Chapter 139 – Awakening the Rinnegan, Itachi's Resentment: Why Is He Always the One Who Succeeds?
After the Fourth Kazekage died in battle, Pakura took over as the leader of Sunagakure, which was then merged into Konohagakure.
The daimyō and nobles of the Land of Wind, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Earth were eliminated through the joint efforts of the shinobi.
Resources began to be divided up. Under the collaboration of the former Kage, the shinobi relocated from their original villages and moved to the Land of Fire.
Konoha was expanded to seven times its original size.
Not only shinobi, but many locals and people from various countries also moved to the Land of Fire.
The original Konoha could no longer accommodate everyone, but thanks to Renji's planning, all shinobi who joined the alliance were properly resettled.
The structure of the ninja world underwent a complete transformation. The daimyō system became a thing of the past, and the nobles who had long suppressed the masses vanished entirely.
"Well then, as previously agreed, the five decision-makers will be Senju Tsunade, Yagura A, Ōnoki, Terumi Mei, and Pakura. As for this term's leader—any thoughts?"
After Renji finished speaking, the elite shinobi present could only groan internally.
You're seriously asking?
Who else could they even nominate?
Why not just declare it outright?
"It's gotta be you. I don't recognize anyone else!"
Yagura A had joined the alliance precisely because Renji had defeated him. He wouldn't acknowledge anyone weaker than himself as the leader.
"There's no need to vote, right?"
Tsunade said helplessly—was a vote even necessary?
"Just kidding. Since no one has objections, I'll take on the position of leader for this term."
Renji understood clearly that the alliance existed because of him. It was like when Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara founded Konoha—no one else could have been Hokage back then.
The people he had gathered naturally trusted him, not someone else.
"What about the country's name? Calling it the Land of Fire doesn't seem suitable anymore."
Shikaku looked at Renji. Before, they were just ninja villages and had no right to form a country. The Land of Fire was ruled by a daimyō, so continuing with that name didn't feel appropriate.
"Let's call it the Land of Shinobi, a country formed by shinobi."
The name was just a designation. Since they were all shinobi, it was fitting to call it the Land of Shinobi.
"That works!"
Ōnoki's eyes lit up and he agreed.
The nations where the five great villages used to reside were no longer an option. This new name would symbolize the identity of shinobi.
The others had no objections to the name.
"By the way, we'll incorporate the territories of those former countries into the Land of Shinobi. As for future policies, we'll discuss them gradually."
To eliminate war, the issue of resources must be solved first. But that wasn't something that could happen overnight.
It was a long-term objective, and Renji didn't expect this meeting to resolve it all.
After the villages merged, all departments needed restructuring—medical corps, intelligence division, the Anbu, and the shinobi academy. They all needed to be reorganized and integrated.
There were also many new people who had suddenly joined the Land of Shinobi and needed proper management. This was a period of wild development, and chaos was inevitable. Renji had to handle it all carefully.
For several days straight, Renji was caught up in meetings and planning the tasks ahead.
At the same time, he also experienced the pain of using Wood Release to build houses. His Wood Release had now been repurposed for construction.
But thanks to the influx of shinobi, the village developed rapidly.
New residents moved in every day. Shops and businesses began operations, and the once sparse ninja village gradually became lively.
"I've used three lottery draws."
Three lottery draws remained unused. Now that he had free time, Renji decided to use them.
[Ding! Three draws used. Congratulations, you have obtained: Sage Technique Selection Scroll, Rinnegan, Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyō abilities.]
"Hell yes! I finally got the Rinnegan!!"
Renji looked at his reflection in the mirror, and the knowledge of the Rinnegan's various abilities surfaced in his mind. As expected of his eyes!
The Rinnegan not only didn't drain his life force—it was actually feeding power back into him.
Only now did Renji understand why Madara's Rinnegan era dominated the entire shinobi world.
This thing was a full-blown cheat code!
And now, he also possessed the Sage Techniques of all three Great Sage Lands.
He even got the abilities of that damn traitor.
His Mangekyō now held six abilities, and his Rinnegan came with two more of its own.
However, unlike Madara's Heavenly Obstruction Earth Star and Limbo: Border Jail, it appeared that each Rinnegan came with its own unique pair of techniques. Aside from the base powers, Nagato hadn't been able to access the special abilities of his Rinnegan.
Right now, Renji really wanted to say—someone bring Madara to him! Dig him up from the underworld!
At this point, he wasn't afraid of Uchiha Madara at all.
He had the Sage Body, the Rinnegan, Wood Release, Sage Techniques from all three lands, and both Yin and Yang Release.
What Madara could do, he could do. What Madara couldn't do, he still could.
That eliminated Renji's last concern.
He used to fear that his reshaping of the shinobi world would provoke Black Zetsu into resurrecting Uchiha Madara early.
Don't be fooled by the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan—it's child's play compared to Madara.
Didn't Sasuke also have the Eternal Mangekyō during the Fourth Great Shinobi War?
And yet Madara beat him into submission. If it weren't for the Sage of Six Paths reviving him, Sasuke would have been long dead. That story wouldn't be Shippuden—it'd be The Legend of Uchiha Madara.
Only after obtaining the Rinnegan did Renji understand—it wasn't just a power boost; it was an entirely different level.
No matter how many Sage Techniques you had, they couldn't make up that gap. Sage powers were icing on the cake, but they didn't change the outcome.
However, there were still many things Renji hadn't gotten his hands on.
For example, Shisui's Mangekyō ability was still up for grabs, as well as Sasuke's powers, the future Tenseigan, Yin and Yang powers, Kotoamatsukami, and so on.
Uchiha Madara wouldn't be his only enemy. In the later stages, there was still the entire Ōtsutsuki clan to face, so Renji wasn't overly optimistic.
"Itachi-san, it seems things didn't go as you said, huh?"
Inside the Akatsuki base.
Kisame grinned as he looked at Uchiha Itachi seated on the floor, staring into the distance. He then shared the latest intel he had gathered.
Upon receiving the news, Kisame's first reaction was shock.
He hadn't expected the transformation of the shinobi world to come so fast. First, their own village's regime was overthrown—Yagura lost power, Terumi Mei rose to leadership, abolished the Blood Mist Policy, and then allied with Konoha to confront the entire ninja world.
Back then, Itachi had claimed that Konoha would be destroyed by Renji. But now, it clearly wasn't so.
Not only did Konoha not fall under Renji—it unified the entire shinobi world.
"That guy… How could this be?"
Tear marks deepened on Itachi's face. He couldn't believe it—how could Konoha turn out this way?
Renji was clearly supposed to lead Konoha to destruction—so why did it end up unifying the world?
Back then, he thought that Renji leading the Uchiha in rebellion would only result in their annihilation by Konoha. That was why he chose compromise—to protect the Uchiha. But no one believed him.
That was when Itachi awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
He knew he couldn't trust anyone anymore—he had no one left behind him.
So when Renji chose to go against Konoha, Itachi chose to help Konoha.
But his help had no effect whatsoever. Instead, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were killed, and Itachi was forced to defect and leave the village.
Later, when Renji killed the daimyō, Itachi once again thought he had gone mad—utterly and completely obsessed.
No matter how powerful Konoha was, there was no way Renji could lead it to challenge the entire shinobi world. That was defying the rules.
And yet, Renji still won. He kept defying the rules—but every time, he came out victorious.
Whereas Itachi, who had always upheld the rules, always seemed to lose.
Why was it like this?
Why?
Itachi didn't understand. He had always worked to protect the established order. Wasn't everyone supposed to follow the rules?
"Tch, that guy's nothing more than a stray dog!"
Deidara grumbled irritably. He never liked anyone from the Uchiha clan.
But compared to Uchiha Itachi, who had looked down on him with that condescending gaze and effortlessly defeated him with those eyes, Deidara liked him even less.
"Violence can't bring peace. His peace is fake. It'll collapse eventually."
Itachi ignored Deidara's sneering and calmly voiced his view.
In his eyes, Renji's rule through violence could never bring true peace. Right now, the only reason no one acted against him was because they feared him.
But Itachi knew—if Renji kept fighting like this, his Mangekyō would go blind sooner or later.
He didn't know how Renji got Wood Release, but the moment Renji grew weaker, his so-called Shinobi Nation would collapse.
The shinobi Renji had once slaughtered would never forget what he did.
Even if he unified the shinobi world, it was temporary. He would never earn the recognition of Uchiha Itachi!
That's right!!
Itachi's belief grew firmer. He was watching Renji build his empire, throw grand feasts, and soon... see it all fall to ruin!
Just wait!
A coalition built on such foundations could never be stable.
Sooner or later, Renji would realize that slaughter could never bring true peace.
He even gathered all the villages together in one place. If any of them secretly colluded and launched an attack, Renji's alliance would collapse completely, and he would pay the price.
Uchiha Itachi had already seen through it all.
This was nothing more than Renji's final illusion. Did he really think he could unify the shinobi world?
All it would do was bring more chaos. Why not maintain the balanced policy of the Third Hokage?
At least back then, there was equilibrium, and large-scale wars were avoided. As long as everything stayed within the rules—why rebel?
"Is this guy obsessed or what?"
Sasori glanced at Uchiha Itachi but didn't comment further. Though Itachi seemed somewhat deranged, his words did make a certain amount of sense.
A shinobi world suppressed by Renji's power—if Renji died, that balance might really fall apart.
Still, it wasn't necessarily as exaggerated as Itachi made it sound.
Thinking back to their time in Konoha, Sasori had never supported Renji's policies. That was why he eventually defected from the village.
"Pain, if things go on like this, we're going to have way fewer missions. How are we supposed to make money?"
Kakuzu didn't care whether the shinobi world was at peace or what kind of reforms Renji would bring.
He just wanted to make money!
Even though every time he made money it had to be handed over to the organization—and even though Konan had promised time and again that the funds wouldn't be misused—
He still felt uneasy.
Letting a woman manage money? That always felt like a bad idea to him. But Konan wore the Akatsuki uniform daily and hadn't been seen wasting money, so he was somewhat reassured.
But now that the shinobi world had been unified, all those shady missions had dried up.
Those jobs used to be issued by the Five Great Nations or minor villages—things they couldn't officially handle, so they were pushed onto the underground market.
Now, those money-making opportunities were almost gone.
"We made some money during the war, but if missions dry up, we're in trouble!"
Kakuzu frowned. Clearly, he wanted Pain to come up with a solution.
"That guy in the Land of Waves—Gato. We can go take his money."
"Whoa, whoa, Pain—we're shinobi! We have principles! Are we seriously going to rob a civilian for money?"
Kakuzu, though obsessed with money, looked down on robbing ordinary people.
What kind of joke was that?
He'd once fought the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama!
He hadn't sunk low enough to start attacking helpless civilians. He still had some pride!
"There's a lot of money involved. Probably more than three years' worth of missions could earn you."
"Give me the job. If there's that much money, then that guy clearly isn't a civilian. If the Hokage can do it, why can't I, Kakuzu?"
If Renji could kill nobles and daimyō, then he'd set the precedent. Why couldn't Kakuzu do the same?
"Kakuzu, you really only see money, not people, huh?"
Hidan grumbled, dissatisfied. This guy had just claimed he wouldn't touch civilians.
But the moment Pain said there was big money involved, his stance changed instantly. And to think Hidan had actually believed him before.
"You don't get it. Everything in this world can betray you—except the money in your pocket."
Kakuzu's eyes gleamed with excitement. Just talking about money made him visibly energized.
Money was the only truth. He didn't even spend it on food or drink—every coin he earned went straight to Konan. She'd promised that once he left Akatsuki, all the money would be returned to him.
He was really looking forward to the day his personal stash got transferred back.
"What about Konoha? Should someone go investigate?"
Sasori looked toward Pain. With Konoha's current state, it didn't bode well to leave it unchecked.
If they were going to unify the world, then as rogue shinobi, the Akatsuki would likely be targeted for elimination.
When Sasori said that, a flicker of light flashed in Itachi's eyes. He wanted to go back and have a look—it had been a long time since he'd seen Sasuke.
He didn't even know how Sasuke was doing now. But he couldn't return just yet.
"No need. Someone's already gone."
Hearing Pain's words, the others didn't press further.
Zetsu, huh?
"Should Konan and I split up after entering Konoha?"
Zetsu and Konan had arrived outside Konoha. Because of ongoing renovations, the village's barrier hadn't been activated yet.
During this time, all kinds of people were coming and going. With the major villages already merged, few dared to cause trouble. Konoha wasn't just talk now—even if Akatsuki went in, they might not come out alive.
So Zetsu was extremely cautious. He could use Transformation Jutsu to sneak in—most wouldn't notice him. But there was always a chance.
He decided to infiltrate alone. As for Konan, her identity wasn't on any rogue-nin list, so she could enter freely.
"Alright."
Konan didn't want to go with Zetsu anyway. She was here on a mission.
(End of Chapter)
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