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(waifu-catalog-si)_28338007308248605###
Безупречное наследие (Каталог
Waifu SI)
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Fortunate_Soul
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Краткое содержание
Человек получает систему каталогов Waifu и использует ее, чтобы
перевоплотиться в мире Наруто.
Теперь осиротевший Рен Учиха приезжает жить к Фугаку и его
семье.
Ждать!? Итачи девочка?
Мито Узумаки, Ринго Амеюри и другие красивые женщины еще
живы?
Остальные деревни поняли, какой я крутой, и хотят воевать с
Конохой?
Смотрите, как наш СИ шокирует всех своими способностями и
становится сильнейшим в мире, одновременно привлекая к себе
несколько вайфу на стороне.
Для продвинутых глав: https://[email protected]/ankit1.
Предлагается родительское руководство
Chapter 17- New Bounty
Obito Uchiha POV
"...say it again," he commanded the White Zetsu, his gaze fixed on the
creature in utter disbelief.
"Ringo Ameyuri was defeated by Ren Uchiha."
He blinked once, then blinked again. Finally, he erupted into laughter.
"…hahaha. Yeah. That was a funny joke. You almost got me there for a
moment. Now…" His laughter subsided, replaced by a stern gaze directed
at the White Zetsu. "Stop playing around and tell me about what really
happened."
The White Zetsu fixed its gaze on two other White Zetsu who had
accompanied it to assess the situation. They stepped forward to
corroborate its account.
"He's not lying." "Yeah. The boy was even flying. And launched stone
bullets that went through dozens of trees. Like Woosh woosh woosh."
"The boy was even flying?" He asked, a slight headache emerging from
their playful behaviour. "Zetsu. Can you please ask these White Zetsus to
be serious for one moment? I know they want to be funny, but there's a
time and place for it."
The half Black, half white Zetsu walked over the the Three White Zetsu
and glared at them. "What really happened?"
"We're not lying to you!" "Yeah! The boy really defeated Ringo Ameyuri."
"And the boy was really flying."
He held the urge to kill the three White Zestu as they continued to babble
on about a 6 year old child defeating a veteran S-class kunoichi, a
veteran of two shinobi wars.
Did they really thought that he was stupid enough to believe such a
story.
Sure, the stories he'd heard from the other White Zetsus painted the boy
as the second coming of Madara Uchiha. But even Madara wasn't capable
of killing S-class shinobi in a one-on-one battle at the age of six.
"Stop lying." He growled, losingthe last bit of his patience.
"""We're not lying!""" The White Zetsus chorused together and his fists
clenched with the intention to kill them.
"Wait a moment, Obito. Let them explain themselves." Zetsu said and
then turned to the three White Zetsus. "Tell us about the entire fight."
Five minutes later, he sat in a grim silence with Zetsu and stared into the
distance, unsure about what to make of any of this.
"A Bloodline that nullifies a significant portion of damage, accelerates
healing, and grants the ability to fly." He said and then turned to face
Zetsu. "Have you ever come across such a unique and powerful
Bloodline?"
"Hmm… the Water body technique of Hozuki clan, and your own Kamui
ability stops you from taking any physical harm.The Rinnegan enables
the user to absorb Ninjutsu attacks without injury. Hashirama's bloodline
grants rapid healing. As for flight, Onoki is the sole shinobi I know
capable of it." Zetsu told him. "However, I'm not aware of any single
bloodline that combines all these abilities at once."
The both of them fell into deep thought before he finally asked. "So this
is really a new type of bloodline… one that's never been seen before in
the history of the elemental nations?"
"As far as my knowledge extends, yes," Black Zetsu affirmed. "However,
the mutation or creation of an entirely new bloodline is not as rare as
you might think.It's just that most of them aren't really all that powerful,
or their user die before he or she grows strong enough. So most of these
new bloodline become extinct and go undocumented."
He took that in for a moment and then nodded. "I'm still not certain if I
believe that the boy really defeated Ringo Ameyuri on his own." He said.
"Should we increase the bounty on his head?"
Black Zetsu thought about it for a moment before it shook its head. "No
need for us to bother. Just spread the news about his abilities to the rest
of the elemental nations, and they'll take care of that part on their own.
Unless you want to have the boy join us?"
He shook his head. "If the boy is really as capable as the White Zetsus
says, then I'm doubt any of us would be able to control him. No, go ahead
and spread the news about the boy's abilities. But be discreet about it."
Black Zetsu nodded. "I'll do just that. Now… about our next plan."
"Have you found out when Mizukage will leave for a meeting with his
Daimyo."
"In a month, and as we anticipated, he'll only be accompanied by two
guards. This is an opportunity we cannot afford to let slip away. The
White Zetsus will handle his guards, but it's crucial that you ensure the
demise of the Mizukage. We cannot afford another failure."
His fists clenched at another one of Black Zetsus' dig at his past failure to
release the Kyuubi. "I'll not fail. But be sure to play your own role just as
well."
"Don't worry. I'll not fail either. I've already gathered corpses of Konoha
shinobi and put them in stasis for this plan."
He nodded. "Then in one month, we'll start our plan to push the shinobi
world into chaos once again."
—————
Itachi Uchiha POV
She would never admit this to anyone but she derived a certain amount
of joy in observing the various faces her parents made whenever they
learned about Ren's new exploits.
Her father took a deep breath, attempting to compose himself, and cast a
stern gaze upon Ren. "So… let me get this right. You fought and defeated
a S-class kunoichi. On your very first mission outside of Konoha."
Ren casually nodded in response, prompting her father to take another
deep breath to steady himself.
"And instead of killing her, you decided to capture her so that you can…"
Her father paused at this and then uttered the next few words with
immense difficulty. "…have her as your maid."
Ren gave another nonchalant nod at her father's words and she held back
a smile as she subtly observed her parent's expressions.
Her father appeared to be grappling with a multitude of emotions and
thoughts, while her mother seemed to have surrendered entirely, gazing
into the distance with a vacant look.
Following a prolonged silence, her father finally spoke up. "We Uchiha
are not like the Hyuuga. We do not have maids Ren."
'Really? Is that really the best you can do father?' She thought with great
amusement.
"I know that. And I wasn't really serious when I said that I want to make
her my maid." Ren said seriously but then he paused and then let out a
chuckle. "Okay, who am I kidding. I totally planned to make her my
maid. I've even thought up of the dress I'll have her wear."
"Ren." Her father said softly but something in his voice made Ren stop
talking immediately. "Please take this seriously."
Ren looked like he was refraining from rolling his eyes but he nodded
nonetheless.
"Now… can you please explain, and be serious this time. Why do you
want to bring an S-class Kunoichi to Konoha. To our Uchiha compound?"
"Well… technically, she's not here yet."
"Ren." Her father said sternly and Ren raised up his hands in surrender.
"Okay, okay. I'll be serious now." Ren said and then paused before staring
into the distance. A silence ensued into the room and after a long
moment, Ren started speaking. "One of the main reasons why I spared
her life and decided to bring her here is because I believe that she can be
a very useful asset. Not just to me but to the clan and the village as a
whole."
"And what are your other reasons?" Father asked.
Here, Ren hesitated for a bit. He stared at all of them for a moment and
then took a deep breath before he started speaking. "Okay, this might
sound crazy but I don't want to lie to you guys either. The other
important reason is that I want want to marry her and have children with
her." Ren said seriously and she gaped at him in shock while her mother
choked on her spit and her father stared at him with open eyes.
"Excuse me!?" She exclaimed, feeling a slight burn on her chest for some
unexplainable reason. It wasn't as if Ren hadn't mentioned this before,
but she had assumed he was joking.
"What?" Ren asked, looking at her in confusion.
She held the urge to punch his face in and settled for narrowing her eyes
at him. "Why do you want to marry her?"
"She's hot… and powerful." Ren replied, amusement colouring his voice.
"She's old!" She almost shouted but then paused to compose herself. Then
she pointed at her mother. "She's even older than mother."
"Hey!" Her mother protested and went ignored.
"What of it?" Ren asked.
"You can't marry someone so much older than you."
"Why not? Nobles do it all the time."
"Ren." Her mother started speaking this time. Gently. "You might not be
aware of this. But women stop giving birth to children after a certain age
in their life. And Ringo... how old is she."
"I would say... about 36 years old." Her father replied after some mental
calculations.
"Okay, so she still has time. But that time would be greatly diminished by
the time you grow old enough to marry her." Her mother said.
"Believe me. I know that." Ren said "And that is not a problem for me."
Her parents stared at Ren in confusion before something occurred to her.
"Another one of your bloodline's hidden abilities?" She asked and Ren
nodded.
"Something like that."
"But… aren't you too young to be worrying about marriage at such a
young age, let alone having children?" Mother asked and Ren gave a nod.
"I am. But if I want a harem of S-class kunoichi then I have to start
working on it as soon as possible."
"Excuse me?" "A harem?" "What?"
"Well… it won't be a large harem. I'll only have a few S-class kunoichis as
my wives. But yes, that's my plan for the future." Ren explained with a
serious look on his face.
She got up from her seat and everyone in the room turned to look at her.
"I'm going out to get some fresh air." She said and quickly left before any
of them can argue against her decision.
—————
Ren Uchiha POV
He really, really wanted to go after Itachi and talk things out with her.
Mainly because she was one of those few S-class Kunoichis that he
wanted to marry in the future. But also because she was his best friend.
However, there was another matter he needed to discuss with Fugaku
and Mikoto before that.
"You… I never took you to be ambitious, boy. But I was wrong." Fugaku
said, shaking his head. "A harem of S-class kunoichi. I don't think I've
heard of a more ambitious plan in my entire life."
…he wasn't sure if that was a praise or not. But at least Fugaku wasn't
reacting too negatively to this news.
"Ren… child, where did you even get the idea to get a harem?" Mikoto
asked, looking more serious than Fugaku.
…now how to explain to her that he had a Waifu Catalog that gave him
points of immense value whenever he captured a Waifu. And the more
powerful that waifu, the points he'll get.
Moreover, the only method of capturing them was by making them fall
for him and then having them confess their love to him.
"By reading Jiriaya-san's books." He said in the end.
There was another long silence in the room before Mikoto got up from
her seat as well.
"I'm going to go and have a talk with your Sensei."
"Wait! There is something I need to talk with the two of you before that."
He said before Mikoto could leave the room.
Mikoto paused and shared a look with Fugaku before she came back and
sat in front of him once again. "And what did you want to talk about?"
He halted, taking a deep breath in anticipation of the inevitable
argument that would follow his next words. Yet, this was crucial. "I… I
thank you, both of you, for taking me into your home and raising me like
your own son for the past few years. But I believe it's now time for me to
depart and establish my own home."
—————
Ringo Ameyuri POV
Darkness.
Complete and utter darkness covered her world.
No, light, no sound, no smell reached her in this sensory depravation cell.
Her sense of time failed her in this place. She couldn't tell if she's been
here for seconds or hours.
But she was still aware that she has been in this place for almost two
weeks, if only because of the amount of time she was being given food
and water.
That, and her daily interrogation and mind reading sessions with that
Yamanaka guy. All done in complete darkness.
Having her mind violated was not a good feeling. But it was certainly
better than being splattered in the forest ground by a 6-year-old boy. Or
that's what she told her at least.
She was still unsure if these people will actually allow her to leave, or if
they'll just put a kunai in her brain and then feed her body to the dogs.
…and then, out of nowhere, there was light.
She promptly shut her eyes, overwhelmed by the searing pain caused by
the sudden bombardment of lights after two weeks of darkness.
After her eyes acclimated to the light, she cautiously opened them and
noticed the Fuinjutsu seals on the walls glowing brightly.
And then the heavy metal door of the cell screeched open and in walked
the Yellow Butcher of Konoha, the Toad Sannin, her Yamanaka mind
reader and a few other important looking people.
"Ringo Ameryuri." The Yellow Butcher said in a surprisingly gentle voice
as he came to stand in front of her.
"Hokage of Konohagakure." She replied, determined to not show any
weakness despite knowing how dangerous the man was and how weak
her current position was.
"Since you've been so cooperative with us, I'll get straight to point. How
would you like to become a citizen of Konoha?"
She raised an eyebrow as she caught onto his words. Not a 'shinobi' of
Konoha but a 'citizen'. Well… it wasn't like she expected them to take her
into their shinobi force without keeping an eye on her for some time at
least.
"Do I have any other choice?" She asked sarcastically.
The Yellow Butcher's tight lipped smile was the only answer she received.
She took a step toward the Yellow Butcher and relished in the way the
guards behind him tensed, their hands going toward the handle of their
swords.
She maintained a prolonged stare-off with the Hokage as the silence and
tension in the room escalated. The atmosphere became increasingly taut
until, at last, she broke the silence. "Very well then. I accept your offer."
—————
It took about half a day for her to learn about the rules of Konoha, agree
to those rules, learn about the restrictions, agree to those restrictions and
finally fill up the paperwork that officially registered her as a civilian of
Konoha.
Then, she met the little monster, as well as the Uchiha clan leader who
escorted her to the Uchiha compound, where she faced the suspicious
eyes of every Uchiha clan member who had gathered to catch a glimpse
of her.
And finally, she was here.
"...it's not bad," she declared her verdict while gazing at the expansive
house perched on a hill, overlooking a lake.
...oh, who was she fooling? This house was incredible, a thousand times
superior to the garish apartment she used to own in Kiri. The added
bonus of having three training grounds attached to the property only
sweetened the deal. However, she had no intention of giving the
satisfaction to the brat, not after all the trouble he had caused her.
"Not bad?" The brat looked annoyed at her words. "Bitch, it's fabulous
and you know it. Besides, do you have any idea how much it cost me to
buy this property and build this house?"
…oh? She wasn't aware that the brat had to buy this property and build
this house. She had been under the impression that it was just given to
him by the clan head, or something.
"Why don't you tell me?"
"38 million ryo for the land. And about 5 million for the raw materials I
used to build the house."
She raised a skeptical eyebrow at his words. "You build this house?"
"Well, my Shadow Clones did most of the work. But yeah." The brat
proudly declared, and she couldn't help but feel grudgingly impressed.
"I've always had a dream of building my own log cabin and living in it, so
I decided to take this chance to fulfil my dream."
'Brat, that's not a log cabin. That's a log mansion.' She thought.
"…it's acceptable." She said and the brat snorted at her.
"You're not fooling anyone here. I know you like the house. Stop acting
already."
Well, the brat could read her well enough if nothing else. Probably had
something to do with those ever-present Sharingan eyes of his.
Though… there was one thing she wanted to know about this house. And
that was, "Why is it so big?"
Because it was big. From what the brat told her, it had 8 bedrooms, 2
living rooms, 2 kitchens, a sizeable dining room, a library, a gym, a
Fuinjutsu office, a storage room, and a few other vacant rooms.
Not to mention an underground bunker that the brat claimed can
withstand a direct attack from a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Given her upbringing, she had always held a disdain for people who lived
in houses larger than necessary. Now, she wasn't sure how to feel about
becoming one of those people herself.
"I want to have a big family," the young one stated plainly, and picking
up on his subdued mood, she chose not to press him further. "So... fancy
a tour of the house? I still need to purchase furniture for a few rooms, but
apart from that, it's mostly ready."
"Might as well since I'm going to live here from now on." She replied
sarcastically and the brat snorted back in reply.
"If you didn't want to end up in this position, then you shouldn't have
attacked me."
"Whatever. Just give me that tour already." She said and the brat nodded.
—————
Ren Uchiha POV
"Are you still angry?" He asked as he cradled baby Naruko in his arms.
They were currently in Kushina Sensei's home, doing their D-rank mission
of babysitting Naruko.
Itachi ignored him in favour of sharpening her kunai.
She didn't even need to do that. Their blacksmith kept their kunai sharp
at all times. She was just doing it to ignore him.
"You know that you'll have to talk with me eventually, yes? We are a
team after all, and we'll go back to doing missions once this month is
over."
She ignored him.
"Itachi. You're my best friend. Can we not fight, please?"
"I'm clearly not your best friend if you don't even see it fit to tell me that
you plan on leaving my home."
Frankly, it had surprised even him just how quickly he was able to finish
building his home. But when you have a hundred superhuman clones
working for you in complete sync, and you can create the foundation of
your home with a few hand signs, things tend to go smoothly for you.
"I was going to tell you. I just… didn't know how. Can you not forgive me
this one time."
Itachi glanced at him for a moment before she went back to ignoring
him.
He wanted to say something more but Naruko begin squirming in his
arms so he went back to gently rocking her back and forth in a soothing
manner that would lull her to sleep.
With a sigh, he glanced at Rin Nohara, who occupied the other side of
the room, engrossed in practicing Fuinjutsu, doing her bet to ignore the
unfolding drama between him and Itachi.
He sighed again.
In hindsight, he really should have told Itachi about his future plans. She
might have still been angry but she wouldn't have felt betrayed at least.
He'll keep this in mind in the future. He would need to become better at
the whole social stuff if he planned to have a harem after all. Though he
hoped that the Waifu Catalog will take care of most of the heavy stuff.
"I know you're angry Itachi. And you have every right to be. But when
your anger has cooled down, please come and talk to me, okay?"
Itachi ignored him but he took that as a confirmation.
The next few minutes were spent in silence before the door of the room
was abruptly slammed open and Jiriaya entered the room before quickly
marching toward him with a worried expression.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
"See for yourself. Page 18." Jiraiya said as he threw the latest edition of
Bingo book at him.
He arched an eyebrow and flipped open that page, his eyes narrowing at
what met his gaze.
His own image, accompanied by details about his abilities—feats he had
demonstrated in his confrontation with Ringo.
At the page's bottom, where once a bounty of 5 million Ryo stood, there
now loomed a bounty of 85 million Ryo.
Well… there went his anonymity.
—————
AN: So, Itachi learns about Ren's plans and feels jealous and betrayed.
Ren builds his own home. Mostly so that Itachi, Mikoto and Satsuki won't
be in any danger in case Ringo decided to go rogue. Again. But also
because he's a big boy now and wants his own space.
Ringo gets out of confinement after the Yamanaka ensures that it's safe
enough to do so. And she gets the citizenship of Konoha.
Last but not the least, Ren gets a new bounty.
And for example, the bounties for the Sannin are 84 million for Tsunade,
79 for Orochimaru and 68 for Jiraiya. And Minato's bounty is 93 million.
At least in my story.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon for those interested in reading ahead.
My Patreon: https://[email protected]/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 18- Massive
Improvements
Minato Namikaze POV
The clan leaders, elders, and other council members gradually trickled
into the meeting room, their eyes inadvertently drawn toward where
Fugaku was sitting.
It seems that most, if not all the important people knew about Ren by this
point. Or suspected something at least. And everyone wanted answers.
At last, the 3rd Hokage and the Sannin entered the room and took their
respective seats beside him as his trusted advisors. With a simple gesture,
he signaled his Anbu to close the room, sealing it shut.
"Now that everyone is present, let's commence this meeting. I'm sure all
of you have questions." He said, and the flood gates opened instantly.
"Why does Ren Uchiha have such a large bounty on his head?" "Is it true
that he defeated Ringo Ameyuri on his own?" "Can he really fly?" "Do he
really have a second bloodline?" "Why was this all hidden from us?"
The questions continued coming till he slammed his hand into the desk,
silencing them.
He eyes went to each of the clan leaders before he spoke softly. "One at a
time please." He then looked toward the Hyuuga clan leader and gestured
for him to speak.
Hiashi Hyuuga stood up in his seat and gave a glance toward Fugaku
Uchiha before staring at him. "As much as I want to know about the boy,
I'm more concerned about the increased activities along our borders.
Hokage-sama, what are your plans to deal with that?"
"This meeting has been brought forth to discuss just that. And we'll get to
that once you learn the reason for it." He answered before he gestured for
Tsume Inuzuka to speak up.
"Did the boy really defeat Ringo Ameyuri, one of the seven swordsmen?"
She asked.
A cacophony of loud murmurs filled the meeting room as each person
seemed to have caught wind of their own rendition of the story detailing
the course of the battle.
He still hadn't been able to find the person who spread these rumours,
which said a lot about their counter-intelligence abilities.
He would've suspected Danzo if not for the fact that both him and his
trusted Root subordinates have been confined to their homes and kept
under watch at all hours.
He tapped his desk again and once the meeting room fell into silence, he
started speaking. "Yes. Ren Uchiha defeated Ringo Ameyuri, an S-class
Rogue-nin of Kiri in single combat."
He wanted to deny it but it was too late to do so now so he might as well
tell them the truth.
His answer raised the floodgates once again and everyone started to
bombard him with questions until he managed to calm them down,
again.
He had a feeling that this entire meeting was going to be chaotic mess.
Then he turned to Shikaku Nara gestured for him to speak.
"I think that I speak for everyone when I say that we're quite curious
about Ren Uchiha's second bloodline which allowed him to accomplish
this otherwise impossible feat."
Oh, making it seem like Ren's secret bloodline was the main reason why
Ren was able to defeat Ringo Ameyuri and not because the boy was an S-
class monster himself.
This was good. Very good. As expected of Shikaku.
"Well… I obviously cannot share all the details about Ren's bloodline
with you. But… one of its main abilities allows Ren to learn Genjutsu
skills at an incredibly fast pace. Thanks to that, Ren had become so good
with Genjutsu that even an unprepared S-class Shinobi may fall to it."
Murmurs started in the meeting room once again before he gestured for
the Kurama clan head to speak up.
"I'd like to inquire if Fugaku-san would consider the prospect of the
young man marrying a woman of the Kurama clan and uniting our two
families through the union of that boy and my daughter."
"That…" He felt speechless at that and looked to Fugaku for an answer.
"I'll discuss this matter with Ren and give you his answer." Fugaku said
which spread out another serious of murmurs in the room.
Before matters could get out of hand, he gestured for Inoichi Yamanaka
to speak up.
"I just wanted to ask if it is really safe to have Ringo Ameyuri stay with
Ren."
"Yes. We've sealed her chakra and have given the key to that seal to Ren.
" He said "Besides, she has acted cooperatively with us thus far and we
trust her to not risk her life needlessly. Not to mention that having her
join Konoha willingly would be a huge boon for all of us. I'll take no
further questions on this topic. Next." He said, gesturing at Shibi
Aburame.
"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I wanted to ask if you'll send the boy
out of the village on any further question. Especially considering all the
bounty hunters that have come out of the woodwork due to his increased
bounty."
He shared a look with Jiraiya before he spoke up. "No. We'll not send him
outside on any missions until it is deemed safe to do so. Trust me, I'm
more aware than most about the potential that Ren represents. And I'll
not risk his life needlessly no matter what. Next."
So so and so, the questions came and went. And finally, when the clan
leaders and council members' curiosity was sated, it was time to move on
to the main topic.
"Now, let's talk about the increased attacks on our border outposts and
the potential of a 4th Shinobi war." He said, his eyes serious as the
atmosphere in the room became grim instantly.
After all, almost everyone in the room had taken part in the 3rd Shinobi
war, some even having fought in the 2nd one, and none of them wanted
another one to erupt so soon.
But at the same time, they were all now aware of a fraction of the
potential that Ren Uchiha represents. And none of them were naive
enough to believe that the other villages will simply let the boy be
without doing their utmost to nip him in the bud.
—————
Ren Uchiha POV
He stared out over the lake and listened to the sound of Itachi and Rin
Nohara sparring with one another.
If there was one good thing that came out of this entire Bounty fiasco,
then it was that he and Itachi were in talking terms once again. Though,
she was still a bit curt with him.
"What's on your mind, kid?" Ringo inquired, settling down beside him,
her face glistening with sweat after finishing her own training routine.
He remained silent for a moment before meeting her gaze. "You know, I
almost chose not to become a shinobi."
"Really, why?" She asked, looking both confused and curious.
"Because I knew that I would be a deadly one. That if I chose this path
then I'd inevitably end up taking many lives, and I didn't want that" He
said "I was afraid of what kind of person I would become if I came to
enjoy all that violence. The killing."
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"You did kill quite a few bounty hunters in that fight. Did you enjoy the
rush of the battle.Did you find satisfaction in severing heads from bodies,
pulverising bones into paste, or merely using your Ninjutsu to impale
them to death?"
He pondered the question for a moment before releasing a sigh. "I didn't.
I didn't derive pleasure from it. But I didn't despise it either. Ending their
lives felt as simple as crushing ants. And that's what worries me. What if I
grew into a monster? Who would even have the ability to stop me?"
Ringo appeared unsure of what to say, so she opted for silence. And the
two of them sat in companionable silence, staring at the beautiful
shimmering lake reflecting the golden hue of dawn.
"I was 5 years old when I shunted into the Kiri shinobi academy." Ringo
suddenly started speaking, her eyes staring into a distant point. "My
mother was a whore but my father was from one of the clans, though he
never adopted me. Because I had a lot of chakra, I was thrown into the
academy without anyone even asking about what my opinion. I can still
remember how terrified I felt during my early days at the academy."
That was… a rather interesting. He had always assumed that Ringo was
from an accomplished clan or something. But in hindsight, he didn't
remember there being any clan in Kiri named Ameyuri.
He stared at her, waiting for her to continue and she did.
"…I came to enjoy the violence." Ringo said. "Or rather, I forced myself to
enjoy it. Because I knew that if I didn't enjoy it then I wouldn't fight. If I
didn't fight then I wouldn't improve. And if I didn't improve, then I would
die during the graduation exam."
"That… explains so much about you." He said and they both broke out
into light chuckles at that before she continued.
"My induction into the Seven Swordsmen was nothing more than a twist
of luck you know." She told him.
"Luck. How?"
"Well, the Kiba blades can only be wielded by someone with the
Lightning affinity. And Lightning affinity is quite rare in Kiri. That's one
of the reasons why the wielder of these blades selected me as his
apprentice, along with three others.""
"You must've fought tooth and nail to get these blades then." He guessed
and Ringo broke out into chuckles.
"Hell no! Those three died during one of the missions. And since I was the
only surviving apprentice, Sensei decided to put his whole focus on
improving me." Ringo said with a soft chuckle. "I think that he was still
looking for another apprentice because he didn't think that a girl would
be good enough to wield these blades. But then he died as well, and these
blades fell on me."
"Ah…"
"I felt so unworthy at that time. I knew I shouldn't be the one using these
blades. And the others knew it too. They knew that I was weak and so I
was often bullied by the other shinobi." Ringo said. "Being rejected by
everyone led to me having suicidal thoughts, which pushed me to
participate in more and more battles. But instead of dying, I kept
surviving. Kept improving. And eventually, I became good enough that…
well, I was able to beat up anyone who talked shit to me. And that's how
Ringo Ameyuri came to be reluctantly accepted as one of the seven
swordsmen of Kiri. Not such a riveting tale, is it?"
"…on the other hand, I think that your tale is rather inspirational." He
said. After all, he would be in a similar position if he was reincarnated
into the Uchiha clan without any Waifu Catalog or Gamer System.
Ringo chuckled at his words before she paused and looked at him, her
eyes boring into his own. "Sometimes, becoming a monster is necessary.
If not for yourself, then for your family, or your loved ones. You should
not fear becoming a monster, Ren. You're already one. And even if you're
not, you should become one. And then you should learn how to control
that monster within you."
He remained silent after she'd finished speaking, his mind churning a
mile a minute as he thought on her words.
He thought about on the bounty hunters he had killed, and wondered if
they had families anxiously awaiting their return—unaware that their
loved ones had already met their end at his hands.
"What if I only want peace? Is it right of me to chase after that even after
killing many people. What right do I have to a peaceful life, when I sit
upon a mountain of corpses? What right do I have to a happy family
when I have destroyed so many other families?"
"If you seek peace, you must fight for it. This world is teeming with
monsters, and if you're weak, they'll destroy you and seize everything you
hold dear." Ringo let out another chuckle. "Or did you think that the First
Hokage created this peaceful village without having created a mountain
of corpses of his own."
"…"
"Even now, there are hundreds if not thousands of Konoha shinobi out
there, fighting to keep the monsters at bay so that their families in here
can live in peace." Ringo said before she finally got up from her seat. "It's
a good thing that you're afraid of becoming a monster and harming
others. But don't let your fear control your life brat. Living in fear will
make your life miserable. Plus…"
She bent down and cupped his chin before planting a kiss on his cheeks.
"…it's not attractive to women, or anyone else, really." She said with a
grin and a wink before she turned around and sauntered away, her hips
swaying from side to side as she did so.
'Did… did I just got hit upon?' He thought with mild incredulity before
he shook his head and got up from his butt.
He still wasn't very comfortable with the idea of becoming a monster. But
the thought didn't scare him as much as it once did.
He felt like a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulder as he carried
heavy weights and started jogging around the lake.
Halfway through, on his eighth lap, a notification appeared in front of it.
+1 to Vitality!
And then, a string of other notifications followed.
Ding!
You've unlocked the Loot System!
Ding!
You've unlocked the Achievement System!
Ding!
You've unlocked the Skill Book System!
Halting his jog, he retrieved his Company Device from his pocket, noting
a faint vibration signalling a new notification.
He unlocked its screen and found that he had finally reached Tier 6. The
realm of S-class. Or Kage-level, as some people call it.
About time as well. Since he had defeated Ringo who was already a 6th
tier waifu.
And then another string of notifications appeared in front of him eyes.
Ding!
You graduated as a Rookie of the year!
Achievement unlocked: Genius.
+20% to Int, and Wis.
Ding!
You've learned 3 Ninjutsu!
Achievement unlocked: Ninjutsu novice!
+5% experience when learning or practicing Ninjutsu.
Ding!
You've learned 10 Ninjutsu!
Achievement unlocked: Ninjutsu adept!
+10% experience when learning of practicing Ninjutsu.
Ding!
You've lear…
And he watched as more and more Achievements started to pour into his
screen.
Some were as simple as him running 1, 10, 100 and 1000 Kilometers and
gave him +1, +3, +5, and +7 in Agi and Vit.
Others measured how many Fuinjutsu scrolls he'd made and gave him
either additional levels, or a simple title that made learning and
practicing Fuinjutsu easier in the future.
By the time the barrage of Achievements ended, he had gotten a total of
over 147 Achievements, and the boons he gained from them made him
about… 130% stronger than he was before he gained those
achievements.
If he were to face Ringo once more, it wouldn't be so much a battle as it
would be a one-sided curb stomp.
And that was not even the end of it.
Ding!
Congratulations! You've met the required conditions for the evolution of
your eyes!
You've unlocked…
And then he felt a sharp pain in his eyes and had to close them shut. And
when he opened them…
The world felt like it had gone from a black and white TV to a 4K LED
one.
He could see so many new colours that he had been incapable of seeing
before. His perception had increased to the point where he was now able
to focus on a single mosquito a kilometer away. And time seemed to flow
at such a slow speed that the mosquito's buzzing wings seemed frozen to
his eyes.
Then he focused on the present and stared at his notifications in front of
him.
Congratulations! You've unlocked Mangekyo Sharingan!
+25 Levels to Ocular Genjutsu when using these eyes.
+100% to Chakra.
+25% to all stats.
Ding! You've gained a new skill: Susanoo!
Ding! You've gained a new skill: Amenokawa!
Ding! You've gained a new skill: Soratatsu!
He immediately knew that these were the abilities given to him by his
Mangekyo Sharingan eyes and looked into it.
Susanoo: An etherial warrior made out of chakra. Can be manifested by
the users of Mangekyo Sharingan to defend themselves and attack their
enemies.
Amenokawa: This technique casts a Genjutsu on the world itself,
removing any injuries the user might have suffered and bringing him
back to perfect health.
Soratatsu: This technique casts a Genjutsu on the world itself, removing
Chakra Exhaustion from the user and returning all his Chakra to him.
He blinked his eyes as he read the description of the techniques. Again
and again. And then he chuckled to himself.
He found it very amusing that both is Mangekyo Sharingan techniques
cast a Genjutsu on the world in order to turn a false reality into a true
one.
He guessed that it came from his propensity to use his Genjutsu by
spreading his chakra out into the world, ensnaring people into his
Genjutsu and using that to speak to them rather than doing so himself.
Both these techniques were similar to Izanagi. But while Izanagi rewrote
the reality to bring a person back to life, these two techniques rewrote
reality to bring him back to full health, or full Chakra.
It was… he wasn't sure how he felt about that.
On one hand, it was neat. He now had access to health and chakra cheat
code.
But on the other hand, it wasn't something cool like Kamui, which would
make him impervious to all attacks and give him a personal Pocket
dimension. Or Kotoamatsukami, which would've been very useful if he
ever wanted to make an enemy kunoichi fall in love with him and
capture her that way.
Still… none of that changed the fact that his Chakra had just doubled.
And his stats all went up by 25%.
How the fuck did that even worked.
Well… he could now feel an immense amount of Yin Chakra in his body,
so that explained the increase in Chakra. But the increase in stats was
still a bit confusing.
Not that he minded. The opposite really. He was rather happy with these
new increase in stats and chakra.
With these new additions, he was sure that he just went up from a Low S-
class shinobi to a mid S-class shinobi. Or Low Kage-level to Mid Kage-
level.
Hm… might as well go to High or Peak Kage-level in one fell swoop now
that I'm here already.
With a flourish, he took out the copy of Hiraishin scroll from his
Inventory.
He stared at the scroll with the intent of learning it and smiled when a
notification popped up in front of him,
Do you want to learn Hiraishin?
Minimum conditions for learning this skill:
a. 100,000 Chakra Points.
b. 250 Agi.
c. Chakra Sensing Skill Level 75
d. Fuinjutsu skill Level 90
You meet all conditions!
Do you want to learn the skill? Yes/No
He selected Yes.
And the next moment, the entire scroll turned into particles of light and
entered his mind. And he found himself with the knowledge on how to
use Hiraishin.
Ding! New skill gained!
Hiraishin Level 1 (0%): Hiraishin, also known as the Flying Thunder God
Technique, is a high-speed teleportation jutsu. By marking objects or
individuals with special seals, the user can instantly teleport to those
locations at will.
He stared at the description for a moment before he burst out into
laughter filled with happiness.
He'd finally done it!
He doubted that he was capable of defeating enemies like Six Paths
Madara or Kaguya at this point. But aside from that, no other shinobi in
the Elemental Nations would be a problem for him.
Because if he cannot defeat someone, then he can just retreat from the
fight with a simple thought. Or, he could use Hiraishin to teleport the
enemy to a far corner of the world.
And the best thing? He could give his Hiraishin signature kunai to his
loved ones. And then teleport to their side whenever they got in a life
threatening situation.
With this, he was finally free to go wherever he wants and do whatever
he wants in his life.
—————
He was still in a happy mood half an hour later when he sensed an anbu
rush toward his location.
"Hello Kakashi." He said to the anbu as soon as the guy reached him.
"Please don't say my name while I'm wearing my anbu attire. Hokage-
sama has summoned you." Kakashi said without any preamble before he
turned and left.
He raised and eyebrow at the urgency in Kakashi's words before he used
Shunshin to catch up to Kakashi and ran beside him till they arrived at
the Hokage Tower.
He entered the Hokage's office and saw the figures of Minato. Kushina
and Jiraiya waiting for him.
"Yo." He said as greeting before he took out a chair from his Inventory
and sat in front of them. "So… what is this about?"
"Before we get started, here's your monthly profits." Minato said before
handing him a check of about 12 million Ryo.
He hummed a happy tune and put the check inside his Inventory.
This money came from people wanting to learn Jutsus that he had
created.
There were basically 5 ways to learn Ninjutsu in Konoha:
1. Your Sensei teaches it to you.
2. Your Clan teaches it to you.
3. You learn it from your teammate or buy it from someone else as a
favour.
4. You create or recreate it yourself.
5. You buy the Jutsu from the Hokage Tower.
Since he'd submitted a fair amount of new Jutsu into the Hokage's
Ninjutsu Archives, whenever someone bought one of his Jutsu, half of
that money went to him while the other half will go to the village as tax.
And after he dies, that money will go to his children and his
grandchildren.
It was a method created by the 2nd Hokage to make the village shinobi
more willing to share their Jutsu with the village.
Now, he didn't really submit his newly created Jutsu to the Hokage with
the intention of making money from it. But he wasn't going to deny it
either.
"As much as I enjoy getting these monthly checks, I doubt that you called
me here for them." He said, motioning for Minato to get on with it
already.
"You're right." Minato nodded. "We called you here to discuss your new
team placement."
"What?"
—————
AN: Tier explanation.
Tier 1: Civilain with no useful skill, power or special trait.
Tier 2: Has a useful skill. Most mundane people fall in this category. An
engineer, doctor, martial artist, teacher, etc.
Tier 3: Pushes the upper limit of mundane skill, or has a minor power,
untrained power, or special trait.
Tier 4: Has at least one extraordinary skill/power/special trait. Street
level power.
Genin to Chunin.
Tier 5: Has at least one well-trained/versatile/useful extraordinary
ability. Multiple City Block level power.
Chunin to Elite Jounin
Tier 6: Has at least one skill/power/special trait of notable potency. City
level power.
Low Kage like Rasa to Peak Kage like Jiraiya.
Tier 7: Country level power.
Super Kage like Hashirama Senju, Madara, Might Guy, and Nagato.
Minato and Tobirama are also in this list because of their Teleportation
power.
Plus Naruto and Sasuke.
Onoki and 3rd Raikage should probably be in this list as well. Onoki due
to just how OP his bloodline is. And 3rd Raikage due to the fact that
Naruto, even in his Tailed Beast Mode, was unable to defeat Raikage in a
front-on confrontation.
Tailed Beasts are also in this level of power. Though I personally believe
that 1, 2 and 3 tails are weak enough to fall under Tier 6 category.
Tier 8: Continent level power.
Otsutsuki Hagoromo, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, or the Ten Tails.
Tier 9: World level power. Otsutsuki Kaguya. Or that's what the Catalog
says at least. I personally think that she should be Tier 8, but whatever.
For added information. Plus: 6th Tier Waifus in Naruto world: Tsunade,
Sakura (future), Itachi (future), Kushina, Ringo Ameyuri, Mito Uzumaki,
Mei Terumi, Pakura, Konan, Nii Yugito, and Fuu (future).
There's Chiyo, Katsuyu and White Snake Sage as well but I don't count
them.
And if Orochimaru became Orochimama then he/she will be in this tier
as well.
7th Tier Waifus: Naruko (future) and Satsuki (future). Though MC will
probably not go for them. Since he babysit them and all that.
Delta should fall in this category as well. But fuck Baruto.
With that said, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon for those interested in reading ahead.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 19- Discussion with the
Hokage
Ren Uchiha POV
"What do you mean by team placement?" He asked "Aren't I already in a
team?"
"Before we get into that… how much do you know about what is going
on outside the village?" Minato asked.
He put his high Intelligence stat to use and came up with the most
probable scenario. "Since someone put a greater bounty on my head, it
seems that news about some of my abilities have been leaked out. Which
means that the higher ups of the other major villages must be in turmoil
right now. They wouldn't want to face a shinobi of the same calibre as
Madara Uchiha amd Hashirama Senju. So they must be planning to
assassinate me." He then hummed. "Is that what you meant by team
placement? You don't want me in the team because my mere presence
puts everyone else at risk."
"You're not wrong. But there is more to it than that." Minato said. "Our
spies informed us that while the higher ups of other major villages do see
you as a threat. They're not sure about the extent of threat that you
possess."
"I see." He said as he thought on this for a moment. "It seems like they
don't have enough information about me. Or don't trust the information
that they have."
Which was understandable, as it is pretty hard to believe that a 6-year-
old child is able to defeat an S-class kunoichi. They likely assumed that
Ringo was mainly defeated by Jiraiya-Sensei while he played a minor
supporting role.
Even rumours about his second 'bloodline' might be hard to believe.
Especially if the rumours became exaggerated (as they tend to do) before
they reached the ears of those higher ups.
"Indeed." Minato nodded grimly. "Which is why our border patrols and
gate guards have been apprehending more and more spies these past few
days. One of the reason why I don't want you doing any D or C rank
missions with your team is so that you can dedicate that time to
uncovering more of these spies and infiltrators."
"Hm… that's doable."
Minato raised an eyebrow at his words. "You're being surprising
accommodating about this entire thing."
He shrugged. "One of the main reason why I became a shinobi was to
protect Itachi during those missions. Now, I can accomplish that just as
easily from within Konoha."
"How?" Minato asked before his eyes widened in shock. "Don't tell me!
Did you…"
"Yup." He smiled before he stared at the anbu guarding Minato. "Can we
get some privacy?"
Minato made a hand sign and the the team of anbu immediately vacated
the room before it went into a Fuinjutsu lockdown.
"You can show us now." Minato said with a giddy smile on his face.
"Show what Minato?" Kushina-Sensei asked, looking confused at Minato's
sudden enthusiasm.
"This." He said before took out a kunai from his Inventory. A flex of his
will and chakra marked it with his Hiraishin symbol. Then he threw it on
the other corner of the Hokage's office.
The next instant, he was in that corner, holding that marked kunai.
The widened eyes and open-mouthed expressions of both Kushina and
Jiraiya were quite amusing.
"So, you've truly mastered it," Minato remarked, a hint of nostalgia and
relief in his expression. "I suppose I shouldn't even be surprised anymore
at this point."
"Ren. When did you learn Hiraishin Jutsu?" Jiraiya-Sensei asked.
"Just an hour ago." He replied. He then considered telling them about his
newly upgraded Mangekyo Sharingan but decided to hold onto that piece
of info for now.
It would be wiser to discuss this with Fugaku before he reveals this to
anyone else. Or he might not reveal it to anyone at all. Having a Trump
card is always useful for emergencies.
"I see." Jiraiaya said, looking lost.
Then, Kushina got up from her seat and walked over to him before
pulling him up in a tight hug. "Well done Ren. I'm so proud of you."
Not used to much physical affection, he awkwardly hugged her back and
patted her until she let go of him, a slight sheen in her eyes as she looked
at him with pride.
"We're going to Ichiraku Ramen after this to celebrate!" Kushina
announced before glaring at the two other men in the room. "All of us."
"Kushina you know-" Minato started to speak but paused as Kushina's
glare intensified.
"All. Of. Us." Kushina said and Minato raised his hand in surrender.
"Very well. But, now that you've learned Hiraishin, I think it's safe to tell
you about a few more things Ren."
"What few more things?" He asked.
"Well, you probably already guessed it, but Konoha might face a war in
the future."
"Because of me." He said, a tinge of bitterness in his voice, acknowledging
the many men, women, and children that might lose their lives due to his
mere existence in the future.
Yet, it was his choice to become a shinobi, and he was determined to see
it through to the end.
If the other major villages want to kill him, then he'll become the very
monster that they feared and slaughter all their shinobi until they back
off and sued for peace.
"I won't lie and say that it's not because of you." Minato said grimly.
"Though the 3rd shinobi war lasted for over half a decade and ended only
a few years ago. So there's is a chance that the other villages might
decide that it's better to recuperate their losses rather than go to war
again. However, if the war really does come to our borders, then I want
you to participate in it."
Kushina immediately rose up in order to protest but a grim look from
Minato shut her up. He was not speaking as her husband right now but as
the 4th Hokage of Konoha.
Then Minato turned to him and smiled. "I'll not send you into the
battlefield. But since you know Hiraishin, your main job will be to
remove any of our injured shinobi from the battlefield and bring in more
reinforcements to aid our shinobi. Will you be able to do that, Ren?"
"Of course. Who do you think I am?" He said, making his own plans on
the role he'll play during the war, given that Minato seemed reluctant to
involve him directly in the main battlefield.
He won't go against Minato's direct orders. But it didn't mean that he
can't skirt around the edges and deal devastating blows to their enemies
at the same time.
"I'm glad to see that you're so confident." Minato said. "However, now
that you don't have a team anymore, I was hoping you could return to
being Kushina's disciple."
"Hm... if it's all the same to you, Kushina-sensei, I'd prefer not to be your
disciple anymore," he stated bluntly, wincing internally as he observed
the disappointment that swept across Kushina's once cheerful expression.
"Why?" She asked with a heartbroken look.
"Because I've already learned almost everything that you can teach me in
Fuinjutsu. Next, I want to master Iryojutsu. Having another medic of the
calibre of Lady Tsunade who can instantly teleport to any of our injured
troops would greatly benefit our forces during a war." He said.
And with his nigh perfect chakra control and the newly gained Skill Book
System, he was confident that he would learn all of Tsunade's medical
Jutsu in no time.
Then, he would only need to work on grinding those levels. And with the
help of his Shadow Clones, that should be easy enough.
"You seem rather confident that you'll become another medic of
Tsunade's calibre." Jiraiya-Sensei said with a raised eyebrow. "Do you
have any idea how many other shinobi have tried and failed to achieve
even a fraction of her accomplishments in that field?"
"Those shinobi aren't me." He said simply.
"That's… fair enough." Jiraya-Sensei said before he got up from his chair
and turned to Minato. "I'll go and talk to Tsunade. See if she's up for
having another student."
Minato nodded and Jiraiya immediately left through the window.
Once Jiraiya-Sensei was gone, he turned and gave an apologetic look to
Kushina-Sensei. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright brat. I'm just sad that I cannot teach you anymore." Kushina
said as she knelt down to hug him once again. Then she softly whispered
in his ears. "You'll still come to babysit Naruko though, yeah?"
"Motherfu@#$#$"
—————
AN: Sorry this chapter is so small. I was trying to see whether I'll feel
more comfortable writing shorter but daily chapters. It didn't work out so
longer chapters it is.
To make up for this, I'll upload the next chapter tomorrow morning.
Have a nice day.
And as per the usual self advertisement: 8 advanced chapters in Patreon
for those interested in reading ahead.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Chapter 20- Ringo Ameyuri's new
life
Ringo Ameyuri POV
Swords clashed and sparks flew as she engaged in a sparring match with
Ren.
Beads of sweat fell down her chin as she struggled to keep up with the
boy. The same boy she had injured many times in their first battle.
It's only been three months since that fight. The fight that changed the
course of her life. And now here she was, struggling to stay on her feet
despite Ren not using even a fraction of his abilities.
Because Ren had improved so much since their life and death battle, that
if he truly wanted to defeat her, he could do so in an instant.
It was both scary and humbling.
The greatest amount of growth he had shown was in Genjutsu, by the
simple fact that he could now easily slip past her defences and put her to
sleep with a single look.
The other great improvement was that he'd learned Hiraishin. Which was
a game changer on its own. And while Ren claimed that he was still not
very good at using it in a battle, whenever he used it against her, she
didn't last a single minute.
In addition to these accomplishments, Ren demonstrated overall
enhancement in every aspect. His skills, combat experience, speed, and
strength had all shown significant improvements. Most concerning was
his heightened Resistance to Lightning, allowing him to withstand her
most powerful attacks without a single scratch.
If 'Not all people are created equal' was a person, then that person would
be Ren.
That's not to say that she has not improved either. In fact, due to sparring
against a superior opponent on a daily basis, she has shown greater
improvement in the past few months than she'd shown in the entire
decade when she worked as a Bounty Hunter.
The spar eventually came to an end as Ren slipped past her defences and
put his sword to her throat.
Her breasts heaved from the exertion of the long and tiring sparring
session while Ren remained as immaculate as ever. Not a hair out of
place.
As she said. Unfair.
"Do you want another spar?" He asked and she looked at her trembling
hands, evidence of enduring Ren's tremendously powerful strikes.
"No. I'm done for the day." She said somewhat reluctantly. Knowing how
to pace herself and not overdo her training was an important skill she'd
learned as a Bounty Hunter.
It was to ensure that she was always prepared for an ambush from the
other Bounty Hunters who might be after her bounty.
A smile graced her face as she seized Ren by the arms. "Time for a bath,
brat," she declared, leading him towards the hot water bath build within
the house.
—————
"Ah~ This is life~" She said with a relived sigh as she relaxed in the hot
water pool, feeling her exhaustion melt away.
She stared at the Fuinjutsu seals drawn at the bottom of the pool used to
heat up the water. She personally understood none of it but could respect
the work, effort and skill required to create a pool like this. Her attention
then shifted to the little Fuinjutsu master who was relaxing some distance
away from her.
She got up from her position, her perky breasts out in the open and
walked over to his side.
He opened an eye and glanced at her, his eyes resting on her breasts.
"What are you doing?"
"Shhh. Don't ask any questions." She told him as she raised him up and
then sat him down on his lap, his head now buried in between her
breasts as she wrapped her arms around him.
It was not like she was unaware of the brat's plans to marry and breed
her in the future.
She still wasn't sure how she felt about this entire thing. But if she was
going to become his concubine or lover in the future, then she might as
well start grooming him right now to hold some affection for her as well.
That way, if she turned out to be infertile or some other problems
cropped up, then fostering his affections now would make him more
inclined to keep her by his side rather than throw her away like
disposable trash.
And while she had own pride as a powerful kunoichi and took some
offence at the idea of becoming a broodmare, she didn't really mind
bearing the children of the person who was destined to become the next
'God of Shinobi'.
As far as retirement plans went, hers was definitely better than most
other rogue kunoichis out there.
—————
"Relax your body." Ren said as she lay naked on the futon, his steady
hand gliding across her naked body with practiced ease.
"It tickles." She said, a soft moan leaving her throat as the cold ink of the
brush went over her breast.
"Quit distracting me," he commanded, and she suppressed a chuckle as he
continued in his task, his chakra coursing through the ink and embedding
itself into her body.
"How much longer will it take?" She asked as she squirmed in a
deliberate attempt to distract him. Ren shot her an annoyed glance before
returning to task of inscribing Fuinjutsu seals across her body.
"We're… just about done." Ren said as he made one last seal on her toned
stomach. "You can get up now."
She did so, deliberately parting her legs and show him a glimpse what's
waiting for him in the future.
"How do you feel?" Ren asked as he took all of her in, an amused look on
his face.
"I don't know. How should I feel?" She asked as she moved her body
around and then paused at how most effort it took for her to do so.
"I assume you can feel the Restriction Seals starting to take effect?" Ren
asked and she moved around a bit more, discovering that even the most
basic movements had become ten times more challenging than before.
"Oh, it's working alright. I feel like a prisoner in my own body." She told
him as she picked up her swords and swung them around.
Yeah… a normal Jounin would easily kill her right now due to how
slowly she was moving.
"That's good. This is one of the seals made by the Uzumaki clan. And
improved by yours truly. With this seal, the results you get from your
training should improve considerably." Ren said and then handed her
another scroll. "I've also prepared a new training regimen for you."
"My own training regimen worked well enough for me." She complained,
knowing well enough that she was just being childish at this point.
"Yeah. That training regimen helped you when you were a normal
kunoichi. And it took you to the realm of S-class. But that was about two
decades ago." Ren said. "How much have you improved since then?"
She bit her lip, grappling with a truth she was reluctant to confront – that
she had stagnated since leaving Kiri. While her skill and experience had
grown modestly over the past two decades, her strength and speed had
largely plateaued.
"And you use these seals as well?"
"Yes. And at a much higher setting." He said.
She bit her lips and asked. "Aren't I too old for this stuff?"
"No." Ren said, not explaining any more after that as he tossed her
clothes to her. "Put them on and join me outside. My Shadow Clones will
monitor your progress and then we'll assess the adjustments needed to
create an improved training regimen for you."
She let out a sigh and nodded.
She sensed that the upcoming months were likely to be quite challenging
for her. But despite all her complaints, she was rather looking forward to
it. The prospect of improving as a kunoichi after having stagnated for so
long really appealed to her.
—————
"That guy, in the Red haori with long brown hair." Ren pointed out as
they perched on the tree branches, hidden from view and observing the
people in the marketplace.
"Is he a spy?" She asked.
"Worse. A traitor." Ren said with some disappointment. "Follow and
capture him while he's out of public view. I'll have a Shadow Clone send
him to the T&I."
She nodded and ignored her sore and tired muscles as she went to
complete Ren's orders.
Capturing the traitor was easy as he was only a Chunin. And once she'd
downed the guy,
Ren's Shadow Clone took over from there and she quickly returned back
to the tree to continue with the scouting mission.
This mission had extended for over a month at this juncture, with Ren
uncovering an increasing number of spies, traitors, saboteurs, and
assassins each passing day. Though this was the first time she had joined
him on this mission so she didn't know all that much about it.
After sitting still for about an hour and finding a corrupt official, Ren
rose from his position and face her. "We're done here. Follow me. We're
going to the next place."
The next place was the Jounin Headquarters, where the Jounins came to
mingle, get missions, fill up paperwork and all that jazz.
Ren covered the both of them in a shroud of Genjutsu and then they went
back to waiting.
They did this with two more locations before they finally stopped near
the Hokage Tower.
"Are you really allowed to spy on the Hokage Tower?" She asked,
wondering how the 3rd Mizukage would've reacted if someone tried to
spy on his office.
"I'm spying on the people coming and going from the tower, not the
tower itself." Ren told her. "And yes, the Hokage specifically asked me to
do so."
She arched a surprised eyebrow at the revelation. However, from what
little she knew, Ren and the Hokage had a pretty good relationship with
each other. So she probably shouldn't be so surprised by this.
Before she could say anything else though, an Anbu arrived in front of
them.
"Shisui. I didn't know that you joined the anbu." Ren said and once she
paid closer attention to the young looking anbu, she could definitely see
the resemblance to the young Uchiha girl who came to spar with Ren
every now and then.
"Ren. Please don't call me by my name while I'm on duty."
"Sure, Shisui." Ren said with an amused grin and the anbu sighed before
he glanced over at her.
"Umm… hello to you too Ringo-san." The girl said. "And I don't mean to
be rude, but are you allowed to leave the compound right now?"
"No. She isn't." Ren answered on her behalf.
Shisui stared at Ren for a moment before her shoulders slumped. "You
know that you can't simply break rules because you feel like it, right Ren.
The rules are there for a reason after all."
"She was feeling antsy after staying cooped up in my house for so long.
So I decided to take her out with me." Ren said and she felt gratitude well
up in her heart for the boy.
She had indeed been feeling a bit confined after staying in that place for
an extended period. However, she had assumed the Hokage had finally
granted her permission to move about freely. Apparently, he hadn't.
"I'll have to report this to Hokage-sama." Shisui said with a resigned
voice.
"You do that. I'll come and talk with Minato-san once my mission is over."
Ren said and Shisui vanished in a Shunshin.
She watched the anbu return back to the Hokage Tower before she
turned to Ren. "Was this really wise?"
"Probably not. But you don't need to worry about this. I'll deal with any
fallout." Ren said and she felt a familiar warmth in her heart once again.
She leaned toward him and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you. I really
needed this."
"Don't mind it." Ren told her and then they continued with his mission.
—————
"Get up."
she instructed Itachi, Anko, and Rin Nohara, all three lying flat on their
backs, injured and exhausted from their sparring session with her.
The trio of girls showed rapid improvement, and each one of them
possessed the potential to surpass her in the future. However, they were
still a considerable distance from being able to defeat an S-class kunoichi.
The girls groaned as they slowly got up and dragged their bodies back
into the training ground.
"Ren. A little help over here." She called out to one of Ren's Shadow
Clones who had been busy practicing his Healing Technique on a half
dead fish beside the lake.
The shadow clone came over and quickly started healing the minor
injuries of the three kunoichi, preparing them for yet another intense
sparring session.
While the Shadow Clone did that, she mused about how Jiraiya had
entrusted her with the task of teaching these Kunoichi on how to survive
an encounter with a very strong enemy.
From what little she knew, the skirmishes at the border area had
increased in intensity and Jiraiya had been sent to the Northern border to
take charge of the shinobi deployed there.
Judging by the situation, it was likely that a war could break out any day
now. And if that happened, these girls would either be ready to face their
enemies or they would become just another statistic in the battlefield.
She was still surprised that Jiraiya put her in charge of her three
apprentice.
She still wasn't sure whether to be flattered by this show of trust of
annoyed at having to teach three brats.
—————
With widened eyes, she observed as the lightning-formed dragon
descended from the skies at a speed faster than she could blink and
crashed onto the ground with a thunderous boom.
The ground shook underneath her and the area where the Lightning
Dragon crashed turned into a 100 meter wide crater.
If that Jutsu struck her… then she would definitely die.
She knew a few defensive jutsu but they would not last an instant against
an attack of such calibre. And while she was fast, the Jutsu was far faster
so she can't escape either.
"That… that was an S-class Lightning Release Jutsu." She said, her voice
trembling from the shock.
It was difficult for her to fathom that he had only begun seriously honing
his skills in Lightning Jutsu after her joined him. In just a few months, he
had crafted an S-class Jutsu, while she, with a lifetime affinity for it, had
only managed to create or recreate B and A-class Jutsu.
Ren descended from the towering tree, where he had commanded the
Lightning Dragon, and landed next to her. Then he took out a scroll from
within his Inventory and threw it at her.
"That's your birthday gift." He told her and she blinked.
"Today is my birthday?" She asked, as she herself had no idea when her
birthday was.
"No. I'm just kidding." Ren said with a cheeky smile. "Regardless, take
that S-class Jutsu as a gift. But remember, it can only ever be used while
there are clouds in the sky. Though the scroll also shows a few ways to
create cloud in the skies."
She cast a glance at the overcast sky and nodded. "I understand." Then
she became alert as she sensed multiple powerful Chakra signatures
coming in their direction.
"Relax. It's just Anbu." Ren told her and her lips twitched.
Who else in Konoha had the gall to treat anbu like they were nothing
special. Probably only S-class shinobi.
…which there were quite a few of in Konoha.
In fact, it was kinda absurd just how many S-class shinobi there were in
Konoha.
And two of them were Kunoichi. Tsunade Senju and Ren's Sensei Kushina
Uzumaki.
Three. If they counted her in that rank.
And that number will probably change to six when Shisui, Itachi and Rin
Nohara grew up. Perhaps Anko as well.
And that's just the people she knew. There might be more hidden gems in
Konoha that she's unaware.
Yeah. Absurd indeed. But it also explained why Konoha was seen as the
strongest shinobi village in the Elemental Nations.
A moment later, a dozen anbu arrived in the clearing and surrounded
them.
The ANBU leading the group gazed at the aftermath left by Ren's
Lightning Dragon and then fixed his eyes on Ren.
"What did you do this time?" The anbu asked in a resigned voice.
"Just practicing a new S-rank Jutsu." Ren said with a nonchalant shrug.
the Anbu stared at Ren for a moment before he nodded. "Lightning
Release?"
"Yup."
"I'll go and inform the Hokage." The Anbu captain said and then left the
clearing, the other anbu quickly following in his wake.
Once they were gone, she turned to Ren. "Just how many S-rank Jutsu
have you created?"
Ren thought on it for a moment and then shrugged. "I'm too lazy to
count. Besides." He threw her a few more scrolls. "Those are a few more
A-rank Jutsu that I created with Kakashi's help. Feel free to learn them if
you the S-rank Jutsu is beyond you."
She licked her lips and then knelt down before pulling him into a hug,
burying his face deep in her bosom. "Thank you, Ren. For everything
you've done for me these past few months."
"Meh. You're my minion now, so the stronger you are, the better it is for
me."
She chuckled at his words but didn't refute it.
For now, she'll be his minion. But once he's older, she'll become his wife.
Despite her initial reluctance, having witnessed Ren's swift development
firsthand, the prospect now held a certain allure for her.
—————
"I've seen you do this a dozen times by now, but I don't think I'll ever get
used to it." She said as Ren sat on his bed and prepared the proper
containers filled with nourishing fluid.
"This is important." Ren told her, and she could hear the resolve in his
voice.
"I'm still not so sure about this plan of yours." She told him as he reached
for his scalpel. "Are you sure this'll work?"
"Kinda. If hadn't learned about the Hashirama cells being researched by
our R&D Department then I wouldn't be doing this. As without those
cells, this entire plan would be meaningless" Ren said and then paused.
"On second thought, I'd probably still do it. If only out of curiosity and
for personal research."
"Personal research…" She said in a deadpanned voice, and then pursed
her lips as Ren reached for his right eye and took it out of its socket.
Just like that.
He cut the optical connection with the Chakra scalpel and then put the
eye in the glass container.
Then he used mystic palm jutsu to stop the bleeding from his now empty
eye socket.
She quickly used a towel to wipe away the blood dripping down his chin.
And despite having done this a dozen times by now, the sight of his
empty eye socket still made her feel queasy.
It wasn't even the blood or the empty eye socket, as she'd seen plenty of
them throughout her life. It was the realisation that someone she cared
for was willingly subjecting himself to this. The boy must have truly
grown on her for her to feel such sentimentality towards him.
Ren gave her a reassuring smile (as if it would make her feel better)
before he reached for his right eye and took it out as well.
Once he had put both his eyes inside the glass container, he closed the lid
and put it inside his Inventory, where it'll be safe and frozen in time.
She quickly went about cleaning the blood from Ren's face. And once that
was done, he laid down on the bed and covered himself with the blanket.
"Goodnight Ringo."
"Goodnight Ren." She told him and the very next moment, he fell asleep.
'And now my watch begins.' She thought as she gripped her two Kiba
swords. 'At least until the 6 hours it'll take for his eyes to regrow in their
sockets.'
The fact that Ren's bloodline helped him recover from any wound and
regrow any lost body part with just 6 hours of sleep was still baffling to
her.
And the fact that Ren used this ability as a cheat to collect multiple
Mangekyo Sharingan eyes left her utterly speechless. But despite the
brutality of it all, she could see the importance and pragmatism in what
he was doing. Especially with the plan he was crafting.
A plan to give a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan eyes to every single Uchiha
Jounin.
That, along with a pound of Hashirama Flesh should turn any Uchiha
Jounin into a monster capable of throwing hands with S-class monsters.
Or so Ren claimed.
Especially with Ren's Mengekyo Sharingan's abilities to recover the
Chakra and health of the wielder at any moment.
She thought about fighting a Uchiha Jounin who can recover from any
wound and has nigh infinite chakra and felt a shiver go down her spine.
Yeah, if Ren's plan actually worked then Uchiha clan will easily become
the strongest clan in the entire world.
And considering that she would be the wife of their future clan leader,
she was all for it.
—————
AN: And here we have it. A glimpse of Ringo Ameyuri's life.
She's not a good person. And she doesn't really love Ren either. But she's
a pragmatic person and can see the way the wind is blowing. So she
decided to hitch her cart to Ren's and join him on his ride to success.
She might come to love him in the future once they have a few children
together but for now, she's only in it for selfish reasons. Nevertheless,
Ren's evident care for her has undeniably caused her to develop a certain
level of affection towards him.
Aside from that. Anko has joined Itachi and Rin Nohara's team since
Orochimaru is too busy with his work and doesn't have the time to teach
her.
Ren is helping Ringo become stronger since he sees her as his waifu.
The situation in the border area is deteriorating and a war is in the
horizon.
And finally, Ren has started to collect Mangekyo Sharingan eyes in order
to empower his clansmen and help Konoha by providing them with a
group of powerful shinobi.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon for those interested in reading ahead.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 21- Teaching two
disciples
Tsunade Senju POV
"We're finished here. Next," she declared upon completing the healing
process for the shinobi on the emergency table. Swiftly, he was wheeled
out of the emergency room, making room for the arrival of another
patient.
This one suffered from severe 3rd degree burns caused not by Fire
Release Jutsu but by a Lightning Release Jutsu. And if not for Minato's
quick teleportation as well as the work of their emergency healers, the
shinobi before her would not have survived long enough to reach her.
Her team already knew what they needed to do, and together, they got to
work and saving the life of yet another shinobi.
Ultimately, the surgery extended for a full hour, and though they
succeeded in saving the young shinobi, his right arm, having sustained
extensive damage, couldn't be salvaged.
A good thing then that they were already working toward making
artificial limbs with her grandfather's cells.
He wiped the sweat from her eyebrows and gestured for her to team to
remove this guy. "Next!"
"Um… Tsunade-sama, we're done for the day." One of her subordinates
told her and she frowned in confusion.
"Weren't there two more?"
"There were, but their injuries weren't as severe so Ren-sama healed
them."
"Ren healed them?" She asked, having mixed feelings at the notion of a 6-
year-old boy performing such complex surgical procedures.
It was not like the task wasn't within the boy's abilities either. Everything
that she knew, the boy had already learned as well, thanks to his strange
ability to absorb knowledge by consuming Medical scrolls and books.
The only thing he now needed was a lot of training and experience.
Which it seemed he was already getting. Without her permission.
Still…
"Bring those injured shinobi to me for a check up. I want to make sure
that they aren't suffering from any hidden injuries that Ren might've
missed." She ordered and her subordinates jumped to follow her orders.
She pressed her lips together, contemplating what she would have given
to have such devoted and skilled subordinates during the 2nd and 3rd
Shinobi Wars. If she had their support alongside all the innovative
Iryojutsu she had recently developed, perhaps Dan would still be...
She shook her head to dismiss those thoughts. Despite her deep love for
Dan, he had been gone for over two decades. Dwelling on the past
wouldn't do her any good.
Her musings were quickly cut short as the two shinobi that Ren had
healed were brought in.
She swiftly examined them and noted that although Ren's healing wasn't
as proficient as hers, it was still more than satisfactory, without any
overlooked issues or lingering side effects.
"You both are in good condition," she declared her verdict. Before the
two could express their relief, she exited the room, heading in search of
her new apprentice.
Although, labeling Ren as her disciple wasn't precisely accurate either.
After all, she hadn't really taught him all that much in the past two
months. She simply provided him with Iryojutsu scrolls and books, and
he absorbed them, acquiring all her lifelong skills in an instant.
Admittedly, he wasn't as proficient as her in those skills, but he was
swiftly narrowing the gap with the assistance of his army of Shadow
Clones who trained tirelessly day and night.
A weary sigh slipped from her lips as she walked past the ward where
shinobi with less severe injuries were being attended to by the rest of the
Medical staff.
2 and a half years. That's how long it's been since the 3rd shinobi war
ended. Yet, their village was now under attack from all directions, and
the looming possibility of another war hung in the air, ready to erupt at
any moment.
And the reason behind it all? Ren Uchiha, who the other major villages
wanted to kill before he grew too strong.
Was it any wonder that she harboured conflicting feelings toward the
boy.
She finally reached the hospital backyard where her two disciples were
supposed to be training. To her chagrin, they weren't, and she couldn't
help but facepalm at the sight before her, even as her lips curled upward
in amusement.
Ren was currently chasing a 12-year-old Shizune with a dead fish in his
hand, playfully threatening to tuck it into her clothes in a sing-song
voice.
To think that the same boy who can act so mature at times can also act
childishly.
"Shizune-senpai. Hohoho. Running from me is futile~" Ren said as he
reached close enough to wiggle the fish over Shizune's head who let out a
shriek and started running even faster.
...and this was the boy with a higher bounty than her and her two
teammates. Their respective bounties were 82 million for her, 79 million
for Orochimaru, and 68 million for Jiraiya.
She stopped the smile forming on lips and adopting an annoyed
expression before she stomped toward her two disciples.
"What the hell is going on here!?" She barked out and her two disciples
froze instantly.
"Ah… what's up granny." Ren said with a smirk and her eyes twitched
before she brought her fist down on his head.
Boink!
"Ow"
"Now… wanna explain why the two of you are playing around instead of
training as you should be?" She asked.
"It's all Shizune-senpai's fault!" Ren immediately spoke up, getting a look
of shock and betrayal from Shizune.
"Oh. Explain how it's her fault when you were the one chasing after her
with that dead fish."
"It was her break time but she refused to take a break. So I had to force
her to take one." Ren said as he crossed his arms and gave her a smug
look.
Her gaze softened as she turned toward her older disciple. "Is that true,
Shizune?" she inquired.
Her senior apprentice bit her lip, glanced away, and then nodded.
"Hm... We'll discuss this later," she informed her senior apprentice before
redirecting her attention to Ren. "And what's your excuse for taking a
break?"
"Eh, I've got a dozen Shadow clones practicing Iryojutsu at the moment.
Plus, I've wrapped up my daily tasks. So, I can afford to slack off a bit."
he said with his typical nonchalant demeanour, leaving her to question if
letting him become a medic was truly the right decision.
Which was rather arrogant of her, considering that Ren had the potential
to become a far better medic than she herself could ever hoped to be.
Provided that he took this seriously.
"Show me," she demanded, and Ren led her to a forested area where
dozens of his Shadow Clones were diligently practicing to master the
Iryojutsu techniques he had already learned.
If anyone else attempted what Ren was doing at the moment, she would
probably give them a good smack on the head.
After all, Shadow Clone jutsu was a Forbidden Jutsu for a good reason.
Its main purpose was to scout for enemies, and overusing it to learn
complicated stuff could result in, at best, a severe migraine, and at worst,
permanent brain damage.
But somehow, the boy had gained Resistance to the brain damage caused
by the overuse of Shadow Clone Jutsu and could now use it with
impunity.
No wonder he mastered Iryojutsu skills at such a rapid pace.
…she was so jealous of him for this. As were Orochimaru and Minato,
she had no doubt about that.
It was just one of those aspects that elevated Ren above the typical
shinobi. And another reason why the other villages would want to kill
him before he reached adulthood.
"We're done for the day here. Come. I'll treat you two to some food."
""Okay, Sensei."" She students chorused together.
Five minutes later, all three of them found themselves in a private booth
within a high end Akimichi restaurant. Her two disciples feasted on the
delicious food while she sat there, gazing at the picturesque view of
Konoha visible from their vantage point.
The legacy left behind by her grandfather.
"Umm... Tsunade-sama, why aren't you ordering anything for yourself?"
Shizune hesitantly inquired, and she offered a gentle smile to Dan's niece.
"I'm not hungry at the moment." She replied, which wasn't entirely untrue
as her concerns about the looming possibility of another war left her
without much of an appetite.
She took a subtle glance at Ren once again before she went back to
staring at Konoha.
She wondered what the boy was thinking right now. Despite his usual
nonchalant attitude, the boy was very smart and must have realised that
he was the reason why Konoha was facing increased skirmishes at their
borders.
How would she have felt if the other major villages went to war with
Konoha in order to get her head.
If she had manifested Wood Release abilities at a young age and
possessed even half the potential of her grandfather, that could have been
a plausible scenario.
However, the mantle had been passed to the young boy before her,
whom everyone feared might become the second Madara Uchiha.
No one talked about this in the open, but she knew that many of the old
warhawks of Konoha were wary of what the boy might become in the
future. Understandable, as they had seen the damage caused by Madara
Uchiha with their very own eyes.
If her sensei held the position of Hokage instead of Minato, she wondered
how things might have unfolded for the boy.
Would her sensei have surrendered the boy to Danzo, transforming him
into a devoted weapon for the village? Or would have taken the boy
under his own wings, driven by a sense of caution to ensure his
unwavering loyalty to Konoha?
She let out another weary sigh.
"Hm… Jiraiya-sensei wasn't wrong." Ren muttered to himself. She turned
to look at him, only to find his gaze fixed on her chest.
Her irritation flared slightly as she inquired, "What wasn't he wrong
about, brat?"
"106," the boy said with a serious expression. "The largest in Konoha."
She released an exasperated yet affectionate sigh, giving the boy another
gentle bonk on the head.
"Ow."
"Aren't you too young to be thinking about such things?" She asked, half
annoyed at what Jiraiya was teaching young children and half amused.
"You're never too young to be a man of culture!" The boy announced
proudly and she let out a scoff while reminding herself to have a 'talk'
with Jiraiya once he returns from the border.
'If he returns from the border.' A dark voice said to her and she easily
ignored it.
Yes, there was a slight chance that Jiraiya might perish in a battle.
However, that likelihood was minimal, and further diminished by the
presence of Minato.
She pushed those thoughts aside and redirected her focus to her students
once again.
"If you're both finished eating, then come. I want to demonstrate a few of
my medical tricks before you go," she instructed her students as she got
up and left the restaurant.
"Are you going to showcase your grandfather's cells again?" the boy
inquired, as he followed behind her and she shook her head.
"No, this is something specifically reserved for emergency healing," she
informed the boy, who became visibly disappointed at her words.
Ever since she shared information about Konoha's confidential research
on her grandfather's cells, the boy had displayed a peculiar fascination
with them.
She couldn't fathom why those cells intrigued the boy so much.
Nonetheless, it seemed as if he had a plan in mind, as he had already
approached the Hokage seeking a substantial supply for his clan
members.
They eventually arrived at the hospital and proceeded to an underground
chamber—the morgue—where the bodies of deceased shinobi were being
stored.
"Um... why have we come here, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune inquired with a
hint of hesitation, reaching the freshly preserved cadavers placed here
under her directive.
"I'm going to teach you two how to extract organs from a corpse and
label them correctly. Watch and learn as this might save the lives of
many shinobi in the future."
Her two students nodded and she took out her scalpel before going to
work.
—————
Obito Uchiha POV
He stared at the corpse of the old man he'd just fought and felt a faint
sense of fear creep over him at just how close the battle had been despite
all his advantages.
Truly, you should fear an old man in a profession where most die young.
"You did well Obito." Black Zetsu's voice came from behind him and he
nodded, shivering slightly due to the cold, as the Mizukage had turned
the entire battlefield into a frozen hellhole.
"Of course." He replied, unwilling to show any weakness after his last
battle with his former Sensei.
If Zetsu was aware of how closely contested the battle had been, he didn't
reveal it. He merely motioned to the White Zetsus and began planting the
corpses of Konoha shinobi across the battlefield.
"Will this really work?" He asked Black Zetsu as the creature took some of
the 3rd Mizukage's DNA. "All this evidence seems too convenient. Will
they really believe that this was done by Konoha?"
"Probably not," Zetsu remarked. "But keep in mind, Kiri is a bloodthirsty
village. Even if the higher-ups are reluctant, the average shinobi is
already eager for war. Besides, Konoha did capture their 3 tails. So, Kiri
will be forced into this conflict with them whether they like it or not."
"…I still think that it's too convenient." He said with a frown before his
eyes narrowed. "Have you planted White Zetsu among the villagers?"
"Finally, you're using your head. And yes, the White Zetsu I've embedded
among the villagers will stir dissent against Konoha. They'll frequent
shady taverns, spreading rumors about how Konoha seized their tailed
beast. When the Mizukage demanded its return, Konoha had him
assassinated."
"This still seems too convenient to me. Too easy."
"Perhaps." Black Zetsu agreed. "There's a small chance that we might fail.
But with Kumo and Iwa already testing Konoha's defences and preparing
for war, it is much more likely that Kiri will join them. If only due to the
opportunity of violence and resources."
He hummed at those words and then nodded.
"Very well then. Once you're done here, return to the base. I'm leaving."
He said and before Black Zetsu could say anything, he used Kamui and
left the place.
The pieces were already set. Now… he only needed to see them fall into
place.
—————
AN: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon for those interested in reading ahead.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 22- Secret Meeting
Dadoi POV
The meeting room door swung open, and the Tsuchikage, accompanied
by his four guards, entered with a solemn expression.
"You're late." The Raikage growled, glaring at the Tsuchikage for the
unnecessary power move and the disrespect.
"I had to make sure that you haven't done anything foolish, like setting
up an ambush for us." Tsuchikage said with indifference as he settled into
his chair.
The Raikage looked like he wanted to separate Onoki's head right then
and there. However, after a few deep breaths, he managed to regain his
composure.
"One day, Onoki, I'll claim that head of yours, and we'll see if you can
still spout such nonsense," the Raikage declared before reclining in his
chair. "But for now, we share a common enemy, so I'll collaborate with
you."
Ignoring his Raikage's threat, Onoki surveyed the two other vacant seats
in the room. "It seems you have failed to persuade the Kazekage and
Mizukage to join this meeting."
"The Kazekage…" Raikage said, his voice dripping with scorn and disgust,
"is a weak coward who clings to Konoha like a limpet when it suits him. I
never expected him to come. But the Mizukage… his absence is
unexpected."
Onoki held back from offering any remarks, and a somber silence
descended upon the room as the two Kage grasped the gravity of their
situation.
One of the major villages might remain neutral at best or side with
Konoha at worst. And the other, who should've joined them, had not even
sent an emissary. It was worrying.
After all, despite how much Kumo and Iwa both liked to brag about being
the strongest Shinobi village, all of them were well aware of the fact that
the title had always rested with Konoha.
And even more so now that Konoha is under the leadership of a young,
capable Hokage, boasts of plethora of S-cass shinobi, and has even taken
the 3 tails from Kiri, if their intelligence was to be believed.
To make matters worse, Konoha also held a numerical advantage,
boasting around 32,000 shinobi, whereas Kumo and Iwa could only
muster approximately 22,000 and 19,000 shinobi, respectively.
And that's just the numbers. In terms of quality, Konoha had more clans
and bloodline wielders than both Kumo and Iwa combined.
And now they had given birth to a monster who is rumoured to be the
second coming of Madara Uchiha. And as much as he hated the idea of
going on a war with the explicit goal of killing a child, he couldn't help
but wonder what other choice they even had.
"Hmm… send some more people to Kiri after this to find out why
Mizukage didn't come. I'll do the same." Onoki stated, and then his
typically stoic demeanour faltered for a moment, the old man appearing
almost... hesitant. "But for now, let's focus on the crucial matter. What
intelligence have your informants gathered about the boy? Are the
rumours accurate?"
"Which rumours? There are a thousand of them floating around,
undoubtedly the work of Konoha's Counter-Intelligence department." the
Raikage remarked with a disdainful scoff.
"Don't play daft boy. You know very well which rumour I'm talking
about." Onoki said and he could see his Raikage's eye narrowing in anger
at the disrespect, his chair's arm rest creaking from his grip. "The ones
which say that a 6-year-old boy managed to defeat an S-class Kunoichi."
His Raikage managed to control his anger once again and said. "I would
hardly call that wench an S-class kunoichi. But yes… our men are still
looking into it."
"Still looking into it? How bad are your spies that you haven't been able
to confirm such a simple thing?"
"Mind your tongue Onoki. And don't play daft yourself." His Raikage said
with a snort. "If your spies faring any better, then you wouldn't be asking
me that question."
Onoki pursed his lips at that but gave a reluctant nodded.
And hadn't that been a huge kick to the gut. To learn that all their spies
and informants in Konoha had either been captured or subverted without
their knowledge and were now feeding them false information.
What made matters worse was that, despite dispatching a dozen spies
each week ever since they learned about these rumours, none of their
operatives achieved any success.
He had no idea what Konoha was doing to find their spies in such a short
moment, but whatever method it was, it was proving to be remarkably
effective.
"Very well, then. You still must've found something; otherwise you
wouldn't have called this meeting."
"Yes, one of our spies managed to return with some info." Raikage said.
"Oh. And what is this info. It must be something substantial for you to
call me over for."
"Ren Uchiha shattered all the past graduation records upon completing
the shinobi academy."
Onoki blinked at that. "That's it? That's the reason why you called me
here?"
"The information might seem insignificant at first glance. But it becomes
more useful when you realise that the last person to break even half as
many records was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and before him,
Orochimaru of the Sannin."
Onoki frowned at this new piece of information and leaned back in his
chair.
"So… we now know that the boy who has more talent than his
predecessors. That's something. But it's still not enough for me to send my
people to war." Onoki said. "If I'm going to start the 4th Shinobi War,
then I want solid proof that this boy is as much of a threat as we believe
him to be."
"Don't play a fool now old man. We both know that is untrue." Raikage
said.
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Six. Konoha currently has six S-class shinobi. The 4th Hokage, the
retired 3rd Hokage, Jiraiya Tsunade, Orochimaru, and the 9 tails
Jinchuriki. And that's just the shinobi that we know of. They might have
another one of those hidden monsters like the Red Beast who decimated
the Seven Swordsmen on his own. Now they have the 3 tails as well. And
a young boy who might become a more dangerous foe than even the 4th
Hokage." The Raikage explained. "Even if we do not get the confirmation
about the boy's true potential, ask yourself this, can we really afford to
wait and allow Konoha to grow even stronger?"
Onoki stayed silent for a long moment before his shoulders slumped just
a bit and he released a sigh. "No." He said, the word resounding like a
loud gong in the otherwise silent room.
And while the meeting itself went for a few more hours afterward, he
was well aware that the decision had already been made.
Probably even before this meeting ever took place.
Kumo and Iwa were now allies in the upcoming war against Konoha.
—————
AN: Sorry for the small chapter. This was one of those times when I was
still trying to see if writing small chapters work for me. It didn't so the
future chapters are all big. Well... bigger than this one at least.
I'll upload another chapter tomorrow to make up for this one. Provided
that I'm able to, since I have to drive seven hours tomorrow to send my
maternal grandmother back to her home after the Winter Holiday.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter regardless.
Have a nice day
P.S. 8 advanced chapters in Patreon.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Chapter 23- Eyes, eyes and even
more eyes
Fugaku Uchiha POV
He returned home from another tiring day at work and paused upon
seeing Ren and Itachi sitting together on the porch.
Ren held little Satsuki in his arms, teaching Itachi how to be a better
babysitter. And judging by the intense look in Itachi's eyes, she seemed to
be taking this seriously.
Seeing them sit together like this made him think about the future. A
hopefully peaceful future with lots of grandkids for him to dote on.
At that point, Itachi caught sight of him and offered a respectful nod.
"Welcome home, father."
He gave her nod before shifting his gaze to Ren. "And here I thought that
you completely forgot about us after settling into your new house."
A house that even he was a bit envious of, as it was significantly larger
and grander than his own and was located in a better location as well.
Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.
Ren smiled at his words but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Fugaku-san,
there's something important I need to discuss with you. Do you have a
moment right now?"
And there it was. Ren Uchiha. The true Ren Uchiha and now the boy who
plays around with Itachi and babysits Satsuki. This was the shinobi who
managed to defeat an S-class Kunoichi, and might just be the strongest
shinobi in their clan, even if a lot of the clan members had no idea about
his true strength.
This was the person who would steer the future of their clan with his
own two hands. So even if he didn't have any free time right now, he'll
make it.
—————
Mikoto presented them each with a cup of tea accompanied by snacks
before excusing herself from the room. And as soon as she left, the
ambiance took on a more solemn tone.
"Before we start. May I know why you didn't attend the last monthly clan
meeting. Or the one before that?" He asked.
Ren raised a single eyebrow at that. "You told me that it's not mediatory
for genin to attend."
"Yes I did. But you're no ordinary Genin, Ren."
Because even without his power, Ren was now the richest Uchiha in their
clan (even if, once again, most of the clan members were not aware of
that).
Moreover, Ren held the prestigious status of being the disciple of the
Hokage's wife. And had then studied under both Lord Jiraiya and Lady
Tsunade.
If a Jounin of their clan had such connections, then he or she would've
been given the seat of an honorary elder, irrespective of any other
accomplishments.
…and come to think of it, the fact that Ren was forced to sit with other
genins despite being the strongest, richest and well-connected Uchiha
might have something to do with why he didn't care to participate in any
clan meetings beyond the initial one.
Yeah, he was definitely feeling like a fool now. Though in his defence, he
had given Ren that seat in order to shield him from the prying eyes of the
elders.
"You're right Fugaku-san. And I don't really mind attending the clan
meetings. But what I do mind is being treated like a toddler who doesn't
know what's good for him. Or be seen as a tool by those decrepit old
foggies who care more about their pride and honour than the lives of
their own clan members."
Yeah… there was that as well. *Sigh*
"I'll go and have a talk with the elders before the next meeting. Would
you come if we gave you the seat of an honorary elder?" He asked,
hoping that the elders hadn't cast the clan in a negative light in front of
the young boy.
"I don't care about such matters. Do whatever you think is right." Ren
said. "However, let's shift our focus to the main reason why I came here."
"Very well then." He said and gestured for Ren to continue.
"I want to know about the skirmishes in the border and the role that
Uchiha clan will play in this whole affair."
He hummed at those words and thought about how to give a proper reply
without pissing the boy off. "Hm… Uchiha clan has sent a few young men
to the border. And we're going to send another group next month."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "What about the other clans? Are they sending
any reinforcements?"
He shook his head. "Clans usually don't send our their shinobi until things
have become more serious. But…" He trailed off, not sure how to proceed
from here.
"But these skirmishes are happening because of me, a member of the
Uchiha clan. So you feel honour bound to send reinforcements to the
border." Ren said and despite his calm face, the clenched fists betrayed
his true emotions.
"…yes." He said. "Whether we like it or not, these skirmishes are
happening in part because of you. And wether you like it or not, you're a
member of the Uchiha clan. And we'll gladly sacrifice our lives in the
battlefield if it means getting another shinobi of Madara Uchiha's
caliber."
Ren was silent for a long moment before he sighed. "I see."
"And before you ask, no, you'll not be allowed to go to the frontline
despite how powerful you might have become."
"I wasn't going to ask." Ren said. "I'm well aware that even if the clan did
allow me to go, the Hokage would not."
"Okay. Was that all, or is there another reason for your visit?" He asked
and Ren nodded promptly.
"I also came here to discuss the distribution of my Mangekyo Sharingan
eyes." Ren said. And before he could even grasp the sheer absurdity of
those words, Ren placed a dozen containers filled with eyes on the table.
Examining the eyes, his jaw nearly dropped as he realized that each one
bore a unique yet similar pattern.
They were all Mangekyo Sharingan eyes.
He gave a bewildered look to Ren and asked. "How?" Then he paused as
he noticed the same pattern in Ren's eyes and shook his head. "No wait.
When did you unlock your Mangekyo Sharingan eyes?"
"About a month after defeating Ringo Ameyuri." Ren said with a
nonchalant shrug. As if he hadn't unlocked the near final stage of their
eye at an age when most others haven't even unlocked their Sharingan
eyes.
Maintaining what little composure he had left, he inquired, "And... what
circumstances led to the awakening of these eyes?"
His own eyes, after all, had awakened when he witnessed his father's
death near the end of 2nd shinobi war. And he couldn't think of any such
tragedy that befell Ren in the past few months.
"No. I was just jogging around when my eyes just… evolved."
…
…
"…are you serious?"
"Yes."
"Of course." He said, holding the urge to throw a temper tantrum for the
first time in his life. Because why the hell not? It's not like Mangekyo
Sharingan eyes are anything important. Just give a pair to the brat while
he's out jogging.
"Um… Fugaku-san, are you alright?" The brat had the gall to ask.
He realised that he was breathing heavily and took a moment to calm
himself before nodding. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Of course. Why wouldn't I
be?"
Ren stared at him for a long moment before he sighed. "Do you want to
know how I got so many eyes?"
"No, I don't want to- Of Course I want to know!" He said, his heart
beating rapidly in his chest before he closed his eyes and took deep
breaths once again. He then opened his eyes and smiled at Ren. "How did
you get so many eyes, Ren?"
'Did they fucking grow up on trees? Did you just found them lying
around in your property? Or did the tooth fairy leave it under your
pillow while you were sleeping?'
"You know how my second bloodline allows me to regenerate from any
serious wounds after sleeping for 6 hours?"
"Yeah." He said, suddenly getting a very bad feeling about this.
"Well… after I became Lady Tsunade's student, I learned how to extract
eyes successfully. And had a Shadow Clone extract my eyes." Ren said.
"After that, I went to sleep, and when I woke up, my eyes had
regenerated. And I had an extra pair of eyes. So I've been doing just that
every single night for the past month."
...okay what- that's just... no wait. Never mind.
"And why have you… created, so many eyes, Ren?"
"I think 'replication' would be the correct term here. But that's beside the
point." Ren said. "The reason why I did this was so that I can give these
eyes to the Uchiha shinobi who're going out in the frontline. I may not be
able to help the entire village right now, but I can certainly help my clan
members."
"That's… that's admirable Ren." He said. "But are you aware that
Mangekyo Sharingan eyes deteriorate with use, right? And that not
everyone has the charka reserves required to use them to their fullest
extent?"
"I do." Ren said, surprising him. "That's why I brought this as well."
With that, Ren placed another container on the table. This one was filled
to the brim with Fuinjutsu seals and contained a peculiar, white dough-
like substance.
"And what is this?"
"These are the repurposed cells of Lord Hashirama." Ren said and his jaw
fell for the second time in this meeting.
Being an important part of the village, and a friend to the Hokage, he had
known about those cells for a while now. And he knew just how
impressive they were.
The entire thing was still a bit strange to him, but if the Hokage and Lady
Tsunade didn't mind the 1st Hokage's cells being researched, then who
was he to speak against it?
But…
"How did you even get your hands on this, Ren?" He asked. 'And please,
please, please don't tell me that you stole it.'
"I bought it." Ren replied.
"You bought it?" He asked in a deadpan. "What? From a grocery shop?"
"I bought it from the Hokage."
"You can buy it from the Hokage?" He asked. He hadn't known that they'd
started selling these things. No wait. "How much did it cost?"
"No. You cannot buy it from the Hokage. I can do it because I'm a special
case. And as for your second question, it cost me 20 million Ryo to buy
10 pounds of this."
That was... 2 high S-class mission payment. Or 20 high A-class mission
payment.
He took a deep breath to calm the turmoil in his heart as the pieces
started to fit in and he realised Ren's plan.
"So you want to augment the chakra of our clan members with the help
of Lord Hashirama's cells?" He asked. He wasn't sure if this'll work or not.
But if it did, then it would change everything.
"Yes. And are you aware that having Hashirama cells in your body can
also slow down, if not outright prevent, the deterioration of Mangekyo
Sharingan eyes."
His eyes sharpened at those words and he pinned the boy with a serious
gaze. "Are you serious right now, Ren?"
"I am." Ren replied. "And I know that you have Mangekyo Sharingan eyes
as well, so feel free to take some of it for yourself."
He unconsciously licked his lips and then sighed. "If this indeed works as
you say, then I'm in your debt, Ren."
Ren nodded at his words. "This amount should be sufficient to supply
about 5 people. So, aside from you, there are 4 individuals who can
utilize my Mangekyo Sharingan eyes on the battlefield."
"That's…" He envisioned the kind of devastation that 5 Uchiha clansmen
could unleash on the battlefield with enhanced chakra and Mangekyo
Sharingan eyes each, and he gulped.
"What abilities do your Mangekyo Sharingan eyes possess?" He asked.
Because a Uchiha who hasn't awakened his own Magekyko Sharingan
eyes would be able to use Ren's eye abilities.
"My right eye gives me the ability to recover from any wounds. And my
left eye allows me to completely recover my chakra."
Those… are rather simple but extremely powerful abilities. And if they
can be used again and again in the battlefield.
He suppressed a shiver creeping down his spine and straightened up.
"We'll need to establish countermeasures to ensure that the enemies can't
seize these eyes for themselves. Or the cells for that matter."
Because just thought of their enemies getting their hands on these
Mangekyo Sharingan eyes or Lord Hashirama's cells filled him with
dread.
"Already taken care of." Ren said as he took out two scrolls. "These
Fuinjutsu seals were collaboratively created by the Sannin, the Hokage,
Kushina-sensei, and me. They function similarly to the Hyuuga's caged
bird seal. If the user dies or the eyes or cells are removed while they're
still alive, they'll be instantly destroyed. The seals can also be activated
from a distance in case the user is captured or turns traitor."
"Will the seal kill the user?" He asked, worried that this might be just
another Caged bird seal that might get used in future to control the
Uchiha clan.
"No. It'll only destroy the eyes and cells. And other than some minute
pain and blindness, the user will remain unharmed."
"And who'll be allowed to control these seals?" He asked. Because while
he trusted Minato, he didn't know who the next Hokage will be. Or the
one after that. It is very possible that a future Hokage might harbour ill
feelings toward the Uchiha clan and use it seal to harm the clan.
"I talked with the Hokage about this. And the master control of the seals
of Uchiha clan members will be given to the Uchiha Clan leader, meaning
you. But if the clan leader is seen abusing such authority, then the seal
will be taken from him and given to one of the elders." Ren explained.
"That's good to hear." He said with a relieved sigh. "But… have you given
any thought to who you want to give these eyes to?"
"Yes. While I initially wanted to give it to everyone, after some thinking, I
decided that it would be wise to give most of it to the shinobi from your
Dove faction." Ren said. "I don't want the Hawk faction getting too much
power and causing troubles. Aside from that, I'll hand you the eyes and
Hashirama cells, and leave their distribution to you."
He nodded, relieved that Ren is able to see the problems within Uchiha
clan.
The elders from Hawk factions would undoubtedly be angry about this
unfair distribution and might even get thoughts of rebellion. So he'll have
to distribute it in secret at the start until the Dove faction is too strong.
It'll be troublesome and this decision will definitely cause problems in the
future but it's nothing he cannot deal with.
"The clan members and the ones who'll use these eyes and cells will be
the ones to pay for the Hashirama cells. And you'll also get a commission
for every single eye that you give to the clan."
"No." Ren replied immediately. "These battles are being waged on my
behalf. The least I can do is pay for these things."
"I know that you have a lot of money Ren. But buying Hashirama cells for
so many clansmen would bankrupt even you. No. These expenses will be
shared by the clan and the individual clan members who benefit from it.
And that's final."
Ren sighed. "Okay. You may give me the money required to buy the cells
but I refuse to take any money for the eyes."
"No. We cannot just take these eyes without giving you any recompense,
Ren. That's just not how the clan works." He said. "Besides, people have a
tendency to not value things that they get for free. So there's that as
well."
Ren sighed. "Here I am, giving such a generous gift to you. And here you
are, trying to turn it into a trade."
"Some gifts are too expensive to be taken without giving something in
return." He said.
The both of them fell into silence after that. And after a long moment,
Ren spoke up once again.
"If that is the case, then what would you say is the minimum value of
these eyes?" Ren asked.
"The minimum value? I would usually say that these eyes are priceless,
but considering that you can simply create a pair of them with 6 hours of
sleep… let me think." He said and did a few calculations in his mind.
"About 1 Million Ryo. 2 million for the pair. And that's me really
lowballing it."
"I'll accept it." Ren said and took out even more containers from his
Inventory.
"Just how many of these do you have?" He asked in bewilderment.
"I've been at this for a month, so roughly 30 pairs." Ren said with an
amused smile. "You don't need to use all of them right now. I've created a
seal that'll freeze these eyes in time. You may put them in a hidden vault
and save them for the next generation. Or the generation after that. I'll
supply you with as many eyes as you can afford, so don't worry about
running out of eyes anytime soon."
"…I cannot believe that we're having such a conversation." He said and
then chuckled.
Ren chuckled alongside him and soon enough the both of them burst out
laughing.
Once they'd regained their composure, he pinned the boy with another
serious gaze.
"So… Ren."
"Yes?"
"How about you become the next clan leader after me?" He asked.
"Not interested." Ren replied instantly.
"Come now. There's no need to be reject me so quickly. At least listen to
my offer first."
"Nope. Not interested."
"Think of this as a favour to this old man."
"Nope."
"At least…" "Nope." "How about…" "Nope." "Can you at least…" "Nope."
—————
AN: The Uchiha clan is divided into three factions in this story. The Dove,
the Hawk, and the Neutral Factions.
The Doves are the Peaceful faction and want cooperation and peace with
the village. Fugaku is the leader of this faction. It is also the largest
faction right now, since the current Hokage is treating the Uchiha clan so
well.
The Hawks are the Warring faction. They want to make Uchiha clan more
powerful, even at the expense of the village. They feel like the Uchiha
have been slighted by the village and want one of their clan member to
become the next Hokage. They're the second largest faction in the clan.
The Neutrals are self-explanatory. It is the small faction in the clan and
mostly focus on business and earning wealth. They will side with
whoever benefits them the most. And would undoubtedly join Fugaku if
he offers them Mangekyo Sharingan eyes and Hashirama cells.
That's it for this chapter, hope you guys enjoyed reading it.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon for those interested in reading ahead.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 24- Preparations
Minato Namikaze POV
'Hasn't there been enough bloodshed already?' He thought morosely as he
signed off the compensation funds for all the shinobi who've died in the
skirmishes thus far.
Well, not all of them considering that many of them were orphans who
had no family. But still…
'Paying compensation for so many shinobi is definitely going to a put a
dent on our treasury.' He thought.
After all, it had been his own idea to start paying compensation to the
deceased shinobi's family so that they can still support themselves
without their primary breadwinner.
And as far as he knew, Konoha was the only place in the entire elemental
nations who gave financial support to the kin of a fallen shinobi.
However, never in his wildest imagination had he expected that Konoha
would be in the precipice of war so soon after the conclusion of the 3rd
Shinobi War.
Up until this point, the casualties were still within acceptable limits. But
once the war truly starts and the deaths started to pile up, will Konoha's
treasury be able to withstand such a burden…
Just another thing for him to worry about.
He faced one of his advisors that he had summoned to his office for the
duration of this war and asked. "Hurizen-san, has the Daimyo replied to
our petition?"
The retired Hokage, who had been looking over a map on the side, raised
his head to look at him and shook his head. "The Daimyo's demand
remains the same. He wants to meet Ren-kun and see if the boy is really
as the rumours say."
"Sending Ren outside Konoha is dangerous right now." He said, and it
was only half truth. The other half was that he just didn't want to send to
boy to that cesspit of debauchery and corruption where everyone would
want to exploit or manipulate him for their own purposes.
Furthermore, there was the concern that the Daimyo might try to recruit
Ren to his side, or failing that, resort to assassination.
After all, the balance of power between the Daimyo and a hidden village
is a delicate thing. Kept in check by the vast amount of wealth, allies,
soldiers, personal shinobi, samurai and the monks under a Daimyo's
service.
Had the 1st Hokage wanted, then he could've easily removed the Daimyo
from his position and assumed control over the entire Land of Fire. But
he didn't because that's just not who he was. And now Konoha has
someone of that caliber once again. A guillotine blade that could come
down on their head the instant the stepped out of line.
"I don't think the Daimyo cares about Ren like that." Hiruzen-san said,
puffing on his pipe. "I don't think he really believes that Ren is a shinobi
of Hashirama's caliber. More likely than not,
this is just another tactic for him to withhold support and assert
dominance in our relationship, showing us who holds the reins."
"Shortsighted fool." Fugaku scoffed from the side, working on his own
increased paperwork now that he had become an Advisor on top of his
duties as the head of Konoha police and the leader of Uchiha clan.
He knew that choosing Fugaku as one of his Advisors had been a
controversial decision. But aside from being a trusted friend, Fugaku was
also the leader of the strongest clan in Konoha.
A clan that has become even stronger thanks to their squad of Elite
Jounin and Jounin equipped with Hashirama cells and Ren's Mangekyo
Sharingan eyes.
Already, reports have started to trickle in from the border, attesting to
the remarkable abilities of these Uchiha Shinobi. Even Jiraiya-Sensei had
penned glowing praises about their prowess, along with a warning to
keep the Uchiha clan close to him, lest they feel slighted and do
something foolish.
Not that he needed anyone to tell him that. After all, Fugaku has become
a certified S-class shinobi ever since he integrated the Hashirama cells in
his body. Plus there were Ren and Ringo Ameyuri as well. That's three S-
class shinobi in one clan.
Keeping all this in mind, he had easily disregarded Danzo's 'subtle' advice
to keep the Uchiha at bay and not let them get too much power.
Instead, he had embraced them wholeheartedly. And now they were his
most loyal supports and were winning the war for him. Almost
singlehandedly, if some of the reports were to be believed.
"I would agree with Fugaku-san." Shikaku, his third Advisor said while
leaning back on his chair. "The Daimyo is aware of our dependence on
his support and aims to gain an advantage in our relationship by
withholding it. I can't fault him for looking out for his kingdom, but in
doing so, he risks alienating Konoha, and that might prove to be a more
costly in the long run."
He held back a sigh. Dealing with Daimyo and the other nobles in Land
of Fire was always exhausting, and it became even more taxing with the
imminent threat of another war.
Each and every single one of the was offering him trivial amounts of
money and demanding that he send his shinobi to protect their lands
from the enemy, despite many of them having private armies of their
own.
Not to mention that the demands that some of them posed made his
blood boil. One of nobles 'requested' ten kunoichis to serve as his
bedwarmers in exchange for monetary support. Another had asked for
Tsunade's hand in marriage in exchange for providing them with food
supplies for the duration of this war.
One of the ladies had even been bold enough to ask him to sleep with
her. He had rejected of course, considering that he was married and the
woman was over 70 years old.
He wondered if any of these nobles grasped the fact that he could
effortlessly slaughter their entire families in a single night if he so
desired. Or have someone else do it for him with a single order.
And sometimes, when he had to deal with too much of their nonsense, he
thought about doing just that. But then rationality prevailed and he
recognised that these nobles were merely the lesser evil. Nothing more,
nothing less.
"Any news from Kiri?"
"Aside from the assassination of their village leader, and them blaming us
for that, no." Shikaku said and he held back another sigh.
And hadn't that been a punch to the gut. To learn that the 3rd Mizukage
had been assassinated. And that Kiri now blamed Konoha for that
assassination.
If there was any hope of Kiri staying out of this upcoming war, then that
hope was throughly shattered now. Now their only major ally was Suna.
And Suna would only remain their ally for as long as it served their
interests.
He was brought out of his thoughts with a polite knock on the door.
"Come in." He said, not raising his head from the paperwork.
"Hokage-sama. Danzo-sama is here to see you." His secretary said and he
gestured for her to send the man in.
He still suspected that Danzo was the one who leaked info about Ren to
the entire world. But despite thorough investigations into Danzo and his
Root, they found conclusive evidence. Either Danzo hid his tracks too
well, or was truly innocent. He didn't know which.
And considering how useful Danzo had been in proving critical intel on
other villages, he reluctantly allowed the man to continue operating.
However, he remained vigilant and would act decisively if Danzo ever
crossed a line.
"Hokage-sama." Danzo said with a brief tilt of his head as he entered the
room. "I bring important news."
"Say it then."
Danzo tilted his head toward Fugaku and Shikaku, not speaking up and
his eyes narrowed slightly.
"They're my trusted advisors. Anything you have to say, can be said in
front of them."
Danzo's lips pursed at that. He knew that Danzo wanted one of the
Advisor's seat for himself and wasn't happy with Fugaku getting that seat.
But he'd already made his decision on this subject and won't change it.
"I'll not repeat myself Danzo." He said when the old man still didn't
speak.
Danzo didn't seem pleased by that but he nodded nonetheless. "Both Iwa
and Kumo have called back their shinobi from short and mid length
missions. My agents have also gathered proof of them buying and storing
weapons in large quantities."
He closed his eyes at the news and let out a disappointed sigh.
So it was finally about to start.
Ever since the news about Ren's abilities were leaked out, he knew that
there was a large chance that they might have to go to war. But a part, a
naive part of him had still held hope that it'll not come to this.
That they'll be able to talk with each other and come to a consensus of
sort. But it seems like all his hopes were for naught.
If those two villages are preparing their armies then the war was already
at their doorstep. And he couldn't afford to hesitate anymore.
He opened his eyes and glanced at Danzo. "How many shinobi are they
planning to send to war?"
"Not many. Approximately 4000 for Iwa and 6000 for Kumo. I think
they're reluctant to engage in an all-out war until they've verified Ren's
true capabilities," stated Danzo, though the quirk of his lips said
otherwise.
After all, the 3rd shinobi war only just ended. So despite their assertion
of having around 20,000 or more shinobi, he was aware that a significant
portion of that were merely Genins— who would only serve as cannon
fodder if they were send to the battlefield.
That said, Konoha's own situation wasn't much better either. They might
have a lot of S-class shinobi these days but their Jounin were lacking in
numbers.
Just another reason to keep Ren out of war. Even if the boy was
becoming more and more of a monster with each passing day and could
hold his own against other S-class shinobi with ease.
But that didn't mean he would risk the boy being ambushed and
vaporised by Onoki. The boy was powerful but he lacked experience.
"What about Kiri. How is the situation unfolding there?" He asked.
"A mess." Danzo said with a disdainful scoff. "The clans and the more
powerful shinobi are fighting amongst themselves for the chance to
become the next Mizukage."
"Any idea about the candidates who might become the Mizukage?" He
asked.
"There's Fuguki Suikazan, one of the most powerful seven swordsman. He
has the support of two other swordsmen, an elite shinobi group
cultivated by him over the years, and a few minor clans. Aside from that,
the Hozuki, Terumi and Kaguya clans are powerful and have their own
worthy candidates."
"Would any of them be willing to work with Konoha if they became the
Mizukage."
"No." Danzo said without a moment's delay. "All of them are hardliners
who would declare war on Konoha as soon as they come to power. And
given the current climate in Kiri, if they don't take such a stance, then
they'll not remain Mizukage for long."
…well, there went his hope of placating Kiri to at least remain out of the
war.
"I propose that we assemble a team to assassinate their Mizukage
candidates." Danzo said.
He sighed inwardly, having already expected Danzo to come up with
such a radical plan.
"That would alienate Kiri from us and earn us their undying enmity."
Hiruzen-san pointed out.
"Kiri already plans to go to war with us." Danzo retorted. "There's no
point in hesitating now. We should act and act fast while they're still
unprepared. Once a Mizukage is appointed, it'll be too late."
He gave this matter some thought and nodded to Danzo. "I'll consider this
matter carefully. Please, don't let me hold you anymore. I'm sure you
have more pressing matters to attend to."
Danzo nodded and left the room.
Once it was just the four of them, he turned to Shikaku. "What do you
think?"
"About the plan to decapitate Kiri's leadership?"
"Yes."
Shikaku adopted a thoughtful expression and remained like that for a
long moment before he finally answered. "It's feasible. And despite the
risks, if we go all out then there's a high chance of success. But I'm more
worried about the aftermath."
"If we attack Kiri without any prior warning, then not only will be we
attacking a major village without any war declarations, which might put
a stain on our reputation. We would also be implicitly acknowledging our
involvement in the Mizukage's assassination." Hiruzen-san said.
"They already believe that we assassinated their Mizukage." Fugaku
pointed out.
"Yes. But there's a big difference between believing something and having
solid acknowledgement of it." Shikaku pointed out with a sigh.
"Troublesome."
He thought on this for a long moment as well before he asked his
advisors. "Is there any chance that we can delay or stop the upcoming
war."
All his advisors shook their heads.
"I know it's a hard reality to deal with Minato." Hiruzen-san "But I think
it's past time you accept that this war is inevitable."
"Hiruzen-san is right." Fugaku said with a comforting look. "You mst stop
thinking of the other villages as potential allies and start seeing them as
enemies."
He looked to Shikaku to see if he had anything to say but the lazy bastard
simply shrugged, as if indicating that the ultimate decision rested with
him.
He closed his eyes and took another deep sigh.
And put himself back into the mindset of wartime leader.
"Fugaku, Shikaku, I need you to go to Kusa and Taki. If a war is indeed
about to break out then we need their support as allies, or at the very
least, their neutrality."
Both his advisors nodded in acknowledgement and he turned to the 3rd
Hokage. "Hiruzen-san. I need you to travel to Suna.Assess the atmosphere
in their village, gauge the sentiments of the common shinobi. While it's
unlikely they'll fight alongside us, it's imperative they, at the very least,
remain neutral."
Konoha could face 3 major shinobi villages on its own. He knew that
because that's exactly what Konoha did in the 3rd shinobi war. But
having to face all 4 of them together would force him to pull out all the
stops. A scenario he genuinely wished to avoid.
Hiruzen-san nodded, and he directed his attention to where his Anbu
captain was concealed. "Hawk, assemble your team and notify all clan
leaders and council members to gather for a meeting at 5 pm."
With that he got up from his seat and used Hiraishin to return back to his
home.
His advisors were wise and knew what they needed to do. And as for
himself, he needed to write a speech for the citizens of Konoha. They
needed to know about the upcoming war.
"Minato." His wife said once she noticed his presence. "You're home early
today. What happened?"
Ignoring her question, he moved forward and pulled her into a hug,
feeling her soft curves in his embrace. They lingered in that moment for a
while before parting.
His wife gave him a concerned look and gently held his face. "Minato.
What happened?"
"Kumo and Iwa have started preparing their armies." He said and let out
another heavy sigh. "War is inevitable now."
"I see." Kushina said with an understanding nod. "What do you need of
me?"
"For now? Nothing. But, it is very likely that both Kumo and Iwa will use
their Jinchuriki during the war. I…"
His wife put a finger on his lips, shushing him.
"I understand Minato. I know my duty." Kushina told him, a determined
look on her face.
He sighed "Rin Nohara…"
"She's not prepared right now." Kushina said.
"I know. But we do not know how long this war might last. It could end
in a year or go on for a decade. I won't send her to the battlefield
anytime soon. But it'll be best if she starts preparing as well."
Kushina nodded. "I'll increase her training. Anything else?"
"No. Just… go and spend some time with Naruko. We might not get the
chance to do so later." He said.
Kushina nodded and turned to leave before she paused. "Oh, Minato."
"Yes?"
"If I go to the battlefield, then I want Mikoto to be the one to take care of
Naruko."
"Okay. I'll go and talk with Fugaku about this."
Kushina nodded and left.
He then went to his room to start writing the speech before he
remembered something.Creating a Shadow Clone to handle the task, he
left his residence and appeared in a secluded training area. He then took
out a special kunai (not his) and poured his chakra in it before tossing it
to the ground.
A moment later, Ren stood on the ground, that kunai in his hand as his
eyes darted around for any threat.
"It's just me." He assured the boy who nodded and got up from his
crouching position.
"Did you want something Minato-san?" Ren asked.
"Your idea to enhance the power of Uchiha clansmen was a rather
creative and daring one." He said. "I plan to reward you with another S-
class mission payment for that."
"Just doing my duty." Ren said with a shrug.
"Yes. But your action almost doubled the number of Elite Jounins that
Konoha has. It would be remiss of me to not repay you for that."
Ren nodded. "Very well then. But I don't think you'd call me for just this.
What do you really want Minato-san?"
He smiled at the boy's perceptiveness. "You're right. I wanted to ask if
you have any other ideas to increase Konoha's power?"
If it was any other child, then he wouldn't ask them for advice. But this
was Ren Uchiha. A young boy who had already added an S-class
Kunoichi and multiple Elite Jounins to Konoha's roster.
And that was just him putting it lighty.
It was highly possible that some of the Elite Jounins who received Ren's
Magekyo Sharingan eyes and Hashirama cells have also reached the
power of a low S-class shinobi.
It would be foolish of him not to seek the boy's input for similar ideas.
Not when the war was all but inevitable.
Ren wore a pensive expression upon hearing his words, staying silent for
a long moment before he lifted his gaze and uttered a straightforward
sentence.
"Let me talk to the Tailed Beasts."
—————
AN: Unlike the Daimyos in Naruto anime, the Daimyo in this world are
not helpless, only relying on the Hidden Villages' benevolence to keep
their seat.
I mean, the entire idea is rather stupid when you think about it. Shinobi
are not charitable people. And if Daimyos were really weak then the
hidden villages would've already turned them into their puppets.
So, in this fanfic, I'm trying to keep things a little realistic. The Daimyos
don't have a force as powerful as a Hidden Village. But they do have
decently powerful forces of their own, along with a large amount of
wealth and powerful allies to call upon.
So yeah, a Daimyo's and his village's relationship is a little more
complicated in this story, rather than the Daimyos being non entities who
can be ignored at whim.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 25- Pre-war buildup
Itachi Uchiha POV
Supply run.
A simple C-rank mission to deliver Storage scrolls filled with Food,
Chakra pills, medical supplies, and weapons to the border for her clan
members.
They were doing good in the frontline, too good. And that's what worried
her.
Yes, they were racking up kills by the dozens every day. But their
enemies weren't idiots. They'll adapt. And then they'll start targeting the
Uchiha. Just like how they'd targeted the Senju clan in the 1st, 2nd and
3rd Shinobi war. And in the time in between.
And look at how that turned out for the Senju clan. The once mighty clan
now only had surviving kunoichi to carry on their legacy.
She feared this possibility every day, even as her clansmen cheered upon
getting updates from the frontline, unable to see the grim future that
might come to pass.
She landed upon another tree and stopped.
Something was wrong. The forest was too quiet.
She crouched down and made a few handsigns to use the summoning
technique and summon her crows. However, she abruptly halted in the
midst of it and dodged to the side as a flurry of kunai and shrunken
assaulted her position.
The barrage of shuriken didn't stop and she jumped from one tree to
another in order to dodge all of them.
Her heart beat a mile a mile as she tried to observe where the attacks
were coming from. To see how many enemies have ambushed her.
'Calm down. Think rationally. Panicking won't help you.' She reminded
herself as she took out her kunai and deflected a few shuriken that she
couldn't dodge.
And to think that her first lone mission would end in this situation.
Jiraiya Sensei had to go to the Konoha-Kumo frontline to assume
command. Then Rin had to leave a few days ago in order to train directly
under Kushina-san. And then Anko was also sent to the Frontline, her
Snake summons being very useful in a war camp.
Only she was left behind.
But she didn't want to be left behind. She wanted to play her part in this
war, which led to this situation.
With her surrounded by 5 enemy shinobi.
'Kumo.' her mind whispered as she eyed their forehead protectors. 'How
did they know about my location to set up this ambush? Was this simple
luck or did someone from Konoha leaked the info? No, I can worry about
that later. I need to focus on my survival first.'
'I need to ask Ren for support.' She thought but before she could reach for
the special Kunai Ren had given her, the attacks came.
A giant of a man brought his butcher's knife in an overhead swing,
making her dodge to the left, only to immediately come under attack by
two other shinobi, their kunai aiming for her heart and throat.
Clang! Slick!
She successfully blocked one of the attacks and redirected the other,
causing it to strike her shoulder instead of her throat. Pain surged
through her world, but then, in an instant, everything transformed.
The world became more vivid, more enchanting. The enemy shinobi
appeared to move in slow motion, yet still too fast for her react. She
recognised the awakening of her Sharingan, but there was no time to
revel in it as the other shinobi continued their assault.
Listening to the various stories from the elders, you might be fooled into
thinking that shinobi battles last for minutes if not hours with shinobi
using dozens of Jutsus to kill their enemy.
The battles seen in the Chunin exams also fuel that lies. Making you
think that real battles can last for a long time.
That's far from the truth.
Real battles are lightning fast. Blink and you'll find your head separated
from your shoulders.
Even with her recently awakened Sharingan, she proved no match for the
five Kumo shinobi and suffered severe injuries within mere moments.
Her right leg bled profusely from a deep slash, while her right shoulder
sustained multiple bone fractures, rendering it unresponsive. Dozens of
smaller cuts adorned her body, and her vision dimmed as darkness crept
in from the loss of blood.
"Huh. Looks like you Uchiha aren't all that strong after all." the burly man
chortled, conveniently overlooking the fact that it was five adult shinobi
ganging up on a six-year-old Genin.
However, underestimating her and granting her a fleeting moment by
taunting her would prove to be their undoing.
Swiftly, she retrieved a special kunai from her pouch, infused it with
chakra, and hurled it towards the burly man. More precisely, it targeted
the tree behind him.
The burly man easily sidestepped the kunai and laughed. "Ah… looks like
you still have some fight in you. Don't worry. I'll beat that out of you
soon enough."
"Are we taking her alive?" One of the other shinobi asked as they started
to round up on her.
"I don't see why not. She's a girl. She'll eventually grow up and be capable
of bearing children."
Her stomach tightened as she wished that this would work. That he
would come.
"Well… knock her out then. And let's leave this place quickly." Another
shinobi said. "You never know when one of those White eyed freaks
might have their eyes on us. The faster we leave this place, the better."
And that's when it happened.
A tidal wave of Killing Intent engulfed them, and even though it wasn't
directly aimed at her, she nearly lost consciousness.
"You won't be leaving this place." A soft, familiar voice came from
behind. Her eyes brightened as she lifted her head, glancing at the
recognisable figure standing behind her enemies.
Ren, his expression utterly blank, gazed at her, took note of the injuries
she had endured, and then shifted his attention to the shinobi
responsible.
"Huh. Who are yo-" That's as far as the shinobi went before Ren's form
flashed and a blood spurted from the shinobi's neck.
"Fuck! Surround the kid!" The burly man roared and lunged towards Ren.
Without even sparing a glance at the imposing figure, Ren swung his
hand, enveloping his arm in wind chakra, forming a blade that
effortlessly cleaved both the shinobi and his cleaver in half.
The other three shinobi stared at the bisected body of their leader. And
then, at once, all of them left the clearing, each springing into a different
direction.
Ren created 9 Shadow Clones to chase after them before he flashed to her
side.
Her sight grew dimmer by moment and the last thing she saw was him
holding her in a princess carry, his face twisted in concern, before
everything plunged into darkness.
—————
Minato Namikaze POV
He was listening to the report of one of his Jounin when the door to his
room abruptly swung open, and an ANBU operative, clad in a blank
mask, hurried inside. "Hokage-sama! There's been an attack."
Promptly rising from his chair, he gestured for his ANBU to stand down.
"Who was targeted?"
"Danzo-sama. We were returning from a mission when five Kumo shinobi
ambushed us. I've been sent here to request reinforcements."
He knew that this might be a trap. But despite everything, Danzo was a
highly valuable and capable shinobi. Losing Danzo would hurt Konoha
and he can't afford that right now.
"Where?" He asked.
"Near the Nikawari village. 5 miles South from here." The Root anbu
reported and he gestured for his anbu to follow him before he used
Hiraishin and appeared in the village.
Disregarding the villagers, who seemed taken aback by his abrupt arrival,
he scanned the surroundings and noticed smoke billowing from the
distant forest. Without hesitation, he swiftly made his way towards the
source.
Upon reaching the scene, he was greeted by a sight of complete
devastation.
Entire trees were cut in half with Wind Release Jutsu. The ground was
littered with craters, earth walls and earth spikes. Some trees remained
ablaze, contrasting with others drenched in water, causing large puddles
to form in the pockmarked ground below.
And amidst all the widespread devastation, lay the corpses of Root
shinobi.
He immediately rushed toward the ones whose corpses were intact, still
wary of an ambush, and checked for vital signs.
None. All of them were dead.
Eventually, he saw the sight that he'd feared the most.
Danzo, with half his torso missing along with his right arm, lay sprawled
on the forest ground, his expression a rictus of pain as his eyes stared
blankly at the blue sky above them.
He let out a sigh and cursed his luck.
He was too late.
—————
Raikage POV.
He stared at the report, an oppressive silence settling over his office as
his fury rose with each word he read.
At last, his anger reached its zenith, and he slammed his arm onto the
table, shattering it to pieces.
"What is this nonsense?" he demanded of the messenger, distantly aware
that the hapless Chunin likely had no answers and certainly did not
deserve the brunt of his rage.
"L… lord…" The chunin stammered and then went quiet at a severe look
from him.
He stared at the report once again and took a deep breath to calm
himself.
An elite team made up of bloodline wielders. A team that he'd assembled
with the specific purpose of countering those damn Uchihas.
All of them dead.
'Just what the hell are they feeding those Red eyed freaks!?' He
wondered, keenly aware that those blasted Uchiha had been nowhere
near as dangerous in the 2nd and 3rd shinobi war.
No. Something has happened. Something large. Something that allowed a
mere Uchiha Jounin to fight at the level of an Elite Jounin or a Low S-
class shinobi.
This… this was a disaster.
If this continued, then the army he'd prepared to be sent the borders
would only serve as cannon fodders for those Uchiha. And he refused to
let his shinobi be slaughtered in such a manner.
He thought on this matter for a while, contemplating his next course of
action.
Should he dispatch another team? Should he go himself?
No, sending another team would likely end in their demise too. And
going himself would lead to an escalation of the war. One that he didn't
want right now.
He sat back on his chair and tapped the armrest, thinking on what to do
in this situation.
Finally, he turned to his secretary.
"Bring me Yugito Nii and Bee."
'It was time that those Uchiha faced the real monsters of Kumo.' He
thought. Though a part of him that he didn't want to acknowledge feared
that this much might not be enough.
—————
Kushina Uzumaki POV
She stood in the distance and watched as Ren perched on Kyuubi's
shoulder, whispering in its ears.
She really, really wanted to know that those two were talking about but
Ren had asked her for privacy and she'd promised to give it to him.
'No. Not Kyuubi. Kurama.' She reminded herself.
Because of course Kyuubi would have a name. Why the hell had she
never even thought of that.
Well, the answer was simple. She had never truly engaged in
conversation with it—or rather, with him. She'd sealed the tailed beast
inside herself and punished it any time it lashed out.
She thought of Kurama as a monster, not even aware that he might not
be what everyone else had told her. That he might be an innocent victim,
not deserving of any of the cruelties she'd imposed upon him throughout
her life.
She felt sick to the stomach, knowing that she'd imprisoned and tortured
a sentient being for no crime of his own.
Would Kurama even be willing to work with her. After all these years of
hatred between the two of them?
'Oh, I didn't know that you weren't the monster I was told you were.
Sorry for the years of imprisonment and torture. Let's forget everything
and get along from now on.'
If she was in his place, then would she be willing to work with her captor
and torturer?
...most likely not.
And how the heck did Ren even knew all those things about the Tailed
Beasts, when she knew nothing about them despite holding Kurama
within her for over one and a half decades by now.
Oh, because he can see glimpses of the future.
She wondered what he'd seen in the future that made him so sympathetic
toward the Tailed Beasts.
Suddenly, Ren appeared at her side, prompting her to take a deep breath
in an attempt to quell the gnawing guilt in her stomach.
"What did he say?" she inquired, a mixture of fear and hope evident in
her voice.
"He'll willing to work with you. But only if you apologise to him and free
him from the giant rock he'd currently tied to."
She bit her lip. "If I removed him from that rock, then those seals will
stop working. What if he took that chance to try and break out of my
seal?"
"He won't." Ren told her. "Besides, I'm here, aren't I? Don't worry, nothing
will happen to you."
She still felt hesitant about the entire thing. It's not like she wanted to
keep Kurama imprisoned after learning about his situation. But what if he
lashed out in anger after becoming free and tried to kill her.
"Trust is a street that goes both ways Sensei. To earn his trust, you must
show yours. Besides, this is the least that we can do to atone for our
mistakes, don't you think so?"
She gave a hesitant nod, all her instincts honed over a lifetime telling her
to keep the beast caged inside her rather than letting it go free.
"You can do it Sensei." Ren said with a calm smile. "I believe in you."
She licked her lips and nodded. Then she gathered her resolve and
started walking toward Kurama.
—————
AN: Danzo fucked around and found out.
And Kushina takes the first step toward becoming a Perfect Jinchuriki.
It'll still take her a while before she can gain Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode.
But it's a good start.
Rin will eventually go through similar training. Though she should have
an easier time of it, considering that Isobu doesn't hate her nearly as
much and is a more chill guy when compared to Kurama.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 26- An offer to Shisui
Ren Uchiha POV
He washed the blood off his hands and stared at his grim countenance
reflected in the washroom mirror.
This was the second time he'd killed people. However, unlike the first
time when he'd done it in self- defence, this time, he purposefully went
after his target and slaughtered everyone who stood in his path.
He felt tired. Not physically, no. His high Vit stat made it so that he could
fight continuously for an entire week without suffering physical
exhaustion. No, this was a mental exhaustion.
He had just ended the lives people who were nothing but slaves to
Danzo. Mere orphans who were raised by that monster to become the
perfect killing machine for the village.
They hadn't wronged him in any way, and there was a slim possibility
that Danzo and his Root had no connection to Itachi's ambush. But, he
was pretty sure that the ambush was Danzo's doing. And he was
determined not to allow that guy to jeopardize the safety of anyone close
to him, ever again.
A part of him wondered why he was even feeling any guilt in this regard.
Danzo posed a threat to the Uchiha clan, to his family. He had to go
sooner or later. This was necessary.
'For the greater good of Ren Uchiha.' He thought sarcastically before he
wiped his hands and left the bathroom before going to the room where
Itachi was admitted.
He cast a genjutsu in the room and then swiftly switched his position
with the Shadow Clone he'd used to keep her company while he went out
to kill Danzo.
Itachi was currently sitting on a hospital bed, a medical gown covering
her modesty while she stared out the window with an upset expression.
He had used his medical expertise to heal all her wounds but she was still
suffering from blood loss. And blood transfusion was a bit more tricky in
the shinobi world, since along with the Blood group, you also have to
make sure that the chakra type matches as well, otherwise there's a risk
of chakra poisoning during the blood transfer.
To counter this problem, Tsunade developed the Blood Regenerating pills
during the 3rd Shinobi war. Just another reason why she was seen as the
Jesus of the medical world.
But while the Blood Renerating pills were effective, they worked slowly
and left the patient lethargic and weak for the next few days until all the
lost blood was replenished.
Hence why he'd forced Itachi to stay in the bed despite her eagerness to
resume her mission. Stubborn girl that she was.
It wasn't until he'd sent a Shadow Clone in her place to complete that
mission in her place that she finally calmed down. But she was still upset
due to the whole situation.
It was her first solo C-rank mission after all. And she'd failed miserably at
it.
This meant that she wasn't in the mood to talk. And thus, he was
receiving the silent treatment, despite being her saviour.
Women… *sip*
At that moment, the door of the hospital room swung open and Mikoto
rushed into the room with a worried look on her face.
Her eyes fell upon Itachi and the worry in her eyes diminished a bit as
she rushed forward and pulled her daughter in a comforting hug.
After making sure that Itachi was safe and mostly healed, she turned
around and pulled him into the hug as well, squishing him with Itachi.
"Thank you. Thank you so much Ren-kun." Mikoto said, her eyes
glistening with tears.
He gave an uncomfortable glance to Itachi, who looked rather amused at
his predicament (the bitch) and awkwardly patted Mikoto's back. "Ah… it
was nothing."
He thought about making a joke about saving his 'minion' but decided
against it due to the current mood.
"Without you, my daughter might be dead. That's not nothing, Ren-kun."
Mikoto said in a chastising voice. "Come to our house this evening. I'll
prepare a feast for you."
"Of course." He said and threw a quick glare at Itachi, who still looked
amused, before extracting himself from Mikoto's hug. "I'll give you two
some space to talk." He told Mikoto before he quickly ran out of the
room.
—————
Returning home, he was greeted by the sound of the rhythmic clash of
swords. Following the noise to the backyard, where his second personal
training ground resided, he discovered Ringo engaged in a spar with
Shisui.
A Shisui who he hadn't realised was a girl until their 4th meeting.
Seriously, what was it with Uchiha girls looking it boys. Can't they have
longer hair and wear some sort of makeup to make it clear that they were
girls.
Then again, Shisui was only 10 years old right now, so it's not like he
could really blame her for looking like a boy. She hadn't even reached
her puberty yet.
"Yo." He said as soon as their spar ended and Shisui swivelled around, a
genuine smile blossoming in her face as she caught sight of him.
"Ren-kun! When did you get back?" She asked as she moved toward him
and pulled him into a hug.
"Just now." He said as he discreetly used his medical jutsu to examine her
body. No wounds. Good. "When did you return from your mission?"
"Yesterday evening. But I was too tired then to come and meet you." She
said with a sheepish expression before she sniffed him and frowned.
"Where were you, Ren-kun?" She asked, looking more serious this time.
Did she smell the blood he'd just washed off? What the hell was she, a
bloodhound?
"Itachi got into some trouble so I went to help her."
Shisui's eyes widened at his words. "Itachi-chan? Is she safe now?"
"Yeah. She is." He said, not explaining anymore but that seemed to be
enough for Shisui.
Shinobi have their secrets after all. And she knew better than to push him
in such a topic.
"Would you like to come inside, I'll cook for you." He said, glancing at
Ringo as well.
His cooking skill was not as high as he'd preferred it to be. Meaning that
it was not in the master chef category. But it was getting close. Using his
Sharingan eyes to copy the work of other chefs definitely helped
accelerate its growth.
"Sure. But I need to teach the girl a few more things before that." Ringo
told him.
"Hm… you two can continue training then. I'll cook something in the
meanwhile."
—————
"Ohh… this is so good." Shisui moaned as she went through the spread of
dishes he'd prepared for her.
"Not bad." Ringo announced her own verdict. She was a Tsundere
through and through.
"Thank you." He said before he remembered something that he'd been
thinking about a while now. "Say Shisui-san."
"Yes?" She asked, still too engrossed in her food.
"You live alone, right?" He asked, knowing well enough that she did ever
since her parents died near the end of the 3rd shinobi war.
"Yeah…" She said, not even looking at him as she devoured yet another
bowl of food.
"Then how about you come and live with us?"
Shisui immediately proceeded to choke on her food and sputtered for a
bit as Ringo patted her on the back and he handed her a cup of water.
Shisui finished the glass of water and wiped her mouth before giving him
a confused look. "What's with the sudden offer Ren-kun?"
"Well, you spend a lot of your time here, training with Ringo, me, or
Itachi. And my house is very big, with a lot of empty rooms. So I thought
that I might as well give you this offer." He said.
Shisui gave a contemplative look to his home before she glanced at him.
A teasing smile slowly formed on her face and she fluttered her
eyelashes. "Are you proposing to me, Ren-kun?"
"No." He replied immediately. "You're nowhere close to being strong
enough for me to propose to you."
Well, not right now anyway. However, he was sure that she would reach
Tier 6 in the future. And he would be a fool if he didn't try to rope her in
right now.
"Oh, is that so, Ren-chan?" Shisui asked, and his eyes twitched, knowing
that she was calling him 'Ren-chan' to annoy him.
"Don't make me spank you." He said, making both her and Ringo burst
out into laughter.
Once they'd calmed down a bit, Shisui gave him a somber look and said.
"I appreciate the offer, Ren-kun. I truly do. But... I don't want to impose
on you."
And then Ringo bonked her in the head. "Don't say stupid things girl.
You're not imposing on anyone here." She said.
Well, it appeared Ringo had developed a fondness for Shisui. He couldn't
blame her, though. Shisui was a cheerful and optimistic girl, capable of
eliciting smiles from anyone she interacted with. It would be hard for
someone to not like her.
He thought about how she'd died in canon timeline and took some
vindication in knowing that he'd killed Danzo.
"Of course not. But you really feel like you're imposing on me, then you
can pay for the rent and food." He told her, knowing well enough that
some people didn't like being in other people's debt.
Plus, despite Shisui's young age, she was already an accomplished Chunin
of Konoha. So paying a bit of rent wouldn't even put a dent on her
budget.
"Hm… this is still too sudden. Do you mind if I think on it for a bit?"
Shisui asked.
"Take your time." He said with a shrug before he thought of something.
"When will you go out on your next mission, Shisui-san?"
"I don't know." Shisui said thoughtfully "But it should be a while before
my team gets another C or B-rank mission."
"Hmm… in that case. Here." He said as he handed her one of his special
kunai. And by special kunai, he meant that it was just a simple kunai
with a Hiraishin seal on it.
"What is this?" Shisui asked, giving a curious glance to the seal on its
handle.
"Well… what do you know about our Hokage's favourite jutsu?" He
asked.
—————
AN: Sorry for another small chapter. But the next one has 10K words so it
should make up for this one. I'll upload it tomorrow.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 27- Attacking Kirigakure
Ren Uchiha POV
His hands glowed green and the wound in the gut was finally sealed,
signifying the completion of yet another surgery.
"Give him a blood replenishing pill and have him rest for the next two
weeks." Tsunade ordered, sounding about as mentally exhausted as him.
The staff quickly left with the now healed Shinobi and when no one else
came after that, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Was he the last one?"
"Yes. Last one for today. Tomorrow, we do this all over again." Tsunade
said with a sardonic smile and he felt that familiar pang of guilt inside
him once again.
How many Konoha shinobi have died in these skirmishes so far? How
many more will die before this is all over?
"Don't look so upset." Tsunade said, giving him a comforting yet sad
smile. "And don't burden yourself with unnecessary guilt. None of this is
your fault. Do you understand?"
He nodded, and had he not known about the canon timeline, in which
Konoha had 12 years of peace before Orochimaru's attack, then he might
have believed her. But as it was, he knew that this war is taking place
due to his existence. And he'll have to live with that knowledge.
They went outside and paused at the sight of and purple haired woman
crying over the corpse of a man who wore Konoha's Jounin Jacket. Her
heartbreaking wails akin to a hammer to his heart.
The man seemed to have been bisected in half. The death must've been
instant. Even Tsunade would've struggled to heal a wound like this had
she been in the battlefield herself.
He took a closer look and realised that he recognised the crying woman.
Yugao Uzuki. A tier 5 waifu who would eventually sign up as an anbu.
And the corpse she was crying over seemed familiar as well.
Observe told him that the guy was Hayate Geko. The one who was
supposed to die at Baki's hands before Orochimaru's attack. Only now,
he'd died many years before that.
Due to him.
A feeling of heaviness settled over him as he Tsunade directed him to a
bathroom to wash their hands. But as they were doing so, he heard a
loud siren sound from the center of Konoha.
The Siren, if played once, asked for all the Konoha shinobi and civilians
to come out of their homes and listen up. If played twice, it meant for the
civilians to prepare to go to the shelter while the shinobi became alert.
And if played thrice, it meant that they were under attack.
It only played once, meaning that an announcement was about to be
made.
He and Tsunade went outside along with the other shinobi and civilians.
"Do you know what is going on?" He asked Tsunade who had a somber
look on her face.
"I do." She said, but didn't elaborate on it.
At that moment, an Anbu shunshined in front of their group and started
speaking. "Hokage-sama has an important announcement to make.
Everyone, please go to the main plaza."
He saw the veteran shinobi in the group exchange grim looks and felt a
bad premonition in his heart as they started moving toward the main
plaza.
Since he and Tsunade were shinobi, and important ones at that, they
were allowed to sit on top of the various buildings overlooking the plaza.
And from there, he watched as the plaza and the streets surrounding it
slowly filled up with over 150,000 people that called Konoha their home.
Then the Hokage arrived at the top of the Hokage Tower, followed by his
three advisors and a group of Anbu, and started speaking using some sort
of Fuinjutsu/Genjutsu Technique that allowed his voice to travel to every
single person in attendance without being too loud.
"Everyone. Thank you for coming here in such short notice." Minato said.
"But I fear that I bring bad news today. I know that all of you have
important tasks to go back to, so I'll keep this short. You all know that
Kumo and Iwa have been attacking our borders for the past few months.
But today we gained information that both those villages have dispatched
an army of 4000 and 3000 shinobi to our borders. Thus, it is with a
heavy heart that I announce that, we are now officially at war with
Kumogakure and Iwagakure."
The speech lasted for another fifteen minutes for that, and the gist was
basically that Konoha will send its own armies to secure its borders.
Minato didn't tell them how many shinobi will go to the front lines, but
he later learned from Fugaku- that Hiruzen Sarutobi, the 3rd Hokage,
will lead an army of 2000 shinobi to Kusa, which would turn into the
Konoha-Iwa battlefield. And Jiraya would also lead an army of 2000
shinobi to the Land of Hotsprings which would become the Konoha-
Kumo battlefield.
As Minato had said. They were now at war. The 4th shinobi war.
And knowing that he was the main reason why it started, he couldn't just
sit back and do nothing.
—————
He waited patiently for what felt like hours before the door to the
Hokage's office opened up and a group of veteran shinobi walked out one
by one.
He knew from having used Observe on them before, that all of them were
the Elite Jounin of Konoha. Konoha used to have about 25-30 Elite
Jounins. But with the help of his Mangekyo Sharingan eyes as well as the
Hashirama cells, that number had now doubled.
And with Fugaku having used Hashirama Cells as well, the Uchiha clan
finally had a legitimate S-class shinobi (excluding him and Ringo). So it
was safe to say that the Uchiha clan was now the undisputed strongest
clan in Konoha.
"You can go inside now." The secretary told him once all the Elite Jounin
had shuffled of the room and he nodded before stepping inside.
He found Minato standing by the window, gazing at the Hokage
Mountain in contemplative silence.
"You know, when I took the Hokage's hat, I had no idea that we would
have to fight another Shinobi war so soon." Minato said, his voice laden
with a somber and melancholic tone.
He had no idea what to say to that so he remained silent.
A long moment passed before Minato took a deep breath and turned to
face him. "The answer is no."
He frowned. "What do you mean? I didn't even ask you anything."
"But you were. You were going to ask me to send you to the frontline,
weren't you?"
"…yeah."
"The answer is no."
"May I know why?"
Minato glanced at him before he walked around his table and sat on the
Hokage's chair before gesturing for him to take a seat as well.
Once he did, Minato started speaking. "First of all, know that this war
that we're fight is not because of you. No, let me finish. I know you feel
guilty about all this. But we're not fighting this war because of you. We're
fighting this war in order to uphold the founding principles of Konoha.
Konoha was created so that our families and children could live safely.
And had it been anyone else aside from you that was being targeted by
the enemies, then we would have fought the war regardless."
He looked away at Minato's words, knowing them to be nothing but lies.
After all, hadn't children been sent to the front lines during the 3rd
shinobi war?
Furthermore, in the canon timeline, when Kumo abducted Hinata, the
Hyuuga clan was asked to make a sacrifice to prevent Konoha from
plunging into another war.
So yes, while Minato's words sounded sweet, but knew that the only
reason why he wasn't being handed over to the enemies in a silver platter
was because he was far, far more important to the future of Konoha than
an Elite Jounin from the Hyuuga clan.
"You do not believe me." Minato said and when he remained silent,
Minato continued. "That is understandable. I do not claim to know how
you're feeling right now, Ren. But know that even if we did agree to send
you to the battlefield, your participation will only serve to make the war
even more intense."
"I can join up as an Anbu." He offered. "I know Tsunade-Sensei's
Permanent Transfiguration Jutsu and can take the form of a grown adult.
You do not even have to send me to the battlefield. Just let me use
Hiraishin to help. I can go anywhere and use my medical jutsu to heal
any wounded person in the camps."
"The presence of another person who can use Hiraishin Jutsu so
proficiently would only serve to make the other villages even more wary
of Konoha." Minato pointed out. "Plus, you serve as our primary means of
capturing spies and traitors. Now that we're at war, your services will be
needed more than ever before."
"In that case, I'll just return back to Konoha every few days and search for
the spies and traitors before going back to the battlefield."
"No." Minato said, his voice firm. "There is also the matter of your
emotional stability. Children who are exposed to too many deaths and
tragedies at a young age face psychological issues as they grow older.
Considering how powerful you'll grow up to be in the future, I'm not
willing to take any risk with your mental health."
He leaned back in his chair and stared at Minato. "You've given this a lot
of thought, haven't you?"
Minato gave him a sardonic smile in return. "You're one of our most
powerful shinobi. And if you join the war, then Ringo would presumably
follow as well. The presence of you two alone will change the course of
any battlefield you visit. Of course I've given this a lot of thought."
"What about all the shinobi who would die in this war?" He finally asked.
"Is my psychological health worth more than their lives. Worth more than
the countless shattered families they'll leave behind?"
Minato was silent for a long moment before he stared him in the eyes and
said one word. "Yes."
—————
"What's got you so down today?" Ringo asked as they sat in the hot spring
pool, relaxing after a long and arduous sparring session.
"The war."
"No," She replied, sliding over to him, her soft breasts pressing against his
back as she drew him closer. "Everyone is feeling the tension of the war,
but your unease surpasses that of others. What's the reason behind it?"
He stayed silent for a moment and considered whether he should tell her
or not. But if they were going to be married in the future, then they
needed to trust one another. And trust can only be formed with constant
communication and honesty,
"I want to join the war. But the Hokage is against it." He said. "And now
I'm considering whether I should defy the Hokage's orders and join the
war regardless."
"I'm surprised. If this were Kiri, the Mizukage wouldn't just have sent you
to the battlefield; he would have sent you as a vanguard," Ringo
remarked, a tone of amusement in her voice. However, the tension in her
arms conveyed that her amusement was anything but genuine. "Did he at
least explain why he didn't want you participating in this war?"
"He believes that the psychological damage I might suffer in the war is
not worth the benefit of me being present in the battlefield."
Ringo hummed at his words. "He's not wrong, you know. I've never met a
single shinobi in my life who has experienced war without being
negatively affected by it. Well… aside from the crazy ones. But then
again, they were crazy to begin with."
He turned to look at her. "So you're saying that I shouldn't join the war
either?"
Ringo smirked at his words. "One thing you should know about me, Ren,
is that I'm a very selfish person. I would gladly sacrifice this entire village
if it meant protecting you."
He stared at her for a moment before he scoffed. "I don't believe you. I
know there is good in you, Ringo, even if you do not like to show it."
"Keep telling yourself that." She said with a scoff even though his words
warmed her heart. It felt... good to see someone having faith in her.
Resting her chin on his head, she pulled him into a closer embrace just as
the door to the Hotspring swung open, revealing one of his Shadow
Clones entering with a scroll in hand.
The clone dissipated after delivering the scroll, transferring its memories
to him.
"What's in the scroll?" Ringo asked curiously.
"Strength of a Hundred Seal." He said with a smile. "It seems like
Tsunade-sensei had already foreseen that I would ask her for this Jutsu
and had prepared a scroll for me in advance."
"And what's does this Jutsu do?"
"It's the purple mark that you seen on Tsunade Sensei's forehead." He said
as he used the Skill Book ability and absorbed the scroll, gaining all its
information. "And it basically allows a person to store nigh infinite
chakra within their body."
Ringo's eyebrows went up to her hairline. "That… sounds awfully
convenient. What's the catch?"
"You need a decent understanding of Fuinjutsu and nigh perfect Chakra
control in order to use this Jutsu."
"Ah…" Ringo nodded in understanding. "That would explain why I
haven't seen anyone else with that purple mark. So… why are you
learning it?"
"To gain a lot of chakra." He said, giving her a look that said 'this should
be obvious'.
"No. What I mean is that, doesn't your Mangekyo ability also give you
near infinite chakra?" She asked.
"It does. But using that ability is taxing on my eye, eventually closing it
shut from the strain of repeated usage. And I prefer to keep both eyes
open during a battle."
"I see." She said. "It seems like you've decided to defy your Hokage's
orders and join the war anyway."
"Yes." He said and felt her arms tighten around him.
"And why would you do such a foolish thing?"
"The Hokage might be willing to sacrifice his shinobi in order to protect
my mental health but I'm not. I don't want to live with the knowledge
that so many people died in the war because of me. I don't want to live
with that kind of burden."
"So you would rather not live at all?" She asked.
He smiled at her barb. "I know my limits, Ringo. And at this point, there
is no shinobi in the Elemental Nations, aside from Onoki, who's capable
of killing me. And even Onoki has very little chance of doing so now that
I can use Hiraishin Jutsu."
"You're being overconfident." She told him and he smiled.
"You don't need to worry about me, Ringo. I'm not going to die anytime
soon."
"Yeah." She sighed, nuzzling deeper into him. "But the I boy I knew
would."
—————
He sat in a lotus position and used his Meditation skill before he started
syphoning the chakra in his body into the seal in his Forehead.
A normal person requires anywhere from 8 to 24 hours to recharge his
Chakra Reserves.
Compared to that, his Gamer system allows him to go from 0 to 100% in
83 minutes.
And that process shortens itself to about 27 minutes 20 seconds when
using his Meditation skill, which currently stands at Level 37.
But… he was not going to do that either.
Instead, what he was going to use his left Mangekyo Sharingan eye
technique: Soratatsu, to recover all his lost chakra in an instant.
So he spent a few minutes storing all his chakra into the seal. And once
his total chakra was near zero.
Soratatsu!
Bam! Full Chakra reserves.
Ding!
Your left eye has suffered minor damage!
-1% to all abilities used with your left eye!
…yeah, this was a problem that he had already encountered when
learning how to use his Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. Primarily, because his
eyes were still at the Mangekyo stage and not yet Eternal Mangekyo.
He was also aware that a 6-hour sleep session would heal any damages
incurred from the eyes' overuse.
So, he ignored the slight pain in his left eye and went back to storing
chakra in his Strength of Hundred Seal.
Once his chakra neared depletion, he deployed his trump card once
more.
Soratatsu!
Suffice it to say, it won't be long before he would have a large reserve of
chakra stored in his Seal.
And once this step is complete, he'll go to war.
Or, well, he'll follow Ringo's lead since she has far more experience in
war related matters than him.
—————
The next day.
"You need to target their defensive fortifications, supply centres, R&D
departments, and economic bases." Ringo told him. "Anyone can kill an
enemy shinobi. But if you want to cripple an enemy village, then you
need to cripple their ability to fight. And you do that by making this war
so costly for them, that continuing it would just not be worth the effort
anymore."
"So, what specific targets should we aim for if we plan to attack Kumo?"
he inquired, gazing at the map of the Land of Lightning. While not highly
detailed, it included most of the major landmarks—main cities,
significant mines, outposts, vital trade routes, ports, and more.
"Don't overthink it. Identify one of their critical weaknesses and begin
from there. For example, we know that the Land of Lightning is a
significant exporter of copper and gold. Start by targeting the mines
connected to that, the ports facilitating those resources, the trade routes,
or even go for their ships – with Hiraishin, you have the flexibility to
strike anywhere, anything, or everything. The choice is yours," Ringo
suggested.
"Won't they have shinobi guarding these locations."
"Of course they would have shinobi protecting those places.Frankly, I'd
be surprised if you encountered anything less than three teams of shinobi
defending each of these sites at all times. And that's not even counting
the Samurai or Rogue shinobi forces that the local lords hire to protect
their business." Ringo said. "But this is war, you know. You are not going
to accomplish anything significant without killing a few shinobi at least."
He hummed in acknowledgment, recognising that he might be in over his
head. Nevertheless, this was crucial, and if someone has to do it, then
that someone might as well be him.
After a moment of contemplation, he fixed his gaze on the map and
pointed to one of the more crucial targets. "I want to begin here."
Ringo raised her eyebrow in surprise. "That's a ballsy move. Attacking
their largest gold mine. I can guarantee you that there would be at least 5
teams of shinobi guarding it at all times. And that's just from Kumo. The
local lord would no doubt have a powerful force protecting that area as
well. You'll face 2 Elite Jounins at the very least if you attack this place.
Probably more."
"They won't be a problem." He told her, not out of overconfidence but
because he knew his own abilities.
Unless Killer Bee or the Raikage himself came to fight him, there was no
one in Kumo who's capable to stopping him for any significant length of
time.
"Hmm… I believe you. But are you sure you want to-" He raised a hand,
cutting her off as he sensed something into the distance.
He quickly put the map inside his Inventory and a few moments later, an
Anbu appeared outside his window.
"Ren-san. You've being summoned to the Hokage Tower." The anbu told
him and he frowned.
Did... did Minato figure out that he planned to go against his orders? No,
that couldn't be it. With the thorough protection of Fuinjutsu seals on his
house, there's no way anyone could spy on him. Not even the Byakugan
or the Hokage's Crystal Ball would work on his residence.
So who…
He side glanced at Ringo, wondering if she had leaked the information to
Minato before he shook his head.
No. He was not going to doubt her until he gains a definite proof that she
has betrayed him.
Well, sitting here and pondering wouldn't provide him with any answers,
so he might as well go and get them from the Hokage himself.
"Lead the way," he instructed the Anbu, following behind as they made
their way to the Hokage tower.
—————
He entered the meeting room and paused upon seeing all the important
people standing near the table.
Minato, Kushina, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Fugaku, and now him.
Basically, all the S-rank shinobi present in the village were in this room.
All, aside from Ringo. But Ringo was still not considered an official
kunoichi of Konoha so that was understandable.
"Ren. Come, join us." Minato said without even looking up from the large
map on the table.
He nodded and went forward, noticing that the map showed the various
islands in the Land of Water.
(AN: Sorry but I wasn't able to find a proper map of Land of Water. But
it's that cluster of Islands located at far Southern-East side of this map.)
He noticed Tsunade's eyes going wide as she noticed the Purple mark in
his forehead but she refrained from commenting on it.
"Sensei," he greeted Kushina and Tsunade before quietly positioning
himself beside Fugaku. He nodded respectfully to Fugaku and inquired,
"What is going on?"
"We are making a—" Fugaku began, only to be interrupted by another
person. "Kukuku. I didn't know our golden boy would join in on this plan
as well," Orochimaru remarked, giving him an amused look.
But unlike the last time they'd met, this time, he wasn't afraid of
Orochimaru and met his gaze confidently.
"He won't. He's just a boy. And my student. I won't let him," Tsunade
asserted firmly, and he could sense that this argument had been ongoing
for a while.
"Umm... What is going on, Sensei?" he asked Tsunade, who simply pursed
her lips and remained silent.
His eyes twitched in annoyance, and he searched for an answer from the
others, but no one else spoke until Minato shifted his gaze from the map
and looked at him.
"Before we start, do you mind explaining why you learned the Strength of
a Hundred Seal, Ren-kun?" Minato asked.
"Why not? It's a useful Jutsu." He replied but he had a feeling that Minato
won't buy such an excuse.
Minato gazed at him for a moment, then chuckled and shook his head. "I
would believe you, Ren-kun, if you hadn't gone to Tsunade-san for this
Jutsu right after I told you that you won't participate in the war."
Minato's demeanour turned serious, and he gave him the 'Hokage look.'
"Do not lie to me, Ren. Why did you learn that jutsu?"
"That…" He hesitated, wondering if he was going to be caught before he
even committed the crime.
"Did you plan on going against my orders and join the war on your own?"
Minato asked.
He lowered his gaze to his feet, unwilling to respond to the question.
However, his silence appeared to be an answer in itself.
"Oh Ren, you stupid boy." Tsunade said, looking defeated. Fugaku put a
hand on his shoulder for support. Kushina facepalmed. Orochimaru
chuckled in amusement. And Minato let out a heavy sigh.
"This is what I meant." Minato said, looking at Tsunade who in turned
looked at him with eyes that promised punishment as soon as she got her
hands on him.
"You've made your point," Tsunade conceded with a heavy sigh. She
retreated from the table and settled into a chair near the window, gazing
out at the village, ignoring everything else.
"Okay. What is going on here?" He asked, even more confused now.
"Minato believed that you would do something reckless and join the war
on your own," Fugaku conveyed, his grip on the shoulder tightening a bit.
"Lady Tsunade, Kushina-san, and I disagreed. Clearly, we were wrong."
"Oh…" He said, feeling even more guilty now. He would have to do
something to make it up to Tsunade-Sensei after this.
"Yes. Oh." Fugaku said with a sardonic smile. "So, Minato. You were right
about Ren. What next?"
"Well, considering that Ren-kun intended to defy my explicit orders, he'll
receive a punishment and incur a heavy fine. Fortunately, we intercepted
him before he actually committed the transgression, so the penalty will
be lenient," Minato said.
He wanted to argue that he hadn't gone against the orders, yet, so he
should technically not be punished. But after looked at Tsunade's already
upset expression, he decided not to go against his punishment.
"Okay, then. What'll be my punishment?" He asked.
"That will be decided after we return from our next mission." Minato said.
"Our Next mission?" He asked, putting heavy emphasis on the 'our'.
"Yes. Since you're not going to heed my orders and remain in Konoha,
I've decided to have you join our next mission."
He shifted his gaze down to the map and then back up at Minato. "Does
this mission have anything to do with Kiri?"
Minato offered him a grim smile. "Yes. Our next mission is intended to
ensure that Kiri doesn't participate in this war."
—————
"You're late." Ringo said as he finally returned back home.
It was indeed late. The meeting stretched for over 8 hours, with Shikaku
and other Elite Jounins eventually joining them as they fleshed out the
next mission and all their individual roles in it.
It was his first time watching veteran shinobi work together on planning
a mission. Even more so since this would be the most important mission
many of them would ever take part in.
Whether this mission succeeds or fails, it would be classified as an SS-
class mission. Success means one less shinobi village to fight. Failure
meant making eternal enemy of Kiri.
"Sorry." He said, feeling mentally exhausted and nervousness for the next
mission.
"What took you so long?" she inquired as she ushered him inside the
house, seating him on a sofa beside her.
"We were planning for a major SS-class mission," he responded,
contemplating whether to share the details with Ringo. Especially as he
had asked for her to added to this mission as well. "One that I'll be a part
of."
"Did the Hokage change his mind in letting you take part in the war?"
"No. But he surmised that I would join the war regardless. And he
decided that if I was going to do it anyway, I might as well join him on
this mission."
"Are you allowed to tell me what that mission is?"
"…no. But I would still tell you about this."
"Why?"
"Because not doing so feels like I'm betraying you." He said. Plus, he can't
very well ask her to join this mission without telling her about what
exactly it entailed. "Ringo. We're going to attack Kiri in our next mission."
Ringo froze at his words for a moment before she sighed. "I see. And
you're worried about how I would feel once I learn of this mission?"
"Yeah. You might have been a missing-nin for over a decade by this
point. But Kiri was still your home. I want to know how you would feel if
we attacked your home."
"Former home." Ringo correction, "My home is with you now. But with
that said, why is Konoha attacking Kiri, and not Kumo or Iwa?"
"Kiri is currently in turmoil after the Mizukage's death. All the candidates
for the seat of the 4th Mizukage are in conflict with each other. However,
we know that once the next Mizukage has been selected, they'll align
with Kumo and Iwa and go to war with us."
"Like they did in the 3rd shinobi war?"
"Yeah. We want to take this opportunity to launch a preemptive attack on
Kiri. Our main plan is to assassinate the leaders of the various factions so
that they won't have any viable candidates left for the Mizukage's
position." He said. "Aside from that, we're also going to attack the major
clans of Kiri in a bid to weaken Kiri."
Frankly, he was surprised by the sheer balls it took to come up with a
plan like this. And the fact that Minato not only approved it but would
also lead the mission spoke volumes about him. He was quite certain that
Hiruzen Sarutobi would never have endorsed such a mission, and even if
he did, he probably wouldn't participate in it himself.
"And you thought that I would be against this plan?" She asked.
He nodded, and she chuckled in amusement. Eventually, her laughter
subsided, and they settled into a comfortable silence. He patiently
awaited her words, and after a prolonged moment, she finally spoke.
"I hate Kiri." Ringo said, nuzzling her face against his own. "It was once
my home. And I loved it. But I also hated it. I hated the poverty, and the
excessive the violence. I hated the fact that a more powerful shinobi
could kill me, and no one would do anything about that. I hated the
Graduation exam, in which I was forced to kill my classmates. I hated all
the dangerous missions I was sent to. And I hated many other things. Yes,
Kiri was my home. And I loved it, once. But eventually, that loved turned
into dislike, and then into outright hatred. That's why, when I recovered
from my disease, instead of going back to serve my village, I packed my
shit and left."
"So…"
"No. I'm going to hate you for attacking Kiri, or anything like that. So you
can relax." Ringo said, planting a soft kiss on his cheeks. "In fact, I'm
going to join you in this mission."
"Huh?" 'Was this really happening?'
"You heard that right. You plan on attacking the various important clans
of Kiri, right? It just so happens that I have a bone to pick with one of
them."
He glanced at her, realising that she was serious and that he might not
even have to ask her to join the mission himself. "Are you for real?"
"Yup." She said cheerfully. "One thing that you do not know about Kiri, is
that there is a caste system in place. It's a sort of unwritten rule. But the
clans essentially form the upper caste, while the civilian shinobi make up
the lower caste."
"Really?" He asked, this being the first time he'd heard something like
this.
"Yeah. The lower caste shinobi are assigned riskier missions, not paid
well enough, live in worse condition, endure disrespect from clan
shinobi, and lead an all-around miserable life,." Ringo explained. "That
would've been my fate as well, had I not been chosen as the apprentice of
one of the Seven Swordsmen."
"I see," he remarked, and he could certainly understand it. This would
indeed clarify why Yagura's plan to instigate a bloody war against the
bloodline-wielding clans in Kiri was so successful.
If someone attempted the same in Konoha, they would likely fail.
However, with existing animosity between the common shinobi and the
clans, sparking a war between these two factions would be comparatively
easy.
"Are you sure about this though?" He asked Ringo. "If you're doing this
just to prove your loyalty to me, then you don't need to do this."
"Oh my Ren-kun. Don't be so naive. Just because I don't need to prove
myself to you doesn't mean that I don't have to prove myself to the rest of
your village. Or else I'll always remain an outsider in their eyes. Someone
not to be trusted. Plus, I'm doing this to get closure. So don't worry about
me."
"Hmm… In that case." He got up from the sofa and pulled her up with
him. "Come, let's go and talk with the Hokage."
"Right now?" She asked, looking surprised.
"Yes. You've lived in Kiri, so you undoubtedly know a lot more about it
than us. Any information you provide will be a substantial contribution.
Plus, as you said, it will help demonstrate your loyalty to me and this
village."
"Very well then. Lead the way."
—————
Two weeks later.
He was currently using Tsunade's permanent Transformation Jutsu to
look like a young teenager. On top of that, he wore an Anbu attire to
conceal his identity.
Around him stood 30 of some of the most powerful shinobi in Konoha
village. Minato, Orochimaru, Kushina, Fugaku, Ringo, and him. Plus 24
Elite Jounin.
8 of those Elite Jounin had his Mangekyo Sharingan eyes, with the faint
tinge of Hashirama cells in their Chakra. 6 were Anbu, and the rest were
from various clans.
Hell, he could even see Tsume Inuzuka, Hyuuga Hiashi, Shibi Aburame,
and a few other minor clan leaders in the team.
Yeah, Konoha was definitely going all out on this mission.
Well, except for Tsunade who'll remain behind to hold the Hokage's office
in Minato's absence.
'There must always be a powerful shinobi in the Hokage's seat in the
Hokage's absence.' Minato had explained when he inquired why Tsunade
wasn't joining them on the mission. And he could certainly see the
wisdom in that.
The Hokage could die in the mission, or face prolonged delays due to
unforeseen circumstances. Or the village could get attacked while they're
away from it.
"Is everyone ready?" Minato inquired, receiving confirmation from all
present. Minato then turned to him and nodded. "Do it, Crow."
Crow was the code name he'd been given when wearing his anbu attire.
He nodded and created multiple shadow clones. "Please, everyone. Stand
together."
Those who didn't know of his true identity were hesitant to follow his
orders but a nod from Minato had them doing just that.
"Hiraishin: Second form. Mass Transfer," he declared, collaborating with
his Shadow Clones to teleport everyone within the circle to the
designated location.
In an instant, they found themselves within a recently unearthed cave on
a deserted island a few miles from Kiri. The cave had been sealed with
Fuinjutsu in advance by his clones to ensure none of the Kiri sensors
would detect their arrival.
Their earlier plan was to land in an island about 50 miles away from Kiri.
But Ringo had told them about this small island which allowed them to
come so close to Kiri without being detected.
He dispersed the Shadow Clones and ignored the Notification which
informed him that his Hiraishin Skill has risen by one level.
Now that they were here, it was time for step two of the plan.
To infiltrate Kiri.
—————
When they called Kiri 'Village Hidden in the Mist', they weren't joking
around, unlike when they called Konoha a 'Village Hidden in the Leaves'.
No, Konoha is simply surrounded by a vast forest. And what forest did
provide them with a great measure of protection, it didn't 'hide' them
from anyone. Difficult to hide a village when you have a dozen roads
leading toward it from all directions.
But Kiri, it is subsumed by such a heavy fog that even seeing pat 20 feet
in front of himself was difficult.
If not for his Level 93 Chakra Sense and Level 14 Echolocation skill (one
he'd learned in case he would have to fight blind), he would be
completely disoriented and unaware of his surroundings.
As it was though, he was able to navigate the mist filled village with
relative ease. And with his chakra tightly coiled with his own body
thanks to his near perfect Chakra Control, he was all but invisible to the
Kiri's sensors.
Maybe if Kiri had an emotion sensor like Uzumaki, they might have
sensed him. But as things stood, he was able to move through their
village with impunity.
His silent steps brought him behind a guard who remained clueless to his
presence until the very end when a Kunai was lodged deep into his brain.
He stowed the body and the bloodied kunai within his Inventory,
ensuring that the scent of blood didn't linger. Following this, he created a
Shadow Clone to take the position of the guard.
Then he moved on, hunting for the other guards. And he was aware that
all around Kiri, several more Konoha teams were navigating through the
dense mist just like him, assassinating the guards and infiltrating deeper
into the village.
Though they didn't really have to go that deep, considering that Kiri was
barely a fraction the size of Konoha.
Unlike Konoha, where the civilian population outnumbered the Shinobi
by 4:1. In Kiri, you'll be hard pressed to find any civilians. And
considering that Kiri's shinobi population itself always hovered around
10,000 and 15,000. To say that Kiri was small would be an
understatement.
The main reason why Kiri was so dangerous was not because of its
shinobi but because of its geography and their homefield advantage. As
things stood, in order to attack Kiri, you'll have to cross hundreds of
miles of sea and land on one of their islands, which are surrounded by
water.
Not wanting to take such a suicidal risk with their armies, most other
villages mainly focus on defending against Kiri instead of launching an
attack. Meaning that Kiri could attack other villages with impunity
without any fear of retaliation.
This was also the main reason why Kiri would've attacked Konoha once
again despite knowing just how powerful Konoha had become. Because
they didn't expect Konoha to attack them in return. Unfortunately for
them, Hiraishin Jutsu rendered factors like distance and geography
irrelevant.
If Kiri had a wise leader and its shinobi weren't bloodthirsty idiots, then
it could've ruled the entire Sea area around the Elemental Nation. And
they would've grown immensely rich from all the sea trade.
Alas, it was not to be. And by the time they are done with this village, it
would be so weak that they would never even consider attacking Konoha.
After killing two more guards, he finally arrived at his destination.
Unlike other shinobi who had mainly been tasked with killing people, his
task was a little different.
Instead of assassination, he was given the task of demolition.
And his first target in the list was the Port and all the ships docked in
that port.
Sure, Shinobi can run on water. But doing so in the sea where the
weather can change at a moment's notice is dangerous. Not to mention
that only Jounin and above have the stamina to run all the way from Kiri
to the main continent. Or even to some of the distant islands in this
archipelago.
Suffice it to say, if Kiri wants to mobilise their shinobi army with any
success, then they need ships.
Only, they'll not have any of those ships (or their port for that matter) by
the time he's done with them.
Performing a series of hand seals, Chakra-based Fuinjutsu seals emerged
beneath his feet, swiftly enveloping him in a barrier to conceal his
Chakra usage. Completing this, he executed another set of hand signs,
generating a Shadow Clone infused with approximately 90% of his
Chakra.
The seal on his forehead unfurled and the titanic amount of chakra he'd
stored within it surged inside his Charka Pathways, filling up his depleted
chakra reserves in no time.
Once that was done, he created yet another Shadow Clone with 90% of
his Chakra.
He turned his attention to his two Shadow Clones and issued clear
instructions. "Both of you are familiar with the plan. Utilize Swamp Jutsu
to submerge the entire Port area underwater. Employ Fire Jutsu to
incinerate all the ships, followed by Flooding Jutsu to drown any
remnants. After that, if you still have any chakra left then slaughter any
Kiri shinobi that comes near you. Is that clear?"
""Understood.""
"Very well. Stay here and wait for the signal. Or wait till the fight
begins." He told his Shadow Clones before he dropped the Fuinjutsu
Barrier and left. Quickly moving to his next destination.
The Shinobi Academy of Kiri.
The Academy was currently empty except for a few civilians working to
clean it through the night.
Using Observe told him that the civilians were slaves that Kiri used for
menial chores. Fucking Kiri.
He knocked them out and left them in a dumpster outside before creating
a Shadow Clone to demolish the building once the battle begins.
Then he moved on to the next target.
The Mizukage's Building.
However, halfway to his destination, he detected a significant surge in
chakra emanating from the other side of the village, accompanied by the
thunderous noise of a powerful Water Jutsu crashing through multiple
buildings.
The sound was then quickly followed by a few kunai strikes before going
silent. The alerted sentry was killed. But it was too late.
This was not a game where the other sentries will look for their missing
comrade for a few seconds before declaring 'it must've been the wind'.
No, within seconds, the entire Kiri became abuzz with activity. He cursed
his luck and abandoned all stealth, sprinting toward the Mizukage Tower
at full speed.
Two of the shinobi guarding the tower noticed him and rushed forward
to meet his charge. But he easily batted them aside before he reached the
base of the Tower.
If he had more time at hand then he would've loved to infiltrate the
tower and get all the useful stuff inside. But as it was, he could already
sense a dozen shinobi rushing towards him from every direction. So he
went forward with his mission to destroy the tower.
"Fire Release: Fire Annihilation Jutsu," he intoned, and a massive sea of
flames erupted from his mouth, engulfing the tower and reducing it to
ashes.
…or that's what would've happened at least, if not for the barrier that
suddenly sprung up out of nowhere and held back his fire from
consuming the tower.
His eyes narrowed as he recognised the telltale signs of an Uzumaki
barrier, realising that Kiri must've acquired it when they slaughtered the
Uzumaki clan.
But either the barrier was constructed by a novice, or the person
controlling it had no idea what the heck he was doing, because the very
next instant, the barrier fizzled out, and the dwindling fire engulfed the
tower.
He swiftly created a dozen Shadow clones to deal with the shinobi
approaching him before making another hand sign and slamming his
palm to the ground.
"Earth Style: Gaping Maw!"
A massive stone maw emerged from beneath the Tower, closing its jaws
around the structure before pulling it beneath the ground.
"Earth Style: Maw Burial." He declared, and the stone maw intensified the
pressure around the remnants of the Mizukage's tower, crushing
everything within to dust.
Now absolutely sure that the shinobi here won't be able to recover the
Tower, or anything inside it, he created even more Shadow Clones to
deal with the multiple teams of shinobi converging in this direction
before he rushed toward his next and final goal.
The R&D Department of Kiri.
Only, when he arrived at the location, he found its gates barred shut and
its walls surrounded by a large Fuinjutsu barrier, stopping his advance.
'Of course the shinobi here would also have access to the Fuinjutsu
barrier.' He thought but then paused as he took in the smell of blood
coming out from within the barrier.
Fresh blood. And a lot of it as well.
Not just that, now that he had gotten a better look at the barrier, it was
of a far higher quality than the one that protected the Mizukage Tower.
Also, instead of keeping out the intruders, it was created with the express
purpose of keep the people inside it from leaving.
'Did these people have no idea how to use a barrier properly?' He
wondered before he quickly used his own Fuinjutsu expertise to create a
hole in the barrier.
The barrier was such superior quality that it was only because it wasn't
designed to withstand external attacks that he managed to breach it.
Nevertheless, he swiftly infiltrated the enclosed area.
And quickly realised why the scent of the fresh blood was so strong as he
saw the piles of corpses scattered around the R&D building.
'-the hell happened here?' He thought to himself before he shook his head
and started making hand signs to use a powerful Ninjutsu and destroy the
entire building.
But before he could finish, his Danger Sense flared and he jumped to the
side as a golden chain emerged from within the building and flashed past
him at blinding speed.
"Kushina-Sensei! What the hell!" He cursed as he saw the golden chain
pierce the barrier like it was not even there and then go through two
more buildings before it came to a stop and was retracted back into the
building.
'Wait. Wasn't Kushina supposed to go to the Hozuki clan compound?' He
thought to himself and wondered if the plan had been changed without
his knowledge.
But then his attacker emerged from within the building, and despite the
Henya mask she was wearing, he instantly realised that this person was
now Kushina.
The size of her breasts and the size of her ass was slightly different. As
was the shade of red hair trailing down her back. But most importantly.
His Observe skill told him that this person was Mito Uzumaki, the widow
of the First Hokage. A woman who should've died when she transferred
the 9 tails to Kushina-Sensei.
'How's she alive? And what the hell is she doing here?' He wondered but
didn't have the time to think anything else as a dozen chains emerged
from within her back and flashed toward him.
His danger sense, Mangekyo Sharingan, high-level agility, and near-
perfect physical defense were the only factors that enabled him to survive
the onslaught of her attack with only a few cuts and bruises.
-4 HP!
-2 HP!
-6 HP!
-3 HP!
-1 HP!
He stared at the string of notifications. While the damage wasn't even a
small fraction of his total HP, and the minor cuts and bruises healed in
the next second, the fact that he suffered any damage at all, despite his
extremely high Physical Resistance, was impressive.
This meant that if it was anyone else, then those chains would've
skewered them and turned them into Swiss cheese.
"Wait! We're on the same team!" He called out, noticing Mito preparing
for another attack after realising he was still alive.
"Don't attack me. I'm from Konoha." He called out when he saw that his
talk-no-jutsu was indeed working.
Mito was silent for moment before she whispered. "Those eyes…"
Then a deafening explosion shook the entire island, dispersing the Mist
that veiled its surroundings. A shockwave of air slapped him in the face,
and he looked in that direction to see colossal plume of fire ascending
into the sky.
'It seems like Kushina-Sensei has joined the battle.' He thought as he
sensed the corrosive chakra of Kurama envelop his senses.
"Kyubi's chakra... What is Konoha doing here?" Mito mumbled to herself,
but his sensitive hearing picked up her words regardless.
"What are you doing here?" He asked here instead. "Aren't you supposed
to be dead?"
Her gaze sharply turned in his direction, and he sensed the weight of her
chakra intensifying. "What are you talking about, child?"
"You're Mito Uzumaki, the wife of the 1st Hokage. What are you doing
here?" he inquired, before hesitating briefly. "Did someone use Edo
Tensei to revive you?"
But even as he asked that question, he doubted its validity. Because her
Observe description gave no such hint. And he could see her arms and
they had cracks in them.
Moreover, the only individual known to possess the Rinnegan in this
world was Madara Uchiha. He doubted that Madara would go to the
trouble of resurrecting Mito, especially considering that Madara himself
must be near death at this point, if not already deceased.
Wait. Was she alive due to the Universal Calibration? He had no idea
how that would even work but it seemed to be the only thing that makes
sense.
"…you're mistaking me for someone else." She replied and he had to stop
himself from scoffing at her words.
"No. I'm sure I've got the right person." He said before he paused and took
note of the building she'd attacked. The R&D building. Where all the
secret research of Kiri was being kept.
Secret research... along with the Fuinjutsu knowledge they stole from the
Uzumaki clan when they massacred its people.
Yeah, things were making more sense now. Though the timing was still a
suspect. Was this mere coincidence, some sort of play from Mito Uzumaki
to gain Konoha's attention. Or simply Universtal Calibration at work once
again.
"Are you here to take back your Fuinjutsu scrolls and get revenge for
your clan?" He asked. It was possible that he might have been wrong but
he frankly doubted it.
Mito's silence at his question was all the answer he needed.
"Konoha is attacking Kiri right now. Why not join us?" He asked.
Mito remained silent for a prolonged moment, deep in thought, before
she shook her head. "That will not be necessary. I am not a part of
Konoha. Not anymore." she declared. "Besides, why is Konoha attacking
Kiri? Shouldn't you be busy warring with Kumo and Iwa?"
"We got intel that Kiri would go to war with us as soon as the next
Mizukage was selected and decided to launch a pre-emptive attack." He
said. "But what do you mean by 'I'm not part of Konoha anymore'?"
"That's none of your business, child." Mito said. "Though, I must ask, how
did you recognise me?"
"My eyes allow me to see things that other people can't." He said,
pointing at his Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. And while a misdirection, it
wasn't a lie either.
"…I see." Mito said, as if understanding everything. "If that is all, then I'll
take my leave. Though, before going, I want you to promise that you'll
not reveal my existence to anyone else. I do not want to have to do
anything with Konoha anymore."
"You want me to lie to the Hokage?"
"Not lie. Just… do not bring up out fight. That is all I ask of you."
"And why would I do that? In fact, what do you mean that you don't
want to do anything with Konoha. You are the widow of the 1st Hokage,
whether you like it or not. And your granddaughter is currently ruling
Konoha in the Hokage's absence."
"Tsunade…" Mito mumbled to herself before she shook her head. "I do
not have the time or inclination to answer your questions. So how about
we make a deal?"
"What kind of deal?" He asked.
"You keep my existence a secret. And in return, I'll give you the location
of the 6 tails Jinchuriki."
"He's not in Kiri right now?"
"No. The 6 tails Jinchuriki left Kiri a few years ago and has not returned
since. Konoha has already taken the 3 tails from Kiri, so I guessed that
you might be interested in the 6 tails as well."
"Konoha didn't take the 3 tails from Kiri. That was a different
circumstance." He told her. "But… I accept your deal. Give me the
location of the 6 tails Jinchuriki and I'll not reveal your existence to
anyone."
"I do not have his location right now." Mito said with a shake of her head
and he frowned.
"You just said that you'll give me his location."
"I did. And I did know where he was a while ago. It will take me some
time but I'm confident that I'll be able to find him once again."
"And why should I trust your words?"
"I give you my word as Mito Uzumaki that I will find the 6 Tails
Jinchuriki and give you his location within a month." She said.
"Your word... very well, I accept it. But break your end of the deal, and
I'll tell everyone in Konoha about your survival."
"Very well." Mito said before she threw a kunai at him that he caught
with a Chakra Thread, wary of any traps from her.
But while the Kunai was indeed covered in Fuinjutsu seals, it didn't do
anything to him. And a simple use of Observe had him raising his
eyebrows in surprise.
"How do you know Hiraishin Jutsu?" He asked.
"Fufufu. I was the one who helped Tobirama create that Jutsu. Are you
really surprised that I know this Jutsu?" She asked in a mirthful voice.
"I'll come and give you that information in a month. And I hope that
you'll keep your end of the deal. For now, farewell child."
And with that, she vanished.
Using Hiraishin.
What the fuck.
He stared at the kunai with the Hiraishin seal on it for a long moment
before it pocketed it.
He'll think on this later. For now, he had a job to finish.
A single hand sign and the entire Research and Development building
was burned to cinders.
—————
With his mission complete, he immediately went back to the centre of the
Kiri village and saw the vast devastation caused by the Konoha shinobi.
To say that Kiri had turned into a hellhole by this point would be an
understatement.
Almost all the buildings in the village were on fire. The streets were
flooded with sea water due to the excessive use of Water Release Jutsu.
Kushina's use of Tailed Beast bomb had left a giant crater in the middle
of the village. And a great part of the North-Eastern area had been turned
into a swamp, courtesy of the Shadow Clones he'd tasked with destroying
the Ships and the Port.
Good job Shadow Clones.
Despite the devastation though, the Kiri shinobi were still fighting, and
now that the element of surprise had worn off, their sheer numbers were
starting to overwhelm Konoha's shinobi.
All the shinobi and kunoichi who took part in this mission were either S-
class or Elite Jounin. However, even their formidable skills could be
overpowered by sheer numerical superiority, as evidenced by the demise
of the 3rd Raikage against those 10,000 shinobi.
Well… time to change the dynamics a bit.
His Strength of Hundred Seal started working overtime and sent more
and more chakra into his system, overloading his chakra system before
he used his next Jutsu.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
In an instant, his surroundings were filled with over a thousand Shadow
Clones. And each one immediately leaped into the fray, assisting,
rescuing, or healing the Konoha shinobi who were struggling in their
battles.
If those Shadow Clones were made by Naruto, then they would've
instantly jumped into the melee and died like the mooks they were. But
his clones were smarter and mostly used Genjutsu and Ninjutsu in the
battle.
And with how high his Genjutsu skill was, aided by the Mangekyo
Sharingan, few shinobi ever escaped from his Genjutsu.
With that done, he glanced at the areas where the battle was most
intense. Meaning the places where the S-rank shinobi were fighting
against the clans.
He observed the chaotic battlefield, witnessing Manda, the giant snake,
being besieged by Yuki clan shinobi. Minato swiftly maneuvered through
Terumi clan members, while Kushina, in her five-tailed form, wreaked
havoc among the Hoshigaki clan. Ringo clashed with Fuguki, the current
wielder of Samehada. Fugaku's colossal 5-meter-tall Susanoo engaged in
combat alongside Kaguya clan members, who were ruthlessly dispatching
Kiri shinobi.
Wait what!?
He focused on the last part once again and found that Fugaku and a few
other Uchiha clan members had put the leaders of Kaguya clan into
Genjutsu and were now using them to fight against other Kiri shinobi.
'…huh. That's a genius idea.' He thought as he negligently dodged the few
shinobi trying to attack him and focused back into the battlefield. 'Still,
we should've retreated by now. What the hell is taking them so long?'
Well… that wasn't really a question as he could see why Konoha's forces
haven't retreated.
Despite the extensive destruction they had unleashed, they had yet to
eliminate the S-class shinobi vying for the role of the next Mizukage.
'Well, nothing to it.' He thought before he quickly rushed toward the
battlefield where Ringo and two more Elite Jounin were fighting against
Fuguki Suikazan and his team of anbu.
Fuguki immediately noticed his presence and swiftly disengaged from his
battle with Ringo in order to block his attack.
However, he had enhanced his Chakra Sword to possess the weight of a
mountain. When their blades clashed, Samehada emitted a sharp cry of
agony as his sword effortlessly sliced through a few of its scales. This act
demolished Fuguki's defence, propelling him into the ground with
enough force to turn it into a crater.
A pulse of chakra sent through his feet immediately resulted in a spike
rising up from underneath Fuguki's bulky form, but the guy must have
had great survival instinct because even in his disoriented state, he
managed to move to the side. Losing only a chunk of his flesh instead of
getting a hole in his torso.
Witnessing this, Ringo swiftly charged ahead, unleashing a lethal
lightning attack at Fuguki. However, he quickly raised Samehada to take
the brunt of the attack. Samehada howled in pain once more from the
potent lightning strike and he used this chance to throw at Kunai at
Fuguki's face.
The giant of a man moved to the side, dodging his kunai, only of him to
Hiraishin to his back and shove a Chidori right through his shoulder,
Fuguki turned back with alarm, surprised by the sudden appearance of
another S-rank teleporter on the battlefield. However, before he could
react further, Ringo arrived in front of him the next moment, swiftly
slashing open his throat with her Kiba swords.
A great deluge of blood gushed out of Fuguki's neck and the guy put a
hand on his throat, trying to stop his lifeblood from leaking out of his
body.
But it was futile in the end as Fuguki seemed to have no experience in
medical Jutsu.
Fuguki brought out his hand in front of his face, staring at his blood in
shock, as if he couldn't come to terms with the fact that he was dying.
And then he swung his wind coated blade through Fuguki's neck, ending
his life.
He Inventoried Fuguki's head and corpse before he picked up Samehada,
only for the sword to instantly grow spikes around its handle that tried to
poke into his skin.
Unfortunately for the sword, his Resistance to Physical attacks made the
spikes useless. Noticing this, Samehada immediately changed its method
of attack and started syphoning chakra from his body.
Ding!
Gamer Body stopped chakra extraction from user's body!
Huh... he hadn't known that Gamer Body could do this. But nice!
He tried to put Samehada inside his Inventory but failed to do so since
Samehada had enough sentience that it counted as a living being rather
than an inanimate object.
Well… he'll just carry it around then. It'll destroy Kiri shinobi's morale if
nothing else.
"Where to next?" Ringo asked and he noticed that she looked a little tired
and injured from her battle with Fuguki.
Understandable, as the wielder of Samehada is usually the strongest of all
the Seven Swordsmen. The fact that Ringo fought him for so long without
losing any ground is impressive in and of itself.
"Go to Orochimaru and aid him in his battle." He told her as he quickly
used Medical Jutsu to heal her minor wounds. "I'll go and help Minato."
She nodded and swiftly left this place, the two Elite Jounin followed
behind her as well while he rushed toward his next battlefield.
—————
Arriving at the Terumi clan compound, which had been utterly destroyed
by this point, he quickly understood why Minato had failed to wrap up
this battlefield by this point.
There were four main reasons for it.
First being the clan leader, who had the Boil Release bloodline and was a
low S-class shinobi.
Second was Mei Terumi. Who had both Boil and Lava Release bloodlines
and was also a low S-class shinobi.
Third being the numerous Jounin and the few Elite Jounin of Terumi clan
who were putting up a great fight against the Anbu team that Minato had
brought with him.
But fourth and main reason why Minato was still having difficulty in this
fight was because Terumi clan had understood the one weakness of
Hiraishin and were doing their best to snatch up and destroy any
Hiraishin kunai that Minato threw around in the battlefield.
Even that had only slowed Minato in his slaughter and he could see that
over half of the Terumi clansmen that already been Rasenganed to the
afterlife.
But without those Kunai, Minato lost a great part of his mobility and was
being held back by the two S-class enemies.
Not anymore.
He took out the Kunai Minato had given him earlier and sent his chakra
coursing through it before he created one Shadow Clone who started
making hand signs alongside him.
Minato sensed the emergency call from his Hiraishin kunai and
immediately teleported to his side, extracting himself from the main
battlefield.
And just as Minato did that.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
A sea of flames poured of his mouth and was the further aided by the
Wind Release Technique, turning into a grand inferno that burned
everything in front of itself. By the time the fire died down, nothing
remained of the Terumi clan compound but a charred land.
Well, nothing but the two pockets where Mei Terumi and the clan leader
managed to use defensive Jutsu to survive the attack along with a few
other clan members. The other clan shinobi were either dead or had run
for their lives.
Minato's anbu flash behind him and he immediately noticed that almost
all of them were injured in some form or manner.
It seems like the Terumi clan was more powerful than they had expected.
Almost as powerful as the Uchiha clan before he'd empowered them with
his eyes.
"I'll take the girl. You take the old man." He told Minato as he created a
dozen Shadow Clones to heal the anbu before rushing forward.
He threw a kunai at Mei but it seemed like she was already wary of
Hiraishin attacks and dodged the kunai by such a large margin that
teleporting to it was pointles.
So he continued running toward Mei who quickly made hand signs and
sent a hot stream of water at him.
Only, his Resistance to Fire Release was so high that an attack like this
didn't even register as warm to his skin.
He took the Boil Release attack at face and continued running forward,
not taking a single point of damage from it before he came out of the
other side and right in front of Mei Terumi.
The young woman seemed stunned by the fact that he'd taken such a
powerful attack to his face without sustaining any burns, but not stunned
enough to stay still as he launched his own counterattacks.
They quickly exchanged a flurry of Taijutsu techniques in which he
overwhelmed her with his greater speed and strength, eventually
breaking through her guard and slamming his fist into her stomach.
Mei let out a wheezing cough as she was folded in half around his fist
and then thrown halfway across the battlefield from the impact. She
skipped and rag dolled through the ground before eventually skidded to a
stop.
He quickly gave chase but it seemed like the attack itself wasn't enough
to put her out of the fight as she raised her head and spewed out a
curtain of lava at him.
He threw a kunai right through the lava curtain and then appeared on
the other side, right beside Mei.
Her eyes didn't even had the time to widen in shock before he threw a
light punch to her throat.
Her eyes bulged out of their sockets from the pain before his fingers
flashed toward her most important tenketsu points.
"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms"
"Four Palms"
"Eight Palms"
"Sixteen Palms"
"Thirty Two Palms"
"Sixty Four Palms"
He missed some of the tenketsu points due to not having the Byakugan or
as much practice with this technique. But the end result remained the
same.
Mei wasn't able to access her chakra. Nor was she able to move her body
properly anymore.
Credit where it was due, she still brought her head forward to slam
against his own but he simply dodged her headbutt her and chopped her
in the neck, making her lose consciousness.
He carried her on his shoulder, his prisoner of war, before he looked at
the rest of the battlefield.
With his Shadow Clones and the Anbu keeping the other Terumi clan
members at bay and with Minato only having to deal with a single low S-
class shinobi, the battle had already ended.
He flashed beside Minato who didn't seem surprised by Mei's unconscious
form on his shoulder as he spoke up. "We've done enough damage.
Should we retreat now?"
"Yes." Minato said before turning to one of his Anbu. "Singal retreat to all
Konoha shinobi. We're done here."
The Anbu nodded and launched a special fireball into the sky that went
high up and then burst into a large blue ball.
"Take everyone back to the meeting point." Minato ordered before he
used Hiraishin and vanished.
He shrugged and then stared at his Shadow Clones who had returned
from chasing off the retreating Terumi clan members. "Take them back to
the meeting point." He said, pointing at the Anbu.
Then he left to the other battlefields to make sure that everyone is able to
retreat from Kiri safely.
Within 5 minutes, all of them were back to their starting point, staring at
the still burning and thoroughly destroyed Kiri in the distance.
Of the 30 shinobi who had joined the battle, only 27 managed to return
back safely. 3 of them having died in the battlefield.
The count should have been 5, but the two Uchiha clansmen, who
appeared to have perished in the battle, had actually survived by
employing Izanagi. He could discern this from the fact that one of their
eyes was no longer functional.
He didn't blame them for it. Their lives were more valuable than a single
eye.
Kushina had also discarded her Tailed Beast cloak, reverting to her
human form, and was now resting in Minato's arms, thoroughly
exhausted from the battle.
Minato turned away from the hellscape that Kiri had turned into and
glanced at him, his eyes briefly flickering toward the unconscious form of
Mei in his arms.
"Crow. Take us back to Konoha."
He nodded. "Gather together everyone."
And that's how their mission in Kiri ended.
—————
AN: God fucking dammit! It took me over 4 entire hours to edit this
chapter. I'm not writing a 10K chapter ever again. Though, the length
increased to 11K after a few important edits.
An oh, we also reached 100K words in this fanfic, so there's that as well.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter, because I absolutely didn't
enjoy editing it. At all.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day
Chapter 28- Getting another S-
class waifu
Mei Terumi POV
She woke up in a cozy bed, her surroundings filled with brightness. This
caught her off guard, as she had anticipated awakening in a dark cell,
restrained against a chilly wall.
She stretched her body and found that the wounds she'd suffered in that
battle against Konoha's Yellow Butcher and that strangely capable Anbu
had been healed. Yet, even though she felt no pain, a sense of unease
lingered as she sensed something amiss with her body.
She tried to manipulate her chakra, but her control fizzled out before she
could even grasp it. She remembered that Anbu using the Hyuuga's
Taijutsu technique to seal her Tenketsu points but this was something
else. Something more insidious.
Swiftly rising from the bed, she examined her body more closely and
quickly discovered the issue. Her pristine white skin bore a collection of
Fuinjutsu arrays, meticulously drawn with the intent of preventing her
from accessing her chakra.
Well, this clarified why she found herself in a room instead of a cell.
Without her chakra, she would struggle to defeat an average Genin and
didn't pose much of a threat.
Perhaps, had she dedicated more attention to Taijutsu and physical
training, she might still hold some advantage. However, her reliance on
Ninjutsu, fuelled by her dual Bloodline and abundant chakra, had now
come to bite her in the ass.
She let out a defeated sigh and reclined back on the bed.
Her darkest fears had come true.
It was a fear shared by all Kunoichi. That someday they'll be captured by
the enemy forces and being turned into a broodmare, valued only for
popping out children for their captor.
With her extensive chakra reserves and possession of two bloodlines, the
threat had always been distressingly real for her. However, upon
reaching the status of an S-class Kunoichi, she had naively believed that
her strength would render such a situation improbable.
So much for that.
The worst part was that she knew that there a small possibility of this
outcome when they fought Konoha's Yellow Butcher.
After all, he was known as one of the most dangerous shinobi in the
entire elemental nations. Even when they had outnumbered him, she
knew that the odds of her either dying or being captured were quite
significant.
But she'd fought regardless. Fought for a clan that she despised with
every fibre of her being.
She fought despite resenting her parents for dying and leaving her all
alone in this cruel world. She fought for the peers that she detested. Peers
that only saw her as an object to be seduced or envied. She fought for the
elders who saw her as nothing but a ticket to a brighter future for their
clan. And the rest of the clan who watched it all from the sidelines with
indifferent eyes.
And finally, she fought beside her uncle, who always stared at her with
those lecherous gaze. The one who she feared the most in her clan. And
one who was the driving force behind her relentless training, if only to
defy her fate of ending up as one of his concubines.
And she had succeeded as well. She finally become an S-class Kunoichi
who could fight her uncle with a decent chance of success. Or, desert the
village and survive the Kiri Hunter-nins that'll eventually be sent after
her.
If only she had run away. Why had she stayed behind to fight? For what
reason?
She had no real family, no true friends, no obligation to stay and fight for
a clan she hated. She should have left her clan. Left her village. Gone out
into the world and started a new life.
Wasn't that what she had always wanted. To live a peaceful life, away
from all this chaos and violence. To marry a handsome young man, who
would care for her and love her.
They would live in a cozy home, and raise many children. And she would
not abandon them like her own parents had done for her. No, she would
keep them safe from the meaningless, cruel life of a shinobi.
But now, here she was, in the hands of her enemies. The life she'd
dreamed of was snatched away before she ever had the chance to live it.
She let out another heavy sigh at that realisation. A part of her wondered
if she could escape from this place but she quickly discarded that idea.
The Fuinjutsu seals drawn by a master were not something that you
could be simply washed away with some water. Once drawn on skin,
they became a permanent fixture, and lasted until another skilled
Fuinjutsu master decided to erase them.
And as long as she had those seals, she was about as dangerous as your
average genin. A pack of wild animals had a decent chance at killing her.
Plus, she was sure that she was tagged with the Hiraishin marker that the
Yellow Butcher and that mysterious Anbu used to Teleport around. So
even if she succeeded in escaping Konoha (an outcome she doubted),
they would simply teleport to her side and retrieve her.
And she would be put inside an actual cell this time, for trying to run
away.
She sighed once again and wondered who her Captor was.
Was it the Yellow Butcher?
As reluctant as she was to admit it, that man was undeniably handsome.
If he treated her with kindness and respect, then she might not even put
up a fight. She would not be free, of course, but it would be facsimile of
her dream, no?
But what if she was in the hands of some old elder who only wanted her
as a broodmare.
Well… there was only one way to find out.
She got up from the bed and noticed that her usual attire had been
replaced with a hospital gown. Never mind that for now.
She walked over to the door and tried to open it. To her great surprise,
the door clicked open without any resistance. She'd expected it to be
sealed shut with Fuinjutsu barriers.
It seems like her captor wanted her to have greater freedom. It would
still be a cage, but it would be a large, comfortable golden cage.
She walked out of her room and into the corridor, and observed that the
entire house was made up of wood and stone. It was not as luxurious as
she'd expected, but it definitely gave off a comfortable, homely vibe.
She could live with that.
Eventually, she stepped out of the house and found herself captivated by
the sight of a stunning, shimmering lake nestled down the hill.
Having spent her entire life in Kiri, which was perpetually shrouded in
heavy mist, picturesque scenes like these appeared downright magical to
her.
…yeah, whoever owned this house definitely has a good taste.
But where the heck was he? Or any other residents of this house, for that
matter.
For a fleeting moment, the notion of escaping crossed her mind once
again. However, she swiftly dismissed the idea. There was no point in
going there when she already knew the inevitable outcome.
She began walking toward the lake to get a closer look at its crystal-clear
blue water when she heard a familiar sound.
The sound of metal clashing against metal.
She strained her ears till she heard that sound again and was able to
pinpoint where the sound was coming from.
She moved in that direction until she came upon a training ground, and
witnessed two people sparring with one another.
She instantly recognise both of them.
One of them was Ringo Ameyuri, the only female member of the 7
Swordsmen. The traitor who had abandoned Kiri during the 3rd shinobi
war. A woman she had admired, as she too had wanted to escape from
the Bloody Mist when she was young.
But… what was Ringo doing here. Had she been captured and brought to
this place to serve as a broodmare as well?
She decided to shelve her questions for later and directed her attention to
the second person. A child. And not just any child, but The Child. The
catalyst of the 4th Shinobi war.
Ren Uchiha.
She doubted that there was a single shinobi in the elemental nations who
didn't know about him by now. What with his bounty of 85 million Ryo
despite him being only 6 years old.
It was rumoured that the boy was extremely dangerous and had defeated
an S-class kunoichi in a single combat. The identity of the kunoichi he
had defeated was never revealed in Kiri, but… could that kunoichi be
Ringo Ameyuri? But, how was that even possible?
Ringo Ameyuri had served as a veteran in both the 2nd and 3rd Shinobi
Wars. The notion of a 6-year-old child defeating her appeared ludicrous.
But even as she thought that, the spar going in front of her very eyes
made it was clear to her that the both of them were equals. But surely
Ringo must have been holding back, right?
She was well aware that had Kiri taken part in this war as well, then she
might've been asked to target this boy. What with this boy's immense
potential. But now, Kiri was gone. Destroyed to the point that it would
take the village decades to recover, if it ever recovered at all.
She was brought out of her thoughts as the two of them finished their
spar and started walking in her direction.
A sense of apprehension crept in as they reached her, uncertain if they
would reprimand her for leaving her room. Fortunately, no such
reprimand came. As the first thing the boy said was, "You're awake.
Good. Have you fully recovered from your injuries? Or do you still
experience any pain in your body?"
"I'm fine." She said, moving her body a bit to confirm that fact. "Whoever
treated me did an excellent job."
And she wasn't even lying about that. Fighting that mysterious Anbu had
definitely left her with numerous internal injures. The fact that she could
feel none of that right now was nothing short of miraculous.
Then again, Konoha is home to the greatest medic-nin in the entire
Elemental Nations, Tsunade Senju, so she perhaps shouldn't be as
surprised by that.
"Good to hear that. Took me quite a while to heal you while being careful
to not leave behind any internal scars." The boy said.
"Wait, what?" She asked in disbelief.
"What?" The boy asked, looking utterly innocent and clueless, as if he
hadn't just uttered a load of bullshit to her.
"You are claiming that you were the one who healed my wounds?" She
asked, wondering if the boy really thought her so gullible.
The boy gave a casual shrug in response. "It's not a claim. I did it. But feel
free to not believe me. By the way, how are the Fuinjutsu seals treating
you? They aren't causing any discomfort aside from restricting your
chakra, right? No pinching, heavy feeling, or vertigo?"
"No. It's only restricting my chakra." She retorted with a glower before
she paused. "Let me guess, you're now going to claim that you were the
one who drew this sealing array on my body?"
"Once again, it's not a claim when I did it. And I know it's hard to believe
just how awesome I can be. But you can praise me later. For now, how
about breakfast?"
She scoffed at the boy's white lies, but her stomach chose that precise
moment to emit a growling sound, making her go beet red in
embarrassment.
Even Ringo, who had remained silent until now, erupted into laughter,
causing her to wish for the ground to open up and swallow her.
"Aye. She wants some food in her belly alright." Ringo remarked, and she
shot a glare at the woman, resulting in even more laughter from the older
woman, thanks to her reddened face.
"Come then. My clones must've prepared the food by now." The boy said
as he started heading back toward the house.
"Clones? You can make clones?" She asked, wondering which kind of
clones are capable enough of making food.
Water clones aren't very reliable and tend to pop if taken too far from the
main body. Earth clones are somewhat slow and clumsy. Lightning clones
are primarily useful for combat, and they demand precise chakra control
to form, along with a great amount of chakra.
"Yup, my Shadow Clones." The boy informed her.
"Shadow Clones" She mumbled to herself, wondering what kind of clones
they were before she remembered having read about it in one of her
texts.
A secret technique of Konoha. Used mostly for the task of spying and
espionage as it can return its memories to the original body upon being
dispelled.
But, she also remembered hearing that Shadow Clones take a significant
amount of chakra to create. So much so, in fact, that only people with
Jounin level Chakra and above were granted access to the Jutsu.
She cast another glance to the boy, reassessing the potential threat he
posed. Then she side glanced at Ringo, wondering if there was any truth
to the rumours. Surely not, right?
A few minutes later.
She held back a moan as she savoured one of the most delicious food
she'd ever tasted in her entire life.
Unlike her, Ringo Ameyuri seemed to have no shame at all and released
an erotic moan that caused her to flush red in embarrassment.
She shot a glare at the older Kunoichi who simply gazed back at her with
barely suppressed amusement."
That bitch was doing this on purpose.
But… the food was indeed very delicious so she ignored the older woman
and focused on her plate instead.
"Seconds."
She ate.
"Third."
She ate some more.
"Fourth."
Then she ate even more.
By the time she finished eating, there was a tower of bowls balancing
precariously in front of her and her belly did an admirable job of
resembling that of a pregnant woman.
"Do you want more?" The boy asked, gazing at her in great amusement.
As if he had just seen some exotic creature.
She flushed under his gaze. "Hey! The food was very good, okay. And no,
I'm done."
"I'm not denying that. My cooking skill has levelled up quite a bit
recently after all." The boy said. "I'm just surprised to see someone eating
even more than Kushina-Sensei."
She nodded, and then thought of something. "Did you really cook that
food? Or are you lying about it like how you lied about healing my
wounds and drawing this sealing array on me?"
The boy's left eye twitched even as he maintained his smile. "I'm suddenly
getting the urge the bend you over my knee and spank you. Did you
forget the beating I gave you last night?" He remarked and then paused.
"No, wait. Ignore the last part. It makes me sound like an abusive
spouse."
But far from ignoring it, she latched right onto that piece of information.
"You really have no shame, do you?" She asked the boy, now getting a bit
upset. "Taking the accomplishment of others like this. Where are your
parents?"
"Dead." The boy replied without a second's pause, making her flinch.
"And once again, I'm not lying to you. The Anbu who defeated you? It
was me."
With that, the brat made a hand sign and used Transformation Jutsu to
become the Anbu who had defeated her yesterday.
She sighed, wondering why the boy was even lying about something like
this.
"Transformation Jutsu break upon the lightest of damage. You're fooling
no one here." She pointed out.
The crow maked Anbu simply stared at her for a moment. Then he
vanished.
Smack!
She flinched, massaging her ass that had just received a spank, and
glared at the boy, who immediately returned back to his original
position.
Then, she halted as she comprehended exactly what he had just done.
"Hiraishin. You used the Hiraishin Jutsu." She said in disbelief, before
pausing as she realised the absurdity of her statement. "No, there's no
way you could've done such a thing. You probably used Genjutsu or
something to fool me."
The brat dropped the anbu transformation and rolled his eyes in
exasperation. "It seems like you're really not going to believe me no
matter what, right?"
"Come up with better lies next time if you want me to believe you." She
said with a scoff.
"In that case, I have no choice." The boy said before he stepped forward
and placed his palm in her bloated stomach. A green glow emanated
from his palm, causing her to step back.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Helping you digest your food faster."
"And why are you doing that?"
"So what when we spar and I eventually defeat you, you won't complain
about not being at your best."
She rolled her eyes at the boy and raised her hands, displaying the
Fuinjutsu seals covering them. "How do you expect me to spar with you
when I can't even access my chakra."
The brat simply performed a handseal, and in the next moment, the
Fuinjutsu characters withdrew from her body and returned to a large seal
drawn right over her heart.
…and she gained access to her chakra once again.
What?
...
She swiftly lunged for the boy, fully intending to take him hostage as a
means to secure her freedom.
The next moment, she found herself sprawled flat on the ground, gazing
at the sky, with all her primary Tenketsu points sealed.
"Patience." The boy said, his red eyes and calm demeanour taking a more
dangerous edge. "We're going to spar in a moment. Don't be in such a
rush to get your ass kicked."
She staredat Ringo, who hadn't budged from her seat during her attempt
to attack the boy. And it dawned on her that maybe, just maybe, the boy
wasn't lying to her after all.
Half an hour later, after the boy defeated her for the 18th time in single
combat and then proceeded to heal her once again, she finally
acknowledged that the boy hadn't lied to her about anything.
And the rumours about the boy, if anything, were watered down.
A realisation that filled her with no small amount of dread.
"Now, are you ready to talk?" The boy asked, offering her his hand.
And what else could she do but nod and take his offered hand.
—————
"…you do not need to apologise for killing my uncle." She told, not that
Ren had even killed her lecherous uncle. It was the Hokage who had
done that. However, even if it was Ren who did it, she would never hold
it against him.
"Are you sure? I might not have swung the blade but I certainly played a
part in his demise." Ren said.
She chuckled before leaning forward to kiss him on the cheeks. "Yes, I'm
sure. I despised my uncle and didn't really care for the rest of my clan.
And while I wouldn't have wished for their deaths, I'm not going to
mourn them either."
The only people in the clan she didn't dislike were the children. And the
non-shinobi members of her clan had escaped with them to the secret
underground tunnels as soon as the battle begin.
"It seems like your clan was as bad to you than the Uchiha clan was to
Itachi." Ren murmured to himself, making her wonder who this Itachi
person was.
"Maybe if I was a boy, things wouldn't have been so bad for me." She
said. "But I was born a girl with vast chakra reserves and two bloodlines.
And no parents to protect me. Everyone either wanted to fuck me, or
were jealous of me."
"Hmm… in that case, you may thank me for rescuing you from that
horrid place." Ren said magnanimously and she suddenly felt the urge to
punch him in his face.
But then she remembered the completely one-sided beat down she
received at his hands and calmed down.
"I'm not going to thank you. You may treat me nicely here, but I'm under
no illusion that I'm anything other than a prisoner of war in Konoha."
"I suppose you can see it that way." Ren said and then leaned forward, his
red eyes peering into hers. "Or… you can see this as a new start to your
life. One where you can live the life you've always wanted."
"And what kind of life do you think I want to live?"
"A peaceful one. With family." Ren said and her retort died in her throat.
"…how did you know that?"
"My bloodline gives me basic information about anyone I look at."
"Seems like a handy ability to root out any spies and gather information
on your enemies."
Ren simply smiled at her words, declining to say anything further about
his bloodline. She nodded, realising she shouldn't press further on this
topic.
"So… where do we go from here?" She asked. "What are your plans for
me?"
"I want to marry you and raise a family with you." Ren replied with a
straight face.
She felt an impulse to laugh at his words, but when as his expression
remained unchanged, she realised he was completely serious about this.
"…how old are you again?"
"Six years old."
She tried to think back on the kind of person she was at the age of 6. And
while she wasn't bad for her age, she didn't even come close to Ren in
terms or maturity or power. Still...
"Aren't you too young to be thinking about marriage right now?" She
asked.
"I like to prepare for things in advance."
"…you are ten years younger than me."
"Ringo doesn't mind. And she's over 3 decades older than me." Ren said,
gesturing toward the swordswoman who lay naked under the sun,
receiving an oil massage from a Shadow Clone of Ren.
She opened her mouth to respond but found herself at a loss for words,
and quietly closed her mouth instead.
"If… if I accepted this proposal. Then when will we marry?" She asked.
"Like, how old would you be…"
"At age 12. So six years from now. Five and half, if you want to be more
accurate."
She felt faint at the idea that she might have to actually marry a boy ten
years younger than her.
"Do I have any other choice?" She asked, dreading the answer.
"What choice would I have had if Kiri had attacked Konoha and captured
me?" Ren asked and her hopes withered as she knew the answer.
They would brainwash him until he's completely loyal to Kiri. And that's
if they're feeling generous. More likely than not, they would simply slit
his throat and consider it a job well done.
"Why did Ringo accept your offer?" She asked, suddenly curious about
her fellow, older kunoichi, who was also defeated and captured by Ren.
She was seeing a pattern here.
"I don't know. Maybe she got tired of living as a rogue-nin and wanted to
live a peaceful life. Maybe she felt her biological clock was ticking and
desired to have children before it was too late. Maybe she sought safety
and security. Or maybe, she wanted the bragging rights of being the wife
of the next God of Shinobi." Ren said with a shrug. "I don't know her
exact reasons. If you truly want to know, then you'll have to go and ask
her yourself."
She nodded dumbly, a bit fixated on the God of Shinobi part.
And, Ren wasn't even exaggerating about this. If he had grown this strong
in just 6 years, then how formidable would he become by the age of 12?
Suddenly, the idea of being married to him didn't seem as undesirable as
she had initially thought.
Yes, he would be ten years younger than her, still just a boy when they
eventually wed. However, she could make it work. Her dream of having a
caring husband, a peaceful life, and a home filled with children could still
become a reality.
Yes, she might have to share him with other women, which was
annoying. But, she could make this work. It would just mean that her
children will have many more brothers and sisters to play with.
With that in mind, she got up from her chair and nodded to Ren. "In that
case, I accept your offer."
—————
AN: From Canon, we understand that Mei's primary desire was a happy
marriage. Another aspect we know about her is that she either didn't care
for her parents or they passed away early in her life, to the extent that
she doesn't even remember them. Mainly because she didn't mention
them even once in the entire story, nor did we see them in any
flashbacks.
Furthermore, I deliberately crafted her background to prevent her from
harbouring resentment towards Ren and Konoha for the death of her clan
members. It might come off as cheap plot but I don't want Ren to spend
the rest of his life dealing with family drama. And I believe that you
readers wouldn't want to read such a story either.
I want my story to be realistic but not realistic to the point that it starts
to resemble real life. With my mother nagging me at every waking hour.
Plus, the Universal Calibration he brought for 10 points automatically
changes the world so that MC will have a higher chance of getting
together with the waifus.
So... yeah. That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day.
Chapter 29- Gaining a new ally
Mito Uzumaki POV
She sat in the outskirts of Kiri, a thin barrier making her invisible to any
and all sensors within. Well, those that were still alive at least.
Her Kagura's mind eye allowed her to sense the entirety of Kiri, giving
her a good picture of the various battles going on inside the village.
Unlike what she'd shown that mysterious Konoha Anbu, she hadn't truly
left Kiri. She'd only pretended to do so, while in truth, she merely stashed
away all the valuable stuff she'd stolen from Kiri's R&D Department
before returning to observe the rest of the battle.
Truly, when she had decided to infiltrate Kiri today in order to take
advantage of the chaos, she hadn't expected that someone else would
have the same idea.
It seems like Konoha's new Hokage was more proactive than little
monkey, who would never have even thought about attacking another
Major village unprovoked. Especially when Konoha was already at war
with two others.
But from what she could sense, the 4th Hokage's risky venture seemed to
have resulted in great victory.
Because when she came to Kiri this evening, intending to steal all their
secrets from the R&D Department, she had sensed about 13,000 shinobi
within the village.
Now, she could sense only half of that number. And while half might not
sound so bad, Kiri had suffered far more in terms of quality than
quantity.
All of the S-class shinobi that Kiri had were now dead. Their chakra
flickering away into nothingness as their lives were snuffed one by one
through the course of this operation.
And a similar fate befell all the Elite-Jounins who had fought in this
battle. It appeared that Konoha was intentionally focusing on eliminating
Kiri's leadership and powerful shinobi.
Not to mention the additional casualties – among those who managed to
survive the conflict, a significant number would succumb to their
injuries. Furthermore, many others would either desert the village or die
to infighting in the next few days.
Even now, when all the Konoha shinobi had pulled out, the Kaguya clan
members were still on their ruthless campaign to slaughter the rest of
Kiri's population. And while the others had banded together to put them
down, without the help of any S-class or Elite-Jounin to lead them, the
best they could do was drown the Kaguya in bodies.
And that only scratches the surface of the devastation.
Every piece of infrastructure that Kiri once took pride in has been utterly
obliterated by the Konoha shinobi.
Their Mizukage Tower? Gone. Their clan compounds? Gone. Their Port?
Gone. Their Shinobi Academy? Gone. Their R&D Department? Gone.
Their T&I Department? Gone. It was safe to say that the Konoha shinobi
had destroyed everything of import within Kiri.
And while the buildings themselves could be easily repaired, the
information within would be forever lost to them.
All the Jutsu that Kiri had collected so zealously over the decades had
now been reduced to ashes. The same for all their intelligence, research,
and most importantly, the remaining 7 Swords.
Kiri would take an entire generations to recover from this damage.
Assuming they ever recovered at all and didn't just fell to infighting.
And she would do her damned best to make sure that they indeed fall to
infighting. A few key assassinations and then blaming the other party for
it would make sure that the remaining Kiri shinobi would start blood
feuds and kill each other until none remains.
It was a fitting end to one of the villages who had destroyed her clan.
Yes, revenge was sweet indeed.
The only person left with the ability to take charge and unite Kiri at this
point, was the Jinchuriki of the 6 tails. And that was one of the reasons
why she had volunteered to give his location to that Konoha Anbu.
Only problem was, she had no idea where he was.
But locating him shouldn't be difficult for her. She'd met him a few year
ago, after all. It was more by coincidence than anything, but she'd taken
that time to remember his chakra signature in case she ever needed to
find him again.
And it seemed like she would have to find him again. In one month at
that.
Now, finding a single shinobi in the entirety of the land of Water would
be a difficult prospect for anyone, give that there are hundreds of islands
in this archipelago. Some of them large enough to hold entire kingdoms.
But, she was not just anyone. She was Mito Uzumaki. Someone who can
use Hiraishin Jutsu to go anywhere, Shadow Clone Jutsu to be anywhere.
And last but not the least, use Kagura's Mind Eye technique to scan a vast
amount of land for a familiar chakra signature.
She estimated that it would take her no more than 2 weeks before she
found the Jinchuriki of 6 tails.
And when that happens, she would go to that Anbu and see if he had
kept his end of the bargain. If he had indeed kept the knowledge of her
survival to himself, then she would give him the Jinchuriki. If not, then
she'll simply extract the Tailed Beast and keep it for her own clan.
She loved Hashirama but he had been hopelessly naive when he handed
over the tailed beasts to the other villages, hoping that it'll keep the
balance of power and maintain peace.
She would be sure to rectify this mistake on his behalf.
Though… she wondered who that Anbu was and how he recognised her
so quickly.
Sure, he had the vaunted and feared Mangekyo Sharingan of the Uchiha
clan. But if rumours were to be believed, then every single Uchiha
fighting on the frontline had such a pair of eyes these days. It was
confusing to say the least.
What was even more confusing was that the anbu was using Tsunade's
Permanent Transformation Jutsu and her own clan's Strength of Hundred
Seal.
To further complicate matters, this Anbu, after encountering her, had
gone on to defeat two other S-class shinobi. This outcome left her
grateful that she hadn't chosen to escalate the confrontation against him.
She was good. She was very very good. But she was not good enough to
defeat a shinobi who can defeat two other S-class shinobi in a matter of
minutes.
Worst part was that that young man was also capable of using Hiraishin,
which made his threat go up another level in her mind.
'Just when did Konoha produce a monster like him?' She wondered to
herself.
Never mind. Once she's done throughly destabalizing Kiri's remaining
elements and have found the 6 tails Jinchuriki, she'll sneak back into
Konoha and find that person herself.
Until then, she had more tasks at hand before she could complete the first
third of her revenge.
——— ——
Ren Uchiha POV
Two weeks later.
Ding!
You've slept for 6 hours in a comfortable bed!
HP and MP fully restored!
Negative status 'Blindness' removed!
He stared at his bedroom's ceiling with his newly restored eyes and then
shifted his attention to his Inventory where another pair of Mangekyo
Sharingan eyes rested.
By this point, he had created enough eyes to supply all of Uchiha's
Jounin. The reason he was still creating more of them was so that he
could replicate the Tenseigan Energy Vessel on the moon.
See… he has a theory.
The theory being that even if Toneri did activate his Tenseigan, those
eyes should be at the same level as the Rinnegan. Maybe a bit stronger,
but definitely not strong enough to allow him to cleave the moon in half.
The reason why Toneri ended up becoming so strong was not because of
his own eyes but because of the Tenseigan Energy Vessel which held
thousands of Byakugan eyes within it and supplied Toneri with his true
power.
And he planned to do the same with his own Mangekyo Sharingan eyes.
Not sure if it would work, but it was worth a try.
After checking up on his newly grown pair of eyes, he turned his
attention to the two women occupying his bed on his left and right.
To his right lay Ringo, still pretending to be asleep. But having lived as a
Rogue-nin for over a decade and a half meant that she slept on a hair's
trigger and woke up at the slightest hint of movements or sound around
her.
He hoped that she would eventually overcome this and attain better
sleep. However, apart from that, there wasn't much he could do to help
her. He definitely couldn't take her to therapy as there were no therapist
in the Elemental Nations.
To his left lay Mei Terumi, who had become surprisingly clingy ever
since she accepted him as his future partner.
Given her upbringing, she probably needed a shit ton of therapy as well.
But once again, no therapist in the Elemental Nations.
He hoped that the next world he ventured into after the Naruto world
would be a more advanced version of Earth, potentially with access to
therapists. Since he had a feeling that all the waifus he Captures in this
world would have some sort of problem.
Freeing himself from Mei's embrace, he leaped out of the bed, grabbed
Samehada—who acted like a thirsty whore and immediately started
sucking on his chakra—and swiftly exited the room.
He went downstairs to his lab where dozens of his Shadow Clones were
working to advance his expertise in Fuinjutsu, and developing the next
version of Hiraishin. One that would allow him to move anywhere within
a barrier without having to rely upon the Hiraishin Kunai. And he
dispelled them one by one.
Ding!
You've suffered damage from Memory Overload!
You gain -1 Intelligence stat due to Mental Damage!
Ding!
Resistance to Mental Damage increased by 1!
Ding!
+1 to Fuinjutsu Skill!
+1 to Hiraishin Skill!
+1 to Barrier Fuinjutsu Skill!
He ignored the notifications as he was well acquainted with them by
now, and well aware that the -1 to his Int stat was a temporary debuff
and would revert after 6 hours of sleep.
And thank the gods for that. Because if that '-1 Int' wasn't temporary,
then there was no way he would be able to use his Shadow Clones with
such impunity.
Next, he proceeded to other rooms where dozens of his Shadow Clones
were deeply absorbed in diverse activities like cooking, drawing, writing,
singing, and more. Activities that were designed to enhance his skills for
day-to-day life.
After dispelling them and absorbing their memories, he ventured outside
to retrieve the final set of Shadow Clones. They had received the largest
share of his chakra and were dedicated to enhancing his proficiency with
all five elements, as well as Yin and Yang. Their tasks also included
advancing his skills in Iryojutsu, Kenjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and crafting
new jutsu for him to employ on the battlefield.
His Lightning affinity had now reached the point where he believed that
he would able to use the Lightning Cloak of Raikage, if he had the skill
book for it.
Unfortunately, he didn't, and was thus left with the task of creating that
particular Jutsu from the ground up.
Recreating this particular Jutsu been far more difficult than any other
Jutsu he'd created till date. So he expected his Shadow Clones to take up
to an entire month to recreate it.
He also wasn't sure if there was anyone in Konoha who would be able to
use this Jutsu once he'd recreated it. Not any of the old fogeys anyway, as
this Jutsu required a great deal of Physical ability. Perhaps Kakashi and
maybe Satsuki, once she's old enough. Maybe Ringo as well, now that he
thought about it.
He created dozens of Shadow Clones once more and set them back to
training before he strolled over to the bench overlooking the lake and
settled down.
Life was indeed good.
He was one of the strongest Shinobi in the elemental Nations. He had two
beautiful S-class Kunoichi to keep him company. He had good
connections with almost all the higher ups in Konoha. And he had
unlimited potential for growth.
The only chink in his otherwise picture perfect life, was the 4th Shinobi
war that was still raging on at the borders.
Sure, the war had slowed down a bit ever since the news spread about
Konoha attacking and destroying Kiri. But he had a feeling that this was
just the silence before the storm. And things were going to become much,
much worse in the future.
Well, at least now they only had to contend with two enemy villages
instead of three.
Placing Samehada on his lap, he began channeling his chakra into it,
opting not to dwell on the countless lives claimed by the Konoha shinobi
in their mission to Kiri.
He'd personally only killed Fuguki, who was a shit stain on humanity his
shadow clones having dealt with everyone else who tried to attack him.
But he couldn't help worry about Kushina who had wiped out entire
blocks of buildings with her Tailed Beast Bomb. Surely killing many
innocent children in those blasts.
'Don't think about it.' He admonished himself. 'Nothing good comes from
pondering on such matters. Plus, had those children survived, they
would've most likely grown up to be bloodthirsty shinobi.Now, they're
gone, and there's nothing I can do about it, even if I wanted to.'
His thoughts were interrupted by the approaching sound of footsteps and
the sense of familiar chakra drawing near.
"You know, you look quite adorable when you're all serious like this," Mei
remarked, taking a seat beside him.
Her hand reached for Samehada, intending to pet it, but Samehada
swiftly recoiled, hissing disapprovingly, much like a displeased cat.
He hated cats, devils-spaws that they were, and had half a mind to give
the sword to someone else. Someone who needed it more than him and
could put it to better use. But he doubted that Samehada would want to
separate from him at this point.
"And you look stunning when your hair is all messy like that," he
remarked, enveloping her in his arms and drawing her closer. Mei
responded with a punch to his shoulder, blushing beet red at his
straightforward compliment.
One thing he'd come to learn over the past two weeks was that Mei was
weak to anything romantic, and thus used this card on her whenever she
teased him about his age or height, even if it sometimes felt a bit cringy.
However, she truly did appear exceptionally beautiful with her
disheveled hair. The only thing missing from this picture was her wearing
his t-shirt without any other clothing, and it would be perfect.
Unfortunately, he was small enough that none of his clothes would fit her
at this moment, so that dream would remain just that till he grows up.
"Mou. You're just saying that tease me."
"Of course." He said, his hand slipping beneath her to playfully pinch her
butt.
Mei jumped and then adopted a put-upon expression. "Hey! You aren't
allowed to touch me like that until we get married."
He shrugged at her words. "Sorry. You're just so beautiful that I can't help
myself." He said, feeling the urge to cringe even as the words left his
mouth.
If it was anyone else, then cliche lines like these would never work on
them. But this was Mei, so she instantly turned beet red and covered her
face to hide her expression.
"Stop saying such things!" Mei said, sending a cute glare his way. "How
can you even say such things when you're only 6-years-old."
"Just because I can't fuck you doesn't mean that I cannot appreciate your
beauty." He said and she went scarlet once again.
"So crass." Mei sighed. "You have to be more gentle with a lady."
He snorted. "When I see a lady, I will be."
"Ugh."
"Fufufu. Someone is in a good mood today," Ringo remarked, strolling up
to them and taking a seat on his right. She planted a gentle kiss on his
cheek before handing both him and Mei a glass of milk.
He was a growing boy and needed all the milk he could get.
…it was also a good habit to pass on to his children once they're born.
Though once again, that won't happen for a few years yet.
"Ringo-senpai. Ren is teasing me. Help." Mei said, pretending to be a
victim.
Having face the 21st century modern feminist women who had distilled
the essence of being a victim into an art form, her pitiful attempts never
worked on him so she had started seeking assistance from others. Only,
Ringo had lived a very hard life and had no pity for victims either.
"I'm afraid I can't do much to help you there, Mei." Ringo said as she
sipped her own cup of tea. "You're too easy to tease after all."
"Urgh! You're both ganging up on me!"
"Yes. Yes we are." He said, thinking about the future when their talk
would take a whole different meaning.
Man... it sucked to be this small.
Their playful banter persisted for a while until he detected someone
approaching his home. Someone familiar.
Ringo and Mei must've noticed something in his expression because both
of them went taut in an instant. Like a drawn bow, ready to let loose at
the feather's drop.
"Relax." He told his women as he got up from his seat. "It's nothing to be
worried about. Stay here, I'll return as soon as I can."
Ringo and Mei shared a glance before they nodded and he used shunshin
to approach the person waiting outside his home boundary.
"This is not bad." The woman said as she studied the Fuinjutsu barrier
surrounding his lands. "I can identify the Uzumaki Seals you used as the
foundation for this project. But you've clearly made numerous alterations
and improvements over them. I approve."
"Mito-san." He said with a dip of his head in greeting. "I suppose that
you're here to fulfill your part of the deal."
"Unless you told your Hokage about me?" She said, still studying her
Fuinjutsu barrier with an unconcerned expression.
"And if I have?" He asked with a smirk.
"Then I'll simply take the 6 tails for myself." She said, her expression
remaining calm as before.
"Huh... don't worry, I haven't."
"Good. You're such a talented young man. I would be a shame if we aren't
able to collaborate in the future due to any current misunderstandings."
He nodded and Mito gave a soft smile before she made a few changes to
his barrier, and the barrier unfurled in front of her, allowing her to enter
his home without raising any alarm.
He wasn't really surprised by this display, as she'd been alive before this
village even started and had more experience in Fuinjutsu than anyone
else in the world. However, witnessing her effortlessly navigate through
his enhanced barrier still irked him a little.
"Don't look so down. You barrier is good enough that if it was anyone
other than me, then they would have no hopes of bypassing it." Mito said
with a teasing expression.
"You'll not be able to bypass my barriers the next time." He promised her,
making her chuckle at his words, but not in a disparaging manner.
"I look forward to that. It would be such a pity if a talent like you
stopped improving merely because you thought that you were good
enough."
He nodded, taking that lesson to heart before he asked. "So… are you
going to talk here or would you like to come to my home?"
"Hmm… here is fine." She replied, mending the barrier behind herself,
leaving no trace of its prior breach.
Yeah, she was definitely showing off.
"I have more defences in my home to let me know about any intruders."
He said, almost defensively. It's not everyday that someone barges into
your home and reveals just how useless your first line of defence was.
The very defence you had spent days constructing and were so proud of.
"That's good." She said, patting his cheek and getting an annoyed look
from him. "A paranoid shinobi is a living shinobi."
Then she did something and her entire presence vanished from his senses.
He could see her but that was about it. He couldn't smell her, he couldn't
hear her, and he definitely couldn't sense even a single iota of her chakra.
That, with how incredibly high levelled his Chakra Sense was, unnerved
him more than he would ever care to admit.
Especially since his Chakra Sense was the main line defence that he'd just
talked about..
Damn… this woman was scary. But then again, isn't that what they say
about all old shinobi? Beware of an old man in a profession where most
usually die young.
This saying was usually reserved for the 3rd Hokage, who was able to
defeat Orochimaru and the weaker versions of both 1st and 2nd Hokage.
But this woman was already married and raising her children when the
3rd Hokage was young enough to be in the shinobi academy.
"Don't look so disheartened." She said, pinching his cheek and getting
another annoyed look from him. "You're still young. Only 6-years-old. I'm
sure that once you get older, you'll be able to bypass my defences just as
easily."
He nodded, feeling somewhat reassured as he recalled that he was still
very young and had ample time to mature and improve his skills.
"Do you have the information on the 6 tails Jinchuriki?" He asked,
intending to change to topic and not be reminded of just how much
inferior he was to her in Fuinjutsu skills.
She could've so easily slipped past all his defences without any difficulty.
And use the Reaper Death Seal to extract his soul and kill him.
…and he had been so sure about being invincible in the Elemental
Nations too.
It just goes to show how little he truly understood.
But he would overcome her, just as he'd overcome all other challenges
he'd faced in his life.
Mito nodded as she retrieved a chair from a storage seal inscribed on the
back of her hand, settling into it. She then produced another chair and
gestured for him to take a seat as well.
Once he took his seat, she started speaking. "His name is Utakata. One of
the most powerful shinobi of Kiri. He is also a pacifist, who grew weary
of the violence inherent in the life of a shinobi, and left Kiri a few years
ago. The only reason the 3rd Mizukage didn't brand him a traitor was
because Utakata never left the Land of Water in his wanderings.
Moreover, attempting to forcefully bring him back would undoubtedly
lead to the loss of many skilled shinobi."
"I see. Is he still in the Land of Water then?"
"Yes, and he's currently on way back to the village to unite the remaining
factions that have descended into a multi-sided civil war."
He arched an eyebrow at that piece of information. "They're fighting
amongst themselves?"
"They are now." Mito said with a calm expression that sent shivers down
his back.
Yeah, he was never going to take an older shinobi lightly after this. Ever.
"I see." He said before deciding to get straight to the point. "I plan on
taking 6 tails for myself. Do you have a problem with that?"
"None whatsoever." Mito said with an uncaring shrug. "I would support it
even, considering that the last Jinchuriki of the 6 tails had a hand in the
destruction of my clan."
Ah… so that's why she was doing this. To get revenge for her clan.
He appreciated having this piece of information, as understanding Mito's
motivation made her actions more predictable. However, he couldn't
shake the feeling that Mito had disclosed this information precisely for
that reason.
Really, even talking with her made him feel like he was playing 4D
Chess. And losing. Without even knowing that he was losing.
"I do not need your support. Just tell me where the 6 tails is and I'll take
care of the rest."
Mito arched an eyebrow at that. "You're confident in your abilities. That's
good. But I must remind you that Utakata has a strong bond with his
Tailed Beast. While he may not be a perfect Jinchuriki, he's as close as
one can get without reaching that state. Moreover, he's highly
experienced. Defeating him won't be as straightforward as you might be
envisioning."
"Perhaps. But I've never fought an opponent who made me go all out in a
fight." He said, wondering what her agenda was. "I want to see just how
strong I truly am with this fight."
"And in doing so, you would alert everyone in the elemental nations
about the missing status of the 6 tails Jinchuriki, further increasing
tensions between the major villages."
"Not if I take him to a remote corner of the world with Hiraishin before I
start the fight." He said. "But I have a feeling that you have an answer to
this dilemma as well."
Mito nodded. "Let me help you. I assure that there is no one in the
Elemental Nations who knows more about extracting and sealing Tailed
Beasts than me. Whatever plans you have in regards to the 6 Tails would
go more smoothly with my help."
Well… seeing as how she found a way to survive Kurama being extracted
from her, and having witnessed her Fuinjutsu prowess, he couldn't deny
that. But…
"Why do you want to help me?" He asked.
"Because you're destined to become a force that'll surpass my husband
and Madara, making them seem like second-rate shinobi in comparison
by the time you reach your prime." Mito said. "Others might not be aware
of this but I am. Is it really so surprising that I want to be in your good
graces? An alliance with you would only help me in the long run."
Well… she wasn't wrong. But could he really trust her?
"I don't mind being allied with you. But before shaking hands, I want to
ask you something?"
"Go ahead. If I can answer it, I will."
"How are you still alive?"
"Oh. You want to know how I survived the Kyuubi being extracted from
me?"
"No. I don't care about that. I'm sure I'll figure that part out myself
eventually." He said, and he wasn't lying either. "But what I want to know
is, how are you still moving around despite your age. Sure, Uzumaki live
for much longer than your average shinobi. But even with a longer
lifespan, you should be bedridden right now. Not traipsing around in the
territory of other major villages."
Because obviously, he'd used Observe on her, and her stats weren't those
of an old woman who's near death.
No, her stats were even better than that her granddaughter Tsunade,
which was saying something.
"You want to know if I figured out a way to achieve immortality." Mito
said, tilting her head. "Do you want to become one yourself?"
"I'm not looking to copy your version of immortality, if that's what you're
worried about. I already have my own version of it and intend to share it
with my women once I'm old enough to marry them."
"Really?" She asked and he nodded. "And yet, you still want to know how
I became immortal myself?"
He nodded again.
Mito hesitated for a moment before she started speaking. "You might not
be aware of it, but Uzumaki clan has ways to contact the deities of this
world."
"Deities like the Shinigami?" He asked, even though he was actually
thinking more along the lines of Jashin.
"I see that you already know about the Reaper Death Seal then. But yes.
Deities like them. And some of them are more than willing to trade with
mortals, if the offer is good enough."
"And what did you offer these deities?" He asked, feeling slightly
apprehensive.
"10,000 souls." Mito said, her voice calm and measured. "A steep price,
yes. But it was a price I was more than glad to pay if it meant avenging
my clan. Plus, I took that price from my enemies."
"And you've already paid this price?" He asked, wondering just many
shinobi she must've killed during the 3rd shinobi war while in disguise.
"I'm currently at around the 7,000 mark." Mito said and he nodded, not
sure how to feel about this.
On one hand, this woman killed a lot of people in order to gain
immortality for herself. But on the other hand, she did it in order to
avenge her clan. And price was paid from the lives of her enemies.
A part of him wanted to call her a monster for what she had done, but
another part of him knew that he would have done far worse were he in
her position.
The more he talked with her, the more and more her life sounded like a
thriller-action movie.
One that he would love to watch.
"I see." He said in the end. "So once you've paid the full price, you'll
complete your end of the deal and become functionally immortal?"
"…yes. Does learning about the amount of people I've killed worry you?"
Mito asked. "I wouldn't blame you if you don't want to ally with me any
longer."
He thought on this for a moment before he shook his head. "No. But I
want to set the terms of our alliance."
"Oh… and what do you have in mind?" She asked.
"Marry me."
Mito was silent for a moment before she burst out into laughter.
"Fufufufu. I don't know why I didn't see this coming, considering that you
already have two S-class Kunoichi by your side."
"Is that a yes?" He asked, doubting that it would be so easy. And he was
proven correct immediately afterward as Mito shook her head.
"No, datteba!" She exclaimed.
Did she just…
He shook his head and decided to focus on the more important topic
right now. "Is that a no?"
"No." Mito said again. "I admit that this proposal caught me off guard. It's
not everyday that an old woman gets proposed by a 6-year-old boy.
Come to think of it, why do you even want to marry an old woman like
me?"
"Because it's my dream to have a harem of S-class Kunoichi." He said. "I
want to have a large family, with all of my children having the potential
to reach S-class."
Mito stared at him for a moment before she chuckled and shook her
head. "A harem of S-class shinobi. I don't know if you're brave or foolish,
child. Foolish more likely than not."
"So… what is your answer?" He asked
"Hmm… you know what, I'll give this some thought. Though I would
most likely decline in the end. Nonetheless, I hope you would consider
me as your ally even if I decline." Mito said. "For now, let's talk about
what you plan to do with 6 tails and how we can go about making that
plan a reality."
"Very well." He said and then started telling her about his plan.
—————
AN: We see the world from Mito's eyes. And learn in greater detail about
how the situation unfolded in Kiri after Konoha's attack.
We also get to see a small glimpse of Ren's day to day life and see his
plan to create a replication of the Tenseigan Energy Vessal with his own
Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. And we eventaully see his interaction with
Mito where he gets to learn that he's not the largest fish in the pond.
Well, he technically is. The only skill where Mito is better than him in the
Fuinjutsu. And probably Sensing skill as well, due to her Kagura's Mind
Eye. But this is still a big shock to him as he considered himself the best
in the Elemental Nations.
We don't get to learn how Mito survived Kyuubi's extraction, but we do
learn how she's still alive and young. She made a deal with an outer
deity. 10,000 Souls of her enemies in exchange for immortality. This part
is a bit of an AU but with how bullshit the deities in Naruto world are
(like Jashin and Shinigami), it shouldn't come off as too improbable.
That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day.
Chapter 30- Contemplations of an
old man
Onoki POV
He stood on the side and watched once again as a new contingent of
shinobi was deployed to the front lines to reinforce their army.
Another group of young, promising shinobi with their entire life ahead of
them. Lives, that they might never get to enjoy because he decided to
send them to war.
He shut his eyes, reminiscing about the past when he, too, had been
dispatched to the battlefield by the 2nd Tsuchikage.
Word about him having the Dust Release had already spread by then,
leading to the 2nd Tsuchikage taking him under his wing. Because of
this, he was deployed in the safer areas during the war. To areas that saw
the least amount of combat and could easily be reinforced by other
powerful shinobi.
This isn't to suggest that he didn't fight powerful enemies where a single
misstep could mean the end of his life. Near the end of the 1st shinobi
war, he was as much a guard to the Tsuchikage as he was a student.
Or that's what his young mind told himself at least.
Then the 1st Shinobi War ended, and a few years after that, his mentor
fought the 2nd Mizukage to a standstill and both of them lost their lives.
Being the student of the Tsuchikage, an S-class shinobi with a powerful
bloodline, and having the backing of a powerful clan allowed him to take
the seat of the 3rd Tsuchikage.
And he'd pledged to himself that he'd bring peace and prosperity to his
village, steering clear of senseless conflicts with other major shinobi
villages.
If only he'd known.
Then the 2nd shinobi war arrived at his doorsteps. No, who was he
deceiving? He was the one who brought that war to other's doorsteps.
Suna and Ame had been expanding their territory, attempting to acquire
the lands of their more fertile and resource-rich neighbours. In response,
Konoha declared war on them. And when it seemed that Konoha might
emerge victorious and seize control of the Land of River and Rain, he
chose to enter the battlefield to keep them in check.
He could still remember the first time he had seen the casualty report.
How the feeling of guilt and despair had almost overwhelmed him. So
many young lives snuffed out due to his actions. Due to his orders- orders
that they had no choice but to obey, because not doing so meant death.
Sending young, promising shinobi to the battlefield, knowing very well
that they might die, always weighed heavily on his conscience. However,
that sense of guilt had significantly diminished over the years.
There was a time when he used to read and memorise the name of every
single shinobi who died due to his orders. And the personally go to each
of their homes to give condolences.
Now, the only thing he saw was causality reports and statistics. And the
burden of giving condolences was left to their respective Jounin Sensei.
He wondered if that made him a worst monster for his own village than
any of the enemy villages. If his own decisions had caused the deaths of
more of his people than the enemies did.
The burden of the Tsuchikage hat had become overwhelming by the end
of the 2nd shinobi war. And he promised to himself to never go to war,
ever again.
Then, the 3rd shinobi war came knocking and he plunged his village into
war once again.
That war lasted for over 8 years. And by the end of it, every single major
village had resorted to sending children to the frontlines. The very
children that the major villages were build to protect.
'Where had it all gone so wrong? Why cannot we simply have peace and
live together in harmony? Why must I stain my hands with the corpses of
my own people?' He asked himself.
By the time the 3rd shinobi war ended, he had been desperately
searching for a successor. If only to spend his remaining years with his
granddaughter.
But there was no one who was capable of taking the mantle from him.
Oh, there were some who had the potential and he'd even considered the
two Jinchuriki for the task. But in the end, he found himself unable to
choose a successor.
They were either too weak, lacked the correct mindset, or didn't have
enough support from the major clans or the shinobi population. And he
needed to be careful with his choosing.
After all, Iwa was not just any shinobi village. It was a major shinobi
village. One of the great 5. And often butted heads with Kumo for the
position of the 2nd most powerful village in the Elemental Nations.
Not just anyone could lead the village. Not when both Konoha and Kumo
had both been blessed with powerful Kage.
And thus, his search continued.
Continued till the day he caught wind of rumours about a young shinobi
in Konoha. A 6-year-old Uchiha who managed to defeat an S-class
Kunoichi. And it triggered flashbacks of his past, when Madara had
effortlessly defeated both him and his teacher.
The mere thought of Konoha having such a formidable shinobi in their
ranks once again sent shivers down his spine. And he knew that he
couldn't let this monster reach adulthood, or the entire Elemental Nations
would suffer.
Back in that time, Hashirama had been there to keep peace. To keep
Madara in check. But there was no Hashirama now. Who would keep this
new threat in check?
So... he plunged his village into war once more.
And now his shinobi were dying once again. Dying at his orders.
He stared at the portrait of his mentor, hung in the wall of his office and
sighed. 'Is this what you envisioned when you choose me as your
successor, Sensei. When I die and go to the Pure Land, would you greet
me with open arms, commending my efforts, or would be disgusted by
my actions.'
Worst part of it all was that he didn't even hate his enemies.
Oh, there was a time when he did. A time when he used to despised and
singled out any enemy who killed too many of his shinobi. Sometimes
even at the risk of his own life.
Hell, he'd gone far enough to make a secret alliance with the other major
villages in order to wipe out the Senju from the battlefield. And once
most of them have been wiped out, he made yet another alliance to do
the same to the Uzumaki.
But by this point, the embers of his rage had long since burned out. And
when he looked at his enemies, his own face stared back at him.
They didn't choose this war. They were not some evil monsters trying to
kill his people. They were the same as his own people. Fighting a war
they didn't want. Hoping to survive yet another battle and return safely
to their families.
But all the same, he couldn't let there be another Madara Uchiha in the
world.
And so off they went to war.
He stared at the map once again, contemplating his next strategic move.
He was tempted to push into the Land of Fire. Deeper and deeper until
they'd forced that accursed brat out so they could take his head.
However, the leader of the enemy army was none other than Sarutobi
Hiruzen. The former Hokage of Konoha. One of the most dangerous
shinobi in all of Elemental Nations and the only man he had ever
regarded as his equal.
Rushing a war against the likes of Sarutobi Hiruzen would be tantamount
to leading his men into a futile slaughter.
*Knock Knock*
His contemplation was interrupted by a knock on the door, and judging
by the sound, it was his secretary. They'd worked together for long
enough that he was able to recognise her by her footsteps and knocks.
"Come in." He said, his eyes not leaving the map for an instant.
His secretary came in and stood beside him before clearing her throat.
She only skipped the customary wait when the information was
exceptionally critical. Thus, he raised his eyes to her, and the somber,
defeated expression on her face caused his heart to plummet.
"There's news from Kiri," she informed him, prompting his mind to
conjure the most dire scenarios.
Kiri would never ally with Konoha. That was not his fear. What he feared
was the possibility that Kiri might abstain from engaging in this war.
Kumo and Iwa were powerful villages. But even working together, it
might not be enough to defeat Konoha. Not when Konoha had a large
number of S-class shinobi, and an extensive network of allies.
Even now, he received daily updates from his spies in Suna. Additionally,
a regiment of shinobi guarded their Southern borders in case Suna chose
to align with Konoha in the ongoing war.
Kiri was weak enough that even them joining the war, victory wasn't
guaranteed. But their chances would definitely rise by a fair amount.
Especially now, when the Uchiha clan have decided to hash out a
veritable army of Elite Jounins out of nowhere and were slaughtering the
Kumo army with impunity.
The war had only just started and Kumo was already losing men by the
hundreds every single day. And he himself was too wary to commit too
many men, or advance too aggressively.
Having Kiri join them would finally turn the war to their favour. But
now, he had a bad feeling that things would not go as they'd planned.
"Kiri was destroyed." His secretary said and for a moment, he wondered if
he has started to hear things in his old age.
"What?"
"Kiri was destroyed. Not completely but to the point where they'll not be
taking part in this war." His secretary said, loud and clear.
He collapsed into his seat, all fight leaving him for that instant.
He would never show such a weak side to anyone else in the village. He
was the Tsuchikage, after all. Their bastion of strength. He was the pillar
who held the village in place when all else seemed to be crumbling
around them.
But he'd worked together with his secretary for a long time. And she'd
seen him through all his highs and lows.
And this was undoubtedly a low point. The only comparable instance was
when the Yellow Butcher of Konoha decimated an entire regiment of
Jounins on the battlefield, forcing him to conclude the 3rd Shinobi War
in complete defeat.
And now…
"How?" He asked, his voice barely audible to his own ears.
"Konoha launched a surprise attack on Kiri during the night. It seems like
The Yellow Butcher brought an elite company of shinobi to their borders,
launched a devastating attack and then retreated before the battle could
turn against them."
"And what were the Kiri shinobi doing? Were they just sleeping when
Konoha attacked and slaughtered all of them?" He asked bitterly.
Kiri might be weak, but they had a group of S-class shinobi of their own.
While none of them were powerful enough to contend with the likes of
him, Hiruzen or the Yellow Butcher, they were powerful in their own
right.
So how did this happen?
"Konoha deployed the Yellow Butcher, the 9 tails Jinchuriki, the Snake
Sannin, Wicked Eye Fugaku, former member of the Seven Swordsmen-
Ringo Ameyuri and an unknown S-class Anbu in the battle along with
about two dozen Elite Jounin." His secretary reported. "From the reports
our spy sent us, over half of Kiri's shinobi population along with all its S-
class and Elite Jounin were killed in this attack."
His face fell further. "Not even a single person to take the mantle of the
next Mizukage?"
"There is still the 6 tails Jinchuriki who was out of the village during this
attack. And one of the Rogue Swordsmen might return now that the
village is in such dire straits. But aside from that, no."
He rubbed his forehead and held back the urge to laugh at this utter
madness.
Kiri. One of the 5 great shinobi villages. Defeated. In a single night.
It reminded him back when Iwa, Kumo and Kiri allied together to attack
Uzushiogakure. The home of the Uzumaki.
He could still vividly recall the carnage that ensued in that battle, where
the members of the Uzumaki clan, vastly outnumbered at 20 to 1,
valiantly fought until their last breath.
Not even half of their army returned from that battlefield. With Kiri
losing of both its Jinchuriki in that battle, and Kumo losing its 2nd Tailed
Jinchuriki.
And this was when they took the Uzumaki clan by complete surprise. He
shuddered to think how that battle would've gone if the Uzumaki had the
chance to prepare for their attack.
And now, a major village has been wiped out in a similar manner.
"At least tell me that Konoha lost a few of their S-class shinobi in this
battle?" He asked, clutching at straws at this point.
"We don't have a report on that. But from what our spy witnessed, the
Konoha shinobi managed to retreat in good order after the battle."
"And we do not have any spies in Konoha to tell us the situation there."
He said with a subdued chuckle. "The 4th Hokage, along with all other
shinobi sent to this battle might be dead now, and we would have no way
of knowing."
Not that he believed that such a thing would happen. The 4th Hokage,
with his Hiraishin Jutsu, was nigh unkillable in the battlefield. The same
went for Orochimaru. And while information on the 9 tails Jinchuriki
was sparse, Jichuriki don't tend to die easily. And the 9 tails is the
strongest of all the Tailed Beasts.
The only one he believed could've died in that battle were Fugaku, Ringo
Ameyuri, and that unknown S-class Anbu. However, even all three of
them they died, which he doubted, the war would not turn in their
favour.
His secretary maintained silence in response to his despondency until he
shifted his gaze in her direction. "Is there anything else I need to know?"
"No, Lord Tsuchikage."
"Then you're dismissed." He said as he rose from his chair. "Take the rest
of the day off. And tell them that I won't be taking any visitors for the
rest of the day"
His secretary looked like she wanted to say something but in the end, she
simply nodded and left the room, leaving him to his own thoughts.
They had started this entire war in order to kill a child with the potential
to become another Madara Uchiha. With the belief that if 3 of the Major
villages worked together, then they might defeat Konoha at last.
But it seemed like the Yellow Butcher just added another achievement in
his belt, by eliminating Kiri from the board.
Seriously. Who just goes into another shinobi village at night and
slaughters their entire high ups along with half their population.
He tried not to think about how they did just that, if not worse, with
Uzushiogakure.
If both Kumo and Iwa used all their resources and manpower, then there
was slight chance that they might win. What at what cost?
Would they even remain a major village by the end of this conflict. Or
would they be weakened to the point that a minor village would be able
to take that mantle for themselves.
And even if they won this war, there was no guarantee that they would
succeed in killing that Uchiha boy.
For all they knew, the Hokage might send the boy away to be hidden
away in some remote corner of the world. A place where the boy could
train until adulthood, becoming the very monster they all dreaded, and
then come and wreck bloody vengeance on both Iwa and Kumo.
Kiri, joining this war, had been his hope to turn things around. To end
things quickly. And now that hope had vanished, reduced to nothing but
dust.
'And now, is there a way to win this war. Or would I just have to
continue sending young men and women to their deaths, hoping for a
miracle.' He thought, knowing well enough that there was no answer
waiting for him out there.
—————
Ren Uchiha POV
He used Hiraishin and arrived at a campsite riddled with lifeles bodies.
And in the midst of those corpses sat a girl, only a few years older than
him, staring at the corpses of her friends in a near catatonic state.
He used Chakra Sense to make sure that there wasn't any other shinobi
lurking around, and then used Shadow Clones to double check and then
create a parameter around the campsite.
If his meeting with Mito had taught him anything, it was that his Chakra
Sense was not infallible. So it's always better to have a second way of
checking and securing his surroundings.
After making sure that everyone in the surrounding was truly dead and
not merely pretending, he finally approached the Uchiha girl who knelt
before the corpse of what he presumed was once a dear friend.
He pulled her into a hug, an action made easier by the fact that she was
still kneeling. And then felt worried when she showed no reaction to his
presence.
One of his Shadow Clones dissipated and sent memories detailing how
the attack likely transpired, based on the evidence scattered across the
campsite.
They were sleeping, and got attacked by enemies at dawn. The sentry got
killed instantly but was able to make some noise to alert the others. That
gave them enough time to fight but they were still too unprepared and
both the Jounin and Chunin fell in short order.
And she would've died as well, if not for the four pointed shrunken
shaped pattern now swirling in her eye.
Despite his his Hiraishin kunai to everyone he holds dear, why is it that
he always arrives too late? Is this the same anguish Minato feels
whenever he cannot rescue someone? The fastest iindividual in the
Elemental Nations, yet always late when it truly matters.
"Shisui." He said but the girl remained unresponsive.
He patted her cheek but her eyes didn't leave the body of her deceased
friend. Or was it something more?
He created another Shadow Clone who went around collecting the enemy
and friendly corpses in two separate scrolls, along with all their
belongings.
Only after the bodies of her teammates were securely sealed did Shisui
display any response.
Tears trickled down her cheeks as she leaned into his embrace. Her body
began to tremble, and he gently tightened his arms around her.
"Yes, let it all out Shisui. Let it all out." He said and she finally burst into
tears.
And despite the fact that she finally acquired the eyes he'd wished for
her, and the fact that she was finally close to the Tier 6 mantle, he
couldn't help but feel terrible about this whole ordeal.
—————
Nagato POV
His opponent stood in front of him, his main body hiding inside yet
another puppet, while the aftermath of their battlefield lay scattered
around.
An entire army of puppet had been brought forth to fight him. And now,
all of it was nothing more than scrap. Even his enemy's main weapon, the
3rd Kazekage, looked like it would fall apart at any moment now.
"Sasori. Would you accept your defeat and join us? Or do I have to kill
you?" He asked in the voice of his deceased friend, his tone uncaring and
unchanging.
"You're strong. I admit it." Sasori rasped out. "And those eyes. What are
those eyes?"
"These, are the eyes of a god. If you're wise, you would kneel and pledge
your service to me and my organisation."
"Akatsuki, yes? And what's the goal of your organisation?"
"Eternal peace, for the Elemental Nations."
Satori's puppet stared back at him for a long moment. "And how do you
plan on accomplishing that?"
"You'll be informed of our plans when you join us. Now, make your
choice."
"Heh. Choice. Do I even have that?"
"Yes. You can always refuse and die."
"Who else is in your organisation?"
"You'll learn when you join us."
Sasori was silent for another long moment before his puppet moved
toward him and made a show of kneeling. "In that case, it pledge my
loyalty to the Akatsuki."
He nodded, despite being well aware that Sasori would never truly be
loyal to them and would backstab them at the first sign of weakness.
But that was the price of doing things this way.
They'd tried doing things peacefully. And that led to their entire
organisation being wiped out. With him and Konan as the only survivor.
His friend dead at his own hands.
"Gather your puppet and come find me in Ame. Do not think or running."
He said and turned his back in another show of dominance before he had
his Deva Path leave the battlefield.
"Did you succeed?" Konan aside, standing guard beside his true body and
he nodded at her.
"He pledged his loyalty to us. Now, we see what his words are worth." He
said and his friend nodded, using her Fuinjutsu seals to seal up all his
Paths for their return back home.
"Very well then. Let's head back to Ame."
—————
He sat on the balcony of the tallest tower of his village and stared at the
metallic buildings all around him, a relic of a by gone era.
"I heard that you succeeded in gaining Sasori's allegiance." Madara's voice
came from behind him and he nodded, not turning around to face the
man.
Talking with Madara was always a risky prospect. Mostly because he still
didn't know the man's true strength and his motives. He doubted that the
man was even Madara. But regardless, he was someone to be wary of
until they found a way to negate his Intangibility.
"How many Akatsuki members are there now?" Madara asked, coming to
stand beside him. Or more correctly, the Deva Path he was controlling.
"Seven." He replied. Himself, Konan, Pakura, Kakuzu, Juzo Biwa, Zetsu
and lastly Sasori. Eight, if they counted Madara, which he didn't.
"We need three more then." Madara said and then a black swirl formed
beside him. A moment later, a body dropped out of the swirl and landed
beside him. "Here's one more then."
He stared at the body, his eyes showing him the robust Chakra System of
this man. And despite all the heavy injuries in his body, the man was still
breathing, proof of his great vitality.
"Who is he?" He asked.
"That's Fuji Kaguya. The leader of the now destroyed Kaguya clan. An S-
class shinobi, thanks to his powerful bloodline." Madara said. "Unruly
though. Do not expect him to submit until you've defeated him half a
dozen times. Brutally. And even then, be wary of his bloodlust and
violent tendencies."
He nodded. "Anything else."
"Kiri village has been all but destroyed by Konoha."
"I'm aware of that."
"Suna has yet to take part in this war, but they're a weak village to begin
with. And the other three villages are warring with each other."
"Are you going somewhere with this?" He asked.
"Our enemies are as weak and distracted as they'll ever be. It's time we
begin with the plan."
He shifted his gaze to Madara and the man stared back at him. Their
stare off lasted for a long moment before he got up and carried the limp
form of Fuji Kaguya with him.
"Very well." He said as he left the balcony. "We'll start with the 1st tail
and then move up from there."
—————
AN: In canon, Akatsuki waited that long because the 3 tails died with
Yagura and took years to reform. But 3 tails is still alive in this world. All
other Tailed beasts are also accounted for, plus the major villages are
currently at war with each other. This is as good a chance as any for the
Akatsuki to gather the Tailed Beasts.
We see things from the perspective of Onoki. How he feels about this war
and how the destruction of Kiri will impact him.
Aside from that, Shisui unlocks her Mangekyo Sharingan and gains
Kotoamatsukami. And Sasori joins Akatsuki after being personally
defeated by Pain.
That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.
8 advanced chapters in Patreon.
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ankit1
Have a nice day.
Внимание! Этот перевод, возможно, ещё не готов.
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http://tl.rulate.ru/book/100904/3906908
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