"Long time no see. I'm here again."
Late at night, in Konoha's cemetery, Ren stood before the Fourth Hokage's gravestone, a faint smile on his face.
After setting down the dango and sake he'd prepared in advance, he chatted to himself for a while.
He'd been keeping up this habit for three years now.
Ever since Flying Thunder God's range exceeded two hundred meters, he'd been openly avoiding ANBU patrols and coming here to pay respects.
Of course, calling it "paying respects" was generous—
It was more like… looting the corpse.
Because of corpse cooldown restrictions, he could only come once a year.
This was his third visit.
After finishing, like a devout youth completing a ritual, he lowered his head, pressed his palms together, and prayed.
"Brother Minato, this time you've got to give me something good, yeah?"
Three years.
All he'd gotten were two garbage green traits.
For the Fourth Hokage, that was practically a national humiliation.
Muttering, he discreetly slid both hands forward.
A thin layer of golden light gradually surfaced over his palms.
Light's Golden Body!
After six years, his control over this ability had improved tremendously.
He could even partially goldenize specific areas now.
But this time, when he reached into the ground…
He froze.
He felt around.
Empty.
He tried the spot next to it—Kushina's grave.
Still empty!
Where were the bodies?!
Ren was stunned.
The previous times, the bodies had still been there.
Why were they suddenly… gone this time?
"Orochimaru?"
"Did that bastard come this early…?"
He sighed and shifted his gaze away from Minato's and Kushina's graves toward the surrounding tombstones.
The First and Second Hokage's remains weren't here.
There were headstones, but he'd checked three years ago—they were empty.
As for the other ninja…
Most of their bodies had decayed beyond usefulness anyway. There was nothing left to "loot."
On the outskirts—
Up in a tree—
Kakashi watched Ren's small figure, a storm of mixed feelings rising in his chest.
"Paying respects?"
"So sensei… you actually have a little admirer like this."
"Maybe he truly is an odd one among the Uchiha."
"In that case, his kindness toward Naruto suddenly makes a lot more sense."
At this moment, the string in Kakashi's heart was plucked again.
So many years after the Nine-Tails incident, as Minato's student—
He'd barely come to pay respects himself.
Subconsciously, his gaze shifted to another direction.
There, the small figure seemed to wear a hint of resolve on his face.
But when Kakashi focused on it, his eyes suddenly narrowed.
"Flowers Rin liked? And they're fresh…"
"But Rin's family is long gone. How would anyone in the village even know this?"
The shock in Kakashi's heart intensified.
He vaguely felt that he was about to grasp something important—
Yet it stuck right at the tip of his tongue.
Almost there.
But not quite.
And because of that, even his own chakra flow became slightly unsteady.
In the cemetery—
Sensing the disturbance in chakra behind him, Ren's eyes curved into an amused smile.
"So you finally noticed the issue on Rin's side…"
He was genuinely curious what would change if Kakashi and Obito met earlier than in canon.
As for Obito—
Ren felt not even the slightest bit of goodwill toward him.
There were very few purely evil villains in Naruto. Most simply clung to different ideals.
Even One-Strike-Seven could sometimes be "washed clean" in discussions.
But—
Not that idiot Obito.
Lashing out at the world because your loved one died was one thing.
But—
Being responsible for the deaths of the teacher couple who had saved you countless times?
That was hard to excuse.
Most importantly…
During the Nine-Tails incident, he'd even tried to harm newborn Naruto.
Those two points alone nailed him permanently to the pillar of shame.
"Just you wait. Once I copy Kamui from Kakashi, I'll dump crap into your dimension every single day!"
He muttered to himself.
Just as he was about to stand up and go check another grave, a faint sound brushed his ears.
Rustle… rustle…
Outside the cemetery, agile figures flashed past.
Fast.
Quiet.
If not for his senses being greatly enhanced by countless fused traits, he would never have heard them.
He turned his head in confusion, murmuring,
"Over a dozen people? There shouldn't be anything special around here—wait, Danzō?! Root?!"
In a flash, he realized—
Near the cemetery was a Root base, one of Konoha's so-called "foundations."
He'd discovered that by accident three years ago.
Who would've thought Root had a base here?
"Moving this many people in the middle of the night… what are they planning?"
With curiosity rising, the scarlet of his Sharingan and the veins of his Byakugan surfaced almost simultaneously.
Sharingan + Byakugan.
Aka—
The Red-White Eyes.
Through them, he clearly saw animal-pattern paint on the masks covering their faces.
"As expected—it's Root…"
After confirming, Ren quietly followed them.
If Root was mobilizing at this hour, it was definitely nothing good.
If he could "loot" a couple of corpses from behind, what was the harm?
As they moved farther and farther, the trees around them first thinned—
Then gradually grew denser again.
Clearly, they'd crossed from one side of the village to the other.
Compared to the unfamiliar cemetery area, this side was much more familiar to Ren.
The cliff.
More precisely—the dense forest above the cliff.
More and more Root ninja slipped into hiding among the trees above the cliff.
In their hands—kunai, shuriken, or katana—gripped tightly.
Their gazes all converged on a single point.
There, an old man in a dark-purple kimono, with gray-white short hair and bandages wrapped around his head, slowly walked in.
His steps were slow and heavy.
Each step made no sound, yet crushed the fallen leaves beneath his feet.
Like a lurking serpent, he exuded silent pressure.
"Danzō… so it really is you."
At this point, the situation was crystal clear.
That old bastard was about to hurt someone again.
But who?
Ren glanced around the forest and twitched his lips.
"Brother Shisui, you'd better remember what I told you…"
Then again, expecting that felt unrealistic.
Among the Uchiha, aside from Itachi, most of them weren't exactly brilliant upstairs.
Even the Mad Laughing Boss back then got his heart stolen by Obito, then later got his heart stolen again by Black Zetsu.
Clearly strong in power.
Clearly weak in brain.
"Looks like I might have to expose myself tonight…"
"Maybe my days of slacking off are about to come to an end."
Anticipating the coming battle, Ren took a slow breath.
Even though Shisui was pure sunshine-brain and he'd hinted and warned him countless times—
Since he'd run into this situation, Ren didn't mind stepping in.
Best case scenario?
Smash Danzō to death.
This was key to delaying the Uchiha clan's massacre.
As for how Itachi would awaken his Mangekyō later?
That could be figured out later.
But just as he was about to make his move—
The Danzō in front of them suddenly went poof and dispersed into wind.
In the next second, almost all the Root ninja moved as if receiving a signal, rapidly darting toward another direction.
Watching the "clone" dissipate, Ren frowned.
"So… the eye's already been taken?"
"This wasn't the real eye-snatching spot?"
Damn it.
Kishimoto, you old thief—your flashbacks misled me!
Want More? Get up to +60 Extra Chapters on Patreon!
➤ https://www.patreon.com/MythArcStudio
➤ +300 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter Drop!
Thanks for the support!