"Huh? He went into the lab first thing in the morning?" Minato looked disappointed. He had wanted to discuss some aspects of "cultivation" with Ren Kurogane, but it seemed he'd have to wait.
Inside the lab, Ren was meticulously refining the Otsutsuki genetic factors. He intended to simply devour the power as he had done with previous samples.
However, as the refinement began, Ren's expression suddenly shifted. His pupils snapped into the Mangekyo pattern, and in the next heartbeat, time in the surrounding area ground to a complete halt.
Staring at the lump of flesh on the exam table—now frozen in its state of rapid decay—Ren exhaled a breath of relief, followed by a surge of frustration. "I didn't expect the Otsutsuki genome to have a 'firewall.' The moment I tried to crack it, it triggered a self-destruct sequence. If I didn't have Time Stasis, this material would be worthless junk by now."
While relieved to have saved the sample, he was also facing a headache. If Otsutsuki genes were this volatile, he couldn't simply ingest them. There were too many unstable variables. And if he couldn't assimilate them, he couldn't share the data with Scientist Ren.
In other words, to unravel the secrets of the "gods," he was strictly on his own for now. Either that, or he'd have to wait until he encountered a version of himself so overwhelmingly powerful that they could forcibly suppress and devour the Otsutsuki power regardless of the self-destruct. But if I were already that strong, Ren mused, would I even need this power?
He sealed Urashiki's tissue samples back into a scroll. Once time resumed, he brought out the blood sample from the "pineapple-head" boy and began refining that instead.
That evening, when Ren returned to the main house, he saw the lights in the front hall were still on. Inside, Hikari was sitting on the sofa, her chin resting on her hand, her beautiful eyes half-lidded in a daze.
Sensing movement, Hikari's eyes snapped open.
"Still up this late?" Ren smiled. "Don't tell me you were waiting for me?"
Hikari yawned, now somewhat immune to Ren's teasing. She rubbed her eyes. "Minato came looking for you today. He wanted to ask about 'cultivation.' By the way, what exactly is that?"
"Oh, that! Cultivation is—"
"Actually, never mind. Tell me tomorrow. Honestly, I'm usually having my beauty sleep by this time!" Hikari waved him off and stood up. As her slender legs moved, Ren noticed she wasn't wearing shoes; her soft, pale feet were bare against the floor—a sight that was quite easy on the eyes.
Walking toward the door, she stopped and looked back. "By the way! I want a hot breakfast tomorrow. And I don't want to eat alone."
With that, she vanished toward her room. Ren chuckled softly, already considering what to prepare for the morning. He turned toward the dining table and noticed the bowls and chopsticks laid out for him. With a smile, he began to eat.
Two seconds later, a muffled scream of agony shattered the silence of the night.
In the hallway, Hikari shrunk her neck, looking embarrassed. Kushina... she really is a novice at cooking! Hikari vowed silently to practice her own culinary skills so a tragedy like today's would never happen again.
The next morning.
When Hikari finished washing up and entered the dining area, an irresistible aroma tickled her nose. Her mouth watered, and she had to fight back the urge to dive into the food.
"Awake? Come and eat." "House-husband" Ren smiled at her. Hikari's face flushed slightly as she sat down and stared at the steaming trays of soup dumplings (xiaolongbao).
"Seriously, how many things are you good at that I don't know about?"
"The days are long. You'll find out eventually."
After a cheerful breakfast, Minato appeared in the courtyard exactly on time, looking exhilarated. "Ren! Come practice Sage Arts with me!"
Behind Minato, Kushina and Mikoto waved at Hikari. "Let's work on new recipes today too!" Kushina laughed. The three women chattered as they left, leaving Ren and Minato alone in the courtyard.
Once the coast was clear, Minato said excitedly, "Ren! I can finally perceive that energy you mentioned—the stuff floating in the air! But I still can't pull it into my body. You must know the trick, tell me the secret!"
Ren stared at Minato, slightly dazed. He hadn't expected Minato to sense natural energy so quickly after only a few months of Senju cell integration. But then again, Minato was a sensory-type genius; with the Senju lineage aiding him, this was a natural progression.
Minato looked at him expectantly. He had been trying for two weeks to make progress on his own with no luck.
Ren pondered for a moment. "This isn't something I can just 'teach.' You have to experience the flow."
He led Minato to sit under a tree. Ren skillfully manipulated a wisp of natural energy and injected it into Minato's body, using it as a "seed" to help him resonate with the energy outside. Ren stayed close, watching Minato's physical changes with extreme caution.
My version of 'cultivation' isn't like the temporary Sage Mode of the Three Great Sage Regions. It's about using natural energy to fundamentally strengthen the foundation—health, longevity, and raw power. Since I'm the only one who's done it, I don't know if there are side effects for others. Ren kept his eyes peeled; at the first sign of trouble, he would freeze time and purge the energy from Minato's system.
Inside, Minato felt a profound shift. As the natural energy entered him, he felt his vitality skyrocket. Every cell in his body seemed to be cheering, celebrating a biological sublimation.
But then came the hunger. Not a physical craving for food, but a spiritual hunger for the omnipresent energy in the air. Every cell was screaming: More! Consume it!
Minato instinctively obeyed the biological urge, beginning to devour the surrounding natural energy greedily.
WHACK!
Ren's palm slammed onto Minato's head, forcibly dispersing the rampaging natural energy and purging it from his body. Minato blinked, looking at Ren in total confusion.
Ren simply pointed around them.
The once-lush backyard was now covered in withered, yellow grass. The massive tree they sat under had turned gray and brittle, its majestic trunk reduced to a dead husk.
"Wh-What happened?" Minato looked around in disbelief. "I did this?"
Ren nodded. "Exactly. You absorbed too much too fast, even plucking the life force from the surrounding plants. If I hadn't dispersed it, you would have been 'overloaded' and popped like a balloon. Boom."
Minato felt a cold sweat break out. He knew Ren wasn't joking. Recalling that overwhelming hunger that felt like it would swallow his very soul, he shivered.
"Alright, that's enough for today. I need to get ready for dinner."
"Dinner?" Minato looked up and realized the sun was setting. To him, it felt like only moments had passed since the morning.
At that moment, Kushina and the other two poked their heads out from the kitchen, looking incredibly guilty. "Um... so, we might have to go out to eat tonight..."
Looking at the three clearly embarrassed faces, Ren sighed. "Fine. Let's go get barbecue."
"Yay!" "Minato's paying!" "Huh..." "Haha, I'll pay! I just finished a mission anyway!" Minato laughed warmly.
While Ren was happily eating barbecue...
In another world, amidst an endless desert under a dark sky with a single crescent moon, a white, bony claw thrust upward through the sand. A "person" clad in white bone armor crawled out.
His silhouette was human, but a massive, hollow hole pierced through his chest. He looked up at the moon and let out a chilling, raspy laugh.
"I, Ren Kurogane... finally clawed my way out of the pit! I've reached the top! Jiejiejie! JIEJIEJIEJIE!!"