To say that they were shocked would be a understatement, in a span of single day Ren had defeated Kakuzu, Kitsuchi and Yugito and hundreds of shinobi from the Cloud and Stone village.
Kakashi stared at the photo, then at Ren, then back at the photo. "You're ridiculous," he muttered. "You know that, right?"
Ren shrugged. "I don't try, it's just natural."
If this information were public, it would shatter the balance of the entire shinobi world. That was obvious to everyone present.
Shikaku recovered first, his mind already racing through consequences. His voice hardened.
"This information cannot leave this room," he said firmly. "Not until Danzo is dead and the village stabilizes."
Everyone nodded immediately.
"If the people hear this now," Shikaku continued, "they won't see two defeated enemy commanders. They'll see an inevitable retaliation. Fear spreads faster than logic. Rumors of a Fourth Great Ninja War would erupt overnight."
Hiashi turned to Ren. "In your estimation… how likely is a war because of this?"
Ren answered before Shikaku. "Zero." He leaned back, crossing his arms and continued, "Since they're my prisoners, not the village's they'll be returned once the ransom is paid."
That earned a few looks.
"I made that very clear in my letters," Ren continued. "Their fate depends on my mood, not diplomacy. Stone and Cloud both understand that pushing the issue means gambling with their leaders' lives."
"And you think they'll pay ransom?" Hiashi asked.
"They will," Ren said simply. "Stone already knows better. Cloud… might posture a little."
Shikaku stiffened. "And if they don't?"
Ren smiled, but there was no humor in it this time. "Then I extract the Two-Tails and drop it in the middle of Kumogakure."
The room went dead silent again.
"I'll bring Pervy Sage with me," Ren added lightly. "We'll take either the Eight-Tails or the Raikage. Maybe both if luck is on our side, then poof, one of the five great nations is gone."
"But well, I doubt it'd come to that, they're not idiots, they rule the village, they know when to use their brains."
Yoru finally spoke, his tone calm but absolute. "There will be no war."
Everyone turned to him.
"Once Danzo is dealt with," Yoru continued, "the exchange will be handled discreetly and cordially. No one benefits from escalation."
Ren nodded. "Exactly."
With that he stood up and stretched, "Well, I doubt there's anything else to be discussed, so I'll get going now, I'll be with Naruto if you need me."
Before anyone could respond, his presence flickered then vanished.
The room remained silent for several seconds after he left.
Finally, Shikaku sighed. "We're really letting that kid become Hokage someday."
Yoru took his seat back and spoke, "Yes," he said quietly. "And the world should be grateful he's in a good mood mostly, unless it's about his height of course."
~~~~~
{The next chapter would be Ren and Naruto, once more, so get ready, it'd either be waterworks or death from laughter, maybe a bit of both, I haven't really decided, so buckle up.}