Konoha Year 47 — March 6
Hokage Office
"Taijutsu…?"
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—the "Professor," fad for mastering countless jutsu and chakra natures—sighed as he stared into the crystal sphere on his desk.
Within the shimring image, a familiar figure moved swiftly through the streets toward the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters.
Uchiha Ren.
Yes—Hiruzen was watching him through the Crystal Ball using the Telescope Technique.
"What a waste," Hiruzen muttered, tapping ash from his pipe. "With your talent, you should be focusing on ninjutsu… and the Sharingan. Instead you're obsessed with taijutsu."
For a long ti, Hiruzen had kept a close eye on Ren.
More accurately—he kept a close eye on Uchiha talent.
He preferred to keep promising Uchiha within reach, where he could "guide" them with the Will of Fire before they beca soone else's problem.
But after the Chūnin Exams, Ren had chosen the one path Hiruzen disliked most.
He joined the Military Police.
On the surface, the Hokage hadn't reacted. Internally, alarms had gone off.
The Uchiha were a complicated asset—powerful, proud, and increasingly difficult to manage. If Ren matured inside the Police Force, that strength would quietly beco Uchiha strength.
So after Ren joined, Hiruzen checked on him from ti to ti—whenever he had a spare mont—tracking how quickly he was growing.
And in the shadows, he also allowed Root to keep their own watch.
What surprised Hiruzen was this:
After joining the Police, Ren didn't rise.
He didn't seek missions. He didn't chase recognition. He barely used his Sharingan at all.
Instead, he trained taijutsu—persistently, stubbornly—like it was the only thing he cared about.
Hiruzen exhaled again, smoke curling past narrowed eyes.
"Taijutsu has limits," he said quietly. "If he keeps walking this road… he'll cap out."
Most shinobi chased chakra control, ninjutsu, and bloodline techniques.
Ren was doing the opposite.
Yes—his physique was impressive. But against a true Kage-level opponent, brute force alone rarely decided anything.
Kakashi was the example staring him in the face: battlefield after battlefield, sharpened into sothing real.
Ren's path, by comparison, looked like a dead end.
A talented boy backing himself into a corner.
"Another Uchiha genius smothered by his own choices," Hiruzen murmured. "And if it continues… the Uchiha will fade, the way the Senju did."
He set the pipe down and leaned back.
"Enough. There's no reason to keep watching a taijutsu specialist. The Third Shinobi World War is close to ending—my attention should be on matters that actually matter."
A few seconds later, Hiruzen opened a drawer and pulled out a folder.
Inside were records—profiles—of Uchiha shinobi.
At the top was the current clan head: Uchiha Fugaku.
Second was Uchiha Shisui, still fighting at the front.
Hiruzen drew a neat X over Ren's na.
Then, after a pause, he marked it again—this ti with a question mark.
One last test.
If anyone had been in the office, they might've noticed another detail:
Fugaku's na was written in red, stamped with the Uchiha crest.
Shisui's na was written in black, stamped with Konoha's symbol.
Elsewhere in the village—
The mont that faint, prickling sense of being watched finally vanished, Ren—mid-stride—let a quiet smirk tug at the corner of his mouth.
So you finally stopped.
Being labeled a genius was annoying enough.
Being an Uchiha genius was worse.
And once he'd joined the Military Police, the attention had doubled: Root agents, ANBU observers, even Hiruzen himself—and sotis people sent by Orochimaru.
If Ren hadn't earned Observation Haki from a sign-in reward, he might've slipped years ago.
Of course, "keeping a low profile" didn't an hiding everything.
For years, Ren had deliberately shown only one thing:
That he was obsessively refining taijutsu.
He wanted Hiruzen and Danzō to relax—to stop treating him like a future landmine.
Because the mont they stopped fearing him… they stopped tightening their grip.
And that was exactly what he wanted.
Ren's gaze sharpened.
It had been years since his God-tier Sign-In System awakened during the Chūnin Exams.
He'd imdiately set Konohagakure as his permanent sign-in region and began quietly collecting rewards.
The system worked like this:
He could sign in anywhere in Konoha indefinitely, but the rewards were usually minor.
However, when the system "refreshed" and marked a special sign-in location, the rewards could be absurd.
For example—
The last refreshed location had been the Uchiha district.
He'd signed in there and received sothing ridiculous:
A Whitebeard Template.
anwhile, daily sign-ins at ho had mostly given him small cash and random clutter—useful sotis, but never life-changing.
"System," Ren thought, "show my status."
A beat later—
Ding… generating User status panel…
Ding… status panel ready.
User: Uchiha Ren
Age: 11
Permanent Sign-In Region: Konohagakure (Konoha)
High-value Rewards Obtained (Cumulative):
Whitebeard Template (One of the Four Emperors) — 40% UnlockedSix Powers (Rokushiki) — ProficientFire Release: Great Fire Annihilation (Katon: Gōka kkyaku)Observation Haki — Advanced
Next Special Sign-In Location Refresh: 1 day
(Note: Signing in at refreshed locations grants far better rewards.)
"One day until the next refresh."
Ren scanned the panel and nodded, satisfied.
In theory, he could grind sign-ins anywhere in Konoha forever…
But the returns were limited. Not worthless—just never exciting.
Refreshed locations were where the real prizes dropped.
As for the Whitebeard Template…
He'd wanted to fuse it imdiately.
But his body was still too young.
Force it now and he'd probably tear himself apart from the inside.
So he had to unlock it gradually—piece by piece—until his physique could withstand it.
Even at only forty percent, the change was already monstrous.
His strength, durability, and raw physical power had leapt to another level.
If he threw a serious punch… dropping an average jōnin wouldn't be difficult.
There was just one thing that irritated him.
Because he hadn't unlocked enough yet…
He still couldn't access the true signature of Whitebeard's power—
The Gura Gura no Mi's quake ability.
Not yet.
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