Hokage Building.
In the mission hall on the first floor, Konoha Ninja were densely packed, all there to accept missions. Some were looking through the rosters, while others were inquiring about the specific details of missions from the responsible personnel.
Compared to the bustling first floor, the second floor was much quieter.
As the place where the Hokage worked, Ninja carrying large stacks of documents moved back and forth along the entire corridor. Aside from the hurried footsteps, there was no other sound in the hallway.
At the entrance to the second floor, two Konoha Ninja stood guard, preventing idlers from disturbing the Hokage's work.
"Tap, tap!"
A steady sound of footsteps came, and the two subconsciously looked up, then immediately lowered their heads, saying in a deep voice.
"Hokage-sama! X2"
"Good morning to you both."
Minato raised his hand and greeted the two with a smile, and Ren, who was following behind, also raised his hand, greeting them.
"Yo, good morning, both of you."
"Uh…"
Seeing Ren suddenly appear, the two were first stunned, then quickly replied.
"Hello."
Although Ren did not know them, they certainly knew Ren. For this guy who was rumored to also have a monster inside him, the two felt not only reverence but also a hint of fear.
Just when they thought everything was fine, another young man, dressed like a hooligan, followed. The two were about to intercept him when Ren's lazy voice rang out from behind them.
"He's with us."
After exchanging glances, the two no longer paid attention, and noticing the three had left, they withdrew their gaze and continued standing guard.
"What a big place."
In the corridor, Hidan followed behind the two, curiously looking at everything around him, occasionally peeking through half-open doorways to observe the inside.
Soon, the group arrived at the Hokage Office entrance. Just as they were about to enter, they saw Nara Shikaku approaching with a large stack of documents.
"Minato, you're here."
Nara Shikaku was stunned when he saw Minato. He was about to greet him but awkwardly realized he couldn't free his hands.
"Good morning, Shikaku. X2"
The two spoke in unison. Nara Shikaku then noticed Ren following beside Minato and smiled.
"Ren, you're back. Come help me with some of these."
Ren stepped forward two paces, took half of the documents, and then immediately handed them to Hidan behind him.
"Hold them steady, Hidan. Don't drop them."
"Bastard…"
Hidan was about to retort, but seeing Ren's threatening gaze, he instantly chickened out and could only grumble a few words under his breath.
"This is…"
Shikaku was stunned when he saw Hidan, then he turned his head and looked at the two with some confusion.
"This kid is Hidan. I'll introduce the specifics later."
"I see."
Hearing this, Shikaku no longer pressed the matter but looked at the three. He gestured towards the Hokage Office with his chin.
"Let's go, lord third is inside."
"Eh?"
Minato, who had just touched the doorknob, suddenly froze. Ren, realizing what was happening, quickly released his Perception. The next moment, his expression changed, and the corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
My goodness, why is that old man here so early?
Minato decisively opened the door, and the group entered one after another. They then saw Hiruzen Sarutobi with his back to them, standing by the window, lost in thought as he looked outside.
"Lord Third!"
Everyone spoke at the same time, only Hidan, who was a beat slower, remained frozen in place.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Hiruzen turned around, put down his pipe, and smiled at the group.
"You're all here, Minato, Shikaku."
At this point, Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze fell on Ren, who was standing upright, and he nodded with a smile.
"And you, Ren, your trip this time was quite fruitful."
"Uh…"
Seeing the slightly meaningful look from Hiruzen Sarutobi, Ren quickly chuckled, saying playfully.
"Long time no see, old man. You're still so robust. Have you had breakfast? If not, I have some here."
As he spoke, Ren took out a few Soldier Ration Pills from his Ninja tool pouch, ready to throw them over, but he was stopped by the other party.
"Hold on, I've eaten."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Ren with a hint of helplessness, then turned his gaze to Minato. Just as he was about to say something, the door opened again.
Everyone in the room turned their heads at the same time and saw two figures enter the room one after another. Looking closely, it was Konoha's two high-ranking Advisor Elders, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado.
"Hmm?"
Seeing so many people, the two were also stunned. After looking around, Utatane Koharu was the first to speak.
"You're all here."
Shikaku placed the documents in his hand on the table and cautiously asked the two.
"May I ask if the two Advisors are here for something?"
After speaking, Shikaku couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Everyone gathered here so early in the morning, it seemed yesterday's incident had quite an impact.
"It's nothing much."
Homura Mitokado adjusted his glasses, then his gaze subtly swept over Ren beside him, and he said in a deep voice.
"It's just about yesterday, a mother and daughter were brought back to the village by Jonin Hoshimi Ren."
After speaking, Homura Mitokado turned his head to Ren and nodded.
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Ren nodded, then raised his hand and pointed to Hidan behind him, saying with a faint smile.
"And there's a kid too."
"…Bastard."
Hidan was about to retort, but seeing the room full of important figures, he could only, like before, grumble a few words under his breath.
As for Hidan, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado had no interest whatsoever. Instead, they turned their attention to Minato beside them and questioned him.
"Minato, those mother and daughter are from the Uzumaki Clan, right? How do you plan to handle them?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the office immediately became subtle. The expressions of Shikaku, Minato, and even Ren were not good.
After all, no matter what, Minato was the Hokage. Both his identity and status were above theirs. They knew this, yet they dared to speak with such a questioning tone. Were they treating Minato as their familiar close friend, Hiruzen Sarutobi?
However, the two did not realize the change in atmosphere and continued to speak in an aggressive tone.
"Minato. I heard that mother and daughter stayed at your house last night. That's outrageous! How can you let a woman whose background is unknown come into contact with the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki…"
"Enough!"
Just then, a low shout rang out, followed by a surge of Chakra that instantly swept through the entire room. Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado's minds went blank for a moment. When they recovered, they looked with horror at Ren not far away, who was continuously emitting an aura from his entire body.
"Both of you."
As Ren's voice rang out, the wall continuously made cracking sounds, and then, under the two's gaze filled with a hint of fear, it collapsed with a crash!
Amidst the flying dust, Ren's usually playful face was now filled with coldness. His palm was raised in mid-air, and he looked at the two with a chilling smile.
"Before entering, shouldn't you knock?"
Looking at the two who were frozen in place, the coldness on Ren's face grew even more intense.
"Hmm?"