Iruka-sensei entered the classroom with his usual clipboard tucked beneath his arm. The chatter that had filled the room immediately quieted as students hurried back to their seats.
Ren leaned back casually while Hinata and Sakura settled beside him. Ino shot him one last teasing glance before turning forward.
Iruka cleared his throat.
---
"All right, kids," Iruka began, scanning the room. "I hope you're all preparing well. Your graduation exam will be in two years."
A murmur rippled through the class.
"You'll officially become ninja then."
---
"Yessss!" several students shouted excitedly.
Others looked less confident, exchanging nervous glances. The weight of the word "ninja" was different for everyone.
Sasuke did not cheer.
---
His dark eyes were fixed on Ren.
Ren, however, was casually whispering something to Hinata and Sakura, completely relaxed. That indifference irritated Sasuke more than any direct provocation could have.
The aura around him felt colder than usual.
---
The Uchiha massacre had happened months ago.
Even with Tsunade present in the village and her prior warning to Danzo, events had still unfolded.
And they had unfolded brutally.
---
Ren remembered the moment clearly.
He and Tsunade had been meeting the Fire Daimyō regarding infrastructure reforms and medical funding expansions. It was supposed to be routine politics.
Instead, when they returned—
The Uchiha Clan was gone.
---
Ren had been dumbfounded.
Because of Tsunade's influence, tensions between the Uchiha and the village had significantly eased. The clan had not been isolated the way they once were in canon.
And yet—
Danzo had found his own path.
---
Ren had to admit it.
The man was a nightmare in human form.
Even after Tsunade explicitly warned him, Danzo targeted Shisui outside the village. Everything proceeded almost identically to canon from there.
Shisui "committed suicide" in front of Itachi.
---
They hadn't discovered the truth for several weeks.
When Ren realized Shisui was missing, he used his Six Eyes to trace anomalies in chakra signatures across Konoha.
And that was when he saw it.
---
Through Danzo's bandaged eye.
The stolen Sharingan.
Ren's expression had gone cold.
---
Tsunade had not hesitated.
She stormed the Root headquarters personally. The underground chamber trembled beneath her rage.
She dug Shisui's eye out of Danzo's arm and returned it to Itachi.
Danzo survived only because the Hokage intervened.
---
Ren had stood there speechless.
The old Hokage still protecting Danzo.
"What kind of twisted bromance is this?" Ren had muttered under his breath at the time.
Tsunade had heard him.
She hadn't disagreed.
---
Even after that—
Danzo still manipulated events so that Itachi slaughtered his own clan.
Ren genuinely did not know whether to be amazed by Danzo's audacity or furious at Itachi's decision.
His real question lingered quietly in his mind:
What made Itachi choose massacre?
---
The layers of manipulation were disturbing.
Danzo had orchestrated circumstances so Tsunade would be out of the village. The academy field training had been scheduled that same day.
Ren and the girls had been in the outskirts of the Forest of Death.
---
They were helping Iruka teach civilian-born students basic survival skills—trap detection, tracking, camping, and environmental awareness.
The training lasted until evening.
By the time they returned—
It was over.
---
When Tsunade learned the full extent of what happened, she dismantled Root personally.
Danzo was imprisoned.
Even the Hokage received her fury.
---
This time, the clan heads stood with Tsunade.
The Uchiha massacre had shaken everyone.
Even the most politically cautious leaders felt a chill down their spines.
---
"He's a lunatic," Hiashi had stated coldly during the emergency council.
"And a liability," Shikaku added.
No one defended Danzo openly.
---
Ren himself had been shaken.
"What kind of nerve do you need to pull something like this?" he had wondered.
And another question haunted him:
Where were the ANBU?
---
That was when Ren uncovered something far worse.
Using Six Eyes to scan chakra residue patterns across the village, he discovered irregularities among patrol routes.
Most of the ANBU patrolling during the massacre—
Were Zetsu in disguise.
---
Ren broke into a cold sweat when he realized the truth.
Obito had killed dozens of ANBU and replaced them with White Zetsu clones to execute the massacre smoothly.
The operation had been layered, calculated, and ruthless.
---
When Ren discreetly observed Danzo afterward, he nearly fainted.
The old war hawk showed faint traces of genjutsu residue in his chakra pathways.
If not for Six Eyes, Ren might have missed it.
---
At that moment, Ren labeled Obito exactly what he was.
A psycho lunatic.
Not just dangerous.
Unstable.
---
For days afterward, Ren locked himself in the sealing chamber.
He worked tirelessly to create a seal that could resist advanced genjutsu—even ocular-based ones—for himself and the girls.
It took dozens of prototypes.
Several failures.
Minor backlash injuries.
---
Meanwhile, Tsunade upgraded Konoha's barrier system.
Together, they modified it to detect Zetsu signatures.
They also embedded a spatial distortion sensor—if Obito used Kamui to enter the village, they would know.
---
It took seven months of work.
Seven exhausting months.
But it was completed.
---
They eventually detected several Zetsu scouting near the outskirts.
Tsunade captured a few using Wood Release.
The rest retreated immediately.
They knew they were being watched now.
---
Ren could have used his own Wood Release.
He didn't.
Tsunade awakening Wood Release would not alarm Obito significantly. He would dismiss it as an aging legend's resurgence.
But Ren?
A child with Hashirama-level Wood Release?
That would trigger immediate retaliation.
---
If Obito gathered the Akatsuki and attacked Konoha now—
The village would survive.
Ren was confident in that.
But the damage would be catastrophic.
---
And other villages would circle like vultures spotting wounded prey.
Kumo.
Iwa.
Even Suna might be tempted.
Political balance was fragile.
---
Ren sighed quietly in class, half-listening as Iruka explained chakra theory at the front.
He really wanted to be like other fanfiction protagonists.
Overpowered.
Unrestricted.
Punching villains without consequence.
---
But reality was different.
Power carried political weight.
Every action had ripple effects.
And Ren hated politics.
---
Even with Six Eyes processing information at absurd speeds, diplomacy and long-term political maneuvering were not his strengths.
Thank the heavens, he thought, that he had two clan heiresses beside him.
Hinata.
Ino.
---
And Tsunade.
And Shizune.
Without them, he might have already triggered a disaster.
---
That was why he always asked before acting.
Before executing any large-scale plan, he gathered opinions.
Listened carefully.
Evaluated consequences.
---
He had abandoned many strategies because they would cause political collapse.
Tempting ideas.
Effective solutions.
Disastrous fallout.
---
Sasuke continued staring at him from across the room.
The boy had grown quieter since the massacre.
Colder.
Sharper.
---
Ren met his gaze briefly.
For a moment, neither spoke.
There were things unspoken between them.
Things too heavy for children.
---
Hinata gently nudged Ren's hand under the desk.
He looked at her.
She smiled faintly.
---
Ino leaned forward slightly and whispered, "You're thinking too much again."
Sakura added softly, "Don't carry everything alone."
Ren exhaled slowly.
"I know."
---
Iruka's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Ren, can you explain chakra molding theory for the class?"
Ren stood calmly.
"Chakra molding is the precise balance between physical and spiritual energy. Stability depends on emotional regulation and cellular vitality."
He paused.
"And external interference can destabilize that balance."
---
Iruka blinked.
"That's… correct."
Ren sat back down.
His gaze drifted toward the Hokage Monument visible through the window.
---
Power.
Politics.
Shadows.
And children preparing for graduation.
The world was moving.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
And Ren knew—
The real battles had only just begun.