As soon as these words were spoken, both Ninja Ren and Scientist Ren stared at Pirate Ren in shock. Neither of them had ever considered this angle. If Pirate Ren hadn't brought it up, Ninja Ren might have given up on this line of research entirely!
Now, enlightened by Pirate Ren's casual remark, Ninja Ren immediately logged off, intent on drawing a vial from Minato!
Watching Ninja Ren vanish, Scientist Ren and Pirate Ren shared a look. Pirate Ren asked, "When do you plan to enter the Gate of Hell? The strength of our physical bodies depends entirely on you!"
Inside the Gate of Hell, there was a substance known as "Golden Feces" that, when consumed, could strengthen the physical body tenfold. Though it tasted foul, the growth in physical strength was undeniable. Once the brothers bumped fists, their physical stats would all skyrocket by ten times!
At the thought of this, Pirate Ren said excitedly, "Brother! That's a tenfold increase in physical stats! With that boost, even without a Devil Fruit, I'd be the strongest person in my world!"
Scientist Ren's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Even if you didn't ask, I'd do it. We won't pass up any chance to increase our strength. You shouldn't just wander around all day, either. Since your world is currently in chaos, recruit more subordinates and look for news on Mythical Zoan fruits. Don't just consider 'Divine Beasts'; 'God' types are the strongest—like Sengoku's Buddha or the beast forms of the Five Elders. They are all Gods."
"But the Divine Beast Azure Dragon is also a god, isn't it?" Pirate Ren argued. "Actually, my goal is a fruit that can control lightning! Do you have any recommendations, brother?"
"Control lightning?" Scientist Ren rubbed his chin in thought. "Perhaps you could look for a Mythical Zoan: Indra form? In Hindu mythology, Indra rules over lightning and holds the office of the King of Gods. Although he gets beaten a lot in stories, it perfectly fits your idea."
"Indra, huh..." The image of Sasuke Uchiha flashed through Pirate Ren's mind, and he immediately shook his head. "Forget it, forget it. I'd rather look for an Asura fruit, or maybe Guanyin?"
Scientist Ren replied, "Asura is a god of great strength, with three heads and six arms, capable of breathing fire and possessing a hot temper. The Great Bodhisattva Guanyin is a figure of mercy; she doesn't fit you at all. You'll never find that fruit in your life."
Devil Fruits are metaphysical things. They may seem to lack a will, but in reality, they choose their own hosts. Given Pirate Ren's lawless personality, if a Guanyin fruit truly existed, it would never choose him.
While they were talking, back in Konoha Village.
Ren stopped his "immortality cultivation" and went to the courtyard of the Mito residence. He saw Minato looking utterly blissful as he absorbed natural energy, the unconscious smile on his face proving he felt fantastic.
Ren landed in front of Minato, who opened his eyes at that moment and looked at Ren in confusion.
"Don't ask. I'm borrowing some blood!"
With practiced ease, Ren stuck a needle into Minato's arm and quickly collected a sample. The next instant, Ren vanished again, leaving a bewildered Minato behind.
Just then, Kushina, Hikari, and Mikoto poked their heads out from the corridor. Seeing only Minato in the yard, Kushina asked curiously, "Minato, was Ren just here?"
Minato nodded. "He hurriedly drew a vial of my blood and then left again."
Hearing the explanation, Kushina and Hikari lost interest instantly, turning back to continue researching their "love bento" recipes. Mikoto, however, frowned, a hint of suspicion appearing in her beautiful eyes. But before she could think deeper, Kushina pulled her into the kitchen to continue guiding them in their cooking.
Back in the lab, Ren couldn't wait to begin parsing Minato's genes.
To be honest, in all his time doing research, he had never closely studied Minato's DNA. He had done a cursory check when injecting Minato with Senju genes to increase his chakra reserves—simply to prevent rejection—but hadn't looked at it since. After all, Minato didn't have a Kekkei Genkai.
This time, Ren stayed in the lab for several days. Whenever Konan called, he had a Shadow Clone respond while his real self remained immersed in his research.
Finally, on the fourth day, he discovered an extremely faint factor deep within Minato's genes. This factor's activity was identical to Boruto's—it would vanish intermittently. If he hadn't been studying Boruto's genes previously, he probably would have ignored this phenomenon, assuming it was a decaying factor.
But now, Ren's face was flush with excitement!
"I see! This is the factor that grants an affinity for Space-Time! Minato's talent is high, but compared to 'Pineapple-head' (Boruto), it's still lacking, which is why his space-time factor isn't as active!"
Filled with excitement, Ren spent several days specifically cultivating this space-time factor and created a serum. With dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot pupils, he tracked down Minato.
Currently, Minato and Kushina were on a date in the streets. It was the Summer Festival; Kushina was in a yukata, and Minato wore a loose kimono. They walked close together, the envy of everyone around. When Ren suddenly appeared before them, they both jumped!
"Re... Ren? What happened to you?" Kushina stared at him in disbelief. This was the first time she had ever seen Ren looking so disheveled!
"Borrowing your Minato for a second."
Without waiting for a reply, Ren whisked Minato away from the street. Kushina could only sigh helplessly, finding a place to sit and wait for Minato to return. She wasn't worried; Minato had left a Flying Raijin mark on her, so he could always find her.
While Kushina rested, two children walked past her. "Rin! Let's go catch goldfish together!" "Mhm, okay! Let's call Kakashi-kun and Gai to come along too!" "Ehhh~~"
Seeing this, a smile tugged at Kushina's lips. She murmured, "Kids these days... they really are so precocious~"
On the other side of town.
Ren took Minato to a deserted back alley and immediately injected him with the serum.
The next moment, Minato felt his body become "light." As he looked at his surroundings, he found the walls and houses became intermittently illusory and solid. Through the illusions, he could actually "see" what was on the other side of the walls. He felt that with just a thought, he could reach the other side!
"Ren, what did you inject into me?" Minato looked at Ren in a daze, only to find his friend had also become somewhat illusory. Even though the face was right in front of him, he couldn't quite see the features clearly, only able to recall Ren's appearance through memory. He reached out to touch him, but was repelled by a terrifying force!
A moment later, Minato steadied his mind. The feeling of "floating" weakened, and his soul felt as if it had returned to his body. As he looked around, the "X-ray" ability vanished.
He looked at Ren again; the disheveled image returned to focus. It was as if everything he had just seen was merely an illusion.