High noon.
Basking in the warm sunlight, Ren Uchiha stepped out of the izakaya. He walked through quiet alleys, brushing past hidden ninjas on secret missions, and finally stood on the bustling main street of the City of Steam.
The lively voices and the peaceful atmosphere felt like a lifetime ago. One moment, he was struggling to die in the brutal trenches of a ninja war; the next, he was in a peaceful city slice-of-life.
He checked his pocket. He now had two things: a forehead protector and a ninja ID. This ID, however, was a bit different:
Name: Ren Uchiha
Rank: Chunin
Ninja Registration No.: 009888
Mission Record: S-Rank: 1, D-Rank: 855.
Ren had been promoted. Just like that, he was now a Chunin with an S-rank mission completion to his name.
It wasn't a coincidence. In this era, before Minato Namikaze became the "Yellow Flash," Orochimaru was the primary candidate for the Fourth Hokage. For Orochimaru to take an Uchiha as a disciple during a war was a sensitive matter. To make it happen, both sides had paid a price. Ren suspected the Uchiha had handed over the massive Land of Lightning mission—worth tens of millions of ryo—to grease the wheels.
Ren felt a headache coming on. Orochimaru wanted his body, the Uchiha thought Orochimaru was being "friendly," and now Ren was the bridge between them.
I didn't want to save the Uchiha! I just wanted to commit insurance fraud! Ren thought miserably. Why is the plot drifting like this?
He faced a serious question: Save the clan, or not?
To save them, he'd have to stay as Orochimaru's disciple, stop the snake-teacher from dissecting him, pull Orochimaru back to the "righteous path," help him become Hokage, stop the internal clan coup, deal with Danzo, and watch out for backstabbing "loyal" clan members...
Screw that! Way too much work! Ren chose option B: Keep trying to die.
What did the survival of a clan have to do with a Chunin like him who just wanted a payout? He smiled, feeling refreshed. Soon enough, Orochimaru would try to backstab him. When that happened, he'd just blow everything up and head home with his 500 million yen!
With that settled, he headed toward the city's red-light district with 100,000 ryo he'd borrowed from Seiichiro. No Byakugan, no ninken... just me and the hot springs!
Elsewhere...
In the highest tower of the city's largest Kabuki district, Mei Terumi leaned against a pillar and let out a long, lazy yawn. Her youthful figure swayed in the sunlight, drawing the eyes of every passing tourist.
Three days ago, she had brought Mangetsu Hozuki here to meet Yagura Karatachi. They had been arguing inside for three days straight. If not for the food being eaten, she'd have thought they'd starved to death.
The argument was complicated. Mangetsu wanted to "kill the Daimyo and the Mizukage together," while Yagura would scream back, "Are you crazy? Who's gonna pay us if the Daimyo is dead? You? Your family?"
Mei leaned on the railing, her thoughts drifting to Ren Uchiha. She blushed, her breath hitching slightly. Is he still alive? Did he save Hidan? Where is he now?
Mei Terumi, you can't be this degenerate, she scolded herself. You're a powerful kunoichi meant to save the Hidden Mist. You can't think about a boy from another village all day. Fine... ten times a day. Maximum.
She rubbed her emerald eyes, but the figure in her mind didn't vanish—it got clearer. She looked down at the street.
There, she saw a boy acting suspiciously, clutching a 100,000 ryo note. He was pacing nervously in front of a brothel, sweat pouring down his forehead. He looked left and right, swallowed hard, and then approached a geisha standing on the street.
He flipped his hair back and gave her what he clearly thought was a "suave" smile.
"Hi~!"
Mei's pupils shrank to the size of needles.
"REN. UCHI. HA!"