Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
The battle in the great forest outside the capital of the Land of Fire caused quite a stir.
But it had nothing to do with Ren and his group.
The master and two disciples continued traveling across the ninja world.
After hearing reports about the incident, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, vaguely suspected that Tsunade might be involved.
He sent Anbu agents to investigate.
Tsunade, however, bluntly dismissed them.
And just like that—
the matter faded away.
In a Dense Forest
BOOM!
Ren stood before a large tree.
In his palm—
a blue sphere of chakra condensed.
Countless strands of chakra spun wildly inside it, twisting and colliding in chaotic motion.
Holding it steady, he pressed the sphere against the tree trunk.
The chakra sphere drilled inward at visible speed.
The tree groaned—
then collapsed.
Watching this scene, Tsunade was speechless.
"I only told you a little about the concept Rasengan used when the Fourth Hokage developed it…"
"And you actually mastered it?"
The Rasengan—
an A-rank technique developed by Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.
It had taken him three years to perfect.
Yet Ren had recreated it so easily.
In fact—
Tsunade herself didn't even know the Rasengan.
She had only mentioned it casually while discussing ninjutsu theory with Ren.
But right in front of her and Shizune—
after just a few attempts—
Ren successfully reproduced the technique.
"That's incredible…"
Shizune couldn't help but sigh.
"This is the A-rank jutsu the Fourth Hokage spent years creating!"
She had already tried to estimate Ren's talent as highly as possible.
Yet she still realized—
she had underestimated him.
The most unbelievable part was that Tsunade herself barely understood the technique.
She only explained its basic principle—
and Ren mastered it anyway.
Ren dispersed the Rasengan in his palm.
"What's so surprising about that?"
he said with a light smile.
"Gather chakra in the hand…"
"Make it rotate violently in multiple directions…"
"Then compress it into a high-density chakra sphere."
"I've already studied the Rasengan before."
With his extremely precise chakra control,
he didn't even need the usual training methods with water balloons or rubber balls.
He had mastered it easily.
Today—
he only demonstrated it openly so Tsunade and Shizune could see it.
"With my level of chakra control," Ren continued,
"this is trivial."
Then he raised both hands.
His fingers transformed into writhing vines.
"Like this."
Tsunade and Shizune froze.
At the ends of those moving vines—
blue chakra spheres began forming.
One after another.
Each Rasengan rotated violently, compressing further and further.
The sight was shocking.
Multiple Rasengan—
all forming simultaneously.
Meanwhile — In Konoha
Deep beneath Konohagakure.
Inside a hidden underground base.
"Lord Danzō!"
"You're finally awake!"
Medical ninjas and Root members gathered around with relief.
The man lying on the bed—
was Danzō Shimura.
His eyes were dull.
His body felt numb and weak.
"How long… have I been unconscious?"
"Nearly half a month," replied a Root jonin.
"Your arm has been reattached…"
"But after a thorough examination, we found that aside from physical injuries, your spirit seemed to have suffered severe trauma."
"That's why you remained unconscious."
He hesitated.
"Was Tsunade really that terrifying?"
"Tsunade?"
Danzō raised an eyebrow.
A trace of disdain flashed through his eyes.
That woman alone could not threaten him.
Before losing consciousness, Ren had left certain instructions through Tsukuyomi.
So Danzō had no intention of revealing anything.
He simply said calmly:
"That woman is indeed formidable."
"As expected of the First Hokage's granddaughter."
"I underestimated her."
Then he gave an order.
"Recall everyone."
"From today onward, stop monitoring Tsunade and the others."
"Yes, Lord Danzō!"
Though confused—
no one dared question him.
"You may all leave."
"I want some quiet."
After a moment of hesitation, the Root members obeyed and left.
The room fell silent.
Danzō stared at the white ceiling.
"Was I… really wrong?"
he murmured.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi…"
"Am I truly inferior to you?"
The experience in the Tsukuyomi world—
those humiliating memories—
had shattered his mind.
He began questioning his own beliefs.
For the first time in years,
the sinister aura around him had faded.
"Perhaps I was wrong…"
"But the decline of Konoha…"
"Wasn't it also caused by your weakness?"
"Your incompetence?"
He clenched his fist.
"Your time is over, Hiruzen."
"You are no longer the 'Professor' you once were."
His eyes gradually became firm.
A strange light filled them—
almost fanatical.
"Let this rotten root burn one last time."
"To add fuel to Konoha's flame."
"Lord Ren…"
"I believe you are the man destined to bring change to this world."
In Danzō's mind—
the aging Third Hokage was no longer suitable to lead the village.
His role now was clear:
to prepare the path.
To remove every obstacle—
before Ren returned.
Although Kotoamatsukami could forcibly rewrite a person's will,
it didn't completely change their personality.
Ren had only ordered Danzō to be loyal to him.
He never told him how to act afterward.
Yet in Danzō's own mind—
he had already constructed the entire justification himself.
Konoha needs a younger, stronger leader.
Someone capable of changing the world.
Someone who could end the endless wars of the ninja world.
A new era must begin.
Danzō slowly opened his eyes.
"Someone…"
he called.
The Root members outside immediately responded.
"Yes, Lord Danzō!"
And the old root of Konoha—
had now become Ren's most loyal weapon.
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