The walk to the central medical marquee felt different this time. Before, Ren was just another exhaustion-riddled soldier dragging his feet through the sand. Now, as he walked behind the eager medical courier, heads turned.
Whispers followed him like a wake behind a ship.
"That's him.""The Uchiha prodigy.""I heard he restarted a heart with lightning.""God of Medicine..."
Ren ignored the titles. He adjusted his gloves and stepped through the main entrance of the field hospital.
The chaos inside was palpable. The air was thick with the copper scent of blood and the sharp ozone smell of cauterization jutsu. Hundreds of injured ninja from the eastern skirmish filled every cot and overflowed onto the floor.
As Ren walked down the central aisle, the noise seemed to hiccup. Medics paused mid-seal. Injured Jonin—gritty men who had killed without blinking—looked at the fifteen-year-old boy with a mixture of awe and intimidation.
Ren didn't stop. He headed straight for the command center at the back of the tent, where the chakra pressure was suffocatingly dense.
There, standing around a tactical map table near the recovery ward, were three figures who defined an era.
Tsunade Senju, her hands stained with blood, her face set in a grim line. Jiraiya the Toad Sage, towering and broad, his white hair a wild mane. Orochimaru, leaning against a support beam, his pale skin and slit pupils giving him the appearance of a waiting predator.
'The Sannin,' Ren thought internally, acknowledging their power. 'Though they haven't received that title from Hanzō yet, their strength is already absolute.'
Tsunade looked up as Ren approached. The conversation at the table died instantly.
She didn't speak. She marched across the cleared space, closing the distance in three long, heavy strides. The sheer force of her presence made nearby Chunin flinch.
Ren stopped, standing his ground, his face impassive.
Tsunade halted a foot away. Her golden eyes searched his face, looking for arrogance or fear. She found neither.
Then, she placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. Her grip was like iron, but the intention was grounding.
"You're awake," she said, her voice raspy but thick with suppressed emotion. "I checked Nawaki's chart myself. The cellular regeneration... the heart stimulation... it's flawless."
She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly in confusion. "I don't know what technique you used, Ren. The residual chakra in his cells... it wasn't normal medical ninjutsu. It was denser, more volatile. But it worked."
"I did what was necessary," Ren replied calmly, keeping his face blank. He wasn't about to explain his usage of Natural Energy. "He had the will to live. I just gave his body the push it needed."
"Don't be humble. You saved the last of my blood," Tsunade said, her voice dropping an octave, turning deadly serious. "The Senju clan is in your debt, Ren Uchiha. From today on, you have my personal protection. If anyone in the village—be it the Elders, Danzo, or even the Hokage—gives you trouble, you come to me. I will crush them."
"Heh... getting sentimental, Tsunade?"
A raspy, slithering voice cut through the moment. Orochimaru pushed off the beam and glided forward. His yellow eyes locked onto Ren, dissecting him.
"But the boy is... intriguing," Orochimaru hissed, a small, cold smile playing on his lips. "I examined the boy's chest. I saw the electrical burns. You used Lightning Release to restart the heart? A crude method, yet you applied it with surgical precision."
Orochimaru leaned in closer, sniffing the air around Ren. "And that unknown chakra signature I sensed earlier... it's gone now. You hide your secrets well, boy. Very fascinating."
Ren met the Snake Summoner's gaze without flinching. "Innovation requires risk, Lord Orochimaru. Standard methods would have resulted in a corpse."
"Gahahaha!"
Jiraiya slammed a massive hand onto Ren's back, nearly knocking the wind out of him.
"Look at this kid!" Jiraiya boomed, grinning from ear to ear. "Standing toe-to-toe with the Snake and not even blinking! Sakumo told us you fought the Third Kazekage to a draw before coming here? Fifteen years old and already making waves! You've got guts, Uchiha!"
"Enough," Tsunade snapped, stepping between them. She shifted instantly from the grateful sister back to the Medical Commander. "We can discuss his reckless genius later. Right now, look around. We are drowning. The eastern front collapse sent us three hundred new patients in the last hour. My medics are dropping from exhaustion."
She looked at Ren, her eyes challenging him. "You just woke up. Can you work?"
Ren looked at the sea of suffering soldiers. He checked his internal reserves. His sleep had restored his chakra completely, and his spiritual energy—bolstered by his Quincy progression—felt boundless.
"I can work," Ren said simply.
He stepped back into the center of the aisle.
The three legendary ninja watched him. They expected him to grab a bandage or start healing one patient.
Instead, Ren brought his hands together in the cross seal.
He didn't draw in Natural Energy this time. There was no need for the high-risk potent healing, and he didn't want to expose his secret further. This was about volume. He tapped into his own raw, massive chakra reserves.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
POOF!
A massive, rolling cloud of white smoke filled the center of the tent, obscuring vision for a moment.
When the smoke cleared, the future Sannin's eyes widened.
Standing in perfect military formation were thirty identical Ren Uchihas.
The tent went dead silent.
"Thirty?" Jiraiya muttered, his eyebrows shooting up. "Solid clones? Without looking winded?"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed sharply. 'To create thirty clones requires a chakra volume comparable to a Kage... And this isn't that strange chakra from before. This is his base reserve? At fifteen?'
Ren ignored their shock. He turned to his clones.
"Standard triage protocol," Ren ordered his own army. "Prioritize arterial bleeding and shock. Stabilize and move. Go."
"Sir!" the thirty clones shouted in unison.
They scattered instantly, moving with blurred speed to the waiting patients. Within seconds, green glows of the Mystical Palm Technique lit up thirty different corners of the dark tent.
The original Ren turned back to the trio, looking completely unbothered, his breathing even.
"That should alleviate the pressure on the triage stations," Ren stated. "Where do you need the main body, Commander?"
Tsunade stared at him for a second longer, processing the sheer absurdity of the boy standing in front of her. Then, a feral, competitive grin spread across her face. She cracked her knuckles.
"Damn brat," she muttered affectionately. "Fine. If you want to show off, then don't slow me down."
She pointed to the most critical sector.
"Bed four. Compound fracture with internal hemorrhaging. Try to keep up with me, Ren."
Ren smirked, a rare expression of confidence. "Lead the way, Lady Tsunade."