Black Zetsu, attached to one half of White Zetsu's body, began calculating in secret.
Obito did not know the truth, but Black Zetsu, who had lived for over a thousand years, knew it well.
"Where did that brat Ren learn such a staggering secret?"
Black Zetsu pondered.
"The Uchiha are Indra's descendants, and the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, combined with Senju power, can evolve into the legendary Rinnegan! That confirms the Uchiha's connection to the Sage of Six Paths!"
Black Zetsu knew that once this secret became public, it would set off a chain reaction.
Killing intent flashed in Obito's lone eye.
With Ren, Shisui, and Fugaku, the Uchiha now possessed three pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan. That power was enough to destroy the Eye of the Moon Plan he had spent years building.
Those three Mangekyō wielders had slipped beyond Obito's control and become wild cards in his bid to overturn the Shinobi World.
"With three pairs of Mangekyō behind them, the Uchiha are stronger than I expected."
Obito clenched his fists.
"I can't let them keep growing. Otherwise, the entire plan will fall apart."
Obito made his decision.
"White Zetsu, send more people to watch Konoha."
"I'll find a chance to test Ren and the Uchiha's strength."
"And make the Uchiha Clan our target. We must seize an opportunity to suppress them."
A plot against the Uchiha Clan and Ren began taking shape in the minds of Obito and Black Zetsu.
Meanwhile, in Root's underground base in Konoha...
Candlelight flickered against the walls, illuminating Shimura Danzō's face.
Danzo sat in a chair, his right wrist wrapped in bandages—a reminder of where Ren had severed his hand.
"Uchiha Ren... three Mangekyō wielders..."
Danzo muttered to himself. Each time he spoke the name, his murderous intent grew.
Footsteps broke the basement's silence.
A Root operative wearing an animal mask led a figure in a black cloak into the room.
"Lord Danzo."
The Root operative dropped to one knee and reported, "The envoy from Kumogakure is here."
Danzo waved his subordinate away.
The visitor pulled back his hood, revealing a face bearing the distinctive features of Kumogakure.
"Lord Danzo, sorry to trouble you so late at night."
The Kumogakure envoy took a scroll bearing the Raikage's seal from his robes and presented it to Danzo.
"These are Lord Fourth Raikage's orders."
Danzo took the scroll with his left hand and unrolled it.
He read its contents.
"Lord Raikage is uneasy about the changes within Konoha's Uchiha Clan, especially their new clan leader, Ren,"
the Kumogakure envoy said, conveying the Raikage's will.
"Ren's public claim at the banquet that the Uchiha are descendants of the Sage of Six Paths has reached Kumogakure through our intelligence network."
"Lord Raikage has determined that the Uchiha Clan's three Mangekyō wielders and the strength of their bloodline now threaten the balance of the Shinobi World."
The envoy looked at Danzo and laid out the Raikage's ultimate objective.
"Lord Raikage has issued an order targeting the Uchiha Family."
"Ren's claim that they descend from the Sage of Six Paths has convinced Lord Raikage that the Uchiha must be studied and monitored before they spiral out of control."
Deep within the Uchiha District lay a completely sealed underground chamber.
Its walls were covered in intricate soundproofing and defensive runes, cutting it off entirely from the outside world.
Ren stood before a stone platform at the chamber's center, sweat beading on his forehead. His hands held the formation in place as golden light poured from his palms and enveloped ten portions of ingredients on the platform.
This was the Basic Alchemy the system had granted him!
"Condense!"
Ren barked the command, and Chakra surged from his body.
The century-old wild ginseng and exceedingly rare Chakra crystals on the stone platform,
along with more than a dozen precious herbs unavailable on the market, rapidly dissolved, purified, and fused within the golden light of Alchemy.
The process allowed no lapse in concentration. One mistake, and those priceless ingredients would turn to ash.
He pushed himself to the limit for three full hours.
With a soft hum, the golden light receded.
Three transparent glass vials filled with an eerie, dark-red liquid sat quietly on the stone platform before Ren.
"Finally."
Ren exhaled and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
It had taken ten portions of exceedingly precious ingredients and seven failed attempts to produce just three vials of the Basic Bloodline Tempering Potion.
He picked up one vial and watched the dark-red liquid churn inside it.
This miraculous substance could directly purify a bloodline and shatter the limits of a person's talent!
"It's good stuff, but I need to test its effects and how much someone can withstand."
Ren did not hesitate. He ordered the guard outside, "Go get Nanami."
Less than five minutes later, Nanami Uchiha strode into the chamber in a dark combat uniform.
"Clan Leader, you called for me?" Nanami dropped to one knee, her expression respectful.
"Stand up." Ren held out a vial of the Bloodline Tempering Potion. "Drink this."
Nanami did not even look at what was in the vial. She pulled out the stopper, tilted her head back, and drained it.
The Temple's members trusted Ren with fervent devotion. Even if he had handed them a deadly poison, they would have swallowed it.
The potion had barely passed her throat.
"Ugh!"
Nanami's face turned deathly pale. She clutched her throat and collapsed to her knees, unable to control her body.
Violent energy raced through her meridians, flooding every cell and every inch of bone!
"It hurts... Clan Leader... my body's going to split apart!"
Nanami gritted her teeth. Veins bulged across her forehead, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Forcibly expelling impurities and purifying her bloodline was ten times more agonizing than being cut to pieces!
"Steady your mind! Don't resist it!"
Ren shouted, his eyes fixed on the flow of Chakra within Nanami.
"Do as I say! Guide that burning current through your main meridians and use it to break through your Chakra bottleneck!"
Nanami gathered every scrap of awareness she had left and followed Ren's instructions, directing the violent medicinal power against the barrier.
Once! Twice! Three times!
Through the excruciating pain, the concentration of Uchiha Bloodline within Nanami surged!
After several attempts, a sound rang out from within her body, as though shackles had snapped.
A vast surge of Chakra erupted from Nanami!
A violent shockwave swept through the underground chamber. The defensive runes along the walls lit up and groaned under the strain!
"That much Chakra..."
Ren stood at the center of the shockwave, his black Divine Robe snapping around him. He looked at Nanami, still kneeling on the floor.
Nanami opened her eyes!
The three Tomoe in her eyes spun wildly, their color deepening to a rich bloodred. Their shapes grew so defined they were on the verge of joining together!
More terrifying still was the aura radiating from her.
That was no Elite Jonin's presence.
"Kage Level! She broke straight through the limits of a Jonin and reached Kage Level!" Ren burst out laughing.
Nanami stared blankly at her hands. She felt the vast, roiling Chakra within her, a supply that seemed as though it would never run dry, and was overwhelmed with shock.
"Clan Leader... I... I broke through?"
Nanami had been stuck at the Elite Jonin bottleneck for two whole years. No matter how hard she trained, she had made no progress.
But now, with just one vial of potion,
she had crossed a gulf that countless shinobi could never cross in their lifetimes!
"Thank you for the potion, Clan Leader! I'll face any danger for you, even if it costs me my life!"
Nanami pressed her forehead hard against the floor, tears filling her eyes.
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