Night had fallen over Konoha, and a silver moon hung low in the sky. While the rest of the village slept, Ren was deep in the forest that bordered the Hyuga clan compound.
He was practicing his 'Space-Time Perception,' trying to extend his range. Since the discovery of Danzo's involvement in his parents' deaths, Ren had become obsessed with sensory training. He needed to be able to detect a ROOT agent before they could even think about drawing a blade.
Suddenly, a ripple disturbed his sensory map.
It wasn't the cold, hollow signature of ROOT. It was something heavy, aggressive, and foreign. Three signatures, moving with the synchronized speed of a veteran strike team.
*Cloud Ninjas,* Ren realized, his blood cooling. *The kidnapping of Hinata. It's happening tonight.*
In the original timeline, the Cloud's head ninja would try to kidnap the Hyuga heiress under the guise of a peace treaty. Hiashi Hyuga would kill him, sparking a diplomatic crisis that would lead to Neji's father, Hizashi, sacrificing his life.
Ren's eyes flared blood-red. The 3-Tomoe Sharingan spun.
*I won't let another family be torn apart for 'Village Politics'. And besides... those Cloud ninjas have something I want.*
Ren vanished using his 'God-Level Body Flicker.' He didn't make a sound. He was a ghost in the canopy, leaping from branch to branch without disturbing a single leaf.
He arrived at the edge of the Hyuga compound just in time to see a man in a dark cloak leaping over the wall, a large, struggling sack slung over his shoulder. Two other cloaked figures followed him, their hands on their katanas.
"Target secured," the leader whispered. "Move! We need to hit the border before dawn."
They blurred into the forest. They thought they were safe. They were elite Jonin from the Land of Lightning, the best of the best. They never expected a five-year-old to be hunting them.
Ren appeared fifty meters ahead of them, standing in the middle of their path. He didn't hide. He stood bathed in the moonlight, his arms crossed.
"The border is a long way off," Ren said, his voice echoing through the trees. "I'm afraid your journey ends here."
The Cloud ninjas skidded to a halt. The leader narrowed his eyes. "A kid? Is this a joke? Move, brat, or I'll gut you."
Ren didn't move. He didn't even blink. "You're holding Hinata Hyuga. And you're carrying a scroll of stolen Hyuga secrets. Leave the girl and the scroll, and I might let you die quickly."
The two guards laughed. One of them drew a kunai crackling with blue lightning. "I'll take his head. It'll be a nice souvenir."
The ninja lunged. He was fast—a Lightning Style specialist. He appeared in front of Ren in a heartbeat, his kunai aimed at Ren's throat.
*Clang!*
The sound of metal hitting metal rang out. But Ren wasn't holding a weapon. He had caught the kunai between two fingers. His skin, reinforced by the 'Sage Body' and 'Tail-Beast Vitality,' was harder than the steel.
"What?!" the ninja gasped.
Ren didn't give him a second to process. He used the 'Silent Killing' technique he'd extracted from the ROOT agent. With a movement too fast for the human eye to follow, he twisted the ninja's wrist, snapping the bone like a dry twig, and drove the man's own lightning-charged kunai into his heart.
The ninja died without a scream.
**[Ding! Target Neutralized: Cloud Jonin 'A' Rank.]**
**[Extraction Available: Lightning Release Affinity!]**
*Not now,* Ren thought.
The other two ninjas were no longer laughing. The leader dropped the sack containing Hinata. "Kill him! Now!"
The second guard wove signs at a blinding speed. "Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
A spear of concentrated electricity shot toward Ren. Ren didn't dodge. He wanted to test his 'Infinite Chakra's' defensive capability. He raised a hand, creating a raw shield of compressed chakra.
The lightning hit the shield and shattered like glass.
Ren blurred. He appeared behind the second guard.
*Style of the Ghost: Heart-Crushing Palm.*
Ren's palm slammed into the ninja's back. The force wasn't just physical; it was a focused pulse of chakra that bypassed the armor and exploded inside the man's chest, liquefying his internal organs instantly.
The ninja collapsed, dead before he hit the ground.
Now, only the leader remained. He was trembling, his hand reaching for a scroll in his vest. "Who... who are you? No child should have this kind of power!"
"I'm the one who's taking your eyes," Ren said.
He appeared in front of the leader. The man tried to use a Body Flicker to escape, but Ren's 'Space-Time Perception' saw exactly where he was going. Ren intercepted him mid-air, his hand piercing through the man's chest like a spear.
As his fingers wrapped around the leader's heart, Ren felt the System hum.
**[Ding! Extraction Started... Target: Cloud Leader.]**
**[Extraction Target: Stolen Byakugan Essence (Scroll Source).]**
**[100%! Extraction Successful!]**
**[You have obtained: Byakugan Bloodline (S-Rank)!]**
The leader slumped to the ground, his life extinguished. Ren stood over the three corpses, his breathing perfectly steady. He had just killed three elite Jonin, and he felt... nothing. Only a cold satisfaction.
He turned toward the sack. He knelt down and untied the ropes.
A small girl with pale lavender eyes and short dark hair crawled out. She was shaking, her face tear-stained. Hinata Hyuga. She looked at the blood on Ren's hands, then at his face.
"R-Ren-kun?" she whispered, her voice tiny.
Ren looked at her. He felt a rare flicker of softness. He reached out and wiped a tear from her cheek. "You're safe now, Hinata. Go back to your father. Don't tell anyone you saw me. Tell them a ghost saved you."
Hinata stared at him. She saw the blood-red eyes of the Uchiha, but they didn't look scary to her. They looked beautiful. "Thank... thank you."
Ren vanished before she could say another word.