Pshhh—
"Hiss—"
In a secluded, somber alley on the northern edge of Konoha.
Ren Kurogane was injecting the Senju serum into Minato Namikaze, who was constantly drawing in sharp breaths of air. As he felt the chakra within his body surging and expanding like a tidal wave, Minato's heart was a cocktail of shock and ecstasy.
He was shocked that Ren had succeeded in just one month. His joy, naturally, came from the fact that he could finally escape the predicament of insufficient chakra. From now on, he wouldn't have to calculate his reserves down to the last drop when casting ninjutsu; whatever the technique, he could just throw it!
Withdrawing the needle from Minato's arm, Ren whispered, "Remember, don't tell anyone I did this. Just say that as you've grown older, your chakra naturally increased, or make up whatever excuse you want."
Minato snapped back to his senses and nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, Ren. I know what's at stake!"
Seeing the grin on Minato's face, Ren felt that this Minato was already beginning to diverge from the one in the original history. But as long as it benefits me, it's fine!
Ren packed away the syringe. In a place Minato didn't notice, the surrounding wind began to stir.
"I'm off!"
With a wave of his hand, Ren vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
Looking at the now empty alley, Minato sighed. "Ren... he's definitely up to something again."
Walking alone to the Hokage Rock, Minato sat atop the First Hokage's head, gazing down at the prosperous village. Now that the chakra issue is solved, I'm one step closer to my dream of becoming Hokage!
However, Ren was constantly churning out these bizarre creations and was unwilling to share them with the village. This meant Minato would have to keep covering for him indefinitely—a troublesome prospect.
Next time, I'll ask Ren if this serum can be diluted. Maybe other shinobi can increase their chakra a bit too.
Minato thought to himself: if Ren was unwilling to make everyone as powerful as they were, surely a "budget version" would be acceptable? It wouldn't make Konoha's ninja army invincible, but it would provide a legitimate explanation to the higher-ups.
With that thought, his path became clear!
The Brotherhood Space
"The Uchiha and Senju genes have been mostly mapped. Based on the experimental data, the Senju factor is a universal stabilizer, while the Uchiha Sharingan is just a standard, albeit powerful, bloodline limit. Fusing the two doesn't create a chemical reaction; at most, it allows the Mangekyo to recover its vision and ocular power rapidly. The key to synthesizing the Rinnegan is still the chakra of Indra and Asura—or more accurately, Otsutsuki power," Scientist Ren explained slowly.
Ninja Ren sighed. "Where am I supposed to find an Otsutsuki right now?"
"Isshiki Otsutsuki."
"Don't joke around. He's Six Paths level at least. Me going there is just a suicide mission."
"True..." Scientist Ren pondered for a moment and smiled. "I recall Isshiki made quite a few clones, didn't he? See if you can find the discarded ones. We only need Otsutsuki DNA; the actual status of the subject doesn't matter to us!"
"Right! We want the bloodline factors, not the person," Ninja Ren's eyes lit up. "Tell me, does the Gedo Statue count as an Otsutsuki?"
"Hiss—now that you mention it, as a part of the Ten-Tails, it almost certainly does!"
The two reached an agreement. Ninja Ren decided he would leave Konoha in a few days. Using the excuse of "searching for Jiraiya," he would hunt for Old Man Madara's underground cavern and bring back some tissue samples from the Gedo Statue for research.
After Ninja Ren left, Scientist Ren muttered to himself, "Once I have Otsutsuki power, I can start preparing to enter the Gate of Hell and get ready for the future cosmic wars."
In the Zombie Brother world, the antidote for the H-Virus was now in mass production. Just as the academician had predicted, it was being seeded into the clouds to fall as rain, completely shattering the Corpse King's strategic layout in Yan Huang. However, Long You had fled to Africa the moment he realized the tide was turning. He was doing well there, though he found gorilla DNA to be somewhat "low quality" and was constantly plotting his return.
But facing a Yan Huang with four God-level powerhouses was out of the question for him. Instead, he had set his sights on the neighboring island nation, spreading the virus there and waiting for the outbreak.
Ren watched these developments with cool indifference. As long as it didn't cross his doorstep, he wasn't going to meddle.
Konoha
Having a new goal, Ren was eager to set out. However, the moment he stepped out of his house, he was blocked by Minato.
"Ren, about that serum... can you develop a diluted version?"
Ren instantly understood Minato's intent and smiled. "I can, but I don't have time right now. When I get back next time, I'll fulfill your wish!"
"Get back? Ren, are you leaving the village?"
"Yeah! I have some business to attend to. It won't take too long," Ren laughed.
"When do you plan on returning?"
"Not too long, I hope. I'm not going out for a vacation; I have a specific target."
After sending Minato on his way, Ren bought some travel supplies and left Konoha. With no active missions, a ninja was free to move about.
The Gedo Statue is located near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth. But since I told Tsunade I was looking for Jiraiya, I should probably swing by the Rain Village first.
Ren swore to himself: he really wasn't going there just to get acquainted with Konan.
"Master! Are you really not letting me go with you?! I just finished my Rasengan training! I wanted to learn the Rasenshuriken!" Nawaki said, looking at Ren with teary eyes.
"The Rasenshuriken isn't hard; you just need to add nature transformation to the Rasengan. Besides, you're sturdy as an ox. You won't get hurt practicing, and even if you do, Lady Tsunade can heal you. No worries!" Ren pointed at the nearby Tsunade and chuckled. "And Tsunade-san, stop spending so much time at the casino. Your luck is terrible; you'll just lose all the family money."
"Brat! You're in no position to lecture me!" Tsunade clenched her fist, looking at Ren with a predatory glint in her eyes. "I haven't settled the score with you for that incident at Grandma Mito's yet!"
Ren laughed awkwardly and waved to Minato and the others. "Alright, I'm off!"
Before leaving, however, Ren gave Nawaki one last piece of advice: "I've studied your genes this past month. Based on the data, I've confirmed that you can awaken Wood Style. So, don't waste your time on useless things."
With that, he ignored the shocked group, shouldered his pack, and strode out of Konoha.
Watching Ren's receding figure, Tsunade suddenly grabbed her brother by the collar and leapt away, heading straight for Mito's residence.
Wood Style! That was the power that had once quelled the chaotic world! If Wood Style reappeared, as long as Nawaki lived, war would never darken their doorstep again! Even a hothead like Tsunade knew the gravity of this.
For the foreseeable future, Nawaki's days of "leisure" were officially over.