Chapter 40- Kumo's destruction I

Deva Path POV

He stared at Kumo in the distance, Konan standing beside his Sixe Paths as a constant, supportive presence.

This… this wasn't the village he wanted to attack. Among the Major Villages, only Kiri and Kumo refrained from invading his homeland during the Second and Third shinobi wars.

That didn't free them of blame, of course. But it would fair to say that he despised them a little less than Konoha, Iwa and Suna.

All the same, they were an obstacle in his goal to bring eternal peace within the Elemental Nations, and hence, they would be removed from the equation.

Unless they willingly handed over the 8 tails Jinchuriki to him. But he doubted that it would happen.

"Let's begin." he said to Konan before launching the Animal Path in the middle of Kumo. And as soon as she landed, he used her Summoning ability to summon all other Five paths beside her.

And now it starts.

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Shadow Clone POV

"Soru! Take the Tempura and the Sashimi to the Fourth table," instructed the restaurant owner. He nodded in acknowledgment before picking up the two bowls.

"Aye, aye boss." He said and went to do his job as a waiter of this recently established restaurant.

Really, infiltrating this village had been too easy. Though it has less to do with his lacklustre infiltration skills and more to do with the Raikage's death and Kumo's current state of turmoil.

And yes, boss' Infiltration skills were lacklustre. Mostly because he never really went on a mission that required such skills from him.

That's one of the reasons why he was here. To gain experience in how to infiltrate a village and eventually share that experience with boss. Though that was only a secondary objective compared to his primary task of gathering intelligence on Kumo to relay it back to the boss.

A chakra filled seal stuck to his belly would keep him supplied with chakra for about a month, after which boss would absorb him and gain his memories before sending in another Shadow Clone with another chakra filled seal to take his place.

"Here are your orders shinobi-san." He said, as he handed over the two bowls to a pair of grumpy looking shinobi.

Well, all the shinobi in Kumo looked grumpy these days, mostly due to how badly they'd lost the entire war. Their mood was further compounded by the fact that their recently appointed Fifth Raikage was advocating for peace, despite the steep price they would have to pay in the negotiation table.

Really, boss had speculated that Killer Bee might ascend to the role of the Raikage after Fourth Raikage's death. In fact, that was one of the main reasons he even allowed Mito to kill that guy. But even boss had not expected Killer Bee to take that position so swiftly.

It was almost like the Fourth Raikage had expected to die in the mission and had

made arrangements for his succession in advance.

Well... Killer Bee is decent guy and should make for a capable Raikage. At the very least, he's level-headed enough not to instigate a war with Konoha without a good reason.

He hummed to himself, ready to head back to the kitchen, when suddenly the entire building trembled.

No, not just the building but the entirety of Kumo.

His Chakra Sense immediately detected Six powerful yet eerily similar chakra signatures within the village. He rushed toward the window to investigate, and was met with the sight of a colossal centipede wreaking havoc, having just demolished a few buildings across the street.

'Huh… isn't that centipede one of Nagato's summons. Does that mean Nagato is attacking Kumo? But why?' he pondered, and the answer dawned on him in an instant.

Nagato was here for the Eight tails. It was the only logical explanation for this attack.

The shinobi within the restaurant swiftly rushed out to confront the colossal centipede, while he hurried back to the kitchens.

'Looks like I get to go back to Konoha even earlier than I'd anticipated.' he mused, before employing Hiraishin to teleport away.

—————

Killer Bee POV

He finished yet another stack of paperwork and let out a tired sigh.

He could finally understand his brother's constant bad mood. The endless stream of paperwork would drive anyone to madness.

"Raikage-sama." Mabui approached him, placing yet another hefty stack of papers on his desk with a resounding thud. He held back a grimace, trying his best to remain stoic in the face of his new enemy.

He should have never heeded his brother's advice to ready himself for assuming the Raikage's mantle in the event of his death.

He never expected his brother to die. To him 'A' had always seemed larger than life, a figure so powerful that it seemed like nothing would bring him low.

Well… that goes to show just how little he knew. Or perhaps, how powerful Konoha had become in recent years.

He was still in the camp, talking with the other commanders when the devastating news reached them. His big brother was dead, along with every single Jounin and Elite Jounin he took with him.

And now here he was, occupying a position that was never meant for him.

Kumo was weaker that it had ever been before. The Daimyo was highly displeased with them, especially since the candidate he had personally sent to become the next Raikage wasn't even considered by the village council. And most importantly economy of the Land of Lightning was down in the gutters.

'And now this.' He thought, his hand instinctively reaching for the letter tucked into his inner pocket.

The letter informed him of the disappearance of Genbu, the colossal turtle where he had mastered his Tailed Beast form, and guided Yugito Nii through the same process.

The reason why Genbu was so important to Kumo was because of the substantial concentration of Nature Chakra amassed on its back.This Nature Chakra served to pacify the turbulent emotions of the Tailed Beast within a Jinchuriki, which increased the chances of a Jinchuriki bonding with his/her tailed beast.

It was one of the main reasons why he was successful in his quest to become the perfect Jinchuriki. And why Yugito Nii had reached so close to that realm as well despite her young age.

Truly, if there was ever any suspicions that Konoha had captured Yugito Nii alive, then this letter put them to rest.

Only a handful of shinobi were privy to the existence of the Turtle, and Yugito Nii was among them. If Konoha were responsible for the turtle's disappearance, it would imply they had obtained the information from Yugito Nii herself.

He suppressed another sigh, pondering the potential torture his fellow Jinchuriki had endured before Konoha extracted the information from her mind. Following that, they likely claimed the Two-Tails for themselves, killing her in the process.

Worst part of it all was that while all the other villages have become weaker due to this war, Konoha had emerged stronger due to them now having Three Tailed beasts in their possession compared to the initial one.

Four, if the missing status of the Six tails Jinchuriki was anything to go by.

And now they had access to a secret training place which can help those Jinchuriki become Perfect Jinchuriki as well as the secret knowledge on how to achieve that state.

Was it any surprise that he was doing his best to bring an end to this war, despite the ongoing insistence from numerous war hawks to prolong it until they can get a better deal at the negotiation table.

He sighed, casting a glance back at the towering stacks of paperwork on his desk. Knowing they wouldn't sign themselves, he resigned himself to returning to work.

However, just as he prepared to do so, the building trembled.

He sprang to his feet, rushing to the window to investigate the source of the tremor. And he beheld a sight that chilled him to the bone: half a dozen colossal Summons wreaking havoc upon his village.

'Bee. Be careful of those summons as well as their summoner.' Gyuki cautioned him within his mind, and the urgency in his voice filled him with worry.

"Why?" He asked even as he rushed out of the Raikage's tower to confront the giant Summons.

"Their eyes. Those are the same eyes as my father."

"The Sage of Six Paths?" He asked, feeling truly alarmed now.

'Yes. And whoever the -WATCH OUT!' Gyuki said and that was all the warning he received before a dozen missiles slammed into his form.

A quick use of Gyuki's chakra shroud negated most of the damage, allowing him to land safely on the ground before turning his gaze towards his assailant.

Some weirdo with far too many piercings on his face and head.

…and the eyes of the Sage of Six paths.

Yeah, he had a very bad feeling about this.

—————

Ren Uchiha POV

He laid still on the Fuinjutsu table, his gaze fixed upon the ceiling while his Shadow Clones diligently worked on his Jinchuriki seal. They meticulously erased certain portions and incorporated new elements, gradually transforming the seal until it bore very little resemblance to its original form.

Finally, after almost an hour of waiting in boredom, his Shadow Clones tapped his shoulder.

"It's done boss." the Shadow Clone announced. He rose from the table and made his way to a nearby mirror to inspect the sealing array adorning his stomach.

He scrutinised the seal for a while but found no errors.

'Are you ready Saiken?' He asked and his Familiar gave an excited whoop inside his mind.

'Am I ready? Of course I'm ready. Do it. Do it now!'

He smiled at his Familiar's enthusiasm before delving into his seal and grasping hold of its chakra. With focused intent, he started drawing on it.

A crimson miasma began to materialise outside his seal. It start as a fog, then became more and more solid until it was a basketball sized solid chakra with enough power within it to power a hundred S-class Jutsu.

'Easy. Easy.' He told his Familiar. 'We're done here. Now, slowly pour some of your consciousness into it.'

His Familiar made a noise that he equated to 'happy agreement' before the ball of dense chakra started to change shape.

The process unfolded slowly and awkwardly, akin to an Academy Student struggling through his first attempts at Transfiguration. But they eventually succeeded, and were left with a Pikachu-sized Saiken standing on his table.

Like a Pokemon.

He quickly mixed some of his own chakra with the miniature Saiken and used that mixed chakra to draw a series of seals in its back.

And then… they were done.

'Can you control it Saiken?' He asked.

'Hm… let me see.' Saiken said within his mind and the miniature Saiken started moving around. Clumsily at first but then faster and more graceful as it grew accustomed to its new form. 'Ren! It's working!'

'Good. Can you see through its eyes, feel through its skin, hear through its ears, and smell through its nose?' He asked.

"I don't have a nose silly." It was the miniature Saiken who replied this time as it ran over toward him and climbed up his body before coming to sit over his shoulder. Like a particularly arrogant cat. "But yes. The other senses are working fine. The world seems so big though. It's somewhat disorienting."

"Well. You were a mountain sized ball of chakra before, towering over humans like they were mere ants. But now you're even smaller than humans. Of course it would take time for you to adjust." He said, before a hint of concern entered his voice. "Do you not like it?"

"On the contrary, I rather enjoy it. It offers me a new perspective of the world around me. Plus, I'm free! Well, not free-free. But free enough to roam around Konoha without any problem."

"Yeah. You don't need to see and feel the world through my senses anymore and can do it yourself." He said with a smile. "Why don't you go out and take a look around my property?"

"That's a good idea Ren." Saiken responded with enthusiasm before using his shoulder as a launching pad and darting off. Breaking a few vases and statues on his way out, eliciting a wince from him.

Each of those statues and vases had taken his Shadow Clones countless hours to craft, and if he were inclined to sell them, then they would fetch tens of millions of Ryo in the market.

But oh well, as long as his familiar is happy, he doesn't mind.

He conjured a Shadow Clone to address the chaos wrought by Saiken before turning his attention to the Fuinjutsu table. Carefully, he began to gather the premium Fuinjutsu tools and stow them away in his Inventory.

After completing the task, the contented smile vanished from his face as he dwelled on something troubling he had recently discovered.

It was about the poison that Minato got afflicted with.

Bloodline Killer. A sinister poison that systematically corrodes one's reproductive organs. A poison so insidious that even Tsunade cannot mend its damage.

He wasn't surprised that the Elemental Nations had a poison like this. But what bothered him was that it was Minato go got hit by it.

Mainly because he had a feeling that it happened due to his Universal Calibration perk.

This perk basically altered the world around him in a way that would make the other waifus more accessible to him.

He recalled the death of Hayate Gekko, who happened to be the boyfriend of Yugao Uzuki, a Tier 5 waifu in Konoha. Suddenly, that death appeared far less coincidental than it once did.

Kushina was a top-tier milf that he'd always wanted to fuck in his past life. If he were to rate the milfs in this world, then he would rate her in the third place, right after Tsunade and Kaguya.

Not only that but she was also a Tier 6 waifu, with a Tier 7 Familiar inside her.

A woman like her... if he had arrived in this world during the 2nd Shinobi War when she was still young and single, he would undoubtedly have pursued her. Alternatively, if Minato had perished during the Kyuubi attack or the war, he would have pursued her then as well.

In fact, even now, he found himself greatly tempted. He wouldn't even have to do anything. He'll just have to stand on the side and watch as their relationship crumbles, before eventually going over to Kushina's home to 'console' her as her dear disciple, and taking it further from there.

But... Minato was a bro.

And as much as he wanted Kushina for himself (and he really, really wanted her). He wasn't about to cuck a bro in order to get her.

Except... if his suspicions regarding his Universal Calibration were accurate, then this entire situation was his fault. Although unintended, Minato was now poisoned, and now he must take responsibility for it.

By healing Minato.

The only problem was that while he was gradually surpassing Tsunade as an Iryojutsu master, he was only a copy paster of existing techniques and lacked any original ideas in the field.

The only reason why he even ventured into this field was so that he wouldn't have to rely on other people to heal himself, his waifus, children, or any of his allies. Meaning that if Tsunade was unable to heal Minato then it was very likely that he wouldn't be able to do so either.

The other option was… the Party System of the Gamer System.

Considering that he is able to regrow his limbs and eyes after Six hours of sleep, if this function of Gamer is shared with the Party System as well, then it should heal Minato completely after Six hours of sleep.

Problem was… he did not have the Party System. And he wasn't sure when he would unlock it. It could unlocked within a few years or a few decades. He had no way of knowing.

Furthermore, he harboured doubts about whether the Gamer System provided through the Party System would indeed heal Minato in the same manner.

Yes, Han Jee-han had shared his Gamer System with the other waifus in the manhwa. But he'd only done so during training and dungeon diving. And they had never seen what would happen if one of his waifus lost an arm or a leg.

Alternatively, he could give one of his eyes to Minato and have him use Izanagi to get healed. But Izanagi doesn't work like that. It can only change your current reality, not a reality of the past. So that idea is a dud as well.

So… he wanted to help Minato but was lost on how to do so.

Maybe he could focus a bit more on Iryojutsu and come up with ways to regrow missing limbs on his own. However, Iryojutsu had never been his passion and he had never delved deeper into the subject beyond what he had learned from Tsunade.

Furthermore, this would be his first project in the Iryojutsu field, so he had no idea how long it'll take for him to complete it. It could be a few months, or a few years. He didn't know.

Would Minato's marriage even last that long?

A part of him almost wished that it wouldn't, so that he would be able to pursue Kushina without feeling guilty. But he crushed that part of himself ruthlessly.

Minato was a bro, he reminded himself. Bros before hoes. Even if he really, really wanted Kushina. And not just because of who she was but also because of the 90 points he'll get from her and Kurama's Capture.

He shook his head, feeling frustrated by the conflicting emotions stirring within him. Determined to clear his mind, he ventured outside for some fresh air.

As he stepped out of his house, he was greeted by the amusing sight of Saiken lying on his back, squirming on the ground while Pakura gently rubbed his belly, wearing a serene smile.

It was the first time he had seen her smile since bringing her to live here. Otherwise, the burden of guilt from having killed her own people had weighed heavily on her.

He approached the pair and joined them on the other side of Saiken, scratching his chin for additional pleasure.

Pakura's smile faltered upon his arrival, but she remained silent and continued to rub Saiken's belly.

"Do you want me to remove your seals?" he asked, referring to the seals that kept her chakra suppressed, preventing her from posing a threat to anyone in his home.

After all, she has been living here for a while now and has never shown any hostile feelings toward anyone. Moreover, her genuine remorse for her past actions convinced him that she deserved another chance to better her life.

Of course, if she was a man then he wouldn't have cared about any of that and would've executed her a long time ago, much like what happened with Sasori. However, he acknowledged his hypocrisy in such matters and remained unapologetic about it.

Pakura looked thoughtful for a moment before she shook her head. "No. I hurt so many people when I last used my abilities. I would rather not use them again if possible."

That didn't alter the fact that she was a Tier 6 waifu, which was the primary reason for bringing her here. Just as Tsunade's Hemophobia and her inability to fight hadn't affected her tier in the canon timeline. However, this way of living couldn't be healthy, right?

"Do you want to go to therapy?" He asked. He wasn't sure if Konoha even had Therapy. But he had heard that the Yamanaka mind readers sometimes helped traumatised shinobi come to terms with their trauma. Or something.

"What's therapy?" Pakura asked.

"Well, its like… you talk with people, discuss your feelings and experiences. And in doing so, over the course of a lengthy period, you gradually come to terms with past actions or events that have affected you." He said. "It would help you accept what you've done. And only once you've accepted your actions can you move past it and make things better."

Pakura ceased rubbing Saiken's belly and looked at him, her eyes filled with immense sorrow as she shook her head. "Nothing I can do now would make things better for the people I've killed. Or their families."

"Well. I'm not denying that. But instead of just moping around all day, you can strive to do good in this world.Understand that the good deeds you perform won't erase the past, but they would be a step forward, Pakura."

Pakura averted her gaze, her expression etched with sadness.

Sensing her distress, Saiken approached and settled in her lap, eliciting a wistful smile as she began to stroke his back.

Man… Saiken is a natural at this.

The three of them sat in silence like that for the next few minutes before he got up from the ground. "Well… I need to go to the Hokage tower now, to serve as the substitute Hokage. But we should continue this talk once I return. Would you be alright what t-"

His words were abruptly interrupted as one of his Shadow Clones suddenly appeared beside him using Hiraishin.

The clone had a Fuinjutsu chakra storage tag on its belly, so it must be one of his long term infiltrators. The fact that it appeared here so suddenly meaning that something massive must've happened wherever it was deployed.

"Boss. Kumo is under attack." His clone said immediately and he frowned.

"By whom?" He asked.

"By Pain. I didn't see Konan anywhere, but she's probably nearby as well."

"Pain. Why would h-?" He began to ask before realisation dawned on him. "The Eight tails."

"What is going on Ren?" Pakura asked, looking concerned.

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Nothing that I cannot handle on my own. Though, I'll have to leave the village for a while. Will you be alright on your own?"

"Of course." she replied, then hesitated, glancing down at Saiken resting lazily in her lap.. "Would you take him with you as well?" She asked with a reluctant expression.

And he thought he was the lady killer here. Turns out that he can't hold a candle to his own Tailed Beast.

"Unfortunately, yes. He's still connected to me and cannot go too far from me so he'll have to come with me. But I'll return soon with him. I promise."

Pakura gave a reluctant nod and released Saiken, who promptly bounced over to him and perched on his shoulder.

"Let's go Ren! Adventure awaits us!" Saiken shouted in excitement.

He wasn't sure if this could be called an adventure. But very well.

—————

AN: Some of you guys say that the Akatsuki took in the Tailed Beasts by their numbers, which isn't exactly true as the Akatsuki had already captured two other Tailed Beasts before they went after Gaara.

Not only that but the canon provided no explanation about why the tailed beasts have to be taken in a numerical order. So, capturing the tail beasts numerically is not a thing in my fanfic and Pain is now heading for Eight Tails.

Aside from that, Ren has now given freedom to Saiken, the Six Tails and it can now wander around Konoha in its Pokemon form. He'll eventually do the same with the other tailed beast, allowing them to be more content with the accomodations, something would would help in the process of Kushina, Rin Nohara and Yugito Nii becoming the Perfect Jinchuriki.

Last but not the least, we see a conversation between Ren and Pakura. Pakura is a mess and her attack on Suna will leave a lasting impression on her but she'll recover over time.

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

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Have a nice day.