Chapter 54: In the room with the big men and old men

Chapter 54 - In the room with the big men and old men A group of shinobi was traveling swiftly through the trees, leaping from one branch to another. Their headbands bore the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village. Team 1, along with Itachi's team, had departed soon after the Daimyo's procession was entrusted to the Anbu for escort. For safety, Utakata took up the rear, while the other jonin led from the front, effectively sandwiching the four genins between them. Ren, still asleep, was being carried by Utakata, Yugao's had tried to wake him earlier but was refused by Utakata. The deceased genin was sealed within a scroll carried by the other jonin. They had been traveling for nearly half a day when Ren finally woke up. Realizing he was being carried, Ren understood that his teammates hadn't woken him. He spoke up, "Sensei, I'm fine now. I can travel on my own." Utakata nodded, setting him down as they continued moving. "I've already checked your body," Utakata explained. "You overworked both your brain and body trying to keep up with the masked man, which left you feeling lethargic. There shouldn't be any lingering issues, but let me know if you feel unwell." Ren nodded and followed the team. Utakata flickered to the front of the formation, taking the lead and increasing the pace. The rest of the group had to adjust to match his speed. As the team continued moving, Yugao, Hitoshi, and Itachi glanced back at Ren, silently checking on him. Ren gave a small nod, indicating that he was alright, and the three turned their focus forward again. Ren, now at the back of the formation, glanced at Itachi and noticed "LEVEL 62" displayed above his head. Itachi's level had risen by 13 levels after awakening his two-tomoe Sharingan. Ren couldn't help but feel wary. 'A massive level increase like that wouldn't happen with just any Uchiha. It's probably because it's Itachi... but even with his power-up, it doesn't mean he'll have a clear advantage over me,' Ren thought. He mentally reassured himself, remembering that he had genjutsu resistance for a three-tomoe Sharingan and enhanced reflexes to counter the sharingan, but he still wanted to test it out to be completely sure. His mind wandered to the deceased genin. 'In the original story, he was supposed to die when rushing at Obito, but this time he died protecting Itachi. That's a change. Still, Obito left right after seeing Itachi awaken his Sharingan, just like in canon. Maybe getting injured wasn't in his plan, but he didn't seem to be too bothered by it. Could it all have been part of his scheme to trigger Itachi's Sharingan? Has he already started planning the Uchiha massacre?' Ren sighed inwardly. 'I need to be extremely cautious too. During the fight, he already mentioned that I reminded him of Minato, which is true I guess since Minato was the only one who had ever reacted to Obito's speed till now, it was due to his reflexes which I think should be one tier above mine. If Obito gets any ideas, it could put me in serious danger. Even though I managed to injure him, he was right when he said it was because he was playing around. If he got serious, I wouldn't stand a chance. Forget counterattacking, I'd have to give it my all just to survive.' Ren clenched his fists, feeling a bit frustrated. 'All that ninjutsu training, and it turned out to be useless against an opponent like Obito or anyone with special eyes, for that matter. I need to figure out how to use Rasengan without drawing suspicion. I know how to learn it, but explaining how I know it will be tricky. He frowned in thought. 'And speed... I have to work on that too. My current training is good, but it's not enough. Maybe I should start investing points in Agility instead of just Vitality and Chakra. But I'll look around and ask for advice before making that decision there might be other methods to boost my speed that I haven't considered.' Ren let out another deep sigh. 'I thought I was doing everything I could, and that I still had time to get stronger. But suddenly I had to face a final-boss-level opponent when I'm barely mid-tier myself.' Lost in his thoughts, Ren continued to follow the group as they made their way back to Konoha. ~~~~~ It took one night and a few extra hours before the team finally reached Konoha. They had taken a few hours to rest during the night, which made them a bit later than expected. As they entered through the village gate, Utakata and the other jonin went to report to the guards. Ren took this opportunity to approach Itachi. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly. Itachi managed a small smile and gave a slight nod. "Yes," he replied. Ren looked at him for a moment, sensing the emotional turmoil behind that simple response. Then he stepped back, his thoughts shifting. 'Now that he's awakened the Sharingan, Itachi's going to start questioning a lot of things. He'll probably go all philosophical with Shisui. It's about time I stop interacting with him altogether. Even though our interactions are few and far between, I don't want to get caught up in his and Shisui's ideals. If Obito really started observing Itachi after his Sharingan awakened, I can't afford to become part of his or Danzo's schemes. Better to keep my distance.' Soon, Utakata and the other jonin returned from speaking with the guards and went to their respective teams. Utakata addressed his students, "Yugao, Hitoshi, you two can go home. We'll meet the day after tomorrow to resume training, so take this time to rest." The two nodded, but Utakata continued as he turned to Ren. "Ren, you come with me to meet the Hokage. Since you managed to injure that man, he'll want to hear from you directly." The three nodded in acknowledgment. Yugao and Hitoshi waved goodbye to Ren before heading off, eager to rest after the long journey. Ren, meanwhile, remained beside Utakata, his mind already planning his next steps. 'If I inform the Hokage about Obito's abilities, it could make a huge difference. I can't deal with him myself for now, but that doesn't mean the other powerhouses in the village can't. If they know his intangibility trick, they'll have a much easier time handling him. Besides, I might get some rewards from the system by doing so. I already have three pending rewards: one for completing the mission, one for fighting Obito, and one for participating in Itachi's awakening. Giving crucial information might just get me another since no one knows about Obito's abilities at this time.' Ren waited with Utakata while the other jonin, whose name he still didn't know finished talking to his students. Once the jonin was done, he nodded to Utakata and Ren. Without another word, all three of them flickered to the Hokage Tower. Once the three reached the Hokage Tower, they moved directly toward the Hokage's office on the top floor. Just as they approached the door, a voice from inside called out, "Come in." As they stepped inside, Ren barely had time to process the room before someone lunged at him. Instinctively, he rolled out of the way, only to look up and see his father, Juichi, rushing over with a worried expression. Without paying any mind to Ren's quick dodge, Juichi closed the distance and started checking him over. "Are you okay, brat? You fought the masked man?" he asked, his voice tense. Ren looked at him in surprise. "Dad? What are you doing here? And yeah, I'm fine no serious injuries from fighting the guy." Before Juichi could respond, a cold voice cut through the room, "I am sure we have more pressing matters, and this can surely wait." Ren looked up and saw the one speaking was the one eyed cyclopes the most hated man in the Naruto universe, Danzo 'I love sharingan' Shimura. Near the window stood a tall man with a wild mane of white hair, none other than Jiraiya the Pervy Sage. There was also an ANBU ninja with a bear mask, Shikaku 'What a drag' Nara with his trademark pineapple hairstyle, and, of course, Hiruzen 'I will take care of Naruto' Sarutobi, the Third Hokage himself. He figured that all of them must have received a brief report of what happened which was why important people were here, especially Jiraiya. Ren glanced at his father and noticed Juichi scoff at Danzo's interruption. Juichi straightened up and stood behind Ren, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Seeing the tension ease a little, Hiruzen addressed the group. "Let's not waste any time and begin. Jonin Souma, proceed." Ren's attention shifted to the other jonin, whom he had been mentally labeling as "the other jonin" all this time. Souma cleared his throat and began his report. "Everything was normal for the first two days after my team left the village. I corresponded with Bear every two hours, as per protocol while escorting the Daimyo. Bear can confirm that everything was in order." The ANBU with the bear mask nodded in confirmation. Souma continued, "On the third day, during our first break, I attempted to communicate with Bear and his unit, but none of them responded. Sensing something was wrong, I alerted the Daimyo and prepared to move the procession. However, before we could move, the masked man attacked. He knocked out all the civilians except the Daimyo, his guards, and my team. I attempted to fight him but was knocked out almost instantly. That's all I remember before waking up." Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully. "You may leave and submit a written report by evening." Souma gave a respectful bow. "Yes, Lord Hokage." With that, he exited the room. Turning to the ANBU operative, Hiruzen gave a slight nod. "Bear." The ANBU operative stepped forward and gave his report, "Our unit was attacked by a group of cloak-wearing ninjas. Despite our efforts, they kept getting back up even after being fatally injured. After a few sacrifices, we confirmed they were not human. Their bodies exhibited plant-like abilities. Before we could investigate further, they all merged into the ground and disappeared. A few of my men attempted to track them underground, but they found no trace." Hiruzen's expression remained serious as he nodded. "Understood. You may go." Bear gave a respectful nod and flickered out of the room. Hiruzen then turned to Utakata. "Utakata, begin." Utakata began his report, "Firstly, the masked man identified himself as Uchiha Madara. When he saw Itachi Uchiha awaken his Sharingan, he stated that he would keep an eye on him." A ripple of surprise passed through the room at the mention of Madara's name. Danzo immediately cut in, his voice sharp. "Itachi Uchiha has awakened his Sharingan?" Utakata didn't even spare him a glance, continuing his report as if he hadn't been interrupted. Ren couldn't help but notice Juichi snickering softly behind him, and he was just as intrigued by how Utakata completely ignored Danzo's intrusion. 'I really have to ask Dad about his team today. Otherwise, it doesn't even make sense for him to be standing here like this,' Ren thought. Utakata resumed speaking. "Our team had just left Otafuki Gai Town when we received the emergency signal. We immediately moved to investigate. Upon arrival at the scene, we found one of the genin who is now deceased rushing at the masked man. However, Genin Ren intervened and saved him the first time, allowing us to distance ourselves from the enemy. It was at that moment that I identified the masked man as the same one responsible for the Nine-Tails attack." {A/N:- I looked at your suggestions for the rewards and I am taking them in consideration, I have to think it through since he will be getting rewards from the village too so I have make sure nothing is too exaggerated. HOWEVER I have to remind you that there is no reward for KILLING unless it is a canon character because let's be honest here if you can get reward for killing in a world like Naruto then you just go on a killing spree and become a god. So there will be no rewards for killing, especially if they are some random people.}