34 Chapter 34- War intensifies

Minato Namikaze POV

He watched in silence as the Inoichi read Pakura's mind, producing pages upon pages filled with a wealth of information detailing her life. 

They had to go slowly with her mind reading process to make sure that she doesn't suffer any permanent damage her brain. After all, Ren had shown a desire to claim the Scorch Release user for himself.

He thought about the moment when the 6-year-old child said those words to him and sighed in exasperation.

Seriously, that boy.

What made it all the more aggravating was Ren's success. The boy already had two S-class Kunoichi prepared to join his harem once he reached adulthood.

And the Uchiha clan will definitely ask any of their S-class Kunoichi to join his harem as well, if only to produce even more Uchiha of the same calibre as him in the next generation.

That thought reminded him of a secret report that Jiraiya-Sensei sent to him from the front lines. A secret report concerning not their enemies but their allies.

The Uchiha clan.

A clan which now held Six additional S-class shinobi thanks to the Hashirama cells and Ren's Mangekyo Sharingan. All Six of these were Elite-class Jounin before they received those gifts. But now, they had broken through that level and reached the level of a Kage.

No wonder that Kumo's forces were suffering heavy losses on the battlefield. Especially when those Six S-class shinobi were accompanied by a cabal of Uchiha Elite Jounin, who had once been Jounins.

He wondered how his councillors would react if they learned about this. Not positively, he was sure of that.

Already, they have begun complaining to him about the growing arrogance of the Uchiha clan members. Nothing too bad as Fugaku has been doing his best to keep them under control. Not to mention that this was war time. And even the councillors would agree, if reluctantly, that they needed the power of the Uchiha clan to win this war.

But what would happen once this war ends, and they no longer needed the Uchiha clan's overwhelming power.

Already, the Uchiha were powerful enough to take on any of the shinobi village with a decent chance of coming out on top.

Add Fugaku, Ren and his two S-class Kunoichi to that, and they would have more S-class shinobi than even Konoha, the strongest of the Shinobi villages.

It's no surprise that everyone is concerned about this.

Even he would be worried about their increasing power if not for one small factor.

His unwavering trust in Ren and Fugaku.

Fugaku was not only his dear friend but also one of his trusted advisors. Ren, on the other hand, was the student of his own wife and Jiraya-Sensei. If he couldn't place his trust in them, then whom could he trust?

Sure, he'd made a few contingencies in case the worst happened, as any sensible shinobi would. But for the most part, he didn't believe that he would need any of those contingencies.

Fugaku led the dove faction within his clan, advocating for peace and stronger ties with the village. Meanwhile, Ren has never shown any interest in political power or influence.

In truth, he doubted whether Ren would even consider assuming the leadership of the Uchiha clan, let alone coveting the Hokage's position, which he would willingly relinquish if Ren desired it.

Nevertheless, he should eventually talk with Ren and ask him to not supply the clan will any more Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. At least not until the Hawk faction members of his clan have calmed down.

Maybe he would even ask Ren to become his student after this war. Not that he had anything he could teach the boy at this point. But it would be good for appearances. Especially once news leaks out that Ren is the strongest shinobi in Konoha.

Having Ren as his sole disciple would undoubtedly help assuage the concerns of the war hawks. And serve as solid proof to the Uchiha clan that he's on their side, unlike the last two Hokage.

Maybe he would even be able to trick the boy into taking the Hokage's hat. Heh.

On second thought, Ren would definitely not appreciate such trickery. And his wife would also be upset by his actions so he better stay away from such things.

"Hokage-sama. We're done." Inoichi said as he removed his hand from atop Pakura's head.

"So quickly? Didn't you say that this'll take days if not weeks?" Ren asked from beside him. He had assured the boy that Inoichi would be careful with Pakura's mind but the boy had decided to come along regardless.

"That I did Ren-sama. But Pakura is being surprisingly cooperative with us. I sense a considerable amount of guilt from her for attacking and destroying her former village." Inoichi replied and he blinked in surprise.

Ren-sama? Where did that come from? And was that a slight fear and awe that he saw in Inoichi's eyes when he looked at Ren.

Huh… it seems like Inoichi witnessed Pakura's battle with Ren in that mind reading session.

It was understandable. As from what Kushina had told him, the battle barely even lasted for half a minute before it was over.

This Achievement became even more striking when you add in the fact that Pakura managed to defeat half of Suna's elite shinobi as well as the 4th Kazekage on her own.

He himself hadn't been as surprised by this news as he'd seen Ren fight with Mei Terumi during their attack on Kiri. And while he wasn't 100% sure, he was still pretty confident that Ren had already reached the ranks of shinobi like Hashirama and Madara. Or was very close to that level at least.

"Well… did you find out which Organisation she and Sasori were part of. And why they attacked Suna out of nowhere?" He asked.

"Well, the situation is something like this…" Inoichi said and then went on tell him about the Akatsuki, their S-class members, their strangely powerful leader, and their eventual goal to gather all the Tailed Beasts and use them to create a weapon that'll help them bring eternal peace to the Elemental Nations.

'This is worrying.' He thought. with a frown.

"Send a more detailed report to my office asap. Especially about this leader of theirs and the extent of his abilities." He ordered and Inoichi bowed in return as he left the T&I Department alongside Ren.

He'll also have to remind Inoichi not to reveal the information about Ren's true capabilities to others in Konoha. He doubted Inoichi would do it, but better safe than sorry.

Then he took Ren and Hiraishined them back to his office.

He took his Hokage's seat and offered a chair to Ren beside him.

"Well… what do you think?" He asked the boy.

"Think about what? The Akatsuki?"

"Yeah, them."

"Well… Inoichi did say that one of them was an S-class Kunoichi. So I would probably give them a visit sooner or later." Ren said, looking highly amused and he held back an exasperated sigh.

Seriously. This boy.

"Ren. Please be serious about this."

"Okay, okay. I'll be more serious now." Ren said with a chuckle as leaned back on his chair, adopting a thoughtful expression. After a brief silence, he spoke up. "They are a threat. Even without Pakura and Sasori, they still have 5 more members, all of whom might be S-class shinobi. With their leader being powerful enough to keep all of them in line. This would indeed be worrying, if Konoha wasn't as powerful as it was. As things stand, I would rate their existence as mildly worrying but nothing overly problematic."

He let out a soft chuckle at Ren's answer. "Only you would rate a group of 5 S-class shinobi as only mildly worrying. But, could I ask you to fight these people if they ever decided to attack Konoha?"

"Of course. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen to Konoha." Ren said with an easy confidence that made him want to give his hat to the brat even more.

"And what about the war?" He asked.

"What about it?"

"Any advice now what we should do to win this war?" He asked.

Ren shrugged. "Make sure to not lose too many people. I'll eventually start my plan to destroy Lightning Country's economy. And once that happens, the Lightning Daimyo will order Raikage to stop the war and send his shinobi to protect those economic and trade centres. With Kumo out of the war, Iwa will step back and sue for peace as well."

"And when will you start this plan of yours?" He asked.

"Once Kumo and Iwa restart the fighting. Though, I need to talk with someone before I get to that."

"Someone?"

"Yup Someone. You probably know of her. But I won't say her name right now."

"Is this someone also an S-class kunoichi?" He asked teasingly and then blinked in surprise when Ren grinned back at him.

"Ren, are you trying to add this someone to your harem as well?" He asked with great exasperation.

"I retain my right to remain silent."

"Of course." He said with soft chuckles. However, his laughter abruptly ceased as the door swung open and a haggard looking Toad jumped and landed on his table. It handed him a scroll before it went limp from exhaustion.

He unfurled the scroll and all traces of joy vanished from his face as he read what was written on it.

"What does it say?" Ren asked from the side as he gave some water and a dango to the poor messenger toad.

"Iwa and Kumo are pushing forward once again. And this time, they're serious."

"Hmm… how many shinobi have they sent to the battlefield?" Ren asked, looking utterly calm. And he won't ever admit it but Ren's calm demeanour helped him calm down as well.

"About 10,000 each. Double what we had anticipated," he stated with a grim expression, pondering how they had overlooked such a significant deployment. It appeared that their new spymaster was nowhere near as competent as Danzo had been. "And Jiraiya-Sensei suspects they've also mobilized their Jinchurikis."

"And how many shinobi do we have in the frontline?"

"About 5000 and 4000 in Iwa and Kumo battlefield." He replied.

"They're really serious about this, aren't they?" Ren said, the smile never leaving his face. "They must be desperate."

"Or perhaps the fall of Suna has emboldened them." He pointed out "Before this, they needed to worry about Suna aiding us in this war. However, with Suna removed from the picture, they can advance without the fear of encountering another army on their flank."

"Foolish." Ren said with a scoff and then adopted a thoughtful expression. "Should we use this chance to take their Jinchuriki?"

"Can you do it?"

"Of course," Ren replied casually. "I could target Kumo's forces and capture both the Two and Eight Tails. Or, I could strike Iwa's army and secure the Four and Fifth Tails." He paused briefly before continuing, "Once we have them, we can distribute them to other loyal clans in Konoha. I know there are concerns about the Uchiha clan's growing influence. Providing the other clan with Tailed Beasts of their own should alleviate those concerns, no?"

"That it should. But taking those tailed beast at this instance might force those villages to go on an all-out war with us." He pointed out. "Even Akatsuki might join their side in this war, which would be problematic."

Ren nodded in acknowledgement. "I suppose you have your own ideas then?"

He nodded. "Just because we cannot capture their Jinchuriki doesn't mean that we cannot kill them. Or force them to go on a rampage."

He pressed a button on his desk and waited for his secretary to enter. Once she did, he instructed her, "Send for my wife, Fugaku, Tsunade, and Orochimaru. Also… ask Ringo and Mei Terumi to join us as well."

"You're sending all our S-class shinobi to the battlefield?" Ren asked once his secretary left.

"Not all. Only those who're willing." He said and then added. "And you'll not go either."

Ren tilted his head in confusion. "Why?"

"Because I need you to protect the village in my absence." He said. He was far more worried about a surprise attack on Konoha from the Akatsuki than he was about the upcoming battle. After all, while the battle was important, protecting the village was even more important.

Ren's eyebrow rose to his hairline. "You're going out to the frontline yourself?"

"Yes. Raikage and Onoki have been sighted in their army camps so I need to go out there as well. Raikage can be held back by Sensei or even Kushina. But Onoki is a more troublesome opponent. I'll go out to deal with him myself."

"Hmm… very well then. Go and join the war without any worry. I'll keep Konoha safe in your absence." Ren said. "Though, you wouldn't mind if I send a few of my Shadow Clones to aid our armies in the war, right?"

"A few?"

"A few thousand," Ren replied, a hint of amusement creeping into his tone. He glanced at the boy in disbelief for a moment before breaking into laughter.

"Sure. But only as long as they aren't recognised as you." He said, already feeling much better about this upcoming battle.

"Easily done."

—————

Ren Uchiha POV

He watched as Minato left for the battle, taking Kushina, Orochimaru, Tsunade, Fugaku and Ringo with him.

As soon as they departed, he began to feel apprehensive about the weight of responsibility resting on his shoulders for the entire village. An entire village that he'll have to protect if it ever got attacked by their enemies.

And while he was confident in being able to defeat any enemy he fought. Even the 9 tails. He was much less confident in doing that while protecting an entire village.

If all of Akatsuki attacked Konoha right now, then he knew that he won't be able to protect everyone.

'So this is what being a Hokage feels like.' He thought to himself. 'It's a heavy burden.'

"Are you alright?" Mei asked him from the side, giving him a worried look.

She had opted to remain in Konoha, using the excuse that she wanted to be there to care for him. However, he understood that the primary reason she hadn't joined the impending battle was because she still didn't regard Konoha as her home.

He didn't blame her for that. He only hoped that, in time, she would come to see Konoha as her home as well.

"Yeah. Just thinking about all the things that can go wrong." He said as he sank into the Hokage's seat. Then, he glanced at Shukaku, the only Hokage advisor currently not in the frontlines. "I won't be required to handle any paperwork, will I?" he inquired, a hint of trepidation seeping into his voice.

Shukaku chuckled at his words. "Please don't worry about that, Ren-sama. Me and the others will take care of all the paperwork. You only need to worry about keeping Konoha safe."

'Well, that's a relief.' He thought as he got up from his seat. 'Though, why is everyone calling me Ren-sama today. It's kinda weird.'

"I'm going out to get some free air." He said. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I would strongly advise against that, Ren-sama," Shukaku cautioned. "Your presence in the Hokage office serves as both a deterrent to our enemies and a source of reassurance for everyone else in the village."

"It's alright. I'll be back within a minute." He said and used Hirishin to arrive at the Frontlines.

He saw Konoha's army camp in the distance. He could sense Jiraiya-Sensei, Kushina-Sensei and all of the Uchiha clan members who would be personally led by Fugaku in this battle.

Further away, he detected Kumo's army camp. His Chakra Sense was keen enough to discern the distinct chakra signatures of the Raikage, Killer Bee, and Yugito Nii.

'This next battle is going to be a brutal one.' he mused, activating the Strength of Hundred Seal and channeling the surging tsunami of chakra within him to create a thousand Shadow Clones.

'This much should be enough.' He thought. 'Plus, my shadow clones can Hiraishin back to Konoha and ask me for further help if the situation deteriorated.' Though personally, he doubted such a scenario would arise.

Then he vanished from this spot and appeared in the Konoha-Iwa battlefield.

Here, he could sense the Sarutobi Hiruzen, Minato, Tsunade, Orochimaru and Ringo along with the 5000 shinobi.

He created a thousand Shadow Clones to aid them in the battle as well before he returned back to the Hokage Office.

Hiraishin was a really useful skill. And he coming to love it more and more by the day.

Shukaku raised an eyebrow at how quickly he returned. "Did you accomplish what you set out to do, Ren-sama?"

"Yes." He said and plopped down on the Hokage's chair. "And now we wait."

"And now we wait." Shukaku agreed with a grim smile.

—————

The next few hours were torturous to say the very least.

Sitting in the Hokage chair with the heavy responsibility of protecting the village, while also worrying about the massive battle taking place at their borders.

He was almost tempted to leave Konoha and go out to join the battle himself.

But he'd promised Minato that he'd keep the village safe, and he wasn't about to go back on that promise.

The only thing that made the wait even the least bit bearable was the fact that one of his Shadow Clones Hiraishined back to his office every now and dispelled itself to send him the memory of the battle.

And as he'd expected, it was a bloodbath.

Konoha was holding its own surprisingly well on both battlefronts, largely owing to the greater presence of S-class shinobi in their ranks. However, this didn't negate the harsh reality that Konoha was also suffering significant losses among its shinobi.

His clones were diligently performing their duties, teleporting onto the battlefield to retrieve wounded Konoha shinobi and providing urgent medical aid.

One group of his shadow clones managed to use Hiraishin to get into the Kumo's rear lines and slaughtered all their medics as well as their injured shinobi.

He found himself torn between a sense of pride and a profound horror at these actions. Nevertheless, he had issued instructions to his Shadow Clones on the Konoha-Iwa battlefield to execute similar tactics.

In total, the battle raged on for approximately six hours. And by the end of it, almost all his Shadow Clones had been dispersed.

However, those that remained employed their Chakra Sense to tally the number of surviving shinobi at the end of the day. The count was as follows:

About 2,200 dead from Iwa. And 1000 more who were severely injured and might not recover anytime soon, if ever.

About 3,700 dead from Kumo. With about 1,500 severely injured.

And 1,600 dead from Konoha. With 400 shinobi losing one or more of their limbs, necessitating retirement until Orochimaru completed the Hashirama Artificial Limb Project.

In the end, all three villages had suffered.

However, the village that experienced the most significant losses in this battle was undoubtedly Kumo. And that was mostly due to the presence of his own Clansmen in the battlefield.

The enhanced Uchiha clansmen had slaughtered Kumo shinobi wherever they went. The situation deteriorated to such an extent that Kumo shifted entirely to a defensive stance to mitigate further losses.

However, the most significant blow to Kumo in this battle wasn't the loss of the 5,000 shinobi who would no longer participate in future conflicts, but rather the young woman currently resting in his basement.

"I mean, I don't understand what she was thinking, charging into our lines recklessly like that," his shadow clone remarked as he inscribed Fuinjutsu seals on Yugito Nii's body to prevent her from accessing her own or her Tailed Beast's chakra. "It was a reckless and foolish move, but it provided us with the opportunity to capture her and bring her here."

"And prolonged the battle by two entire hours before the losses became too much and Kumo was forced to retreat." he reprimanded his Shadow Clone, feeling uneasy about the turn of events.

"Well, what's done is done. What are your next steps?" his Shadow Clone inquired.

He thought on it for a moment before he replied. "Frankly, I'm half tempted to stamp her. Capturing her along with her Tailed Beast should give me 90 points. 120 points, if I sold her. Which is the most points I'll ever get from Stamping a waifu in this world."

"Excluding Kaguga." His Shadow Clone pointed out.

"Excluding Kaguya. But I'm not certain if I'll even revive her. With the Six Tails within me, Kushina possessing the Nine Tails, Rin Nohara with the Three Tails, Fuu with the Seven Tails, and Gaara possessing the One Tail," he explained. "Moreover, capturing each Tailed Beast individually would yield far more points than capturing Kaguya alone."

"Yeah. But Kaguya is a Tier 9 milf." His Shadow Clone pointed out. "Don't tell me you don't want to bury your face in between those milky thighs of hers. Or grab onto her two horns as you fuck her from behind."

He gave a deadpanned look to his Shadow Clone. "You're a bad influence on me."

"I am you. So you're a bad influence on yourself."

"Whatever." He said and dispelled the Shadow Clone before he took out his Stamp and gazed at it.

To do or not to do.

90 points right now or a Tier 9 milf waifu in the future.

What a difficult choice he had in his hand.

—————

AN: Inoichi reads Pakura's mind and learns about the Akatsuki. And gets a small glimpse of Ren's true power.

Minato is facing some problems with Uchiha having become so powerful but things are in hand right now.

Kumo and Iwa learned about Suna's fall. And decided to push their luck now that Konoha has lost it most powerful ally.

Minato decided to go to the frontlines himself and put Ren in charge of protecting the village in his absence. Ren helps with the battle by sending 'a few' shadow clones.

Konoha suffered in the battle as well but it was undoubtedly the victor. With Kumo losing almost half of their entire army as well as Yugito Nii.

That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.

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Have a nice day.