{Last chapter}

~

The masked man broke the silence.

"Tsunade will be leaving soon. She's not a concern. But that boy… keeping him out won't be easy. Doable, but not without effort. Still… it can be arranged. However…" his tone darkened, like a knife scraping stone, "…you had better make sure the rest is under your control. Because if you fail, I won't lose anything."

He leaned forward slightly, the shadow of his mask filling Danzo's vision. "…You'll be the one facing death."

Danzo inhaled lightly and gave a short nod. "Understood."

There was another pause before Danzo asked, his voice level. "And what is it that you want in exchange?"

The masked man tilted his head forward. His right eyehole gleamed, and Danzo caught sight of it, a Sharingan. But not an ordinary one. A pinwheel-like design spun in crimson, radiating power.

When he spoke, it was almost a whisper. "The annihilation… of the Uchiha clan."

And then he was gone. The space where he had stood was empty, as if he had never been there at all.

Danzo sat in silence for a long moment, then his lips curled. A low chuckle slipped out of him, followed by another. His shoulders shook as the laughter built.

"Ke…kekekeke…"

Then, suddenly, he threw his head back and cackled.

"Ka-ka-ka-ka! Uchiha killing Uchiha… what a glorious sight that will be. The greatest show in history. Do you see this, sensei? This clan truly is cursed."

His laughter rang out inside the thatched hut, sharp and unhinged. Outside, the ANBU guards stiffened at the sound, several of them exchanging uneasy glances. Within seconds, a pair had already rushed off to report the strange behavior of their prisoner.

~~~

Hidden Rain Village

In the Hidden Rain Village, the rain stretched endlessly. At the very top of the metallic skyscraper, where the steel pillars seemed to pierce the stormy heavens themselves, a man sat still in the open rain. Water poured down his cloaked figure in thin, unrelenting streams, but he made no move to shield himself.

To the people of this land, he was not just a man. He was Pain, the god of Amegakure.

A few steps behind him stood Konan, her paper-like eyes fixed quietly on the horizon. She did not speak. She never needed to. Between them, silence had long become a natural language.

The constant drizzle was broken only when the air nearby distorted, spiraling into a slow vortex. Out of the swirl emerged a man in a single orange mask, the pattern etched with a ripple that drew toward his right eye. The masked figure, who had only just returned from his clandestine meeting with Danzo Shimura, stepped forward. His voice was flat, without a hint of emotion.

"We need to deal with Ren Takahashi… or perhaps I should call him by his true name, Ren Senju." His masked gaze shifted toward Pain, though no eyes could be seen. "He's becoming a greater problem to our plans than I first calculated."

The god of Rain tilted his head, unimpressed. His reply was calm, devoid of warmth, "Then you should have finished him off during your first encounter."

The masked man did not flinch. His voice remained low and steady. "He wasn't a threat at that time."

The rain continued to beat down against the iron rooftop. Neither of the two men said anything further, and silence once again took its rightful place in the conversation.

Finally, Pain's voice cut through the storm. "Konan," he said, without looking back, "call Kakuzu."

The woman gave a silent nod and turned away. The masked man vanished in the same swirling distortion that carried him in, leaving nothing behind but the faint ripple in the air.

A minute later, Konan returned. Her footsteps echoed softly on the wet steel, and with her came a tall, broad figure. Kakuzu's stitched, grim expression scanned the rooftop briefly before settling on Pain. His tone was blunt and uncaring as he asked, "What do you want?"

Pain ignored the sharpness in his voice and spoke in the same unwavering monotone as always. "Kill Ren Takahashi."

For a moment, the rain seemed to drum louder against the steel. Kakuzu's silence stretched, and then, slowly, his lips pulled back into a grin. His eyes glimmered with something sharp and greedy.

For a long while he had been meaning to hunt down that brat, the one who had interfered with his bounty business more than once. He had wanted to, but there was never the proper time. Now, however, the order had been given, and he could pursue it without restraint.

"Heh," Kakuzu muttered, his grin widening. "I'll need to drag him out of that village if I'm to finish the job. Additional kills are permitted, I assume?"

Pain didn't answer. He didn't need to. The stillness of his gaze was enough, and Kakuzu understood.

"Keke," the bounty hunter chuckled to himself, already picturing it. "That brat's father, Juichi Takahashi, still carries a fine bounty of his own. If I kill the father first, the boy will come running. Then, father and son can be reunited… one last time."

The thought of the Senju boy's despair flickered through Kakuzu's mind, and he chuckled again, dark and quiet. Without waiting for another word, he turned and walked away into the shadows, already preparing for the hunt.

When his footsteps faded, the rooftop was silent again. Only the steady rain remained, pouring endlessly on the unmoving figure of Pain, the silent guardian Konan at his back, and the empty horizon stretching far beyond.

~~~

Hidden leaf village

Senju Clan compound

Ren and Tsunade were sprawled out on the ground outside of the compound after yet another brutal spar. Both of them were covered in faint bruises and sweat, neither willing to admit how exhausting it had been, though the silence between them was already filled with unspoken jabs.

Ren leaned back with his arms stretched behind his head, glancing up at the clouds, while Tsunade had settled herself cross-legged with a half-lidded, bored look, like she hadn't just been trading blows powerful enough to break stone.

The quiet didn't last long.

Three figures approached from the garden path, a man and a woman side by side, with a young girl trailing just a step behind them. Ren's eyes shifted lazily toward them, his sharp gaze immediately recognizing the faces.

Itsuki Kurama and Inojin Yamanaka, Three and Four, respectively from the Numbers. Then his gaze fell on the girl. For a moment, he frowned, the nagging sense of familiarity crawling in his head. Then it came to him, Yakumo Kurama.

That girl Kurenai had absolutely ruined in the original timeline. He couldn't remember the details, just the vague outline, but seeing her older now threw him for a loop. He didn't dwell on it.

Ren raised a hand lazily and greeted them with a casual wave, "Itsuki-san, Inojin-san. How do you do? What brings you guys here?"

He knew them better by their ANBU codenames, but since they weren't wearing uniforms and had their kid with them, using those titles was pointless.

The two adults smiled, though instead of returning his greeting, they both bowed respectfully toward Tsunade first. Even their daughter followed suit, her movements stiff but polite as they chorused together.

"Greetings, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, like she wasn't bothered, her golden eyes half-shut as she stayed exactly where she was.

Ren, however, sat up with an expression of obvious dissatisfaction. "Oi, you guys. I greeted you first. Shouldn't you be returning it to me before wasting time on this hag?"

Tsunade's eye twitched. Her arms uncrossed slowly, and her head tilted toward him with dangerous calm. "Oh? You got a problem with me, kid?"

The air tensed for a moment. Ren's mouth opened to retort, but before he could spit out something sharper, Shizune appeared between them like she'd been waiting for the inevitable disaster.

"You two," she said, pressing her palm to her forehead in exasperation. "At least stop fighting in front of guests."

Ren and Tsunade locked eyes for a long beat, neither of them backing down, but both choosing to ignore the other in their usual fashion. Shizune sighed again, shoulders sagging, muttering something under her breath about early death.

Itsuki took the chance to step in and smoothed things over with a polite smile. "Sorry if it came across as insulting, Ren-kun. Greetings to you as well."

Inojin gave a silent nod of agreement beside her, but Ren just waved his hand dismissively. "Eh, stop being so stiff. I was only kidding. Relax a little." He leaned forward then, curiosity replacing the mock irritation. "So, what brings you guys here? You needed something?"

Inojin cleared his throat and spoke up. "Actually, yes. We wanted to ask a favor from you, Ren. It's about our daughter… Yakumo."

Ren's eyes shifted to the girl again, finally giving her a proper look.

Yakumo had long brown hair, one side falling straight while the other was braided neatly and light brown eyes that looked wary yet curious. A small clip with two circular designs rested in her hair.

Her outfit was… unusual.

A pink robe tied shut with a sash that had front pockets, violet baggy pants, and the faint shimmer of red mesh armor underneath. Orange sandals finished the look, and though she was trying to stand tall, Ren noticed the slight stiffness in her posture.

But it wasn't her clothing that caught his attention. His gaze flickered past the surface, and his senses narrowed on her chakra.

It was imbalanced, heavily tilted toward yin release, more than he'd ever seen in someone her age as it wasn't the usual skew that some kunoichi had. This imbalance was so extreme it could actually become dangerous without intervention.

Ren hummed, scratching the back of his neck. "Hm. I know the general situation of the Kurama clan. But I'll need some proper records if I'm going to pinpoint the problem. Also," his eyes sharpened slightly as he leaned forward, "if you came here asking me to seal away a portion of her yin chakra, I'd advise against it. That'll only cause problems down the line."

Itsuki shook her head quickly. "No, no. We're not here for sealing. We came because we wanted to ask if you could help guide Yakumo in training her yin release. To help her gain control over Ido." She hesitated before lowering her voice slightly. "If Ido took over my daughter completely… the entire village could be at risk."

Ren's mind immediately connected the dots, Ido, the Kurama clan's twisted genjutsu monster. He remembered enough of the anime to know what Itsuki was talking about, and he understood exactly why they had come to him.

He gave a small nod. "I see. I'll look into it. I'll be in the village for a while anyway, so I'll check her situation myself."

Relief visibly washed over both Itsuki and Inojin, their shoulders loosening as they exchanged grateful looks. Before they could say anything else, however, Yakumo herself stepped forward, her expression stubborn.

"But mother," she said suddenly, frowning at Ren. "Why are you asking him? Isn't Tsunade-sama right here? Grandpa Third said Tsunade-sama might be able to heal me. Why are you asking this shorty instead? He's even shorter and younger than me."

The air froze.

Ren's face blanked, his hand twitching as if every instinct screamed at him to plant his fist in this bitc- brat's little face. His mouth opened, closed, and then opened again without sound.

"Pff!"

The noise came from his side.

Ren turned his head slowly to see Tsunade pressing a hand over her mouth, her shoulders shaking violently. She tried to keep it in but failed miserably.

"Pfft! hahaha!" She burst out laughing, throwing her head back, unrestrained amusement echoing through the compound.

Ren's face darkened like a storm cloud. His body moved on instinct as he pounced toward Tsunade.

Tsunade was practically rolling in laughter now, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Yakumo tilted her head in confusion, while Itsuki and Inojin just looked like they desperately wanted to disappear from the scene. Shizune let out the longest sigh of her life, already preparing bandages because she knew what was about to happen.

Sure enough, another brawl broke out right there, Ren swinging at Tsunade while she howled with laughter, the guests frozen in place at the ridiculous sight of one of Konoha's strongest shinobi and its most promising rising star trying to kill each other over being called short and the whole of Konoha heard one large roar.

"I'M IN MY GROWTH STAGE, DAMN IT!"

~~~~~

{This fic could be described in a few words as- Reborn to Change the World, Yet Forever Below Eye Level}