Shisui Uchiha POV
When she got her Mangekyo Sharingan and realised what its ability was, she knew that one day she might be be asked to use its power to manipulate someone's mind and alter their memories for the betterment of her village.
However, she hadn't expected that day to come so quickly. Or for the request to come from her dear friend.
"So this is her?" She asked as she gazed at the sleeping form of Yugito Nii.
"Yes. And I know what you're thinking. That I brought you to my house with the sole intention of using you for your ability." Ren said. "I assure you, that was never my intention. And if you don't want to do this, then you don't have to. I'll not pressure you into anything, Shisui. You mean more to me than that."
"That's not what I was thinking." She lied.
The thought had indeed crossed her mind. More than once. But it felt good that Ren was addressing this and giving her a way out.
A way out that she really wanted to take. Because what she was about to do, would change the very being of Yugito Nii. It would make her live in a false reality henceforth, making her think it to be real.
Yet, how could she possibly decline? How could she turn away when Ren was there to support her after the death of her teammates? When he was the one who bought those very expensive Hashirama cells for her and implanted them within her body lest she lose her sight from overusing her eyes.
How could she, when after all these years, she finally found a place to call home. A home where she experienced a sense of belonging and family at long last?
Refusing Ren would feel like she was spitting in the face of everything that he'd done for her. And she was many things but not ungrateful.
"Think of it this way: Even if we must eventually send her back to Kumo, she'll serve as a valuable spy for our cause within their ranks," Ren proposed. "And if that's not the case, we'll gain another formidable S-class ally."
"And you'll have another potential S-class harem member." She said with a disapproving look. She never really understood Ren's desire to have a harem. Especially since she'd only ever seen other Nobles engaged in such practices.
Yes, a handful of shinobi also had harems, but they typically hailed from bloodline clans on the brink of extinction. And those harems were in place to revive that bloodline, rather than whatever it was that Ren desired.
She also knew that once she's old enough, Ren might eventually extend an invitation for her to join his harem. And she was not sure if she would even reject him. Not when his mansion already felt like home to her.
"And would that really be so bad? You could finally have the elder sister you always wanted." Ren suggested.
"No. Not like this." She shook her head.
"It's your wish." Ren replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"Did the Hokage-sama really gave you permission to do this?" She asked once again.
"Of course. I wouldn't lie to you about such a thing, Shisui." Ren said seriously and she believed him.
She had no idea what Ren had said or done to convince the Hokage-sama that this was a good idea. However, if the Hokage-sama accepted this plan, and if Ren was really asking this of her, then could she really reject both of them?
No, she couldn't.
Her shoulders slumped. "Very well, but this process will take time, perhaps over a week to a month. I prefer not to rush and would rather proceed carefully with her memories. It's my first time using my eyes in this manner, you know."
"Of course, take all the time you need," Ren agreed, removing the sealing barrier before opening the steel gates to allow her entry.
Ren had put Yugito Nii into deep slumber with his own Mangekyo Sharingan and woke her up a moment later, employing another Genjutsu to ensnare her in a trance-like state.
She truly despised having to manipulate someone like this. Yet, she reminded herself that this woman was an enemy of Konoha, and would willing slaughter any Konoha shinobi in her path if given the opportunity.
"What about her Tailed Beast? Would it interfere in the process?" She asked hesitantly. The prospect of using her power for the first time already had her feeling uneasy. And the possibility of the Tailed Beast causing complications added to her apprehension.
"Her name is Matatabi. And no, I've already talked with her. She'll not interfere in this process. Go ahead whenever you're ready."
She nodded and drew a deep breath before activating her Mangekyo Sharingan and meeting Yugito Nii's gaze.
A moment later, all of Yugito's memories, from her early childhood to this very day, started to change.
—
Mito Uzumaki POV.
Her Golden Chains swirled around her in a lethal dance and pierced through the hearts of the three Kiri Rogue Shinobi who ventured too close to her home while escaping the now defunct Kirigakure.
'7824.' A playful voice echoed within her mind as the deity she'd made that pact with claimed the souls of the fallen Rogue-nins. '2176 more.'
"Yes, yes. Quit reminding me already." She groused before she sealed their dead bodies and handed over the Storage scroll to one of her Shadow Clones, to dispose of them in some distant location.
Once her Shadow Clone had departed, she used Hiraishin and swiftly returned to her home. And then frowned as she sensed someone near her home. Standing just beyond the barrier she had erected to safeguard the last of the Uzumakis.
But then she got a better sense of this person's identity and her hostility and wariness changed to irritation.
She approached him and found him studying the Fuinjutsu Barrier protecting the last refuge of the Uzumaki clan.
It came as no surprise to her that the Fuinjutsu-induced Genjutsu failed to affect him, given his Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. Nevertheless, it was somewhat disheartening.
"Not a bad seal." Ren said as he continued studying the barrier, not even turning to greet her. The brat. "I can only see three points of failure. And I'm pretty sure that all three of them are decoys meant to trigger an alarm."
"Is that so." She said, mildly worried by this. Because if he could see and recognise those three failure points, then he was already very close to unravelling this barrier.
A barrier that took her years of effort to create.
Witnessing Ren's growth was nothing short of scary. And she once again thought about the proposal he'd made to her.
She doubted that she would ever come to love , considering the formidable strength of the Uchiha clan and the prospect of Ren assuming its leadership in the future, she found herself open to the idea of a political marriage. A marriage for the protection of her remaining clan members was something she could do.
She had already made such a sacrifice in the past when she married Hashirama for the sake of her clan's peace and prosperity. So why should she hesitate to do so again?
But that could wait for later.
"Why are you here?" She asked curtly.
"Good afternoon Mito-san. It's nice to meet you as well."
"Why are you here?" She asked again, not in the mood to play games.
Ren smiled and turned to face her. "Well, you didn't leave me with a way of contacting you. So I needed to find you myself."
Her frown deepened. "And how did you fine this place?"
After all, she had invested significant effort into ensuring that no one could trace her back to her home.
To see Ren be able to do just that in such an effortless manner was left her worried. Sure, Ren was her ally but he could've just as easily been her enemy.
And if that were the case…
She shook head of all the negative thoughts and waited for Ren to answer.
"It was simple really. I found you by this." Ren said as he showed her a stone marked with her Hiraishin seal. It was a stone that she'd left behind in the Senju compound as she returned there every year to check up on Tsunade and to pay respects to her deceased husband and children.
"I knew that you would have a Hiraishin marker somewhere in Konoha." Ren continued. "I searched for it and discovered one in the Senju Compound. From there, I attuned the seal to gain partial control over it, allowing me to sense the locations of other Hiraishin markers across the continent."
"And the majority of the Hiraishin markers were positioned around my home," she remarked with a sigh as realisation sank in, and Ren nodded in agreement.
She made a note to fix this problem. And to modify her Hiraishin seal to prevent similar exploits in the future.
"You still haven't told me why you're here." She pointed out.
"Well, how much do you know about the current shinobi war?" Ren asked her instead.
"I know that Kiri won't be taking part in this war." She said with grim satisfaction. "I also know that Suna was recently attacked by two of their S-class Rogue shinobi and suffered greatly. And that Konoha fought a large scale battle with Kumo and Iwa. But I don't know the details."
"Well, the details are somewhat like this." Ren said and then gave a detailed account of what happened in the past week, and his own role in those incidents.
That was… fairly impressive.
Nothing compared to what her own husband was capable of back in his prime. But she could see that Ren was trying to lay low right now.
"You've accomplished much for your village. Konoha's losses in that battle were limited to 2000 shinobi, whereas Kumo and Iwa suffered a combined loss of over 8000," she commended.
"It was mostly due to the efforts of other Konoha shinobi. But I thank you for the praise regardless." Ren said with a slight nod. "Now, would you like to hear about my plan regarding Kumo. A plan that I hope would end to this war once and for that aims to ensure that the Daimyo of other kingdoms never again support the hidden villages in waging wars against each other."
"What plan?" She asked curiously. "And why should I take part in it?"
"Well, for one, I know that you hate both Kumo and Iwa for the part they played in Uzushiogakure's could serve as an opportunity for you to exact your revenge." Ren said. "But more importantly, this would allow you to kill enemy shinobi and offer more souls to that deity of yours."
'I approve of this plan.' The playful voice echoed in her mind, but she ignored it with practiced ease.
"That's not enough. If I wanted to kill those shinobi then I could do it muself. This is my revenge. I'll take it with my own hands."
"Ah, come now. Don't be stubborn just for the sake of being stubborn. You know that this is a good deal. Just take it." Ren said.
She thought on it for a moment and realised that she was indeed being stubborn. Probably because she was annoyed by him coming so close to unravelling her barrier. Maybe she should take a step back here?
"I admit that this is a good deal. However, I'm not keen on being a mere pawn in someone else's scheme. What do I have to gain from joining you in this plan of yours?" She asked.
"The satisfaction of killing Kumo shinobi, your sworn enemies. More souls to give to your deity. What else do you need?"
"A favour," she countered. "A favour from you, to be called upon in the future for whatever I want."
Ren's face went blank at that and he shook his head. "No. That's too high a price for you aid. Especially when I'm only doing this to help you. I can just as easily do this on my own if I want."
"Well, you're not wrong. And might not be as strong as Hashirama right now but I know that you're close and would definitely surpass him in the near future."
"Hm... that's a high praise from a hundred year old GILF."
"I'm only eighty-seven years old brat." She countered, wondering what the word 'Gilf' meant. Knowing Ren, probably not anything good.
"Whatever you say." Ren said with an uncaring shrug. "But are you joining me or not. Because I'm going to do this with or without you."
"…I'll join you. But only if you owe me a favour for this. Even a small one would do."
"No. I'm doing this to help you, you know. I could've just as easily ignored your existence and have gone about with this mission. Don't take my kindness for my weakness." Ren warned.
"Perhaps it is a kindness. But that doesn't change the fact that I would, in fact, be helping you in this mission. And I won't lend out my services freely."
Ren stared at her. "You're one stubborn one, aren't you. Well, then. What do you want?"
She thought on it for a moment before she gave her reply. "4 pair of your Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. And enough Hashirama cells to put them to use."
Ren stared at her. "Do you plan on giving them to your newly found clan members?"
"...something like that." She said. "Now that you've heard my price, do we have a deal or not?"
Ren stared at her for a long moment before he spoke up. "1 pair of Mangekyo Sharingan eyes. And only for your personal research. My clan members would revolt if they learn that I'm handing out these eyes to someone outside the clan."
"Three." She bargained.
"One pair and no more. Either take it or leave." Ren said, not budging in the slightest.
She thought on it for a moment before she nodded. "Very well. I accept."
She would kill her enemies and gain a Mangekyo Sharingan in exchange. Count her in.
"We have a deal then." Ren said and they shook hands. And the next moment, he used Hiraishin to bring both of them back to his home.
There, she saw Ringo Ameyuri, Mei Terumi, and a young Uchiha girl waiting for her.
She was still wearing her mask so they didn't recognise her (though she was ancient enough that they probably wouldn't have recognised her regardless). But they were certainly curious about her presence and identity.
"Who is she?" Ringo was the first one to ask.
"An ally." Ren said as he went to stand in front of the table which held a very detailed map of Kumo. "One that'll aid us in this mission."
"We don't need any help in this mission." Ringo said, giving her a suspicious glance.
"No we don't. But she also has a beef with Kumo. And having more allies never hurts."
"Who even is she?" Ringo asked.
"An ally. That's all you need to know right now. If she wants to reveal her identity to you, then she'll do so herself. Till then, we'll call her..."
"Vortex." She said. It wasn't the best name out there, but it'll serve for now.
"Vortex then." Ringo said grudgingly before staring at her. "Are you an S-class Kunoichi as well?"
"Yes." She said confidently.
Ringo palmed her blades, looking as if she was going to attack her at any moment in order to confirm that fact. But the girl managed to control her impulse at the end and her hands left her blades.
"In that case, I think I can guess why Ren brought you here to join us in this plan."
"And why is that?" She asked.
"He wants to get inside your pants. The same as us." Ringo said and she let out an amused hum.
"Is that true, Ren?"
"Of course." Ren said unashamedly. "Though I won't be doing the getting-inside-your-pants part for a few more years."
"I see." She said before she walked forward and stood beside the table to take a look at the map and all the areas that have been marked in it as well.
After studying it for a long moment, she spoke up. "You might want to attack here, here, and here as well."
"And why is that?" Ren asked as he raised his hand to stop Ringo from saying anything.
"This area holds all the dangerous prisoners of Kumo. Freeing them up would undoubtedly cause a lot of trouble to Kumo." She said. "This area holds a large Emerald mine. And this area holds an industrial town. The only town in the Land of Lightning that produces high grade glass."
"I see." Ren said as he stared at those marked areas in contemplation. "Any other areas that we missed?"
"This bridge. This mountain road. This island. And finally…" She made a large circle in the sea near Kumo. "In this area, you'll find a giant Sea Turtle. Kill it, and you deal a huge blow to Kumo."
"A giant sea turtle?" Mei said with a sceptical glance.
"I know about it as well." Ren said and she had to stop from staring at him in surprise. After all, the existence of that turtle was a top-tier secret. And even she only found it by a great stroke of luck. "Though, I don't feel comfortable attacking and killing that Turtle."
"You'll have to do a lot of things in your shinobi career that you're not comfortable with." She pointed out.
"True. But why kill the turtle when I can simply bring it to Konoha? Plus, that turtle has a place in its back that can be used to train a Jinchuriki. And we now have four of them. Wouldn't it be great to have Four Perfect Jinchuriki?"
"It would be. But how do you plan to bring that turtle from Kumo to Konoha?" Ringo asked.
"You leave that problem to me." Ren said with a confident smile.
"If that's what you want, then I'll leave it to you. But are you going to attack the other places I mentioned?" She asked. Because she would be rather annoyed after her brought her here and then discarded her advice.
"Of course." Ren said without any hesitation. "Though I'll have to send out a few Shadow Clones in advance to scout those places and leave a Hiraishin marker there."
"In that case. When should we start?" She asked.
"Right now." Ren replied.
—
AN: A reader in the past chapter commented that attacking a Kingdom's economy instead of a small village is foolish as attacking the economy would harm far more people. I agree with that guy, but I've already written the next 8 chapters and can't just rewrite all of them. So it is what it is.
I just changed the premise a bit so that the main reason why Ren is attacking a Kingdom instead of the village itself is so that it would dissuade the Daimyos in the future from pitting the shinobi villages against one another in hopes of weakening them.
Hope this can solve some of my blunder.
That's it for this chapter. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.