Chapter 81 - Mei Terumi: That Big Dumb Renji Is Coveting My Beauty?
"Are you not going to try to win over Jiraiya?"
Though he had used a few tricks, Shikaku felt things were still within bounds.
After all, Tsunade lost a bet—that was her own business. As long as Renji paid the money, both sides likely understood the situation well enough. As long as they didn't meddle too much in each other's affairs, it would be fine.
In truth, Shikaku was quite pleased that Tsunade would be staying in the village to train medical ninja. The village's medical corps hadn't been as glorious as before for a long time now.
Tsunade's importance was beyond question. As for Jiraiya, while perhaps not as vital to the village as her, he was still a Kage-level force. Was it really okay not to try and persuade him?
Shikaku had just observed from Renji's attitude that he didn't seem to have any intention of convincing Jiraiya. Otherwise, he wouldn't have avoided even making an offer.
"He won't stay in the village. He has his own matters to attend to, so there's no need to interfere with him. If the village faces trouble, he'll come back."
The Child of Prophecy…
A lifetime spent searching for this so-called Child of Prophecy—was it worth it?
Renji didn't know. But he also didn't interfere with Jiraiya's ideals.
Still… with his own appearance in this world, was Naruto still destined to be the Child of Prophecy?
"I see. Then we can begin the Medical Ninja Program internally. We can start selecting people with strong aptitude for medical ninjutsu. Things really are going according to your plans."
"So you should be able to handle it now, right?"
"What? You're dumping everything on me again?"
Who was really the Hokage here?
Shikaku seriously wanted to throw in the towel.
"I'm going to be away from Konoha for a while, so I'll need your help handling village affairs temporarily."
"You're leaving Konoha?"
Shikaku froze when he heard Renji's words, and immediately tried to stop him.
Was this a joke? He'd only just taken office as Hokage and he was already planning to leave the village for a while?
"Yeah. Something's going wrong internally in Kirigakure. I'm planning to go there and handle it. It's also part of that plan I mentioned earlier. Don't worry—I'll be back soon."
"Come on, boss, do you know how long it takes to travel from the Land of Fire to the Hidden Mist Village?"
"What if I use space-time ninjutsu?"
"You?!"
Shikaku's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Renji. He could use space-time ninjutsu too?
And if that was the case, then back when he fought the Third Hokage, Renji hadn't even used most of his abilities?
"Alright, I'll leave the village to you. Just handle things the same way you did before."
With that, Renji patted Shikaku on the shoulder and disappeared from the Hokage's office.
Leaving behind a Shikaku staring at paperwork, on the verge of tears.
This wasn't like assisting Minato when he was Hokage!
Why did everything seem so different since this guy took over?
Kirigakure.
Renji had used Kamui once before to visit the village and scout its internal situation.
Right now, Mei Terumi and Master Yuan had already begun planning their rebellion and were about to make their move. Renji had come partly to see if there was a chance for a draw, and partly to implement part of his own plan.
Since Kirigakure was moving first, he decided to shift his target from Sunagakure to Kirigakure instead.
"Chōjūrō, what is it?"
Inside a secret meeting room in the Hidden Mist Village, Mei Terumi looked up in puzzlement at the slightly tense expression on Ao's face.
"Someone's here!"
"Who?"
Mei's heart sank. Master Yuan and several others involved in the rebellion immediately turned alert, eyes scanning the surroundings.
If their activities were discovered, their entire families could be wiped out.
"Ahaha, I've been discovered."
"You never tried to hide, did you?"
Ao looked toward a corner of the room where a shadowy figure stepped out of the darkness. He hadn't noticed anything earlier—only because the man revealed himself did Ao realize someone had infiltrated them.
"Nice to meet you, Mei Terumi. I'm here to talk about cooperation."
Renji had considered taking a different approach to cooperation, but eventually thought, 'With this much power, why should I act timid? Might as well smash my head into tofu if I'm going to keep holding back.'
Besides, he wasn't here to beg for a deal. If it didn't work out, he'd just revise his plan and make Kirigakure the first to be annihilated.
And with their internal conflict, wiping them all out wouldn't be hard.
"Who are you?"
"Uchiha Renji, Fifth Hokage of Konoha."
"Konoha's Hokage? And you dare come to Kirigakure?"
Mei's wariness only deepened. She exchanged brief glances with the others present—if Renji made a single suspicious move, they would attack immediately.
Then she looked at Ao. After getting his confirming nod, she knew this was indeed Renji.
Ao was in charge of intelligence and had a Byakugan. He could easily tell whether this man was in disguise.
"I'm here to propose a partnership. Interested in hearing the details?"
"Kirigakure and Konoha are sworn enemies!"
Master Yuan glanced at Renji but didn't rush to act. According to intel, Renji had effortlessly defeated Hiruzen Sarutobi and ascended to the position of Hokage.
So even if they attacked, they might not be able to beat him.
Besides, he'd come here to cooperate—and to their territory—so there was no rush.
"If you put it that way, then every ninja village is an enemy. But sometimes, interests are more important. The Fourth Mizukage's regime must have exhausted you all by now, hasn't it? Even if you overthrow him, restoring the village won't be so easy."
There are no eternal enemies in this world. If the benefits are sufficient, even enemies can come together.
"What exactly are you proposing?"
Mei frowned. She was starting to understand Renji's meaning, but what kind of cooperation was he talking about?
"An alliance. We can form a military alliance between Konoha and Kirigakure. At the same time, we can open up economic ties. Konoha will sell grain and supplies to you—as long as you open your markets to us. Your goods can also be sold to us. We'll take over the Land of Waves and use it as a hub for trade between us. What do you think?"
This…!
Such a generous offer—was this new Hokage of Konoha an idiot?
"You mean you want a military alliance and you're also going to give us supplies?"
Even Master Yuan found it hard to believe what he was hearing.
How was this possible?
What benefit did Konoha get from this?
"That's right, that's exactly what I mean. Just fully open your markets to us. There won't be any strings attached, and our prices won't be outrageous. If you think something's too expensive, don't buy it."
Renji laid out his terms without hesitation.
To Mei and the others, it sounded like Renji was here to hand them benefits.
Right now, Konoha was the strongest village in the ninja world. A military alliance with them would bring immense advantages.
Besides, Konoha and Kirigakure were geographically far apart, so their interests didn't clash like with other villages.
Not to mention—after the civil war and the bloody mist policies—Kirigakure's strength was nowhere near what it used to be. For Konoha to take the initiative and offer cooperation now completely exceeded their expectations.
And if Konoha was willing to open trade, of course they would agree. Due to the past Bloody Mist policies, resources in Kirigakure were critically lacking.
Letting Konoha do business here would mean losing some profit—but if it helped rebuild the village, that was clearly a win.
"Do all Uchiha lack brains or what?"
"To offer a deal so favorable to the other side—this is the definition of rich and dumb!"
"You're sure?"
Mei Terumi's tone was a bit rushed when she asked that.
Hearing her voice, Renji knew he'd already succeeded.
It looked like Konoha was taking the loss, but once Konoha's goods flooded Kirigakure, they could crash the prices of local products by undercutting everything.
To buy grain, they'd have to import seeds from Konoha. Konoha's products would be cheap and high-quality. Meat and other food would also need to be imported from Konoha. And all markets would be open to Konoha.
Once luxury goods fully entered Kirigakure, they would siphon off more wealth. In the end, Kirigakure's entire economy and food supply would depend on them.
And militarily, they were no match for Konoha either.
Financial dominance, military dominance, and food dominance.
Whoever had the bigger fist spoke the louder truth. Control the money, and you control the nation. Control the food, and you control the people.
As long as Renji accepted a little loss up front, gaining control over Kirigakure afterward would be easy.
The Land of Water was currently dead broke, and with the chaos created under Tobi's manipulation of the Mizukage, Kirigakure was at its most vulnerable state.
"Of course. We came here to cooperate. Konoha loves peace the most. As long as you open your market to us, we're fine with just making a little money."
"Let us think it over first?"
Although they had basically decided, Mei Terumi and the others still wanted to discuss it.
At the very least, they couldn't agree immediately. What if Renji backed out?
And maybe they could negotiate to add some additional terms.
"Of course. I'll come back at the same time tomorrow."
"Alright!"
"Shall we arrange a place for you to stay?"
It looked like they were being hospitable, but in reality, they wanted to monitor Renji.
They couldn't let him wander freely through the Hidden Mist Village.
"Sure."
Renji nodded, fully understanding their intentions.
"Then stay at my house. I'll have someone prepare a room for you."
This was a secret meeting chamber belonging to the Terumi clan. Just in case something unexpected happened, Mei decided it would be best to house Renji at their estate, making it easier to keep him under watch.
Renji didn't refuse. He peacefully moved into the room Mei had arranged.
Activating Observation Haki and expanding his senses with the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Renji had a clear grasp of Kirigakure's internal situation.
He could hear the voices of Mei and the others discussing, as well as some confidential intel from within the village.
[The operation is ready. Pakura has arrived from Sunagakure as a scapegoat. Remember the previous arrangements.]
[Understood!]
[Begin the mission!]
Pakura?
Hearing the whispers from the Anbu, Renji's heart stirred. That woman was still alive?
In the original timeline, there was no detailed description of when Pakura died, but it was most likely during the Bloody Mist era. After Mei came to power, she probably wouldn't have pursued anything against Sunagakure—her top priorities were ending the Bloody Mist policy and restoring Kirigakure.
Pakura could probably be considered Kage-level, right?
But after suffering betrayal, it'd be difficult to recruit her.
It would be hard for her to trust anyone again.
Renji hesitated for a moment but sensed this might be a chance for a lottery draw.
Since Mei was guaranteed to succeed, she might not provide him with that opportunity. Coming here like this felt incomplete.
He used Observation Haki to glance in the direction the Anbu had left. A thoughtful glint flashed in his eyes.
Then, in the pupil of the Terumi clan ninja watching Renji from outside the room, a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan suddenly appeared—and then vanished.
"Huh? What just happened?"
The ninja glanced inside. Confirming that Renji was still there, he quietly thought he must have been overthinking it.
Meanwhile, in the underground chamber, Mei Terumi was currently in discussion with Master Yuan and the others about Renji's proposal.
"Do you think there's a trap, Master Yuan?"
At first, Mei had been overwhelmed by Renji's generous terms. But once she calmed down, suspicion returned—could there be a hidden scheme?
After all, there was no reason for Konoha to support them.
"He knows too much about Kirigakure's situation. That makes him dangerous."
Ao shared his view, saying that Renji was far too informed about their internal affairs—someone like that was too dangerous to ignore.
And from the look of it, all the terms favored Kirigakure.
But he wasn't a philanthropist. Why would he do all this for Kirigakure?
"Maybe that Uchiha kid is just smitten with Mei Terumi?" Master Yuan joked, but seeing her glare, he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, maybe we should consider what we have that Konoha needs. He wouldn't come just to be charitable."
Actually, that joke wasn't entirely off the mark.
He had been wondering what Kirigakure could offer that Konoha would care about.
After thinking it over, he still came up blank. So he cracked a joke to lighten the mood—but judging by how Mei reacted, it seemed like she had an unusual obsession with marriage!
"What do we even have?"
Mei Terumi pondered over Master Yuan's point. A cooperative relationship had to be built on something the other side needed.
And right now, Kirigakure had absolutely nothing.
They used to have formidable military might, but it was worthless in front of Konoha. After the Bloody Mist policy, their forces had been left devastated—any powerful shinobi either defected or were killed in the purges. The ones who survived and remained in the village were few.
Even most of the unique bloodline traits had been lost during the Bloody Mist era.
Could it really be that he just came here to make money?
Thinking that, Mei couldn't help but sink into deep suspicion.
(End of Chapter)
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