Shinato

Ren had just been hoping Kakashi would bring some surprises.

Then Kakashi appeared at the entrance to Root.

Kakashi's face was covered, making it impossible to tell his expression, but the one eye he showed was filled with icy coldness.

Kakashi's appearance also surprised the onlookers.

"Eh, that's Kakashi, right? Why did he come out of the Root base? Did he secretly join Root?"

"Are you stupid? Didn't you see he's wearing a jonin vest? He probably just infiltrated the place."

"Then why did he infiltrate it?"

"How would I know? Maybe it was Lord Hokage's order."

The crowd's chatter did not affect Kakashi in the slightest. His gaze remained cold as he walked straight up to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Kakashi, you..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had not expected Kakashi's sudden appearance at all.

"Lord Hokage, the mission is complete."

Kakashi rudely cut Hiruzen Sarutobi off, though he ultimately still saved him some face.

After learning the truth, Kakashi had initially been filled with hatred toward Konoha, the Third Hokage, and Konoha's higher-ups.

But Kakashi was no longer the child who had silently cried in the courtyard on the night he lost his father.

Having endured the losses of Obito, Rin, and his teacher, Kakashi had matured as well. He had become more thoughtful, more considerate of others' feelings, and also more dangerous.

After speaking, Kakashi handed a scroll to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted the scroll. The moment he opened a small gap and saw the words "Konoha's White Fang," he instantly understood why Kakashi had changed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was filled with regret. Kakashi was a junior he held in extremely high regard. If he were to die now, with Jiraiya and Tsunade not returning to the village—

Kakashi would be the best choice for the Fifth Hokage. As Minato's student, Kakashi also possessed the Will of Fire, and his strength was the most outstanding among the younger generation.

As for his age, with the Fourth Hokage as precedent, Kakashi becoming Hokage would not seem abrupt.

Would another outstanding junior drift farther and farther away from him?

Back during the White Fang incident, Hiruzen Sarutobi was in his prime, and outstanding young talents emerged endlessly in Konoha. Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, was among the most dazzling of them all.

But Sakumo's personality was unsuitable for becoming Hokage. Therefore, when Danzo targeted Sakumo, Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to stand by and watch.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's purpose had merely been to strike at Sakumo's prestige and make him lose his qualification to become Hokage.

But Hiruzen Sarutobi had never imagined that Sakumo would willingly take his own life for the ideals in his heart. It was like a resounding slap across both his and Danzo's faces.

Under such circumstances, Hiruzen Sarutobi no longer concerned himself with the aftermath of Danzo's death. Kakashi had not been arranged by him, so it could only have been Uchiha Yushu.

But when had they gotten involved with each other, and how deep did their relationship go?

Without continuing to read the scroll, Hiruzen Sarutobi said, "Very good, Kakashi. Would you be willing to take a walk with this old man?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi had only one thought at that moment: he had to win Kakashi back.

"No, Lord Hokage. My apologies."

Kakashi unhesitatingly rejected Hiruzen Sarutobi's overture.

"I see. Sigh!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. He did not force the matter and then turned to leave.

There was none of the former "Professor" in his departing figure. It was filled only with loneliness and helplessness.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi leave, Ren immediately walked over with a cheeky grin.

"As expected of Senior Kakashi. You looked incredibly cool when you turned down Lord Hokage just now."

Kakashi merely glanced at Ren before speaking in an emotionless tone.

"I'll give you what you want. I hope you won't bother me again in the future."

After saying that, Kakashi directly used the Body Flicker Technique to leave.

Ren watched the direction Kakashi had gone. Senior Kakashi, as long as you still want to live in Konoha, there are some things you can't avoid.

Seeing that all the main players who ought to leave had left, Ren did not intend to remain any longer either.

"Everyone! Go home. We won another victory tonight. We have once again protected Konoha!"

"Got it, Chief Ren!"

"No problem, Uchiha Clan Head!"

"We're going, we're going."

The onlookers responded enthusiastically. It had to be said that Ren's words were quite stirring.

Though they had merely come to watch the show, a surge of heat rose in their chests, as though they themselves had made an enormous contribution to Konoha.

Seeing the fired-up crowd, Ren stopped paying attention to them and left with the Konoha Military Police Force clansmen.

After returning to the clan compound and meeting Fugaku, Ren briefly recounted the events of the night before returning home.

Takuma and Mina were still busy with their own affairs, looking even busier than he was.

Ren understood in his heart that even though he had become clan head and department chief, he was still the son who had never grown up in his parents' eyes.

Ever since becoming clan head, every time he returned home late at night—

The lights at home were always on. Ren had tried persuading them, but the two stubbornly insisted on waiting for him to return before going back to their room to sleep.

It was precisely this warmth from his family that had supported Ren all the way.

"I will protect all of this. Pain, Obito, Black Zetsu, Madara—no matter how noble your reasons may be, I will never let you destroy this beauty."

Ren once again steeled his resolve.

He returned to his room.

Sitting on his bed, Ren recalled everything that had happened tonight. He had made an absolute killing tonight.

Not only had he dealt with the tumor that was Danzo, but he had also awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Though after tonight, he would have to face the Third Hokage directly.

But the Third Hokage was not Danzo. Before the final outcome of their struggle was decided, he would no longer need to worry about his clansmen's lives.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was best at borrowing strength and leveraging the situation to accomplish his goals.

Coincidentally, Ren was also quite skilled in that regard.

Next, it was his turn against Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As the situation changed once more, his own strength was the most important thing.

Ren began carefully sensing his Mangekyō Sharingan.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was evolved from the three-tomoe Sharingan of Uchiha Clan members, generally awakened through extreme emotional stimulation.

The Sharingan responded to the Uchiha Clan member's state of mind at that time and produced corresponding ocular techniques.

That was why it was called the Eye that Reflects the Heart.

But that applied to normal Uchiha Clan members. Rather than saying Ren's Mangekyō had been awakened through his own efforts, it would be more accurate to say it had been activated through an ability provided by the template.

Here, Ren could not help but admit that while Danzo was detestable, the quality of his soul really was high.

The instant Danzo died, Ren's Mangekyō Sharingan awakened.

Ren was very concerned about whether there was any difference between his Mangekyō and other people's genuine Mangekyō Sharingan.

Fortunately, although the method of awakening had been unusual, it was still a Mangekyō Sharingan. Ren quickly learned the ocular techniques he possessed.

But after learning about his ocular techniques, Ren did not know what to say.

Ren's innate chakra natures were fire and wind, and his Mangekyō ocular techniques corresponded to those chakra natures.

His left eye held Sasuke Uchiha's "Kagutsuchi," which controlled flames.

His right eye held "Shinato," which had also been recorded within the clan and controlled airflow.

Having thoroughly familiarized himself with the original plot, he knew all too well about the world-destroying battles of the later stages.

His Mangekyō abilities were strong enough that, to ordinary shinobi, they were no different from cheats.

But compared to the truly cheat-like ocular techniques of others, they seemed like a joke.

Is this the difference between pirated and genuine versions? Ren stared at the ceiling, deep in thought.

The only comforting thing was that, perhaps because the abilities were too weak, the consumption of ocular power was also minimal. Coupled with Hellfire's replenishment—

My Mangekyō should last me a very, very long time, Ren thought.

I can't exactly test Kagutsuchi. I'll try Shinato first, Ren decided.

The Mangekyō had already finished evolving. It was impossible to wash it away and evolve it again, so Ren stopped dwelling on it.

As he poured ocular power into his right eye, Ren felt as though he had gained an extra organ—an organ that could sense the wind and the flow of air.

Ren tried increasing the ocular power, and a gentle breeze arose in the room, making the chandelier sway slightly.

He continued feeding ocular power into his right eye. Rather than trying to control the airflow, Ren wanted to test the range of his control. As he continued injecting ocular power—

The area he could sense gradually expanded. His parents' room, Natsuri's room—through sensing the movement of air, Ren seemed able to "see" them.

Ren could easily tell that they were Natsuri and his parents. It was a wondrous sensation, unlike any other. The closest description was "seeing."

Soon, Ren's perception reached his own courtyard. He could "see" the stone table, "see" the trees, and "see" the insects crawling on the trees.

As the range gradually expanded, Ren "saw" Fugaku, "saw" Sasuke Uchiha, and "saw" Mitsuba...

It was as though an expanding three-dimensional map had appeared within Ren's field of vision.

Until, at the edge of the Uchiha Clan compound, Ren "saw" a strange person. That person only had an upper body, while his lower half seemed fused with a tree.

"Is that White Zetsu?!" Ren was startled.

White Zetsu, who had been silently monitoring the Uchiha Clan compound, felt something strange sweep over him just now, like a gust of wind.

But as White Zetsu looked at the forest around him, where there was not even the slightest sign of wind passing through, he fell into deep thought.

Then White Zetsu's eyes lit up. Could that just now have been the urge to poop that Tobi had been yearning for?