Chapter 128 – Blood Cleansing! The Ninja World Shaken by Renji's Uprising!
"Hokage-sama, all personnel have been mobilized, but the daimyō refuses to approve any resources…"
Shikaku's expression turned slightly awkward as he spoke. He hadn't expected their first 'enemy' to be their own daimyō.
Without supplies from the daimyō, sending ninjas to the frontlines was no different from sending them to die. After all, they were still human—how could they fight enemy ninjas on empty stomachs?
Not only were supplies withheld, the daimyō's side even demanded Renji enter peace talks and step down from the position of Fifth Hokage. They had clearly stated that the Uchiha clan was not suited to lead, and that Konoha must elect a new Hokage.
Otherwise, they would cut off all material support to the village.
"If we rely solely on our own resources, we probably can't sustain this war, right?"
Hyūga Hiashi looked dazed.
If the daimyō refused to supply anything, how were they supposed to fight? Rely on themselves?
At that rate, even Konoha's own resources might soon be inaccessible to them.
"So we should just eliminate the daimyō."
"…"
Only Shikaku had guessed this ahead of time. The others hadn't expected Renji to actually suggest killing the daimyō. Now, hearing him say it outright, everyone was stunned speechless.
Wasn't this far too reckless?
"Everyone, surely you don't want Konoha to be branded as trash? If the daimyō wants to surrender, what does that have to do with us? If they won't give us resources, then we'll just take their resources. They're powerless—why should they be allowed to command us? Even without them, we can live just fine. All they ever do is sit in the back and decide who we should or shouldn't go to war with. They occupy the richest lands in the Land of Fire. If we remove them, won't it be better to just manage things ourselves?"
Renji smiled as he looked at everyone. He knew words alone wouldn't convince them, but if he offered benefits, fewer would refuse.
Why?
The pie in Konoha had already been sliced up by everyone. Renji had only brought a few new things to expand the business, creating a little more pie to go around. But eventually, things would return to the old status quo.
The Land of Fire, however, was a different story—it was far richer. If they could divide up that land, everyone could take a much bigger piece.
And Renji wasn't wrong. Those daimyō had no real strength. Overthrowing them would be easy.
They had simply never considered such a thing before. In the past, daimyō did their thing and ninja did theirs. There was little overlap. But now, with Renji's words, their nerves were provoked.
"If we act against the daimyō, the other villages won't stand by. Their own daimyō would never allow something like this to happen."
Shikaku analyzed calmly.
Ever since Renji told him the plan, he had begun running thorough analyses.
The daimyōs of the other nations absolutely wouldn't allow this kind of precedent.
"And right now, aren't we already at war with the other villages? With a backstabber lurking behind us, we'll never be able to focus. We won't be able to wipe out the other ninja villages with that risk. Wouldn't it be better if Konoha simply unified the entire world?"
What the hell?
They hadn't even digested the first proposal, and now here came another huge one?
Earlier, they'd hesitated after hearing Shikaku's warning. But now, Renji's reasoning stirred them again.
"Then doesn't that push Kirigakure to the enemy side as well?"
"Heh, those guys in the Mist have long been fed up with the Land of Water. During the Bloody Mist era, that nation didn't even speak up, and the resources they gave were pitiful. Besides, they can't leave us now."
Renji had placed contingencies all throughout Kirigakure. If they chose to turn against him, he could make the village disappear overnight.
He wasn't afraid. He only needed others to follow his lead.
"You're really acting without restraint."
Tsunade curled her lip but didn't seem as concerned as the others.
With both the Mangekyō and Wood Release, she really couldn't imagine how Renji would lose.
"I don't think this is good at all."
The door opened. Jiraiya walked in. He had returned as soon as he was summoned, just in time for the meeting.
After hearing Renji's plans, he couldn't help but disapprove.
If this war broke out, it wouldn't just shake the ninja world—it would reshape the entire world order.
"How do you think it should be handled, then?"
Renji smiled as he looked at Jiraiya. He clearly understood that someone like Jiraiya, who valued life, wouldn't agree with such bloody methods.
But when Renji posed the question, Jiraiya didn't know how to answer.
"If we want peace, sacrifice is necessary. And this time, the sacrifice is to ensure that future wars never happen again. The five great villages are already outdated. The future Hashirama envisioned was never realized. What we need now is reform—eradicate all existing ninja villages and replace them with a new one. And eliminate the daimyō. Nobles only exploit; they produce nothing. They enjoy everything while demanding the lower classes provide for them, fight their wars, and beg them for resources.
They have no strength, yet possess ultimate authority. Let me ask—if I were a powerless Hokage giving you orders, would you obey me? No, you wouldn't. So why obey the daimyō?"
Everyone present was left speechless.
He was right.
If Renji had no strength, even as Hokage, they wouldn't listen to him. In fact, he never would've become Hokage.
And yet the daimyō had no strength and still issued orders freely.
"This…"
Jiraiya was dumbfounded. He'd never heard such a theory before—but it made a strange kind of sense.
"Wait. If you eliminate the daimyō… won't others just rise to take their place?"
"No. After this, we won't have daimyō. Just like now, we'll elect a Kage. Let each term be limited, with power distributed instead of centralized."
It was only a rough concept, but Renji's intention was clear: remove the daimyō class entirely.
Why should a group with no strength enjoy such immense resources?
"You're really trying to revolutionize the ninja world…"
Jiraiya suddenly felt that Renji's words made a lot of sense. Could he really be the child of prophecy?
"But… isn't the Child of Prophecy supposed to be my disciple?"
Could it be that the Great Toad Sage's prophecy was wrong?
"We'd need quite some time to get there at this point."
"What if I knew space-time ninjutsu?"
As he spoke, Renji revealed a Flying Thunder God kunai.
For now, he didn't want to expose Kamui. He had previously visited the capital of the Land of Fire and placed a Flying Thunder God marker there, which meant he could teleport straight in.
"You even mastered the Flying Thunder God?"
Tsunade stared at him in disbelief. Renji now seemed like a fusion of Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama, and Namikaze Minato.
This guy…
Was there anything he couldn't do?
"Well then, I've said what I needed to say. Who's in favor? Who's against?"
Renji fell silent, waiting for the others to make their decision. Would they choose to stand with him?
"The Hyūga clan agrees!"
Hyūga Hiashi wasn't going to compromise again. Last time had already been humiliating enough. Since Renji had succeeded once, he believed he could do it again.
After he spoke, the other clan elders grew anxious. This could mean the branch family might try to...
But Hiashi didn't care. Whether main family or branch family, ever since his brother's death, he'd grown to hate the entire system.
Back then, he had simply lacked the power to change it.
Gradually, more voices joined in agreement. On one hand, it was fear of Renji's power. On the other, they were tempted by the opportunity to carve up the Land of Fire.
This was the Land of Fire, after all—unbelievably wealthy.
"Shisui, Fugaku—bring some members of the Uchiha clan. We're going to pay the daimyō a visit."
"Yes!"
Renji assembled a portion of the Uchiha clan. At Hiashi's request, three members of the Hyūga clan came along as well.
At the daimyō's residence—
Surrounded by dancers and courtiers, the daimyō and his ministers had no idea that a group of shinobi had already surrounded the perimeter.
"I'll have clones escort the teams to take control of the entire capital. Shisui, Fugaku, take your squads and come with me to the main estate."
"Understood."
Renji's clones split the ninja into several squads to secure the capital. Meanwhile, Renji himself led Shisui, Fugaku, and two teams directly into the daimyō's residence.
"L-Lord Daimyō! The Uchiha are attacking!"
A bloodied guard staggered into the banquet hall, barely able to speak.
Moments later, his head landed on the daimyō's table, eyes wide open in death—causing the daimyō to jump in terror.
"Uchiha Renji?!"
The daimyō's eyes widened in shock. But a moment later, rage overtook his fear.
No Hokage had ever acted like this toward the daimyō before!
"Uchiha Renji, is this treason? Does Konoha still want any supplies?"
"You bloated pig. You're on death's doorstep and still whining. Shisui, take care of the Guardian Twelve. I'll handle the rest myself."
Renji had never held any respect for the daimyō.
From the start, he had believed they shouldn't exist at all.
As Shisui and the others went to eliminate the twelve elite bodyguards, Renji began cutting down ministers one by one. In no time, more than ten were dead. He raised his blade to the daimyō's neck and said calmly:
"Hand over every last resource in the Land of Fire. I want everything—your treasury, your stores, everything."
These gluttons had likely hoarded countless treasures. The Land of Fire had always been rich, and Renji wasn't about to leave any of it to them.
"Hokage-sama, the rest have been eliminated!"
Shisui tossed eleven heads at Renji's feet. With two Mangekyō and several Sharingan users, the Guardian Twelve were no challenge at all.
"One short?"
"Asuma isn't here."
Shisui scanned the faces. He didn't know the others, but he knew Asuma—and he wasn't among them.
"Asuma left to deliver messages to other daimyō. If you're smart—"
"Hmm?"
Renji's blade pressed a little deeper. A line of blood appeared on the daimyō's neck. He howled in pain—he'd never been injured before. He thought he might actually die.
Forget past glory. He dropped to his knees, sobbing.
"I'll give it all! Everything! Just please don't kill us!"
He swore silently that once he survived, he'd cut off all Konoha's funding and work with other daimyō to destroy the village.
"Of course I won't kill you," Renji said with a smile.
Then he turned away and signaled Shisui with his eyes. Fugaku quickly followed.
"You really won't kill him?" Fugaku asked.
If you don't cut the grass at the root, it'll grow again when the spring wind blows.
"I said I won't kill him. I never said you won't. Use genjutsu to extract everything they know, then kill them all—every noble here. If any of them are known for decency, leave them. If they resist, kill them too."
Renji wasn't going to leave such a threat behind. He was going to eliminate them now.
"Understood."
Fugaku agreed. He might have been gentle, but he understood the necessity.
That night, blood soaked the daimyō's estate. Screams echoed throughout the capital. Civilians hid in their homes, too frightened to leave. Some heard the slaughter in neighboring houses, but no one dared investigate.
By dawn, the capital and major cities across the Land of Fire had all been purged. The daimyō's loyalists had been wiped out by Renji's forces. And as morning broke, Zetsu spread the news across the world.
The world went mad.
The elites who once ruled the Land of Fire were all dead—killed by the new Hokage and his ninja.
Konoha was founding a new Land of Fire.
(End of Chapter)
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