Chapter 66 Talking with Danzo! After Effects

Evening fell over Training Ground Zero, a forbidden area where wild animals roamed freely in the forest.

Renjiro stood on top of a large rock, dressed in a spotless white kimono with a crimson mantle draped over it. His longer hair was loosely tied, hanging over his left shoulder. He tilted his head back, quietly watching the stars.

Under the pale moonlight, the scene looked like it belonged in a painting—until an unwelcome presence disturbed it.

Renjiro didn’t bother turning his head. His eyes shifted slightly: “Come out. You called me here. No need to hide.”

Thud! Thud!

"Ahh!"

Footsteps echoed through the still forest. Renjiro sighed softly and lowered his gaze from the night sky.

From the shadows, Danzo stepped into view.

“As expected of Konoha’s Lightning Flash,” Danzo said, stopping at the base of the rock. His voice was deep and emotionless: “Your sensory skills are impressive.”

Whoosh!

In an instant, Renjiro disappeared from the rock and appeared right in front of Danzo.

“Enough small talk. Why did you call me here?”

Danzo’s voice was low and cold as he said: “Join me. Work under my command.”

“…Huh?”

Renjiro stared at him, stunned. The offer came out of nowhere. Was Danzo’s brain finally malfunctioning?

Just a few days ago, they’d openly clashed at the Nine-Tails memorial. Everyone knew Renjiro supported the Hokage’s side. Yet here Danzo was, casually trying to recruit him—like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Before Renjiro could even answer, Danzo began talking—launching into a long speech where every other sentence was an attack on Sarutobi.

According to him, every single problem in Konoha was the Third Hokage’s fault.

But then he went too far. Danzo claimed Hiruzen had actually planned the Nine-Tails attack just to get rid of Minato and take the Hokage title back for himself.

Renjiro almost forgot how to breathe.

“This guy’s a master at making things up.” Renjiro thought speechlessly: “Even I’m impressed.”

And just when Renjiro thought he’d heard it all, Danzo dropped his biggest claim yet—twisting the events of a recent High Council meeting.

“Renjiro, did you know?” Danzo said seriously: “Someone nominated you to become the Fifth Hokage. The vote would have easily passed—my support, both advisers’ support, and most of the Jonin. Your strength and achievements make you the clear choice.”

Danzo’s voice hardened, as he continued: “But do you know who stopped it? The Third himself. He blocked it because he wants the hat back. You, who should have been the Fifth Hokage were sacrificed for his ambition!”

Renjiro stared at him, speechless. Whether that nomination really happened or not didn’t matter to him. Even if it were true, he had no interest in the role.

At heart, he was a homebody. Yes, he trained relentlessly to grow stronger, but outside of training, he preferred sleeping in, staying at home, and avoiding any extra trouble or responsibility.

“Me? Run the whole village? Yeah, sure.” Renjiro almost burst out laughing.

“What do you say?” Danzo pressed, extending a hand toward him: “Join me. Konoha’s future can only shine in the hands of someone fully devoted to it, like me.”

“…No interest.” Renjiro replied with a sneer.

Danzo’s confident look froze. He had expected Renjiro to be as easy to sway as the young, impressionable Kakashi earlier.

“Renjiro, think abou—” Danzo began.

“Sorry, Danzo-sama.” Renjiro interrupted coldly: “I’m not interested in your ‘great cause’ or your fight. We’re not the same kind of people. Let’s end this here.”

Frankly, Renjiro would rather be in bed than wasting time debating politics with someone like this.

Danzo’s single eye narrowed, cold and calculating. After a long silence, his voice became darker and colder: “You’ll regret this…”

Whoosh!

He didn’t get to finish. A kunai was suddenly pressed to his throat.

And it wasn’t just the blade—an oppressive killing intent, like a crushing tidal wave, exploded from Renjiro. The pressure spread through the forest, smothering everything within a hundred meters.

“You know what you’re doing?!” Danzo hissed. His face paled under the combined weight of steel and killing intent. His right hand twitched, ready to act.

“Shut your mouth.” Renjiro said sharply.

The kunai dug in just enough for the cold edge to bite at Danzo’s skin. After a tense pause, Danzo stopped moving. Whatever trump card he had hidden, he clearly decided it wasn’t worth using here.

Renjiro’s senses were locked onto him. The moment Danzo twitched, Renjiro was ready to strike. Though, his body wasn’t fully recovered yet, but with Lightning Flash at his disposal, taking down someone like Danzo, who lacked Uchiha’s eyes powers forbidden dōjutsu, would be no problem.

Danzo’s patience lived up to his reputation. A man who had spent his life lurking in the shadows naturally developed the cold, calculating temperament of a predator.

If Danzo had attacked first, Renjiro could have killed him without consequence, after all, Danzo was the one who had summoned him here, and Renjiro’s record was spotless.

But striking without provocation was different. Renjiro didn’t care much about public opinion, but all his connections were in Konoha. There was no reason to burn that bridge without cause.

“Perhaps you can lower the kunai now.” Danzo said calmly.

Renjiro didn’t move. Instead, he pressed the blade even closer, his voice became colder and sharper: “I know exactly what you are. I’m not a patient man. Stay in your lane and don’t cross mine, and we won’t have a problem.”

He had no tolerance for filth like Danzo. The Nine-Tails attack had only driven the point home, power was everything. If he had possessed Uchiha Madara’s strength, he could have bent the Nine-Tails to his will and ended that disaster with a single glance.

“Leave me alone, and don’t test my patience again. Next time, I won’t stop.”

With that final warning, Renjiro pulled the kunai away and let his killing intent fade.

Soru!

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

Whoosh!

Not even a second later, five Root shinobi appeared around Danzo in a tight defensive circle.

Danzo stared at the empty spot where Renjiro had stood before his face settled back into its usual stone-cold mask. His lone eye swept over his men.

“Only five of you left?” He asked in cold chilling voice.

“Yes, Danzo-sama. The rest were knocked out by the target’s Genjutsu.” One of the shinobi reported.

“Useless.” Danzo muttered, his expression darkened.

He had brought twenty of his best Root shinobi, yet before a single strike was exchanged, fifteen were already down. Just picturing how an actual fight with Renjiro would have ended made his skin crawl.

Once again, his thoughts returned to Renjiro: "That man will be a serious obstacle to my future plans."

What Danzo didn’t realize was that Renjiro’s overwhelming will hadn’t even reached its peak tonight.

The devastating effect had been the result of careful preparation, he had already scouted enemy numbers and positions, and with Arkain’s help, he had focused his killing intent with pinpoint precision, striking exactly where it would cause the most damage.

Either way, the objective was achieved, Danzo was shaken. And for now, that was enough.

---

Renjiro left the training grounds and went straight home.

To his huge relief, his newly bought estate had survived the Nine-Tails’ attack without a scratch, even though almost half the village had been destroyed.

Considering he’d gone deep into debt to buy it, this was a miracle. He’d even broken the “three prohibition” for shinobi just to afford it. If the place had been ruined, he might have cried blood.

Standing in the courtyard, he looked at the moon’s reflection in the pond and thought: "If Danzo came to me, he’s probably already cornered Kakashi by now. Should I warn the Third Hokage?

He shook his head: “No… I doubt Hiruzen will do anything against Danzo right now."

The thought came and went quickly.

After the Nine-Tails incident, Renjiro had learned a hard lesson: never change the course of events unless you’re completely sure of the outcome. Otherwise, you risk making things worse, and dragging yourself into trouble.

Kakashi’s problem was something Hiruzen could handle. In the original story, Hiruzen would bring Kakashi back to his ideals, leading him to deal a major blow to Danzo and rescue Yamato.

As for Renjiro, his focus now was on healing. His injuries didn’t stop him from daily life or light combat anymore, but he still wasn’t fully recovered.

More importantly, it was time to fix his weaknesses, and take care of one urgent need: getting a new weapon.

During the fight with the Nine-Tails, Renjiro’s standard-issue ninja blade had snapped.

The truth was, with his growing strength and the fierce battles he faced, ordinary blades just couldn’t keep up anymore.

Luckily, he had a special piece of metal, perfect for crafting a top-tier weapon. The only problem was, he had no way to get it forged on his own.

That meant going to Hiruzen for help. And if Asuma’s short chakra blades were anything to go by, the Hokage probably had the right connections—or knew a skilled blacksmith who could handle the job.

---

A week later, Renjiro’s injuries were almost fully healed.

The only thing he couldn’t do yet was activate Thunder God Mode, not because it was impossible, but because he didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary.

The technique was incredibly powerful, but Arkain had picked up something worrying after just two minutes of use, dangerous aftereffects.

Thunder God Mode put tremendous strain on the body. That was expected, since it worked by charging the body with lightning-nature chakra and then boosting it further with Natural Chakra. But the stress wasn’t simply added, it multiplied.

Renjiro had already suspected such power would come at a cost. In his simulations, he noticed that each use pushed his cells into a temporary state of exhaustion and decay. Thankfully, the damage would reverse over time with proper rest.

At first, this had seemed like a minor price to pay. But in reality, it wasn’t that simple.

Experiments were one thing, but real combat was another. Against an enemy like the Nine-Tails, in a fight of such intensity, Renjiro had used Thunder God Mode without holding back.

Once his cells recovered from the initial exhaustion, Arkain found something much worse, reduced cellular activity.

In simple terms, his cells were aging. And cell aging meant one thing: his lifespan was being drained.

The effect was small for now, but over time it would be devastating.

A full diagnostic revealed the reason. His current age and physical condition simply couldn’t handle the crushing strain of Thunder God Mode. The overexertion forced his cells into overdrive, triggering premature aging.

There were only two options: grow stronger naturally until his body could endure it, or find a way to enhance his physical limits ahead of time.

Arkain estimated he wouldn’t be able to use Thunder God Mode safely until he was at least sixteen.

For now, Renjiro set the technique aside. Until he found a way to counter its side effects, he wouldn’t use it unless it was a true life-or-death situation.