Why…?
How did it come to this?
The White Snake Sage's body was still trembling—no longer from injury, but from something far worse:
fear.
This Fifth Hokage wasn't Six Paths-level.
Yet the pressure he gave off… the way his punches erased existence… the way those two alien forces—one like a violent tremor, the other like black armored will—kept clinging to its body and rejecting its sage chakra…
It felt like facing a natural disaster that had learned how to think.
His strength… is already brushing against Six Paths.
The White Snake Sage's mind was in chaos. Its earlier composure had been crushed into dust.
Ren looked down at it, eyes cold.
"White Snake Sage," he said flatly. "You're not as impressive as you think."
"My patience has limits."
"If you keep testing me…"
His voice sharpened, calm and absolute.
"…don't blame me when my fist doesn't stop."
"Don't get cocky—!"
The White Snake Sage forced out a bitter retort, humiliation burning its throat.
"If the Sage of Six Paths wasn't suppressing this world… if I could break into Six Paths properly… do you think you could beat me?!"
Ren let out a small, almost amused breath.
"Then go fight him."
The words landed like a slap.
"Don't stand here throwing tantrums at someone you can reach, just because the one you can't reach scares you."
The White Snake Sage's pupils tightened.
It wanted to roar back.
But it couldn't.
Because Ren was right.
It had dreamed of rebellion.
But the moment it imagined Hagoromo's shadow, it shrank back into its cave and called it "endurance."
Ren's gaze turned sharper.
For a moment, the killing intent wasn't loud—
it was clean.
"Fine," he said, as if making a simple decision. "Then I'll end you here."
The air changed.
Ren's eyes rotated—
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan blooming open.
Then the true weight came down.
Sage chakra surged.
Awakened tremor force coiled.
Armament Haki wrapped his fists like black steel.
The three layers stacked—perfectly aligned—until the space around his knuckles began to fracture with thin, visible cracks.
The White Snake Sage froze.
Not because it wanted to.
Because its instincts were screaming one sentence, over and over:
If that punch lands… I die.
Ren stepped in.
"Die."
He lifted his fist—
And in that final heartbeat, the White Snake Sage inhaled hard, swallowing pride like poison.
"WAIT!"
Its voice came out strained and ugly.
"Fifth Hokage… I—"
It forced the words through clenched dignity.
"…submit."
Ren's fist stopped in midair.
A silence followed—so complete it felt like the cave itself was holding its breath.
Ren stared at it.
Then asked, with a deadpan seriousness that somehow felt more insulting than any mockery:
"You're really not going to resist a little? At least do a symbolic 'fight to the death'?"
The White Snake Sage nearly choked.
This human… is insane.
"I'm not resisting," it snapped, then immediately corrected itself—because the fist was still there, still ready.
"…I won't resist."
It lowered its head.
Not because it respected Ren.
Because it respected the simple truth of the world:
Survival beats pride.
Ren finally pulled his fist back.
"Good."
From that moment onward, his tone shifted—still calm, but now it carried the weight of ownership.
"From today, Ryūchi Cave answers to me."
"You will teach sage techniques to those I allow."
"Ryūchi Cave becomes a training ground under Konoha's control."
No flirtation. No indulgence. No theatrics.
Just a command.
The White Snake Sage's face twitched.
But it lowered its head again.
"…Understood."
Ren's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I'll be staying here for a while to train. You'll make an announcement."
The White Snake Sage nodded, swallowing the bitterness.
"Yes… Ren-sama."
Ren turned and walked deeper into Ryūchi Cave.
He didn't look back.
Even if he couldn't break into Six Paths directly yet…
He could still refine everything he already had.
And now that the Tremor Fruit had awakened, he needed time to fully understand what that "awakening" truly meant.
Because one thing was already clear:
The ceiling above him wasn't natural.
Someone had built it.
The Next Day — The shinobi world Shakes
A declaration spread across the land like lightning:
Ryūchi Cave, one of the Three Great Sage Lands, announces its submission to Konoha's Fifth Hokage.
Ryūchi Cave will provide sage-mode instruction to Konoha without conditions.
The shinobi world erupted.
No one believed it at first.
Then the confirmation hit.
Then the panic came.
Small villages reacted first—not with anger, but with wild excitement.
If Konoha had become this unstoppable… then joining early meant protection, resources, and stability.
Some even began to hope Konoha would absorb them.
But the Five Great Villages?
They didn't celebrate.
They didn't cheer.
They felt a cold, sinking dread—like watching a storm front roll in and realizing there was nowhere left to run.
Konoha was already terrifying.
Now Konoha had Ryūchi Cave.
And that meant one thing to every strategist in the world:
Konoha's ceiling just got higher.
Everyone else's just got lower.
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