Chapter 41- Kumo and Iwa's Destruction

Ren Uchiha POV

Having tasked Kushina, Ringo, Mei, and Shisui with safeguarding the village during his absence, and deploying a hundred shadow clones for the same purpose, he finally teleported to Kumo.

And found Pain and Konan wrecking havoc upon the once pristine village.

Kumo was putting up a resistance, but having lost most of their Jounins and Elite Jounins during their conflicts with Konoha, they were losing pretty badly.

So badly that he almost pitied them and considered helping them for a moment before he banished that foolish idea from his mind.

If Konoha had been attacked by a superior enemy like this, then the other villages likely would have celebrated it. Plus, since no official peace treaty has been signed, Konoha and Kumo were still, technically, at war.

In the distance, he observed a partially transformed Killer Bee along with a cadre of loyal shinobi fighting against three of Pain's Paths. And to his surprise, they were winning that battle.

That is, until Pain decided that he'd played enough and had his Deva Path use a Powerful Shinra Tensei, obliterating every single thing within that section of the village, crushing all the Kumo Shinobi to death and throwing the injured and broken form of Killer Bee outside the village.

'Hm... what to do here?' He pondered as he sat and watched the battle.

A part of him was tempted to take the Eight Tails for himself. But how? The Jinchuriki seal in his abdomen was designed to contain only one Tailed Beast. And while he could modify the seal to hold two Tailed Beasts within it, studying how to make that modification would take weeks, if not months to accomplish.

He could have shoved the Tailed beast inside one of his women and captured it as a Familiar that way. The problem was, none of the women in his lives had been Captured by him. So they weren't his 'waifu'. Thus, that plan wouldn't work either.

He could also just ask Ringo or Pakura to become a Jinchuriki. But he was worried about how that would affect their outlook of him. After all, most of the shinobi world still saw being a Jinchuriki as a cursed life, rather than the blessing it actually was.

He contemplated on it a bit more before coming to the realisation that even if Pain succeeded in taking the Eight tails right now, in the future, once he has access to his own Rinnegan, he'll gain custody of the Gedo Mazo. At that point, he could simply extract the Eight Tails and give it to one of his waifus.

That's kind of what happened in canon, right? The Tailed Beasts managed to get out from inside the Gedo Mazo, until Madara bitch slapped the fuck out of all the tailed beasts and dragged them back inside the Gedo Mazo once again.

After further contemplation, he decided to leave this decision to the higher ups of Konoha.

He used Transformation Jutsu to take on his Crow-masked Anbu guise before he Teleported to Minato's side.

Minato reacted swiftly to his sudden appearance, swinging his kunai at him. However, the kunai merely chipped against his shoulder, as if striking a stone boulder.

Recognicing him, Minato's demeanour relaxed, and he took this moment to scan the tent to see if anyone else was present.

To his observation, there was no one else aside from the two Anbu who hastily entered to assess the situation before departing once Minato assured them that everything was under control.

"A bit of warning before you appear by my side the next time." Minato said, looking tense. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"I bring important news, Minato-san."

Minato raised a worried eyebrow. "Did something happen in Konoha?"

"No. Konoha is fine. But Kumo is currently under attack by the leader of Akatsuki and his subordinate. And from what I saw, they're losing pretty badly."

"Kumo is losing to two S-class shinobi?" Minato asked incredulously. Understandable, as despite all their losses, Kumo still had Killer Bee and a large number of Shinobi. In theory, they should have been capable of holding their own against a pair of S-class enemies.

"Yeah, well, one of those two possesses the Rinnegan, granting him immense power. Plus, we not only killed the Raikage, and captured Yugito Nii, but we also gutted most of their Jounin and Elite Jounin. Right now, they're probably the weakest they've been since the foundation of their village."

"I see. And… the Akatsuki's purpose for attacking Kumo?"

"Most likely to capture Eight tails." He said.

Minato looked thoughtful for a moment before he clapped his hands. An anbu appeared and Minato gave his order. "Summon Fugaku to my tent. Also, ask him to prepare his Uchiha clan members for another battle."

As the anbu left, Minato strode over to a nearby chest, took out his military gear, and started wearing it.

"So… are we attacking?" He asked. "I can defeat the Rinnegan user and then we can either help Kumo and turn them into our ally or take the Eight tails for ourself."

"No. We're not helping Kumo, not after they declared war on us." Minato declared firmly. "We'll allow the Akatsuki to capture the Eight Tails and inflict as much damage on Kumo as possible. Then, we'll go inside and finish off the rest."

His eyes widened at those words. "You want to destroy Kumo completely." He didn't know why those words even surprised him, considering that they did something similar to Kiri and were now doing just that to Iwa.

"Yes." Minato said before the flap of the tent opened and Fugaku arrived in front of him.

"Hokage-sama. Do you need my help with something?" Fugaku asked, raising an eyebrow upon noticing his presence in the room as well before giving him a nod that he returned.

Minato promptly briefed Fugaku on the situation unfolding in Kumo and outlined his plans for the aftermath.

"Minato… are you sure about this?" Fugaku asked once Minato finished explaining his plan. "Destroying a major village completely like this is not something that has ever been done before in the history of the Elemental Nations."

"There's always a first in something." Minato said and even he was surprised by Minato's ruthlessness. "Besides, I was already planning to annihilate Iwa. Now, they just happen to be the second to receive that 'honor'."

Man… the effect of that poison really must've fucked with Minato's mindset if he was planning to destroy Iwa because of that. Or was Minato always this ruthless and he just didn't notice it.

No, Minato had always been ruthless toward his enemies. The guy was usually such a ball of sunshine that you forgot that Minato ascended to his Hokage position by climbing on top of a mountain of enemy corpses.

You don't earn the designation of 'Flee on Sight' by being merciful to your enemies.

The massacre of Kiri's Mizukage candidates and their superiors was just one example. Minato was merely taking it a step further with Iwa and Kumo. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Very well then. I'll summon my men. I assume the both of you will Hirahsin to take them to Kumo?"

Minato nodded, and Fugaku swiftly departed the tent, leaving Minato and him enveloped in a heavy silence.

After a moment of contemplation, he broke the silence. "Minato-san."

"Hmm?"

"You're aware of how my second bloodline has been evolving over the past few years, right?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Well, I wanted to inform you that after the next evolution, or perhaps the one after that, I'll be capable of sharing my bloodline with others. I don't think that I'll share all 100% of my abilities. But the ones that I do share should prove effective enough."

"That... I see," Minato replied, his thoughts racing as he grasped the potential benefits of such an ability. Being as astute as he was, he swiftly reached the conclusion he desired. "Then does that mean that you'll be able to share your ability to recover any lost body part with 6 hours of sleep?"

"As I mentioned, I'm not entirely certain if I'll be able to share 'that' ability, but there's a possibility it could happen," he explained before moving to Minato's side and offering a reassuring squeeze to his shoulder. "I simply wanted to keep you informed about this so that you won't lose hope for your future."

"I see." Minato said clenching his fists tightly. "And how long will it take for your bloodline to evolve to that point?"

"That's where the problem lies." He said, letting out a sigh. "It could be anywhere from a few years to an entire decade. Perhaps even more. I do not know."

And he wasn't lying either. So far, his Gamer System had unlocked new functions whenever his power rose up by 1 tier.

However, each tier represented a tenfold difference in capability. For instance, if someone reached Tier 7 through improvements in speed alone, they would need to become ten times faster to attain Tier 8 power, along with a similar increase in stamina.

Now, given the versatility of his abilities, his stats wouldn't necessarily need to increase by a factor of 10 each to reach Tier 8. Nevertheless, he'll still have to become pretty damn powerful in order to reach that tier.

Like… Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were Tier 7 characters and they were so much more powerful than Tier 6 characters (Kage level shinobi) that fighting them didn't even count as a proper battle for them.

But despite all that, he was sure that he'll be able to reach Tier 8 within a few years. Mostly because he was confident that he would able to learn and master the use of Nature Chakra by that point. And the combination of Tailed Beast Mode and Sage Mode represented an incredibly huge power-up.

The real problem would come if he reached Tier 8 and still didn't unlock the Party System.

Because at that point, he'll have to grind his way up to Tier 9 level of power. And that… would take many, many years. Perhaps even decades. Unless he takes some sort of shortcut with the Waifu Catalog but even then, it was going to take a while.

"A few years to a decade or more." Minato said, looking despondent. "That's… a lot of time. But thank you for your help regardless, Ren. I appreciate it more than you could know."

He nodded. "Don't worry. I'll also start doing Iryojutsu research on how to regrow lost body parts. I'm not sure how long it will take, as I've never conducted such research before, but I know it's possible. So... don't lose hope, okay?"

"Okay." Minato said, his voice sounding a bit choked up. "Thanks, Ren."

"Don't mention it." He said and then the flap of the tent opened again and he noticed dozens of Uchiha shinobi waiting outside as Fugaku entered the tent.

"We're ready, Hokage-sama." Fugaku declared.

"Very well then."

A few moments later, he and Minato teleported to a location some distance away from Kumo, accompanied by over two dozen Uchiha shinobi. They were greeted by the sight of Kumo slowly burning to the ground, with a few battles still taking place in critical locations.

"The smoke is making it hard to see anything." One of the Uchiha shinobi complained.

And he wasn't wrong. His high level of Chakra Sense was the only reason he could discern what was happening inside the village. Otherwise, the thick smog severely limited their visibility.

"Where is the leader of Akatsuki and Killer Bee? I cannot sense them anywhere." Minato said, looking a bit more relaxed since he had promised to heal him.

"They're engaged in combat a few clicks north of here," he replied, surprised that Killer Bee had managed to hold out against Nagato for this long. "Should we go after them?"

"No. That'll not be necessary. For now, we'll sit back and watch." Minato said and… that's what they did.

Until one of his clones appeared beside him, carrying two women on his shoulder.

It was the same Shadow Clone he had sent to infiltrate Kumo. The one who brought him the news about the attack on Kumo.

"Who are they?" Minato inquired, casting a curious glance at his clone as it set the two women down on the ground, revealing their faces. And he instantly recognised them.

Mabui and Samui. Two Tier 5 waifus from Kumo.

"Why have you brought them here?" He asked, genuinely confused as he'd never shown any interest in Tier 5 waifus.

Sure, they were beautiful. But Naruto world didn't have a lack of beautiful women. And if kept focusing on all of them, then he would never get any Waifu Catalog Points, which was the main reason why he wanted a harem in the first place.

"They were about to die at Konan's hand so I decided to rescue them." His Shadow Clone replied. "I thought that it would be a huge waste if I allowed that to happen. Plus, Samui can use the Heavenly Transfer Technique. It would be a useful thing to study."

Well… that was a fair point.

"What about her?" He asked, pointing at Samui.

"Dude. Are you seriously asking me that? Have you seen her tits? They're as big as Tsunade-Sensei's"

"He's not wrong," one of the Uchiha behind him chimed in, earning a glare from him. He refocused on his shadow clone, contemplating what to do with the two women. Since they had already been rescued, killing them or releasing them seemed wasteful.

"Take them to Konoha. Send them to T&I for interrogation," he instructed his Shadow Clone. "Tell Inoichi to handle their minds delicately. I'll decide what to do with them later." The Shadow Clone acknowledged the orders before disappearing with the captives.

"Taking war brides already?" Minato asked, sounding amused.

"Not really. They're not strong enough to join my harem. I've always wanted some maids though." He said, getting confused and shocked looks from the Uchiha clansmen who were shamelessly eavesdropping in on the conversation.

"Ah, yes. Your dream of having a harem of S-class Kunoichi." Minato said looking like he was barely holding in a chuckle. "Though, I suppose I can't say that your dream is unrealistic considering how far you've already come."

Fugaku looked like he was about to say something as well but he sensed something at that moment and gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"Killer Bee just got defeated by the Akatsuki's leader." He said.

"And how long has it been since the battle started?" Minato asked.

"About Ten minutes." He said and everyone seemed surprised by this. After all, defeating a Jinchuriki was no easy feat. And Eight tails was stronger than all the tailed beasts out there except of Nine tails.

"Should we launch our attack on Kumo now?" Fugaku asked.

"No. We wait until the Akatsuki leave." Minato replied.

"Hmm… Minato-san, are you sure about not rescuing Killer Bee from the Akatsuki. Having another Jinchuriki on our side would be very useful." He said.

Minato looked thoughtful at his words. "Can we get the Eight tails at a later date? I would prefer not to engage the Akatsuki until we've defeated Iwa and ended this war."

"We can." He said. Though they would have to wait till he evolves his eyes once again and gets control over Gedo Mazo.

"Then we leave it be for now." Minato said and he nodded.

They waited in silence for the next few minutes before one of the Uchiha clansman gasped.

"Look over there!" That guy said, pointing up at the sky in the distance. "Is that man flying?"

He glanced in that direction and observed the Deva Path slowly flying toward Kumo. And compared to his own flying speed, which could easily exceed supersonic levels at this point, the Deva Path seemed remarkably slow.

"He's hovering in the sky, not flying." Fugaku pointed out.

"Why is he coming back?" Minato asked, looking alert.

He sensed a large amount of chakra being built up within the Deva Path and quickly realised what was going to happen upon its arrival at the centre of Kumo.

"It seems like we'll not have to exert any effort in destroying Kumo today, Minato-san." He said, wondering why Nagato was even wasting all this effort on Kumo. Did Nagato sense their presence and want to show off?

Minato turned to look at him. "What do you mea-" But his words were cut short as Pain unleashed his devastating attack, obliterating Kumo in a matter of seconds.

"That's…" "Oh Kami…" "How is this even possible?" The Uchiha clansmen mumbled to themselves, looking quite shocked by what they'd just witnessed.

And despite having seen similar destruction in canon, he too was taken aback by the sheer efficiency of the attack.

It's not like he couldn't destroy a village either. In fact, he had dozens of ways to do so. But there was just something about pointing a hand in the general direction of a village and then turning it into rubble that just couldn't be matched by other Ninjutsu techniques.

"So… I'm assuming that this is the power of the Rinnegan?" Minato asked him, looking very grim.

"Yeah. It's one of the Six abilities that Rinnegan eyes gives its user." He said.

"He has Five more abilities like this. And you're saying that you can defeat him in a fight?" Fugaku asked, looking speechless for once.

He smiled confidently. "Trust me, it wouldn't even be a fight."

—————

Minato Namikaze POV

A few months later.

He stood on top of the giant Earth walls surrounding Iwa, the corpse of Onoki beneath his feet as stared at the burning village in front of him.

This is exactly what he set out to do all those months ago. This is why he and his village has bled and sacrificed so much over the past few months. To teach these bastards the price of treachery.

So why. Why did he absolutely feel no satisfaction as he finally achieved his goal of destroying Iwa?

"Was poisoning me worth it?" He asked the corpse of Onoki. "Was going to war with Konoha worth it?"

The dead man gave no answers and he let out a tired sigh before he sealed the corpse inside a Storage scroll. Orochimaru and others in the Research Department would undoubtedly want to study the body.

They started this war with Five shinobi villages. And now, Two of them were destroyed while the other Two might take decades to recover, reduced Minor shinobi villages in all but name.

He had no doubt in his mind that the minor village would start vicious fights with each other in order to take the position of the next major village for themselves. And the innocent people will pay the price once again. All because he couldn't simply go back home without having his revenge.

However, it hadn't been just about his revenge. He couldn't allow someone to disrespect the leader of Konoha like that without any reprisal.

Regardless of his decision, he knew that the upcoming decade might very well be the worst decade that the Elemental Nations has ever seen.

A great part of it might even return to the days of the Warring Era.

'Is this the peace I wanted?' He asked himself morosely. 'Yes, I protected my village and its dignity but at what cost?'

"Hokage-sama." An Anbu arrived beside him at that moment, and he quickly stopped his moping, wearing the Hokage's stern expression once again.

"Report." He said to the Anbu.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the Anbu reported. "As we expected, a significant portion of the remaining shinobi in Iwa had already deserted long before our arrival. And Onoki managed to hide away a majority of his village's secrets somewhere. The Hyuuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans are currently scouring both inside and outside the village for any hidden locations."

"I see. Are there any survivors?" He asked.

"As you instructed, Hokage-sama, we refrained from harming innocent civilians. However, it appears that most of the civilians had evacuated the village prior to our arrival," the Anbu reported. "Nevertheless, during our search, we discovered something—or rather, someone."

He raised an eyebrow. "And who is this someone?"

"Onoki's granddaughter Kurotsuchi. A 4 year old girl with the Lava Release bloodline."

'Another innocent victim of this war.' He thought morosely.

"Don't harm her. We'll take her back with us to Konoha." He said and the Anbu departed, leaving him alone with his melancholy.

Clearing the battlefield with take some more time but after that, they would finally be able to return to Konoha. And he'll have no choice but to face Kushina and tell her the truth.

Ren's words had lifted him out of the despair he once felt, yet uncertainty still gnawed at him, eating away at his resolve.

At that moment, another shinobi appeared beside him and stood to the side, staring at him in silence. He could almost hear the condemnation the newcomer held inside his thoughts. For causing all this bloodshed when peace would've served them just fine.

"Sensei." He said, not knowing what else to say to the man who had raised him with the intentions of bringing peace to the Elemental Nations. Only for him to become the greatest merchant of death and destruction.

"Hokage-sama." Jiraiya-sensei replied, a cold edge to his voice as he didn't even bother calling him by his name.

The two stood in a long silence after that before Jiraiya-sensei finally spoke up once again.

"I'll not return with you to Konoha." His Sensei said and despite having expected something like this to happen, the words still felt like a spike being driven into his heart.

"Where will you go?" He asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. I intend to travel the world for the next few years, to witness firsthand the consequences of our actions," Jiraiya-sensei replied. "Perhaps take a disciple or two along the way."

'Because I, who has brought so much death and destruction could obviously not be the Child of Prophesy, who was destined to bring peace to the world.' He thought.

"When would you return?" He asked, unsure if Jiraiya-sensei would even want to return to Konoha after... all this.

"I don't know. When I'm ready, I guess." His Sensei replied and he nodded.

"In that case, I wish you farewell, Sensei. And best of luck in finding your next student," he said, his thoughts adding, 'Hopefully he'll not be as much of a fuck-up as I turned out to be.'

His sensei nodded before turning and walking away, leaving him alone atop the giant walls, staring at the major village he has just destroyed.

—————

AN: Minato is currently seeing the negative consequences of his actions and has become rather pessimistic because of that.

But would destroying the other major villages truly bring a more prosperous era in the future?Only time will tell.

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

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Have a nice day.