"Hahaha, don't worry, take a rest first." Ren smiled awkwardly, not expecting this task to be so troublesome. Even with Itachi Uchiha's mastery of Fire Release, after releasing so many ninjutsu, he still hadn't collected enough of the Fire Release energy the system needed to absorb. At the same time, he felt fortunate to have found Itachi Uchiha now; he didn't know how long it would take him to absorb the Fire Release energy for this mission on his own.
Itachi Uchiha's face softened slightly. He didn't speak, but sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and quickly recovered the chakra in his body.
After half an hour, Itachi Uchiha opened his eyes again and began to repeat his previous actions.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
...
After repeating this several times, half a day had passed. Ren was bored waiting by the side, and the whole person was already a little drowsy. Just when Itachi Uchiha was about to give up, suddenly, a crisp click sound came.
The ordeal in front of him was finally over! Great! Itachi Uchiha almost jumped from the ground with joy, as if he had just completed an extremely difficult and monumental task. However, ever mature and calm, he quickly suppressed the urge in his heart, only a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
However, Itachi Uchiha then had a sudden realization: Wait... So, why was I burning a kunai with Fire Release?
"Wow! You really did it!" At this time, Ren, who heard the system prompt, jumped up from the ground. He walked to Itachi Uchiha, patted him on the shoulder, and praised very spontaneously: "Well done, big brother!"
Itachi Uchiha: "..." Since when have we gotten to know each other so well?
Ren didn't care about Itachi Uchiha's inner turmoil at all. Anyway, he was a very easy person to get along with, and those who had helped him were considered friends.
"Thank you for this," Ren said to him with a smile. "As for what you want to know about the relationship between me and Shisui, I will tell you one by one." Afterward, Ren told Itachi Uchiha the specific details of his previous meeting with Shisui Uchiha.
"Are you trying to survive..." After listening to Ren's story, Itachi Uchiha had a thoughtful expression on his face. Ren looked at his concerned friend, and it seemed he couldn't let go of the previously rumored death of Shisui Uchiha. But in the original story, the last person Shisui saw before his death was Itachi Uchiha. And Shisui handed over his Kotoamatsukami to Itachi for safekeeping, then committed suicide by jumping off a cliff in front of him. But looking at Itachi Uchiha's reaction now... It seemed that things didn't develop as they did in the original work. Otherwise, the current Itachi Uchiha should know very well about Shisui's death. Instead of looking for clues about Shisui's death, he came to Ren for help.
"When was the last time you saw Shisui?"
"On Hokage Rock," Itachi Uchiha replied truthfully. "He said he was going to see Hokage-sama, and if he succeeded, he could..." Itachi Uchiha did not continue to talk about the latter matter, as it was an undisclosed secret between the village and the Uchiha clan.
Ren nodded. Even if Itachi Uchiha didn't say it, he knew exactly how badly the relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan had deteriorated. After Ren thought for a moment, he smiled at Itachi Uchiha. "I think... Shisui isn't dead."
"What?" The relationship between Shisui Uchiha and him was both that of a teacher and a friend, and its importance to him was self-evident. Hearing that Shisui Uchiha still had the possibility of survival, Itachi Uchiha's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Since the body hasn't been found, it can't be judged as death, right?" Ren said with a smile. "If Shisui truly didn't die, and if he is missing now, he must have his own reasons. As for you, choose to continue to believe him."
"Yeah." Itachi Uchiha nodded. He didn't know why, but although this young man named Ren had just spoken a few very simple truths, the emotions that had been pent up in his heart since the news of Shisui's death suddenly dissipated. Shisui still has a chance to live. His heart suddenly filled with hope and courage. So... I will continue to stand firm for a while, and continue to act according to what Shisui told me before!
After saying goodbye to Itachi Uchiha, Ren returned home and began to craft the Hidden Mask blueprint he had obtained this time. It was another weapon with three-star difficulty, and there were a lot of materials to prepare. Fortunately, these materials were not troublesome to collect; it only took Ren a few days to gather them.
During the building process, Ren was also familiar with the process. He had already built a three-star difficulty Nichirin Blade before, so now, when it came to creating a three-star difficulty mask, it wasn't so difficult in terms of forging technology. At the same time, in addition to the practice of forging ninja tools, Ren did not neglect his basic physical training, Grass Pheasant Sword practice, and Japanese swordsmanship practice.
One week later, Ren had initially grasped the threshold of the Water Breathing Style. Moreover, he was able to use the first form of Breath of Water – Surface Slash. Ren's actual combat ability had reached a new level. The results of this training left Ren very satisfied.
In Konoha's training ground, Ren had also completed a stage of basic physical training, and the weight tied to his legs had reached a terrifying 150 pounds.
"Ren, your training results have been good during this period of time. You haven't slackened in the slightest just because your strength has become stronger. You are truly a diligent young man!" Might Guy patted Ren's shoulder with great relief and said with a smile, "But I have something to do recently; I have to perform a mission, I will be very busy, and I have no time to guide you in your practice. I'll give you a vacation during this time, and you can take a good rest for a while."
Although what Might Guy said was very vague, Ren had already guessed in his heart that this must be related to the recent affairs of the Uchiha clan. From Itachi Uchiha's mouth, he had heard that the Uchiha clan's recent sacrificial gatherings were very frequent. He was afraid that the day of their rebellion was imminent. And the Hokage must also strengthen the power in his hands. Not only must all the ninja be called to stand by at any time, but the intensity of patrolling guards must also be strengthened.
"I see, Guy-sensei," Ren nodded.
"Of course, before the holiday, there is one more important thing." Might Guy smiled brightly, his big white teeth shining. "Today, I'm going to conduct a very important assessment on you! If you pass the assessment, there will be a lot of rewards!"