Renjiro stood at his front door, stunned.
'What is he doing here?' he thought, watching Uchiha Obito standing before him.
Of all the people he could expect to show up, Obito was at the bottom of the list. Heck, Renjiro doubted if he was on the list.
"Hey, Renjiro-sama," the prepubescent boy greeted cheerfully.
"How are you, Obito?" Renjiro responded, trying to mask his surprise.
"I'm good! My father has been busy recently, so he tasked me with passing a message to you," Obito said with a broad grin.
Renjiro had a hunch that Fujioka sent Obito, but the news of his busyness puzzled him.
'Didn't he just retire?' Renjiro wondered.
"What is the message about?" he asked, leaning slightly against the doorframe.
"He said something about a squad head. I can't completely remember, but he mentioned that it will begin two weeks from now," Obito replied, fidgeting slightly.
'Two weeks? I can work with that,' Renjiro thought, nodding.
"However," Obito continued, "since I have been coming here every day for the last week to see if you are around, it will actually begin a week from now."
'Huh? He has been coming here daily for the last week' Renjiro wondered.
"Thank you for the information, Obito. Is there anything else?" Renjiro nodded and asked, trying to keep his tone neutral.
Obito shook his head. "No, that's all." Without another word, the young boy turned and quickly scurried away.
Renjiro watched him go, a complex mix of emotions stirring within him.
'He's quite a young, innocent boy. Should I kill him?' Renjiro afforded to think.
The thought came unbidden, but Renjiro did not dismiss it immediately. He knew the threat Obito would grow up to pose not just to the village but to the entire shinobi world.
'I would be nipping a huge problem in the bud,' Renjiro thought grimly.
He knew that if things were left unchanged, they would likely be on opposing sides in the future. Dealing with Obito now could make things easier later on.
'But would it really help?' Renjiro pondered.
'Madara might simply choose another Uchiha to manipulate, and without Obito's involvement, the events I know might unfold differently, causing me to lose my edge of knowing the future.'
It all boiled down to whether Renjiro was selfish enough, scared enough, or powerful enough.
If Renjiro were selfish enough, he would choose not to interfere with current events, ignoring everything while slowly accumulating his power.
This would enable him to use his knowledge of the future to gain even more strength.
However, this was easier said than done. He was bonding with people in Konoha, and the thought of losing Kushina did not sit well with him.
If Renjiro were scared enough of the potential and danger Obito would hold in the future, then eliminating him now would be the best option regardless of what the future holds.
But this all depended on whether Renjiro was powerful enough. If he was, he would be able to deal with the aftermath of his interference.
He knew it would be more than just Obito's death; he would have to face Madara sooner than expected.
"There's no need to think about future bridges I might cross," Renjiro said aloud, shaking his head to clear it.
"While a week is less than what I expected or wanted, I can work with it." He paced back and forth, contemplating his next steps.
"Besides my speed, I think my offensive power needs to improve," he mused. "Should I learn the Rasenshuriken?"
Renjiro pondered this for a moment, Renjiro said, "That is a given, but I first need to ensure that I master adding other chakra natures to the base Rasengan. I want to see what different reactions it would result in."
He walked over to a nearby chair and sat down, deep in thought.
'I also remember seeing Asa use his Lava Release,' Renjiro thought.
'While it was terrifying going against such a powerful shinobi, his chakra—or rather the chakra powering his kekkei genkai—was different.'
Asa was one of the few people Renjiro was proud to have faced. Not only did he respect Asa's strength, but his kekkei genkai was a perfect combination of terrifying and intriguing.
The intense heat of Asa's lava had caused Renjiro to suffer burns and scalds even while trying his best to dodge the attacks.
"Lava Release should be a combination of both Fire and Earth Chakra natures, right? Maybe I should start trying to create my own kekkei genkai," Renjiro mused.
"Combining my Fire and Wind chakra natures should result in Scorch Release. I'm sure that trying this out will be far from easy. So how should I attempt it?"
Renjiro concluded, "I'm not sure if it was only Pakura who had Scorch Release, but maybe if I can track down someone with a similar ability, it will surely make things easier for me."
With that, he sat down in a lotus position, closing his eyes to focus. "Let's see, Asa's chakra whenever he used any Lava attacks was some sort of amalgamation. Should I combine my chakra from the onset, or should I do it the other way around?"
Hours passed as Renjiro concentrated, sweat beading on his forehead. He cycled through various combinations of his Fire and Wind chakra, trying to merge them harmoniously.
However, despite his best efforts, the two elements refused to blend smoothly. Frustration gnawed at him, but he continued to push himself, determined to unlock the potential within him.
'What am I doing wrong?' Renjiro couldn't help but think.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in a remote shack nestled deep within a dense forest, a group of shinobi were gathered. The shack was sparsely furnished, with only the bare essentials.
The air was thick with tension, and the walls seemed to hum with anticipation. The shinobi, wearing plain clothing devoid of any symbols indicating their allegiance, all sported arm bands of different colors.
Some were deep in thought, while others fidgeted with their weapons, their nerves on edge as they waited.
Finally, their wait bore fruit as one shinobi's eyes snapped open. The room fell silent, all eyes turning to him. Immediately, a question was posed, "Did you see their identities?"
The shinobi who had been in a trance-like state nodded slowly. "Yes, I saw them. There were four of them. Three men and one woman."
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