Life in Ryūchi Cave was even more pleasant than Ren had expected.
Because this was the sanctuary of "snakes," countless creatures lived here—prey meant to satisfy the feeding needs of summon snakes of all sizes.
And under the influence of Ryūchi Cave's active natural energy, many of those creatures carried traces of senjutsu chakra within their bodies.
Which meant—
Ren could stack his Dark Harvest endlessly by hunting them.
And thanks to First Strike, he could occasionally "drop" proficiency for Sage Mode: Ryūchi Cave from prey infused with senjutsu chakra.
The gains per drop weren't high.
But accumulated over time—and combined with Ren's own understanding and development of Ryūchi Cave's senjutsu—
By the time Tainoshin-jō came to find him, Ren had already raised Sage Mode: Ryūchi Cave to LV6.
And he had unlocked a new bodily change.
When Sage Mode activated, a pair of dragon-like horns sprouted from his head.
"My, my, my…" Tainoshin-jō murmured, eyes wide with genuine admiration. "What astonishing progress…"
"To enter perfect Sage Mode in under ten seconds without preparation… and to grow dragon horns…"
"At this rate, you will soon shed your snake skin and ascend into a dragon, Ren-sama."
"I understand you're praising me," Ren said, opening his eyes slowly, "but for some reason it feels like the moment you finish that sentence, something unlucky is going to happen to me."
He looked at her calmly.
"What is it, Tainoshin-jō?"
"The White Snake Sage asked me to inquire," she replied gently. "It has been roughly seventy days in the outside world."
"Do you intend to remain here and continue training… or do you wish to leave?"
"Seventy days…" Ren's brows rose. "That fast? Over two months already?"
He summoned his system panel and looked at his Dark Harvest stacks.
[Dark Harvest: 4936 souls harvested. Soul Strength amplification stacks: 3. Special Soul Fragments held: Shimura Danzō, Uzumaki Kushina. Can be used to break the 9999 stack cap.]
He had already used Uchiha Obito's fragment to break the 999 cap.
Subtracting what he'd saved before…
He had harvested about four thousand stacks in Ryūchi Cave alone.
No wonder balancing and producing senjutsu chakra had become easier lately.
His soul strength was finally catching up to his life force.
"Understood," Ren said. "I'll clean myself up, then go see the White Snake Sage and tell her I'll be leaving for now."
"Your spare clothing is here," Tainoshin-jō said, offering a set of men's robes similar in style to those worn in Ryūchi Cave. "I'll wait outside."
Ren accepted the clothes.
And as Tainoshin-jō withdrew to the snake passage leading out—
She quietly reined in her senses and thought to herself.
"His senjutsu chakra is clearly stronger than before."
"If I compare him to the moment he first arrived… he could suppress his former self easily."
"His life force hasn't changed as dramatically. If the two truly fought to decide a winner…"
"It would likely become a multi-day battle of attrition."
"…What a monster, Kaguya Ren."
…
"It's been a while, White Snake Sage."
"Mm." The White Snake Sage's eyes narrowed slightly as she regarded him. "So you intend to leave, Kaguya Ren."
She continued evenly.
"I won't ask about your understanding of senjutsu—your horns already answer that."
"But your idea—making the curse mark more universal…"
"Have you made progress?"
"I've found methods to reduce side effects and transplantation risk," Ren replied. He summoned a small white snake with a three-tomoe pattern on its forehead. It coiled obediently around his finger.
"But how much senjutsu chakra to inject into my curse mark… that problem isn't solved yet."
He sighed softly, tone full of reluctant amusement.
"Too little, and the curse mark becomes so weak only genin can use it."
"A little more, and its universality collapses immediately."
"High-end products becoming mass-market…" Ren shook his head. "It's annoying. It takes patience."
"And yet you seem to enjoy it," the White Snake Sage remarked, smoke drifting.
"As the village's Kage, I need to offer something that makes people truly acknowledge me," Ren said calmly, idly teasing the little snake—a vessel of curse mark power.
"Mist is a village where you can rise through strength and suppress all dissatisfaction… but if everyone becomes alienated from me, that's not ideal."
"Besides, I don't intend to stop at the position of Mizukage."
"If I can't even govern one village cleanly, how can I achieve a greater undertaking?"
"Hm." The White Snake Sage tapped her pipe lightly.
"Speaking of Kirigakure… in these two months, things have not gone well for Mist, Ren."
She flicked her tail, and an intelligence scroll flew toward him.
Ren caught it, opened it, and found news both good and bad.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had used Ren's diversion to infiltrate the Land of Fire—
And, as if guided by fate, had collided with Might Guy and his father, Might Duy.
Under Duy's Eight Gates—fully opened—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were nearly wiped out.
Only Biwa Jūzō and Hōzuki Mangetsu managed to escape with their comrades' blades.
To avoid ANBU pursuit, they had been forced to make an enormous detour within Fire Country, wasting nearly a month before returning to Mist-controlled territory.
And during that month—
With the Seven Swordsmen absent, and Ren's disappearance into Ryūchi Cave—
Kirigakure's front line had been pushed back by Konoha over a hundred kilometers, losing almost all the advantage they had built.
The sole saving grace—
A shinobi with both Lava Release and Boil Release stepped forward.
Terumī Mei.
She had led Mist through several counterstrikes, repelled Konoha's advances, and heavily injured multiple Konoha jōnin—including Akimichi Chōza and Hyūga Hizashi—buying Mist precious breathing room.
Then came the matter of Root's succession.
What Ren couldn't quite understand was—
The Third Hokage did not appoint either advisor, nor Orochimaru, to take Root.
Nor did he merge Root into ANBU.
Instead, he kept Root parallel to ANBU—
And personally assumed leadership of Root.
Ren's brows knitted.
"If he wants to reclaim authority, wouldn't merging Root into ANBU be the simplest move?"
"Why keep them running in parallel?"
"Is he trying to retain influence after handing the seat to Minato?"
"Or is he planning to burn through Root's strength during wartime, then retire with Root disappearing from the stage?"
Hiruzen was too contradictory for Ren to judge cleanly.
But the next intelligence line seized all his attention.
"The Four-Tails' jinchūriki from Iwagakure led a surprise raid on the Fire Country border…"
"And during battle with Jiraiya, they were stopped by an organization calling itself 'Akatsuki'?"
Ren's eyes gleamed.
He looked up at the White Snake Sage.
"About this—do you have more detailed information?"
"I do," she replied calmly, "but not much."
"The organization claims it intervened to prevent renewed conflict between the Land of Earth and Land of Fire, insisting both sides should honor the peace treaty."
"Their leader is strong—he easily stopped the fight between the Four-Tails' jinchūriki and Jiraiya."
"But Akatsuki did not help Konoha pursue the retreating Iwa forces… even though Jiraiya knows their leader."
Ren closed the scroll slowly.
A smile spread—quiet, satisfied.
"Well done, Nagato."
"Starting this early… persuading your companions and taking action already…"
"That's worth another round of investment from me."
Ren lifted his eyes to the White Snake Sage.
"Can you tell me Akatsuki's current location?"
"They're still near the border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire," the White Snake Sage replied, smoke curling. "If you go now, you might even see that lecherous brat chosen by the old toad."
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