In other aspects, his research on using the Demonic Statue Fusion Technique to integrate a second bloodline had yet to be fully mastered. As expected, fusing a second bloodline was far more difficult than the first. By the time he reached the fifth, he would probably have to follow Hiruzen's example and find the right location and timing.
However, something like a solar eclipse was far too demanding. He would need to modify the conditions of the Demonic Statue Fusion Technique slightly.
For now, both his experiments and chakra training had to come to a halt.
He had been away from Konoha for quite some time. Every mission he completed never followed a fixed duration, precisely to avoid forming a detectable pattern. This time, however, he had already reached the planned limit for his absence, so returning was necessary.
Kurogane Ren glanced at the meteorite in his hand, thought for a moment, and sealed it into a scroll using a sealing technique.
There was no urgency to let the Demonic Statue's arm evolve into a "tailed beast" form. He could take it back to Konoha and continue training there. Completing the cultivation of Star Chakra would provide a significant boost to his combat strength.
Aside from that, Kurogane Ren surveyed his surroundings. This underground base was simply too large.
Given White Zetsu's near-omnipresent infiltration abilities, it had to be guarded against.
Fortunately, this was not the Fourth Shinobi World War yet, so they had to consider the consumption of White Zetsu. They wouldn't deploy an army of a hundred thousand—at most, there would be dozens to a few hundred.
At this moment, he felt somewhat relieved that it was White Zetsu and not Black Zetsu.
If it were Black Zetsu, no matter how he prepared, he would never be able to detect its infiltration.
After all, that was a being that had once deceived the Sage of Six Paths.
There was only one Black Zetsu, and only one Uchiha Obito. Truly fortunate.
One had fooled the Sage of Six Paths, while the other possessed an ability that could completely ignore barrier-type sealing techniques. Both were extremely troublesome opponents.
Now, Kurogane Ren planned to upgrade all the sealing techniques within the experimental base, and he would construct them using his enhanced chakra.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
He formed hand seals, creating four or five shadow clones. After exchanging glances, they immediately split up to begin their tasks.
The clones were responsible for placing sealing techniques along the walls of the base, while he himself worked on setting up a barrier around the perimeter.
This barrier was not meant to prevent entry. Instead, the moment chakra entered its range, it would instantly trigger a summoning technique, notifying him—no matter how far away in Konoha—that a chakra-bearing entity had entered.
As for whether the intruder might not be White Zetsu, it didn't matter. Any such presence was worth being cautious about.
After all, he had already cleared out all chakra-bearing creatures around the base, leaving only ordinary animals without chakra. These creatures could pass through the barrier without triggering any alarms.
So far, he had not once been summoned back due to a barrier alert.
In truth, one or two summonings would not attract much attention. After all, many shinobi in Konoha used summoning techniques for various beasts. His case—being summoned rather than summoning—was unusual, but as long as it remained infrequent, no one would notice.
Now, if he were ever summoned back by the barrier, the first thing he would do would be to determine the identity of the intruder.
If it wasn't White Zetsu but merely a wandering ninja, then killing them would suffice.
But if it was White Zetsu, then he would have to relocate the base. Most of the critical equipment inside already had sealing formulas inscribed on them, allowing for rapid transfer in a short period of time.
He had already prepared a complete set of contingency plans.
Still, if possible, he hoped he would never have to use them.
As for whether the barrier could detect White Zetsu, he wasn't worried. No matter how well White Zetsu concealed its presence, entering the base required using Earth Release—and that meant using chakra.
Once he finished upgrading the barrier system, Kurogane Ren put on his mask and used a summoning technique to leave.
…
"Has anything major happened recently?" Kurogane Ren asked as he sat at a table, sipping tea.
"My lord, there is one matter we have only heard rumors about. It seems the war between the major shinobi villages has ended," said the man beside him—one of Kurogane Ren's subordinates. The man kept his gaze fixed on Kurogane Ren's feet.
Even though Kurogane Ren had removed his mask, the man didn't dare look up.
In fact, even if he did, all he would see was a blurred image—and he would also suffer from the torment of the Life-Death Talisman.
Kurogane Ren was quite satisfied with his obedience and rewarded him with some money.
The man's words reminded him that, by calculating the timeline, the end of the war should indeed be around now.
Thinking about it, although Nagato and the others had been deceived—leading to Yahiko's death—their original goal had technically been achieved.
Wasn't Hanzo's lie about using the Akatsuki's power to negotiate peace with the great nations?
And now, the war had indeed ended. Just not because of the Akatsuki.
Kurogane Ren shook his head. Yahiko and the others had been too limited in perspective. They only saw the devastation of the Land of Rain, failing to realize that the great nations themselves had also suffered heavy losses. Even without any proposal, the war could not have continued much longer.
That blindness led them straight into the schemes of Hanzo and Danzo, costing Yahiko his life.
This was the tragedy of small nations and their shinobi during times of war.
Of course, he was merely reflecting. If they hadn't fallen for the trap, things would have been far more troublesome for him. Who would have summoned the Demonic Statue for him then?
If Nagato had been given time to recover, obtaining fragments of the Demonic Statue later would have been extremely difficult.
As Kurogane Ren considered the aftermath of the Third Shinobi World War, one thing was certain—after the war, Namikaze Minato would become the Fourth Hokage.
By now, Konoha was probably already spreading stories of Minato's heroic feats on the battlefield to build support for him.
In that case, his return to Konoha came at just the right time.
As for what Minato did after becoming Hokage, Kurogane Ren couldn't recall anything particularly notable. The only major event he remembered was the Nine-Tails incident, during which both Minato and Kushina lost their lives.
It wasn't hard to understand. The war had just ended, and all nations were recovering. A period of relative calm was only natural.
During this time, he didn't seem to have any urgent objectives. It was the perfect opportunity to consolidate everything he had accumulated so far.
Increasing chakra reserves through physical training, refining various ninjutsu, advancing his sealing techniques, continuing research on the Demonic Statue Fusion Technique, integrating a second bloodline, and devising a method to awaken the Sharingan after fusing Uchiha blood…
After listing everything he needed to do, Kurogane Ren let out a sigh.
There was just too much.
With that thought, he stood up and headed toward Konoha.
Next, it was time to welcome Konoha's new Hokage—Namikaze Minato.