"Mist ninja and Rain ninja?"
Upon hearing the ANBU's report, the Third Hokage naturally narrowed the possibilities to two. He looked at Rēn and asked, "Rēn, who do you think the attackers were?"
"Mist ninja," Rēn answered casually.
"Oh? Why do you say that? Why not Rain ninja?"
"If Rain had the strength to carry out an operation of this scale in Konoha, they'd already be the sixth great shinobi village. And that kind of self-destruct seal technique… only those cold-blooded lunatics from the Mist would use something like that. Either they complete the mission and return alive, or they fail and leave nothing behind."
Rēn lied with a straight face.
It's just lying.
Everyone was spinning their version. It was a matter of who played their game better. As far as he could tell, the old man was clearly planning to pin the blame on the Mist. The only question now was how he planned to push responsibility onto the Uchiha. No need to rush. Just wait and watch.
"If that's the case… it does match the Mist's style."
The Third Hokage nodded in agreement.
Soon after, another ANBU arrived with an update: they had found a small hidden base in the forest. Inside were standard Mist kunai and other gear, confirming the attackers were Mist spies. The base also contained a large amount of intel specifically about Uchiha Rēn, suggesting the Mist spies had targeted him.
As for the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, he was likely just an unfortunate bystander.
Rēn understood the implication immediately and raised an eyebrow. So that was the plan—to use Naruto's injury to blame the Uchiha for failing to protect him?
He turned his gaze toward Naruto, who was now surrounded by a group of medical-nin. The poor kid was being checked all over by a bunch of rough-handed men, even stripped to check his backside. After some murmured discussion, one of them went straight to the Third.
"How is Naruto?"
The Third Hokage stopped questioning the ANBU and turned his attention fully to the medic.
"Hokage-sama, we found no external injuries. He seems to have suffered some kind of mental shock, which has left him unconscious. Fortunately, the seal remains stable. There's no risk of immediate danger."
"What about Naruto himself? Is he okay?"
"That's hard to say. He's too young, and mental trauma is difficult to treat. In many cases, recovery depends entirely on the individual. We'll need to monitor the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki carefully."
The Third's face darkened slightly.
Excellent acting. No wonder he'd stayed in power so long.
Rēn observed coldly.
He knew Naruto's condition perfectly well. He had only been hit by the Mind Body Switch Technique. There was nothing mysterious about it. Rēn had even considered waking him up to talk. Still, if they wanted to put on a show, he'd let them act it out. He wanted to see how far they'd go.
And sure enough—
The attack came.
"Uchiha Rēn!!"
Elder Mitokado adjusted his glasses, his cold gaze fixed on Rēn. "This is how you protect the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki? Mental trauma? If the seal had been broken and the Nine-Tails released… could you bear that responsibility?"
"Why should I bear responsibility?"
Rēn looked genuinely confused. "Mist nin infiltrated the village and launched an attack. Isn't that a failure of ANBU security? I eliminated the attackers. That should be a merit, not a fault."
"They were targeting you. Naruto got caught in the crossfire because of you. That's your fault."
This was a direct accusation. As Elder Mitokado's voice echoed with anger, the surrounding ANBU continued working as usual, though they were now quietly watching Uchiha Ranzan and the others from the corner of their eyes.
Uchiha Akitarō's expression darkened with anger.
Luckily, Ranzan grabbed the impulsive Uchiha Hokuto before he could rush forward. Compared to the more relaxed Akitarō, Hokuto—just fourteen years old—was prideful to his core. That pride made him reckless and eager to fight.
"Hokuto, Akitarō, stand down. Rēn hasn't given any orders. No one moves without them. Chihaya, Futaba, Jun—same goes for you."
As the eldest among them, he held a high authority within the group.
Ranzan's red eyes swept across them. The troublemakers went silent. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Good. No one acted up. One or two he could control. But if they all erupted at once… he wasn't confident he could stop them.
"My fault?"
Rēn turned to Mitokado. "The Mist likely targeted me because I killed too many of their shinobi during the war. If that's now a problem—"
He looked to Hiruzen. "Hokage-sama, is Elder Mitokado saying we shouldn't fight for the village? That we should avoid battle to prevent retaliation? That shedding blood for Konoha's sake is something to be ashamed of?"
By the end of the sentence, his voice rose sharply.
His red eyes flared with emotion—fury and grievance written all over his face. He stared at the Third with clear distress.
Mitokado hesitated, then grew furious. That brat was twisting his words. He hadn't meant to suggest abandoning Konoha's heroes—his point was that Rēn shouldn't have made contact with the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, thereby exposing Naruto to unnecessary risk. Since when had Rēn become a martyr?
"Homura, it was just a poor choice of words. Don't argue with the younger generation. Be more open-minded."
The Third stopped Mitokado and turned back to Rēn.
"Rēn, Elder Mitokado was too concerned about Naruto's safety. Please forgive his wording. But you should also be aware—people like us are often targets. Bringing Naruto along was indeed careless. Be more thoughtful in the future."
He smoothed things over with a gentle tone, then decisively pinned the fault on Rēn.
No chance to argue.
The matter was already framed.
As expected of the Hokage.
Rēn let his anger fade. He didn't push back. As long as there was no formal punishment, he didn't care about being blamed. With the Hokage in charge, finding fault in someone like him was easy.
As long as there was no real consequence, he didn't mind carrying a few accusations.
Besides... this would even help him rally the clan.
"Sarutobi, you're too soft. If mistakes go unpunished, how can you lead this village?"
This time, it was Koharu who spoke up. The sixty-something woman spoke with righteous severity, criticizing the Third's leniency.
The Third frowned deeply, as if hesitating.
Rēn's left hand clenched into a fist. Uchiha Ranzan and the others immediately stepped forward. Pairs of three-tomoe Sharingan opened one by one. They stood behind Rēn, radiating silent warning and pressure. The ANBU stopped what they were doing.
They didn't attack.
But they were ready.
Then—
"This isn't Rēn's fault, Hokage-sama."
The voice came from Uchiha Shisui.
He stepped to Rēn's side and looked at the Third and both advisors.
"Regardless of whether the attackers were Mist ninja, there's no rule in the village forbidding people from approaching Naruto. Rēn acted within the village's regulations. He didn't know there would be an ambush. If we punish him over this… we're just nitpicking."
Shisui's intervention was unexpected. Rēn raised an eyebrow at first, then almost allowed a pleased expression to spread across his face.
Finally,
Shisui understood where he should stand.
As for what Shisui said—it didn't matter. What mattered was the shift in his stance. That alone gave Rēn greater confidence in the next steps of his plan.