The news of destruction of the Kumogakure and the death of Raikage quickly spread to the other major countries, making them extremely wary and fearful of Ren.
As long as Ren was alive, no one dared to provoke him.
But Ren did not claim the territory or resources of the Land of Lightning, which made the other three countries envious, yet they dared not act first, fearing a sudden counterattack.
The moment Hashirama Senju arrived in the Land of Whirlpools, he was stopped at the barrier.
Only Tobirama had come with him; Madara had not, clearly showing that he approved of Ren's actions.
Ren appeared before the Senju brothers using Flying Thunder God Technique.
With this jutsu, combined with the fact that the Uzumaki possessed all the tailed beasts, Tobirama instantly understood how Ren had destroyed the Land of Lightning.
He suspected the other countries' positions were known as well and looked at Hashirama, wanting to hear his thoughts.
"Ren, why? Peace was right within reach." Hashirama could not understand.
For the sake of peace, even beings like the tailed beasts could not justify annihilating a nation.
"I said it before, peace is won, not given. I now declare the Land of Whirlpools a neutral country. Whoever provokes it will be destroyed. Tell me, the peace you established versus the peace I establish in the Land of Whirlpools—who do you think will enter war first?" Ren said coldly.
"Your ideology is dangerous, Ren. This will throw the countries into war again," Hashirama said solemnly.
"So this is the reason I must yield?" Ren asked in return.
"Your strength is enough to suppress the thoughts of those people," Hashirama admitted, fully aware of Ren's power.
"And after I die?" Ren asked, looking at Hashirama.
"By then, people should be able to understand each other," Hashirama replied.
Tobirama pressed his hand to his forehead, more realistic. He feared that by that time, the Great Ninja War might arrive quickly.
But in this matter, arguing with his elder brother would do no good.
"Heh, Hashirama, you are too idealistic. I'll say it again: the Land of Whirlpools will be neutral, not participating in any wars. But anyone who wants trouble with the Land of Whirlpools—other nations need not intervene. We will focus only on the attacking country until it is destroyed."
After saying this, Ren vanished with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He left the two brothers behind, along with spies from other countries watching from a distance.
There was no doubt that this news would spread throughout the ninja world.
While it was uncertain whether the Land of Whirlpools would participate in war after Ren's death, no one dared to provoke it while he was alive.
"Brother, it's done. Ideals won't help now. Let's go back," Tobirama advised.
"Tobirama, can people truly not understand each other?" Hashirama sighed.
He had finally ended the chaotic era and built a village, and he longed for peace more than anyone else.
"Big brother, humans are creatures that will fight." Tobirama sighed. He had always thought that Hashirama was too idealistic.
Hashirama himself would not start a war, so he didn't take any further action and left the Land of Whirlpools together with Tobirama.
"Is this really okay?" Hyuga Akie asked, her face full of worry. She had grown past the innocence of a young girl and now carried a more mature air.
"There's nothing wrong with it. The Land of Whirlpools doesn't grow wealthy through war." Ren shook his head.
Inside, he felt nostalgic for Detective Ren. Come to think of it, his glasses hadn't been updated. He needed more advanced knowledge of farming and better seeds.
So far, only Detective Ren knew how to take things into the Black Mist Space. Even though their memories were shared, they still hadn't mastered it.
"Hmm, maybe this is for the best." Akie exhaled in relief. The Land of Whirlpools was truly peaceful now, and the mood of the people on the streets was genuine.
In the following days, no one came to disturb the Land of Whirlpools. The country developed in an orderly way, especially the farmland areas, where various planting experiments were carried out.
Meanwhile, the ruins of the Land of Lightning were constantly plagued by small conflicts. The Land of Wind participated the most, with the other two countries helping occasionally. After all, only the Land of Wind had such harsh conditions.
Hashirama of Konoha was a proponent of peace. Because the three countries' Kages still respected him as a powerful Hokage, a full-scale war did not break out.
But anyone with eyes could see that war was inevitable. The Land of Lightning was an untouched piece of cake, and it was only a matter of time before someone claimed the best parts.
The first major conflict erupted between the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind. Fierce battles took place in the Land of Lightning until Hashirama arrived and quelled the fighting.
Soon after, the Land of Water took advantage of the chaos, aiming to carve out territory in the Land of Lightning.
Without Ren's deterrence and with Hashirama's clear limitations, he could stop a full-scale war, but minor conflicts continued.
The three Kages all knew that Hashirama preferred peace and relied on negotiation, which meant they would suffer almost no casualties. He wasn't like Ren, who would destroy a country without giving it a chance.
Ren, of course, didn't know that Hashirama was running around the ninja world putting out fires.
At this moment, he stood in a patch of land with a worried expression. His planting had failed. He urgently needed seeds from Detective Ren.
Even if he planted here, the yield was too low, and a failure meant waiting for a month or more.
"It worked! It worked here, Lord Ren!" someone from the Akimichi clan shouted eagerly.
"What are you planting here?" Ren hurried over.
"Tomatoes. Look at how well they're growing. This harvest should be pretty good." The chubby man smiled broadly.
The first to get into farming were the Akimichi clan. Whether it was crops or livestock, they were always first to try.
"Good, very good." Ren was very satisfied. In the early days of the country's development, he needed to make sure everyone had enough to eat. Once that was secured, he could think about other things.
On the streets, more children were playing and laughing. More shops were opening.
The children of the Hyuga and Uzumaki clans even played together now, showing that relations between the two clans had eased.
"Your drawing is so ugly." The little Hyuga boy laughed at the Uzumaki girl.
"Don't laugh! It's the fault of the person who drew it. It's so ugly!" The little Uzumaki girl's eyes filled with tears, clearly upset.
Ren walked over to where the children were talking and smiled. "What's wrong? Not good enough?"
"Yes, Ren big brother, it's so ugly! Draw me a new one." The little Uzumaki girl grabbed Ren's leg.
"Let me see."
But the girl held on tight, refusing to let him take it.
"How will I know if I need to redraw it if I don't look?" Ren laughed.
The girl struggled for a while before finally handing over a stiff card.
On it were her household registration details, ID number, and a picture. The picture was a bit abstract and very ugly. This was Ren's new ID system for population registration.
"It is a bit ugly. Come on, I'll draw it for you." Ren led the little girl, ready to get started.
"Brother Ren, I want to change too!" The little Hyuga boy hurried to follow.
"All right, let's go together."
Then, Ren drew a portrait for each of the children. The likeness was so accurate that anyone could recognize them immediately.
This made the children very happy, and they proudly showed off their new ID cards everywhere.
This, however, made the artist who had drawn the previous portraits very sad, as his work went unappreciated.
Watching this scene, Ren felt confident that he was on the right path.
As for the Ninja World, let them fight until they were covered in blood; their country would not get involved.
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