"This is an absolute nightmare."
In the Land of Whirlpools, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat inside the temporary camp, rubbing his temples as he struggled with the ongoing negotiations.
This round of talks was unimaginably complicated.
After all, it involved not only a Kage—but also the Three-Tails.
He had never imagined that one day he would be forced to negotiate over the ownership of a tailed beast.
But this situation was nothing like what he had envisioned.
Negotiating tailed-beast ownership was supposed to happen only after defeating an enemy nation—followed by redrawing the order of the shinobi world.
The last person to do that was the First Hokage.
That was Konoha at its absolute peak.
In this world, unless one reached the pinnacle of individual power, no one truly had the right to define order. Everyone else was just rolling around in the same muddy pit.
And right now, Hiruzen was nothing more than a scapegoat carefully set up by Kirigakure.
Rewriting the rules?
A joke.
If he so much as showed interest in the Three-Tails, disaster would fall on him immediately.
"We still need time…"
Hiruzen let out a long sigh.
Konoha might not be what it once was, but it was still steadily improving.
Especially with someone like Ren.
If Ren were given time to grow, Konoha could absolutely return to its former glory.
That was why Hiruzen preferred caution.
Just like years ago, when he had pushed the cruel "one household or one life" choice onto the Hyūga, he still avoided direct conflict whenever possible.
He didn't want explosions.
"Lord Hokage, this is an urgent message from the village."
Kakashi suddenly entered the tent and respectfully handed over a scroll.
"Konoha's emergency report?"
Hiruzen immediately stood up and took it, then added without hesitation,
"Call Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shikaku over. Now."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Kakashi bowed and left at once.
Hiruzen opened the scroll.
And the moment he finished reading, his body stiffened.
"A terrifying battle erupted inside Konoha. An entire forest and nearby mountains were erased?"
"The whole village felt the ground shaking?"
"Cause unknown. Participants unknown. Massive, chaotic chakra residue—likely multiple combatants?"
"No bodies found… but Aburame clan insects were discovered?"
"Confirmed by Aburame Shibi—Aburame-style control?"
"Danzo is currently 'maintaining order'?"
Hiruzen's mind buzzed.
Any one of these points alone was horrifying.
Together, they made it hard to breathe.
"There aren't many forces in the shinobi world capable of causing this kind of destruction…"
"And Konoha absolutely has them."
One was Uchiha Shisui, wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The other was Ren, who possessed Wood Release.
Hiruzen knew very well that Ren could use the Wood Golem technique—both Jiraiya and Kakashi had reported it.
Shisui, meanwhile, had already mastered Susanoo.
In theory, these two should never have fought.
After all, Hiruzen himself had personally arranged their team, allowing the Senju and Uchiha to form a bond.
But Hiruzen could not ignore his old friend.
The presence of Aburame insects said everything.
Danzo.
Root had once been destroyed, and although Hiruzen felt some secret satisfaction, Root's existence was still important.
Danzo was dangerous—but also capable.
That was why Hiruzen had allowed him to rebuild Root.
He also had his own selfish calculations.
Danzo dreamed of becoming Hokage.
Letting him personally strong-arm the clans into handing over talents was effectively killing that dream forever.
But now—
Hiruzen wanted to slap himself.
Root had been rebuilt.
Ren had appeared.
And Danzo's ambition had exploded.
Hiruzen had no doubt that Danzo had acted on his own while he was away.
Aburame insects didn't lie.
And Danzo's target was obvious.
Uchiha Shisui.
That child had long been marked.
Thinking of the Uchiha's likely reaction—thinking of how hard he had tried to pull that clan back from the brink—
Even stabilizing Shisui and creating a "new Uchiha" might have worked.
But now?
Everything was ruined.
No bodies.
Danzo "maintaining order."
That meant he had won.
And with Shisui gone, the Uchiha would only grow more extreme.
All of Hiruzen's plans collapsed overnight.
Worse—he couldn't say a word.
This was something Konoha could never admit.
Publicly attacking one's own shinobi would destroy all credibility.
And even claiming Shisui struck first wouldn't work—Danzo's reputation was too filthy.
With Konoha under both internal and external pressure, nothing could be allowed to escalate further.
"Shimura Danzo, I—"
Rage surged through Hiruzen's chest.
The next moment, dizziness overtook him.
He slammed face-first onto the table.
"Hey, old man, why'd you call us in such a hurry?"
Tsunade's voice rang out—followed immediately by chaos.
"Old man, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Wake up! Don't die on us, I don't want to be Hokage!"
"Hey! Wake up!"
"Still no results?"
"Yes, Clan Head."
Inside the Uchiha compound, Fugaku's mood was just as grim.
Uchiha Shisui had vanished completely.
No matter how they searched, the clan's genius was nowhere to be found.
That alone suggested the truth.
"The battle that night… it probably involved Shisui."
Uchiha Yashiro's face was dark.
"Clan Head… Shisui may already be dead."
"We cannot let Konoha act so brazenly!"
"Our people are already speculating, and the Third Hokage isn't even in the village—"
"Enough."
Fugaku's roar cut him off.
"Calm down."
"If we act now, we'll be the ones without justification."
"And losing Shisui means we've lost a critical force. Acting rashly now only gives others an excuse."
Yashiro clenched his fists.
He understood.
But accepting this?
Fugaku forced himself to remain calm despite the rage burning inside.
"The entire village is on edge right now. We cannot fight the whole of Konoha."
"Don't forget the plan. To control Konoha, we must also control the Third Hokage."
Fugaku's scalp tingled.
The Uchiha had blind confidence in their strength.
But he had read the records.
Tobirama had killed Izuna with Flying Thunder God.
Hashirama had defeated Madara.
And now Konoha had someone who possessed both Flying Thunder God and Wood Release.
If that person went mad, the Uchiha would be wiped out overnight.
That was why Fugaku's plan targeted the "Four Pillars" of Konoha—ending things swiftly with Mangekyō.
But now Shisui was gone.
They had to be even more careful.
"This will not end here," Fugaku said quietly.
"I know it was you, Shimura Danzo."
Unnoticed in the shadows, a pair of eyes watched everything.
"So… you plan to move against the Hokage?"
"And the one named in Shisui's letter… is you."
While Konoha and the Uchiha teetered on the edge of madness, the true instigators stood at opposite extremes.
Danzo felt both exhilarated and terrified.
Exhilarated because he could temporarily control the situation.
Terrified because Shisui's disappearance was undeniably connected to him.
He couldn't understand it.
He had acted.
Ren had acted.
So why did it feel like he was the one about to be crushed?
Denial became his only option.
Meanwhile, Ren was relaxed beyond belief.
As a professional worker, his job was to complete objectives.
Collateral damage?
That was management's problem.
"I'm telling you, you're way too lazy."
Inside the Senju ancestral residence, Yūgao stared helplessly at Ren sprawled across the floor.
"ANBU is swamped, and you're here slacking off?"
"Aren't you back too?" Ren grinned.
"I was dragged back by you!"
Ren pulled her into his arms without warning.
Ignoring her startled yelp, he spoke softly.
"This matter won't be investigated properly. There will be no result."
He explained calmly.
The clans were half-hearted.
The higher-ups were silent.
The signal couldn't be clearer.
Yūgao sighed, understanding but still embarrassed by the position.
"Some people are climbing too high," Ren murmured.
"The higher they climb, the harder they'll fall."
Then he smiled.
"I'd rather stay like this—watching the sunrise and sunset with you."
"Stop talking nonsense."
She huffed, then paused.
"…Ren. What's your dream?"
Ren blinked.
"Marry several wives and live well."
"…What?"
Before she could react, he added quietly,
"I'd rather say I want to stay with you forever. But reality won't allow that."
She understood immediately.
"Wood Release?"
"Yes."
The village would never leave that bloodline alone.
And Ren didn't lie to her.
She fell silent—then suddenly looked up.
"Do you really like me?"
Ren answered by leaning down and kissing her.
A sharp pain followed.
"Oi! You bit me!"
"Serves you right."
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Danzo sat in the Hokage's office, staring at the seat he longed for.
Then the door slammed open.
"Danzo!"
Hiruzen stormed in.
Their argument shook the building.
Accusations.
Justifications.
Rage and stubbornness.
Neither yielded.
The elders finally intervened.
A "warning," they called it.
Hiruzen nearly laughed in rage.
Shisui's body.
His eyes.
"Hand them over."
"Nothing remains," Danzo replied.
That answer almost broke him.
Back at the Senju estate, Tsunade returned.
Ren greeted her with a smile.
And when she suggested a long vacation away from Konoha—
Ren's eyes gleamed.
Perfect.
Time to experiment with White Zetsu cells.
And more importantly…
Time to go grave robbing.
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