"The main reinforcement force for the southwestern battlefield departed from Konoha this morning under Hyūga Hiashi's command," Hiruzen explained, tapping the stem of his pipe against the ashtray.
"A troop movement of that size cannot be concealed from Sunagakure or Kumogakure. Their intelligence networks will already know which road the reinforcements are using, approximately how many ninja were deployed, and who is leading them."
The Hokage's gaze shifted toward Ren and Shikaku Nara.
"That is why Orochimaru will travel separately. He will lead a small elite force and enter the southwestern battlefield in secret."
Hiruzen paused, letting the importance of his next words settle over the room.
"Ren, Shikaku—the teams under your command will form part of that unit."
Ren's expression remained calm, but his thoughts accelerated.
Shikaku merely nodded. He had most likely anticipated this decision from the moment he saw Orochimaru standing beside the battlefield map.
"Minato is still carrying out an important mission on the northeastern front," Hiruzen continued. "He cannot return to the village in time to lead Team Minato."
His eyes settled firmly upon Ren.
"Therefore, Ren, you will temporarily serve as the captain of Team Minato. Kakashi will assist you as second-in-command."
Obito and Rin would be under his command.
So would Kakashi.
Although Ren had already been promoted to Special Jōnin, this would be the first time Konoha officially entrusted him with command of the entire team in Minato's absence.
The title carried more than authority.
Every tactical decision he made could determine whether his teammates returned alive.
Ren straightened.
"Understood."
Shikaku answered at almost the same moment.
"Understood, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
"The exact tactical arrangements will be made by Orochimaru after your unit reaches the front. Until then, information regarding this deployment must remain strictly confidential."
He looked from one person to the next.
"You will tell your subordinates only what they need to know. Sunagakure must continue believing that Jiraiya is the only Kage-level combatant on the southwestern battlefield."
Orochimaru's deployment was to remain concealed until Konoha launched its decisive strike.
Hiruzen then issued several additional instructions concerning their supplies, rendezvous point, and departure procedures. Once everyone understood their responsibilities, he dismissed them to complete their preparations.
The group left the Hokage Building together.
As they descended the stairs, Orochimaru glanced sideways at Ren. His long tongue briefly passed over his lips, and a trace of anticipation appeared within his golden eyes.
"Ren, I have only been able to observe your recent performance through mission reports. Now that we are heading to the battlefield together, I will finally have an opportunity to witness your abilities personally."
Ren gave him a suspicious look.
"So you arranged this entire operation because you wanted to observe me fighting?"
Orochimaru's smile widened.
"Not quite. The strategy against Sunagakure was not devised by me alone. It was the result of several discussions among Konoha's leadership."
He lifted one pale hand.
"I merely happened to be the most suitable person available to command the operation."
That was probably true.
Jiraiya was already on the southwestern front, Tsunade had withdrawn from active combat, and Minato was occupied in the northeast. If Konoha intended to send another Kage-level combatant against Sunagakure, Orochimaru was the obvious choice.
Because Ren had already spent several months assisting Orochimaru at the research institute, their conversation sounded considerably more casual than one might expect between a Special Jōnin and one of the Legendary Sannin.
They could not be called friends.
In truth, aside from Jiraiya and Tsunade, there were probably very few people whom Orochimaru genuinely regarded as friends.
His relationship with Ren was closer to a mutually beneficial partnership. Orochimaru provided knowledge, resources, and access to dangerous research. Ren provided ideas, assistance, and opportunities to observe unusual techniques.
Shikaku noticed their familiarity.
He turned toward Ren, mild confusion showing upon his face.
"Have you and Lord Orochimaru known each other for long?"
Before Ren could respond, Orochimaru answered for him.
"Ren is one of my more capable assistants. He has helped me complete several experiments—particularly my research into Sunagakure's kekkei genkai."
"I see."
Shikaku laughed, but his eyes grew more thoughtful.
"It appears I underestimated you in the past, Ren."
As the future head of the Nara clan and a central figure within the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance, Shikaku possessed access to information unavailable to ordinary ninja.
He understood what Orochimaru usually meant by experiments.
At this stage, the darkest parts of Orochimaru's research had not been publicly exposed. However, secrets of that scale never disappeared completely. A sufficiently intelligent person could piece together fragments from missing prisoners, sealed records, abandoned laboratories, and abruptly terminated projects.
Konoha's previous Wood Release experiments were one example.
The project had resulted in the deaths or permanent disabilities of more than a dozen prisoners and volunteers, including several members of the Senju clan. In the end, the village forcibly terminated the research, and many of the relevant documents were supposedly destroyed.
More troublingly, Hiruzen himself had originally approved the project.
Experiments involving living humans did not automatically make someone evil. Medical progress, antidote development, and the study of kekkei genkai sometimes required methods that could not be replicated upon corpses.
But Orochimaru's lack of moral restraint made him uniquely dangerous.
That was one reason the Nara clan preferred Minato Namikaze as Konoha's future Hokage. Minato was powerful, intelligent, and psychologically stable.
If Orochimaru rose to power while cooperating with Danzō—the so-called Darkness of the Shinobi—the two of them might eventually drag Konoha into a disaster from which it could not recover.
Ren knew nothing of Shikaku's internal calculations.
Even if he had, he probably would not have cared at that moment.
When they reached an intersection, Ren separated from Orochimaru and Shikaku. Kakashi departed in another direction to notify Obito, leaving Ren responsible for informing Rin.
That arrangement was deliberate.
Kakashi and Obito had not spent much time together recently. Giving them an opportunity to speak privately might help strengthen the bond between them—or at least give Obito a chance to shout at Kakashi for disappearing without explanation.
As Ren headed toward the residential district, another thought occurred to him.
"Before leaving, I should visit Tsunade."
Learning the Yin Seal was not realistic within the little time remaining. The Shikkotsu Forest contract, however, could provide immediate value.
That evening, after the sun had descended behind Konoha's walls, Ren entered the Senju compound once again.
He found Tsunade in the central residence.
Unlike the last time he had visited, his arrival did not coincide with her finishing a bath. Her hair was already dry, and she was fully dressed, sitting along the wooden veranda with a medical book open in her hands.
When she heard him knocking, she placed the book aside and draped her dark green haori over her shoulders.
She opened the door and stared at him with a helpless expression.
"Brat, are you doing this deliberately?"
Ren blinked.
"What did I do?"
"Why do you always come looking for me at night?" Tsunade demanded. "Is this the only time of day you know?"
She folded her arms.
"If we were closer in age, people might start thinking we were meeting here for some secret romantic rendezvous."
Ren scratched his head, then looked directly at her fair face. A familiar smile spread across his own.
"If I could have a secret rendezvous with a beauty like Teacher Tsunade, I would be more than willing to suffer the consequences."
His smile became shameless.
"Even if those consequences involved inheriting the Senju clan's secret techniques and learning Shikkotsu Forest's senjutsu, I would endure them without complaint."
Tsunade stared at him.
"So you want the woman and her entire inheritance?"
"That would be the ideal outcome."
"You greedy brat."
She rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth rose slightly before she forced it back down.
Ren's shameless flattery had clearly pleased her, even if she refused to admit it.
"Enough nonsense. Why are you here?"
Ren's smile faded.
His tone became serious.
"The village has decided to send me to the southwestern battlefield. I'll be fighting Sunagakure under Lord Orochimaru's command."
Tsunade's expression froze.
"The southwestern battlefield?"
Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of her haori.
"Sunagakure again?"
Ren nodded.
"And you're going with Orochimaru?"
The two details struck something buried deep within her memories.
The southwestern battlefield.
Orochimaru.
A young boy leaving Konoha with dreams of becoming Hokage.
Years ago, her beloved younger brother Nawaki had departed on a mission under Orochimaru's command. He had been full of excitement and determination, proudly wearing the necklace she had given him.
He never returned alive.
Explosive tags had torn his body apart so severely that almost nothing remained for her to recognize.
Nawaki had been approximately the same age Ren was now.
As Tsunade looked at the white-haired boy standing before her, the past and present briefly overlapped. For an instant, she saw Nawaki's smile instead of Ren's.
The words escaped before she could stop them.
"Does it have to be you?"
Ren's expression changed.
Tsunade took half a step forward.
"Can't they send someone else?"
Ren remained silent for a moment, then shook his head.
"I'm afraid not."
If he had a choice, he would have preferred to remain inside Konoha, develop his techniques, earn money from raw cola, and wait comfortably for the war to end.
But that was impossible.
Konoha was already mobilizing its entire military. Ren was a healthy Special Jōnin with battlefield experience, healing abilities, multiple elemental techniques, and a summon capable of stealth transport.
The village would never allow an asset like him to remain idle.
Unless Ren suffered an injury severe enough to make him incapable of serving as a ninja, deployment was inevitable.
Tsunade understood that better than anyone.
Once a war began, individual wishes became insignificant before the needs of the village.
That knowledge did nothing to ease the pressure in her chest.
She had only recently accepted Ren as her disciple. Now she was being asked to watch another person she cared for walk toward the same battlefield that had taken Nawaki and Dan from her.
"Ren, listen to me."
Her voice was quieter than usual.
"The battlefield is not a game. I know you have already survived it once. You passed the Chūnin Exams and became a Special Jōnin, but none of those achievements make you invincible."
"One moment of carelessness is enough to destroy everything."
She looked away, her gaze becoming distant.
"I once knew an elite Jōnin of Konoha. His accomplishments terrified our enemies, and he survived battles that should have killed him."
Her voice trembled almost imperceptibly.
"In the end, he didn't even leave behind an intact body."
Ren knew immediately whom she meant.
Dan Katō.
He had not expected Tsunade to mention him.
The worry in her eyes deepened until Ren could no longer bear the oppressive atmosphere. He deliberately smiled and adopted a lighter tone.
"Is Teacher Tsunade worried about me?"
Tsunade glared at him, but she did not deny it.
Ren continued, "In that case, why don't we make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"We'll bet on whether I return safely from the battlefield."
Tsunade was notorious throughout the gambling world as the Legendary Sucker. Whenever money was involved, she seemed destined to lose.
Her record involving lives, however, was surprisingly different.
If she wagered that Ren would die, perhaps her legendary bad luck would produce a reverse death flag and guarantee his survival regardless of how recklessly he behaved.
Unfortunately, Tsunade did not share his reasoning.
"What nonsense are you saying?"
She shook her head violently. Genuine fear flickered across her face.
"You're about to leave for war, and you want to gamble on whether you'll come back alive? Don't say something so unlucky!"
"Fine."
Ren sighed inwardly.
So much for obtaining a survival blessing.
He turned toward the true purpose of his visit.
"Teacher Tsunade, I want to sign a summoning contract with Shikkotsu Forest."
Tsunade studied his face carefully.
"You've thought this through?"
"Yes."
"If you sign Shikkotsu Forest's contract, it may become difficult for you to establish contracts with Mount Myōboku or Ryūchi Cave later."
Summoning contracts were not simple agreements written upon paper. They established a bond involving chakra, blood, and the summoner's spirit.
Although signing contracts with multiple independent summons was not impossible, forming agreements with several sacred regions could create complications.
Ren nodded without hesitation.
"I've considered it. Shikkotsu Forest is the best choice for me."
"Very well. Follow me."
Tsunade led him into the courtyard and told him to wait beside the low table. She disappeared into the inner rooms, where the sounds of drawers opening and boxes being moved soon echoed through the residence.
After several minutes of searching, she returned carrying a large, ancient scroll.
The scroll appeared heavy, and its edges bore traces of age. Tsunade placed it carefully upon the table and unrolled it.
Names and blood-red handprints stretched across the parchment.
"This is Shikkotsu Forest's summoning contract."
She pointed toward the empty space at the end.
"Write your name here, then press a handprint beside it using your blood. Once the contract recognizes you, you'll be able to summon Katsuyu."
Unlike Mount Myōboku, which housed an entire race of toads, Shikkotsu Forest's contract belonged to a single being—Katsuyu.
But Katsuyu was unlike any ordinary summon.
She possessed the ability to divide herself freely, creating bodies of different sizes depending upon how much chakra the summoner provided. Each fragment possessed an independent degree of consciousness while sharing information with the others.
That allowed Katsuyu to heal many people simultaneously, protect them with her body, and transmit information across an entire battlefield.
Ren picked up the brush and carefully signed his name.
He then bit the tip of his thumb.
Blood welled from the wound.
Ren pressed his palm into the empty space beside his signature.
The instant his blood touched the parchment, a strange sensation passed through him. It felt as though something impossibly vast had turned its attention toward him from a place far beyond Konoha.
For a fleeting moment, Ren sensed a connection to a distant, ancient existence.
The contract was complete.
A familiar notification appeared.
[Summoning Technique: Hmm… Is it a soft, squishy slug this time? It certainly seems more impressive than that lizard you contracted before.]
[Summoning Technique favorability increased by 4.]
[Current favorability: 13/100—Stranger.]
Ren's guess had been correct.
To the Summoning Technique, obtaining a new summoning contract was equivalent to receiving a gift. Every new contracted creature could increase its favorability.
That raised an interesting question.
Was there a limit to how many summoning contracts he could establish?
Within the gala system, the Summoning Technique appeared as an ethereal young woman with chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Each contracted summon occupied one of those chains.
Surely, those chains could not be infinite.
Otherwise, Ren could roam the world, capture every ninja beast he encountered, and force them all into contracts. Strong or weak, useful or useless—it would not matter as long as every agreement produced favorability.
Setting the question aside, Ren formed the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu.
He pressed his palm against the table.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Bang!
White smoke erupted across the veranda.
When it dispersed, a plump Katsuyu approximately the size of a basketball rested on the table. Her pale blue body was smooth and translucent, while two delicate antennae rose from her head.
She slowly turned toward Tsunade.
"Oh? Lady Tsunade?"
Her gentle voice was so quiet and courteous that it immediately distinguished her from most other summons.
Katsuyu then looked toward Ren.
"And you must be a new contractor. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope we will work well together."
Tsunade cleared her throat and pointed toward him.
"This is Ren, the disciple I recently accepted. He'll be leaving for the battlefield soon and may require your assistance."
Her expression became serious.
"If an emergency occurs, help him contact me immediately."
"Understood, Lady Tsunade."
Katsuyu turned toward Ren and bowed her head slightly.
"Lord Ren, please take care of me. I will do everything I can to assist you."
Ren nodded politely.
"Thank you, Katsuyu. I'll be relying on you."
In terms of manners, Katsuyu left the summons of the other two sacred regions far behind.
That was particularly true when compared with Ryūchi Cave.
Even Orochimaru was frequently mocked and disrespected by Manda. If he failed to prepare a sufficient sacrifice, Manda might even threaten to devour him.
Only Sasuke had ever managed to handle those snakes without being tormented by them.
Curious, Ren extended one finger and gently poked Katsuyu.
Her body was cool, soft, and remarkably smooth.
He poked her again.
The sensation resembled touching a high-quality silicone toy.
Katsuyu turned her antennae toward him but politely chose not to comment upon his behavior.
Ren could test her healing abilities later. His own Healing Technique was already advanced enough to treat most injuries, so he might not need Katsuyu's medical assistance often.
Her communication and protective abilities would still be invaluable.
More importantly, Katsuyu offered a connection to Shikkotsu Forest.
Given enough time, perhaps Ren could speak with her about senjutsu and find a way to obtain Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode.
After dismissing Katsuyu, Ren looked toward Tsunade with his most innocent expression.
"There is one more small matter…"
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
"What else do you want?"
"I was hoping to study the Second Hokage's Water Release research."
"Hmph."
Tsunade folded her arms.
"You truly are insatiable. I'm beginning to suspect that bidding farewell to me was merely an excuse. You came here to ask for the Shikkotsu Forest contract and raid the Senju inheritance, didn't you?"
"Of course not. Seeing Teacher Tsunade was the most important reason."
"Liar."
Despite her complaint, Tsunade returned to the inner room.
A short while later, she emerged carrying several worn scrolls and dropped them into Ren's arms.
"These contain notes my Second Grandfather left behind while researching Water Release. I haven't studied them closely, so you'll have to work through them yourself."
She raised one finger in warning.
"Return every scroll after you finish. Do not damage or lose them. They belong to the Senju clan, and I intend to preserve them."
Ren hurriedly secured the scrolls.
Before he could inspect them, the gala system produced another notification.
[Ding! A compatible gift has been detected.]
[Limited Skin—Water Formation Wall: Tobirama Version.]
Ren's eyes lit up.
It was exactly what he had hoped to find.
A delighted smile appeared across his face.
"Thank you, Teacher Tsunade! I promise I'll study them carefully."
Tsunade watched the white-haired boy clutch the scrolls like precious treasure.
Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but no words emerged.
She had already lost Nawaki.
She had already lost Dan.
The fear of losing another person had driven her away from the battlefield and kept her from accepting disciples for years.
Yet now Ren was about to leave under Orochimaru's command, walking toward the same land that haunted her memories.
Eventually, everything she wanted to say became a single, quiet warning.
"Ren…"
He looked up.
Tsunade's amber eyes held a complicated mixture of affection, fear, and helplessness.
"Don't you dare die somewhere I can't see you."
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