40:
The same day, Ren was granted a house for him to live it. A relatively large mansion—enough to house a small clan.
Ren had slept the night in his new home. Upon waking up the next morning, he began moving his plans forward.
"The Akasuki" A mutter escaped his refreshed lips. A playful smile curling at his lips. Astra's words had made him realize that he needed to be able to fake emotions to manipulate—a skill he would very well need
"What a troublesome group" He sighed softly. The grin never leaving his lips. "I can't investigate directly so…"
His left hand lifted into the air as demonic power surged from within. Ren's demon mark materialized above his eye.
'Stage one should be all I need. If I release too much power, others may sense it'
Demonic chakra flowed through his fingertips and transformed into a slimy liquid. It dripped to the floor—radiating an eerie feeling.
The liquid, semi solid in nature, churned and twisted on the floor. It shifted across the ground—forming an existence that shouldn't be.
"Bone density: 1.4 g/cm³, optimized for impact resistance without losing flexibility. Muscle fibers: fast-twitch dominant for explosive speed and sudden shifts.
Tendons and ligaments: layered and reinforced for durability under stress. Neural response: heightened for instant reaction to threats and commands."
Almost on command, the purple substance straightened. It extended upwards and forward—forming a body.
A grey demon was created, horns sprouted out of its head. Its eyes held the color red but felt hollow and lifeless.
But the process was not done—far from it.
"Come forth and live through me. Draw your purpose from my chakra and heed my commands. Take shape and serve"
The grey demon's body twitched slightly. It's eyes snapped open as light protruded through them.
A smirk dawned Ren's lips. Meliodas has explained him how Zeldris had created the demon clan. This was his first time replicating it. Good thing it worked.
For the next few hours, Ren dedicated his time to creating spies. By the time he was done, over a hundred spies had been created and had scattered across the Shinobi world.
A simple command was issued.
Investigate the Akatsuki.
The next few days was filled with council meetings and gatherings which achieved nothing in Ren's eyes.
Unless an important event occured, they were nothing more than a method to waste precious time.
Ever since his dominance over the council, none dared to speak over him. Power was the greatest way to gain respect after all.
Ren walked through the village with a calm grace in his step. Rumor had spread of a new clan in Konoha—and many were curious.
None dare approach however, fearing his wrath.
The demon spies Ren sent had been yet to report any meaningful information. They wondered the lands searching for their targets.
"Black robes with red clouds. What an odd manner of dressing" Ren mused silently. A mocking smile graced his lips—causing the nearby women to cover their blushing faces.
"It should be time to accelerate my plans with Sasuke"
….
Lightning chakra gathered in the palm of Sasuke as a Chidori formed in his hand. It pierced a tree cleanly—forming a hole.
Rapid pants escaped his lips as he collapsed to the floor. His chakra reserves had been pushed to the limit—utterly drained
A silhouette walked out of from behind his shadow. Despite his exhaustion, Sasuke's instincts kicked in. He fingers gripped his kunai in a reverse manner—slashing backward.
Ren raised his hands in surrender.
"Calm dow, it's just me" he said, trying to diffuse tension.
Sasuke's muscles relaxed as he placed his kunai in his pouch.
"What do you want" Although he had come to respect Ren, that doesn't mean they were suddenly best friends. Evidenced as to how he spoke to him.
"Nothing much" Ren's tone was playful, almost casual. "But when I heard you were a member of the Uchiha clan, a thought came to my mind."
each word hung in the air, every syllable carried weight as he spoke.
"The Uchiha who slaughtered his entire clan…Itachi Uchiha. Do you know him?" The expression on Ren's face was completely full of curiosity. His acting had fooled even the likes of Sasuke, a Jonin.
At the mention of his brother, the young Uchiha's chakra flared slightly. But was quickly kept under control. He hadn't forgiven his brother, but his path had diverged from one of vengeance and hate…to one of questions and knowledge
"He's…my brother" although it was common knowledge to most, Sasuke assumed Ren didn't know. An assumption which would change his life forever.
A single eyebrow of Ren raised in surprise but didn't say anything.
"Do you want to kill him?" The question was so abrupt, so out of place that Sasuke had to look up. But his answer remained the same.
"Yes, I do. But before that I must know why he did it" Sasuke's motives were no secret but he wondered why he was being so open. Ever since Ren's fight with him—where his chakra flooded into him.
He had felt stronger, faster, more durable. Even Kakashi sensei had noticed the change. And now that he was so close to Ren—he could feel a gentle and calming aura from him.
Unbeknownst to Sasuke, this was Ren's intentional doing.
Usually, a person's chakra capacity stops growing once they reached adulthood. But even at the age of 16, Ren's chakra reserves were so large that if not contained—would cause him to explode from overload.
If his chakra kept growing at the same rate, he would die. So Ren created a solution. Through mediation, he had began to restructure his chakra bit by bit.
By compressing and condensing his chakra, he had effectively removed his quantity problem— while granting him higher quality of chakra.
This process had purified his chakra completely, creating a certain effect when interacting with impure chakra.
It would attempt to purify and fix impure chakra—causing excruciating pain to the victim
But if successful, would enhance their chakra control, capacity and all their physical attributes by a noticeable degree.
Sasuke was experiencing this first hand. Every crevice in his soul was telling him to trust the man in front of him—it was a sickening feeling but he couldn't resist.
"What if I could tell you where he is right at this very moment" Ren's words tasted silence for a brief second. A response never coming through.
But Sasuke's eyes narrowed in instant susupicion.
"You know where Itachi is?" His words dropped with obvious caution.
Ren's hands tied behind his back. A wide, but unnerving smile plastered itself on his face.
"Net yet but I will" he said, smile growing even wider. "You see, I have an information network. A very powerful one. If you work with me—I could get you anything you wish"
He continued, his tone switching to sincere and honest.
"I admire your need for answers over crude vengeance and I would be more than willing to help. For a price of course"
Sasuke's eyes twitched once more.
"And what would that be"
"I need an anchor" Ren answered simply. "Someone to aid an assist me when needed. Or in simple terms, a partner."
His hand stretched forward to grasp Sasuke's. The Uchiha hesitated for a second, unsure of himself.
"If you are unsure then take your time to think about it. But choose wisely, the path of knowledge and power, or the path of stagnation. I can give you opportunities the leaf can't. Remember that"
Ren retracted his hand, retreating into the distance.
'Was that wise?' Astra asked from within. 'I thought your goal was to manipulate him'
Ren smirked
'I already have. Sasuke Uchiha is already under my control. My chakra will draw him closer and closer to me until he is dancing in the palm of my hand. He will obey my commands without even realizing it'
….
A few hours later, a civilian approached Ren. His body frail and a timid demeanor on his face, he spoke gently.
"Lord Ren…the civilian council would like to see you"
Ren's expression remained neutral but a curiosity flashed within his eyes.
'The council huh? It's most likely trouble' his lips curved upward selectively, almost mechanically. The exact way to invite trust.
The civilian felt a wave of calm wash over him. His tense muscles relaxed slightly as he led Ren away.
The duo arrived at a desolate alley, devoid of any sort of people—or life in general. It was in the darker side of Konoha—where corruption and crimes run freely—completely under the nose of the Hokage
The guide left immediately, fleeing in a hurry. Figure appeared out of the shadows. All of which Ren recognized.
Hoshino Kagetora
Midorikawa Reiko
Tsukahara Jin
Aoyama Shunpei
Kaneko Toru
Fujimoto Sadao
All were members of the civilian council.
"Does the council have any business with me this evening?" Ren's voice remained calm and steady. Their intention was obvious—but they would never succeed
A snarl escaped Kagetora's lips. Seemingly the leader of the group, he spoke. Every word carrying obvious arrogance and distain.
"We know that we civilians have no way to beat you. So we brought a little help" a wide grin spread across his face as someone stepped out from behind him.
An operative stepped out of the shadows. Their movements barely made a sound. In a instant, he vanished. His blade appeared at Ren's neck as he materialized behind him.
Ren's feet rocketed against the ground, dodging the blade by a hair. But a slight cut appeared on his cheek—blood flowing slowly.
A tch escaped REN's lips as he gazed at the operative. The anbu mask on his face was a dead giveaway. But why would an anbu operative be attacking him?
The civilians cheered for anbu. With a single finger of Ren's raised, a tiny beam of hellblaze shot forth—sent directly towards the council.
Their bodies went up in flames. Their screams echoing through the dark alley.
Surprisingly, the operative made no move to save them. Analysis after analysis was made in Ren's brain.
"From your actions, you are obvious an anbu operative—but not one that works for Tsunade." Ren began, detailing his thoughts.
"And you don't seem to care about the civilians meaning they aren't your priority. And you are probably not the boss, meaning that actual boss is someone that works in the shadows and sent you here for a purpose—most likely to either test me or kill me. Is that right?" Ren asked
No words left the anbu's mouth—causing a sigh to escape Ren.
"It's fine, I guess" his lips formed a smile once more. His control over emotions had become so pronounced—you almost couldn't tell. "I'll get the information once I finish torturing you"
Ren's fingers gripped Astra tightly and drew it from its scabbard. Instantly, a wave of oppression surged though the area. The hands of the anbu, usually methodical and emotionless—shook violently—sword barely held in his grasp
"Now then…try not to die too quickly?"
The anbu's face tightened, his hold on his blade finally stabilizing. His left hand switched into a single handsign.
In a puff of smoke, twenty different copies had appeared and surrounded Ren. Their movements were quick—almost soundless as they surrounded him.
Their silhouettes filling the alleyway. But Ren's gaze was fixated on a single clone.
When a clone is made, their chakra is split evenly between it and the original. But the original chakra tends to fluctuate at times.
The figure moving towards the right. It's chakra fluctuated every two or three seconds.
A fact which didn't escape Ren.
His gaze landed on that particular silhouette. The anbu noticed his gaze instantly. Ren's cold, mechanical pupils stared into his. A involuntary chill crept up his spine.
"You made one mistake…you tried to fight me."
Ren's palm slapped against the air. A wave of pure physical force went behind his hand. A compressed blast of air struck the anbu at full force.
His eyes rolled to the back of his head instantly. Being unable to dodge, it blasted him into the wall—cratering it—knocking him unconscious
Once the anbu woke up, his body had been binder with rope and his weapons removed. But it didn't change much, he realized that if he tried to escape he would die.
"Good thing you're awake" Ren stated. "Because you are going to tell me everything you know"
No words left the anbu's mouth. But Ren noticed something. An unusual amount of chakra was being concentrated in the ninja's mouth.
"Interesting" his hand reached out, forcing the anbu's mouth to open. A seal began to materialize on his tongue
"I wonder what this seal is for." The question hung in the air for a second. "A silence seal would make most sense but I'm not sure."
But the anbu still refused to say a word.
"It seems interrogation isn't going to work" he sighed. "I'll just kill you then"
In the blink of an eye, Astra was unsheathed and sheathed back. The anbu's head slid off his shoulders—his brain not even processing the death.
At the same time, a message rung in REN's ear
"Now, that's interesting. It looks like the akatsuki are finally making their move."
….
After the death of Deidara, the akatsuki had a meeting to discuss their future plans. During that meeting, their leader, pain, had sensed something wrong.
In an instant, the head of a grey demon lay in his fingers. His rinnegan eyes piercing deeply into it—trying to understand what it was
As the life in the grey demon eyes faded, a single message proceeded from its mouth before bursting into flames
"Your movements are known"
This will be my last chapter for a few months guys
I'm resuming school and I won't be able to post till I come back which will be in like 13 weeks
Also happy new year guys