Ren left the dueling arena as Chōza announced Natsuri's victory.
Ren didn't need to worry about the rest; the minor injuries Natsuri had just sustained would be taken care of by medical-nin.
Natsuri received blessings from her companions on the field, with Naruto being the most excited, as if he himself had won.
Sasuke Uchiha only whispered "Congratulations" before his face quickly fell. Of the three-person team, he was the only one who lost.
Let alone Sasuke Uchiha, anyone else would find it unbearable.
Natsuri turned her head to look at a certain spot, and after finding it empty, a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.
Ren had already appeared inside Orochimaru's laboratory.
On a chair, Ren sat with his legs crossed, looking left and right, while Orochimaru stood beside him with his eyes closed.
If there hadn't been a wall in front of him, Orochimaru would have looked exactly like someone facing a wall in repentance.
Several minutes later, Orochimaru opened his eyes.
"It has properties very similar to laboratory-created Chakra, and it has a natural restraining effect on common Chakra, but whether it is the same type still needs to be compared!"
After stating his point of view, Orochimaru asked with a smile.
"So, Ren- kun, from your perspective, is the Chakra created in the lab also transparent?"
Ren nodded in agreement.
"I see. I also see two other people's Chakra in the arena, each a different color. Ren- kun, are there any other samples?"
Ren, recalling his past observations, packaged everyone he had observed except Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto into Genjutsu and gave it to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru then closed his eyes again to observe carefully, while Ren, bored, pondered what tonight's dinner party would be like.
Half an hour later.
"I never imagined my Chakra could be so diverse!"
The first thing Orochimaru said after opening his eyes was a sigh.
Ren glanced at Orochimaru with a rather speechless look. "Don't you have any self-awareness about your own background?"
Orochimaru is the most dazzling and colorful character in Ren's Orochimaru perspective; even the once vibrant Naruto pales in comparison.
Orochimaru, knowing his jokes weren't very funny, didn't continue the topic.
"This is a very important discovery, Ren- kun. If you had told me sooner, the research would have been much faster."
"What, is this kind of thing really that important?"
Orochimaru pondered for a moment, then spoke cautiously.
"I guess so. It gives me a new direction. If possible, I want more samples, not just observations, but ideally, partial Chakra from all the samples."
"No problem, so when can you expect a breakthrough?"
The conditions for Ren can be created, but the Ren also wants to get the result as soon as possible.
After all, figuring out the truth behind Chakra sooner means identifying the enemy sooner and being able to make the necessary preparations.
This is why Ren is now trying every means to stop the Eye of the Moon Plan; after all, Ren is unwilling to fight a battle he is not prepared for.
Faced with this familiar question in Format A, Orochimaru gave the classic Format B answer.
"I'm sorry I can't give you exact figures, Ren- kun. After all, we only have a general direction and some guesses right now. Everything still needs to be determined through experiments, which is why we need more samples."
Ren naturally trusted Orochimaru completely, as he was a modified version of Kotoamatsukami, and didn't think the other party was deceiving him.
Seeing that he couldn't get any more information from him, Ren changed the subject.
"Did you discover anything from the Eight-Tails' body you brought back last time? You know, the initial discovery was made from the Eight-Tails."
It was during that trip with the Eight-Tails that Ren was able to bring Orochimaru under his control.
"The newly resurrected Eight-Tails no longer has the same effect as before. Most of the research still relies on the Eight-Tails tissue I collected back then. The new Eight-Tails only has a little bit of reference value."
Orochimaru phrased it rather euphemistically, but Ren understood perfectly well what he meant.
The Eight-Tails's body we collected this time is useless!
This has given Ren the idea of rushing to Kumogakure and killing the Eight-Tails again.
Compared to the vast quantities of Eight-Tails remains we have now, they pale in comparison to the few fragments Orochimaru collected back then.
The only difference is that I killed the Eight-Tails back then.
Suppressing his thoughts slightly, Ren kept this in mind as a backup plan.
If Orochimaru still hasn't made any progress when Nagato decides to make his move next time, Ren wouldn't mind killing the Eight-Tails again.
Nothing is more important than your family living a peaceful and safe life, nothing!
After chatting with Orochimaru for a while, it was time to leave work. Before leaving, Ren gave him his usual words of encouragement and then went home.
Yes, there will be four of us eating dinner tonight.
Meanwhile, Ōnoki, who was furious, completely lost his appetite.
The initial thought of simply fooling Zetsu and Obito was greatly diminished; Konoha had to be taught a lesson!
On the Ōnoki lay the report sent back by Kitsuchi, with a newspaper tucked inside.
The front page featured a striking line of large text that read:
[Taken by the Tsuchikage Ōnoki, trembling with fear at the sight of the Ren Hokage, Tomoki-sama, he almost fled!]
The following is a series of accompanying images that perfectly illustrate the meaning of the title.