"It works," Tsunade whispered, staring at her healed arm. "It actually works."
The tent was silent for a heartbeat, and then the murmurs began. The Jonin commanders looked at the pile of tags with hunger in their eyes.
"Hold."
The command cut through the excitement like a blade. Danzo Shimura stepped out from the shadows, his cane tapping rhythmically on the floor.
"This technology is too dangerous to be left in the hands of a single individual," Danzo stated, his eye fixing coldly on Ren. "Strategic assets of this magnitude determine the fate of the village. The production method must be handed over to the Sealing Corps immediately. We cannot have the village's survival held hostage by the whims of a fifteen-year-old."
Ren didn't flinch. He had anticipated this.
"I agree, Lord Danzo," Ren said smoothly. "However, handing it over to the Sealing Corps would be useless."
"And why is that?" Danzo challenged. "Do you doubt the skill of our Uzumaki-trained seal masters?"
"Not their skill," Ren replied, shaking his head. "Their eyes."
Ren tapped his own temple.
"The formula requires a microscopic manipulation of chakra release at a ratio that shifts every millisecond. To perform the seal correctly, one needs dynamic visual prowess."
Ren looked around the room, making eye contact with the Uchiha elders.
"Only an Uchiha with a fully matured Three-Tomoe Sharingan can track the flow and stabilize the ink. It is physically impossible for anyone else."
'Lie,' Ren thought internally, keeping his face deadpan. 'It's actually my special yin yang ink that I made using my super-computer Eyes, and Sharingan is just icing on the cake. If I tell them it needs the Sharingan, I make the Clan indispensable.'
The reaction was instantaneous.
Fugaku Uchiha's stoic mask cracked slightly. The other Uchiha Jonin straightened their backs.
For years, the Uchiha had been sidelined. Their budget cut, their influence restricted to the Police Force. But if only they could produce these tags? The village would be forced to pour money into the Uchiha district. Their financial crisis would be over.
'He didn't just invent a tag. He invented leverage.'
"If that is the case," Hiruzen said, looking between Danzo and the relieved Uchiha faces, "then the production will remain under Uchiha supervision. We will not waste resources on impossible attempts."
'I'll have to ask Mito-sama if she could replicate it later,' Hiruzen thought internally, ever the cautious leader.
Danzo scowled but said nothing. He couldn't argue against a bloodline limit.
"Now," Hiruzen turned back to Ren. "The price?"
Ren smiled. The Merchant of Konoha had arrived.
"The standard market value for a life-saving device is high," Ren began. "I intend to sell these for 2,000 Ryo per tag."
The Hyuga Elder choked on air.
"However," Ren bowed to the Hokage. "For Konoha, and for the war effort, I offer a discounted bulk rate. 1,500 Ryo per unit."
Ren gestured to the scroll.
"I have 500 units ready now. That is 750,000 Ryo. I can produce another 1,000 by tomorrow morning."
Hiruzen didn't hesitate. Even at 1,500 Ryo, it was cheaper than a funeral.
"Done," Hiruzen said decisively. "The funds will be transferred. Distribute the 500 tags to the Vanguard squads immediately."
Tsunade watched this transaction with a mix of emotions. She felt a sting of dejection—her proposal for a Medical Corps reform had been completely overshadowed by Ren's invention. But looking at the tags, she felt a wave of relief. Her dream of stopping unnecessary deaths was happening, just not the way she imagined.
"Wait," Ren spoke up again, stopping the Anbu who were reaching for the scroll.
"I have one more thing."
Ren reached into his pouch and pulled out a different tag. The paper was thicker, the ink shimmering with a faint blue light.
"The Type 2: Restoration Tag."
Ren placed it on the table.
"Unlike the Type 1, which only closes wounds, this tag floods the user's system with high-density chakra. It can instantly restore 30% of a user's chakra reserves even if they are fully exhausted."
The Ino-Shika-Cho trio exchanged sharp glances. The Akimichi clan made a fortune selling Soldier Pills.
'He's coming for our business,' Choza Akimichi thought, narrowing his eyes. 'Soldier Pills restore chakra too. Is he trying to corner the market?'
But the murmurs of competition died instantly with Ren's next words.
"And," Ren continued, his voice dropping an octave, "it heals all physical damage. Ruptured organs, internal hemorrhaging, broken bones. As long as the heart and brain are intact and the limbs aren't completely severed... it will bring you back from the brink of death to full fighting capacity in ten seconds."
The silence in the tent was absolute.
Soldier Pills gave energy, but they didn't fix a pierced lung. They didn't re-inflate a collapsed vein.
This wasn't a pill. It was a reset button.
"A second life..." Sakumo Hatake whispered, staring at the blue tag. "With this, a Jonin could be stabbed through the gut, kill his enemy, apply the tag, and keep fighting."
"What is the price?" Orochimaru asked, his tongue darting out.
Ren looked around the room. He saw the desperation.
"300,000 Ryo."
The number hung in the air.
It was expensive. That was the minimum payout for A-rank missions.
But no one argued. No one scoffed.
Because every Jonin in that room looked at the tag and thought: 'If I am dying in the mud tomorrow, would I pay 300,000 Ryo to see my family again?'
The answer was yes.
"I only have ten of these," Ren lied (he had twenty). "Who wants them?"
"I'll take two," Orochimaru said instantly.
"I'll take one," Sakumo added.
"I'll take one!" Jiraiya shouted, sweating profusely as he patted his notoriously light wallet. He turned desperately to his teammate. "Tsunade... loan me 300,000? I swear I'll pay you back.
Tsunade rolled her eyes but sighed, nodding. "Fine. But the interest is double."
"Put two on the Hokage's tab," Hiruzen sighed.
From the shadows, a cane slammed onto the floor.
"And two for me."
Danzo stepped forward, his face twisted as he gritted his teeth. He hated giving Ren money. He hated strengthening the Uchiha. But he hated the idea of Hiruzen and his students having a 'second life' while he did not even more.
"Root funds... will cover it," Danzo spat out the words like poison.
That's the look cyclopes, like eating... Mocked Ren internally"
"A pleasure doing business with you, Lord Danzo."
Ren smiled, his internal calculator singing a beautiful song.
'Gold plated toilets,' Ren thought gleefully. 'Here I come.'