The early morning sun bathed Konoha in a soft golden glow. Warm and gentle, it seemed like the kind of peaceful morning where nothing out of the ordinary could happen.
Ren walked alone toward the Academy, his expression calm, his pace unhurried. To anyone watching, it was as if yesterday's chaos never happened.
But if you looked closely, you'd notice his gait was unusually steady, the muscles in his legs subtly tensed. His shoulders were slightly raised, like someone ready to bolt at a moment's notice.
Just as Ren turned into a narrow alleyway, planning to take a shortcut—
Whoosh!
A familiar floral scent hit his nose, and Ren didn't even think—his whole body instinctively flooded with Wind Release chakra.
With a grunt, he threw himself forward, rolling to absorb the force, and then used a blast of wind chakra at his feet to launch himself down the alley. He flew like an arrow off a bowstring, landing gracefully over ten meters away.
He skidded to a stop and spun around mid-motion.
As expected.
There stood none other than the infamously gorgeous Tsunade-sama—looking like a goddess of wrath.
"I said, Tsunade, we had no grudges in the past, and definitely none now! Don't you think you're overreacting?" Ren batted his long eyelashes and put on the most innocent puppy-dog eyes he could muster. On another day, Tsunade might've melted. But today?
She wasn't buying it.
"Hmph! You pervy brat, no wonder you beat Uchiha Fugaku! But acting cute won't save you today. You stole my first kiss, and you think I'll just let you walk away?" she growled, fists clenched.
Hold up.
Ren paused mid-step, eyes narrowing. "Wait, wait. How do you know I defeated Uchiha Fugaku?"
Tsunade snorted. "Hmph! Who doesn't know? The whole damn Konoha upper council was talking about it! You made Fugaku cough blood and land in the hospital. If the Hokage hadn't ordered silence, even the Academy brats would be gossiping about it!"
"…Ah," Ren scratched the back of his head. Yeah… he may have gone a little overboard yesterday. Beating up Fugaku, humiliating him, then dipping like a king? Maybe just a tiny bit arrogant.
He didn't realize how many eyes had turned his way—especially Uchiha Aida, who lost three Jōnins thanks to yesterday's stunt. Aida had been raging. But instead of taking it up openly, Uchiha, true to form, went whining to the Hokage.
Still, Ren didn't care. With Danzo backing him, Uchiha couldn't touch him directly.
Tsunade, though?
Tsunade didn't give a damn.
Seeing the pure, unfiltered "I'm gonna crush you" energy radiating from her, Ren felt a chill run down his spine—and then he screamed:
"HELP!"
He looked so pitiful yelling it, like a wronged little squirrel. Tsunade hesitated for half a second, a flicker of sympathy in her eyes…
…But then she remembered her lips—her first kiss—violated by this adorable devil.
Any pity disappeared like a fart in the wind.
Her S-class-witch mode activated, and her smirk curved up wickedly.
"Go on, scream. Scream louder, brat. No one's saving you today~" she teased, walking slowly toward him like a predator.
Ren kept backing up, eyes wide, voice trembling, "Tsunade, don't come any closer… I swear, if you do, I'll scream again!"
"Hum hum hum~ No one's coming. Give up!"
" SAVE ME SAVE ME SAVE ME ! ! SAVE ME!" Ren howled dramatically.
Tsunade was about to reach for him when—
Whoosh!
A chilling breeze swept past. Tsunade's instincts screamed. Her spine stiffened as a blade of killing intent brushed against it. Her body twisted mid-air and, without hesitation, she fired off a monstrous punch powered by her legendary Chakra Enhanced Strength.
BOOM—!
The earth cracked and exploded behind her. A crater five meters wide formed instantly, spiderweb cracks stretching across the alley all the way to Ren's feet.
"Whoa… That's the real deal. Tsunade-sama's Chakra Enhanced Strike… I got to witness it live." A new voice spoke up beside Ren.
A man emerged from the smoke, dressed in the all-black ANBU combat uniform. His eyes glowed red—the Three Tomoe Sharingan spinning lazily.
"Cannon Fodder No. 1… Are you sure you're up for this?" Ren asked, glancing at him.
"Apologies, Lord Ren. Not confident." The Uchiha Jōnin bowed.
This was one of the unfortunate Jōnins Uchiha Aida had "donated" to the Root division. Under Danzo's seal of absolute obedience, once you joined Root, any rebellion was impossible. Even thinking rebellious thoughts triggered a curse mark feedback loop.
Ren clicked his tongue and turned his attention back to Tsunade, who stood amidst the debris, hair blowing wildly in the wind, her eyes narrowed in dangerous amusement.
"Little bastard," she said with a grin. "You're clever, I'll give you that. But you're underestimating me. That Jōnin behind you? He's nothing. Not compared to me."
She released all of her chakra at once.
BOOM.
The atmosphere shook. The dust blew violently, blinding Ren. The next moment, bang!—the sound of fists colliding echoed through the sky.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The shockwaves were brutal. Ren could barely keep his eyes open. He blinked rapidly, wincing from the stinging dust, catching only flashes of movement as Chakra collided in the air.
Tsunade was fast. Too fast.
Even with his boosted senses, Ren couldn't track her.
"As expected… Elite Jōnin are on a different level." He clenched his fists. "I'm strong for my age, but this? This is out of my league…"
He thought about Kakashi, who had become Chūnin at 6 and Jōnin at 12. Compared to that, Ren felt both inspired and a little bitter. If Obito and Rin hadn't shattered Kakashi's spirit, he could've become the next White Fang.
But Ren didn't have time to mope. The fight was heating up.
Crack!
Cannon Fodder No. 1's special blade finally snapped under the pressure of Tsunade's strength.
He dodged—but too slow.
Tsunade's chakra-infused punch crashed into his abdomen, launching him like a cannonball.
BOOM!
He flew across the alley and slammed into the ground in front of Ren, leaving a bloody trail.
Ren looked down at him.
"Yup… I think I owe you an apology."