After briefly greeting Yamato—and reminding him once again not to mention anything about tonight—Ren finally returned home.
There were quite a few things he needed to think through carefully.
"I really didn't expect Uchiha Obito to help me this much…"
Ren's head was still buzzing. For a fleeting moment, he even wondered whether Obito was somehow his bonded fate.
Helping him to this extent was honestly astonishing—even by Ren's standards.
Not to mention the sheer number of Free Points he'd farmed off Obito over time.
A true brother, through and through.
"If that's the case, then the Uchiha plan needs even more meticulous preparation. I'll have to clearly define the areas that might get swept up."
With the Akatsuki involved, a major battle was inevitable.
How to handle it once fighting broke out.
Who among the Uchiha had to die.
Who would take the blame.
How to redefine the so-called "Uchiha rebellion."
All of it required careful calculation.
Just as Ren was thinking, a voice pulled him back to reality.
"Ren, you're back?"
"Yugao… ah, you're still up?"
Ren looked up, smiling the moment he saw Yugao.
He instinctively reached out—then froze when he noticed Uchiha Hikaru standing behind her.
"…You haven't gone to rest yet?"
"She was telling me the story about your friend," Hikaru said, raising an eyebrow.
She'd been planning to leave, but now she'd changed her mind.
"So you really do have a friend like that."
"Well, of course I do," Ren replied, lifting an eyebrow.
"Having an Uchiha friend isn't exactly strange, is it?"
He laughed lightly.
"See? Told you I wasn't lying. I'm all about sincerity."
Sincerity was the ultimate weapon—Ren knew that well.
As for whether his sincerity came with a warranty… even he wasn't always sure.
"But that's what I don't understand," Hikaru said bluntly, offering no courtesy at all.
She looked Ren up and down.
"You said you had a three-year bond with him. If that's true, then he's probably already dead."
"Yet you don't look sad. Not even a little."
"It's like you don't care at all."
"…Was he really your friend?"
Ren fell silent.
He'd dug this ancient evil Uchiha ghost out specifically to deal with that other evil Uchiha brat Obito.
So why was Obito nowhere in sight, yet Hikaru was already locking horns with him?
Still… she wasn't wrong.
His reaction to Shisui's "death" was far too calm.
Not what you'd expect from someone with three years of shared history.
Then again—
Didn't this fit his persona perfectly?
After all, he was an excellent ninja personally trained by Lord Danzo.
"The people who trained me taught one thing above all else," Ren finally said.
"No matter what happens, never show excessive emotion."
"The more emotion you reveal, the more of yourself you expose—along with your weaknesses."
"Erase your feelings. Become a proper tool."
"That's how you survive."
He paused, then added calmly.
"I'm not a qualified tool. I don't want to be one."
"But some habits from that training… they never really disappear."
"Ren…"
Yugao understood immediately. Her chest tightened.
Erasing emotion. Becoming nothing but a tool.
Hikaru pressed her lips together.
That description matched her own past far too closely.
A wave of discomfort washed over her.
Had she crossed a line?
"It's fine," Ren said with a relaxed smile.
"It's all in the past. I'm not as fragile as you think."
He clearly didn't want to dwell on it.
"Anyway, this operation wasn't a waste. I've more or less figured out why the Rain Village came."
"You got intel?" Yugao asked at once, seizing the chance to change the topic.
"Did you report to the Hokage?"
"Not yet," Ren shook his head. "I came straight back."
Yugao immediately turned around.
"Wait here. I'll change. We're reporting right now."
She didn't wait for him to refuse—already striding toward her room.
"…Sorry. I shouldn't have asked," Hikaru said quietly after Yugao left.
Only someone who'd lived through it knew how painful those memories truly were.
Uchiha emotions ran deep by nature.
Hikaru didn't feel good about herself.
"I told you it's fine," Ren replied gently.
"Didn't I say we could be friends?"
He smiled again.
"And I told you—I'll help you."
"You'll see the ending you want."
"Help me…"
Hikaru murmured, then fell silent.
Moments later, Yugao emerged in ANBU attire and immediately grabbed Ren's hand.
"Enough thinking. Let's finish the work first."
"Yes, yes," Ren sighed helplessly.
For some reason, people in this world loved using work pressure to drown personal pain.
The Fourth Hokage had thrown Kakashi into ANBU hoping nonstop missions would make him forget Rin.
Yugao was probably doing the same—burying Ren in tasks so he wouldn't dwell on "painful memories."
If only she knew.
Shisui wasn't even dead.
Outside the house, Ren felt the warmth of Yugao's hand and suddenly laughed.
"Senpai," he said lightly.
"If you really want to comfort me… there are other ways."
"Hm?"
Yugao froze.
She turned—only to meet Ren's amused gaze, and the sensation of his finger gently brushing her palm.
"…You bastard."
She looked away with a huff.
Her ears were already turning red.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as he listened.
"So… the Rain Village really came in goodwill?"
Yamanaka Inoichi stood beside him, nodding.
Ren's team had gathered additional information, while Inoichi relayed Konan's earlier statements.
At this point, Ren was essentially telling a story.
Fortunately, Konan had already agreed—they were "cooperating."
"So far, that seems to be the case, Hokage-sama," Ren said calmly.
"It's not hard to understand."
"We already know some Akatsuki members originated from the Rain."
"In the past, Hanzo cooperated with certain individuals and drove them into a corner—resulting in casualties."
"That hatred won't disappear."
"Hanzo feels the pressure now, so he's seeking help."
"I believe that theory holds," Inoichi added.
"Akatsuki's actions alone are enough to make Hanzo wary."
"The Rain Village can't withstand them."
"They had no choice but to act."
Hiruzen took a deep drag from his pipe.
The explanation made sense.
After all, Konoha was currently the only village openly opposing Akatsuki.
Still…
"This doesn't quite match the Hanzo I knew," Hiruzen murmured.
"He once feared nothing."
"Time changes people," Ren replied evenly.
In truth, Hiruzen was delighted.
A former enemy collapsing, seeking peace?
That was excellent news.
Especially with his recent headaches—
Internal crises.
Negotiations with Kirigakure.
The Fourth Mizukage issue looming like a time bomb.
Hanzo backing down was practically a gift from heaven.
But soon, Hiruzen frowned again.
"What about Akatsuki themselves? What do they want?"
"That's unclear," Ren said after a pause.
"But we can engage the Rain envoys further—formally."
"And perhaps… turn certain Akatsuki members."
Hiruzen's eyes widened.
"Jiraiya's students?"
"Yes."
Ren smiled faintly.
"Handled properly, we gain intel. Possibly leverage over the Rain."
"And it gives Jiraiya an answer."
After long thought, Hiruzen nodded.
"…Very well."
That same night, Konan sat awake in her inn room.
Her expression was complicated.
Then she noticed a scroll on the floor—bearing a Flying Thunder God mark.
Ren's message.
It outlined exactly what Konoha wanted—and what it would offer in return.
Material aid.
Something the Rain Village desperately needed.
Then she frowned.
They'd have to pose as Hanzo's faction.
Hatred surged.
But she understood.
This wasn't mercy.
It was a slow, precise execution of Danzo.
She burned the scroll after memorizing it.
"Learning from Jiraiya-sensei…"
Elsewhere, ripples spread across the shinobi world.
Iwa panicked.
Kumo calculated.
Suna hesitated.
And in the Rain—
Nagato listened.
"So he wants to push everything onto Danzo…"
Konan nodded.
"It benefits everyone."
"Then let's do it," Nagato said quietly.
Far away, Obito smirked behind his mask.
"Uchiha Itachi will make the right choice."
And at sunset, with Sasuke's small hand in his—
Itachi made his decision.
Under the rising moon, he met Obito.
Mangekyō bloomed.
"Interesting," Obito laughed.
"Then let us end it all."
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