After the Daimyō's messenger vanished into the snow, the great hall of the Konoha Alliance finally stilled. Conversations dulled, the tension scattered like ash. But Amamiya Raizen felt nothing close to relief. His body ached with fatigue — the kind that seeps into your bones after too many lies, bows, and compromises.
Still, exhaustion didn't stop his curiosity. He had one last thing to deal with before collapsing. A little "achievement reward," courtesy of the strange system that had followed him since reincarnation.
A golden achievement, unlocked.
Title: "Leader."
Condition: Establish an organization or alliance that echoes across the Warring States.
"Well, that's done," Raizen muttered, slipping off his armor. He let the maids fuss over the usual — a quick rinse, a clean robe — before waving them away. The room emptied, leaving only candlelight and silence.
He sat cross-legged on his futon and sank his mind into that invisible interface. The achievement glowed like molten metal, pulsing with light.
A golden treasure chest appeared in the void.
[Do you wish to open it?]
He grinned tiredly. "Like I'd say no."
[Ding!]
Light burst out — bright, sharp, blinding. Then something shimmered in front of him: a strange crimson eye pattern shaped like a four-pointed shuriken.
[Reward: Mangekyō Sharingan Technique — Kotoamatsukami. Accept?]
Raizen froze. His breath caught.
"…Kotoamatsukami?"
Even the name sent a shiver down his spine. The God of Illusions, the most broken genjutsu in all shinobi history — Shisui Uchiha's infamous technique that could rewrite a person's mind without them ever knowing.
Raizen laughed under his breath, the sound halfway between disbelief and hysteria. "A mind-control cheat code from the gods. Finally, something that fits this ridiculous life."
He accepted without hesitation. Pain stabbed through his eyes, deep and burning. He clenched his jaw, refusing to scream. When the agony ebbed, his vision sharpened — everything around him gleamed too bright, too alive. He could feel the power crawling through his retinas.
"With this," he whispered, a dark grin curling his lips, "even if the Daimyō refuses the Alliance… I'll make him agree."
He let out a low chuckle. The thought was dangerous, maybe even insane — but so was the world.
Still, Kotoamatsukami wasn't something to throw around lightly. The cooldown was enormous, the risk high. He'd only use it if negotiations truly failed. But having it… changed everything.
"One more ace up my sleeve," he said softly. "And this deck's getting stacked."
The surge of power rekindled something else in him — the old hunger to grow stronger. Between diplomacy and politics, he'd barely trained lately. He missed that sharp edge of battle, the way chakra burned in his veins.
Raizen's Mangekyō resembled Uchiha Itachi's pattern, and during his last experiments, he'd been close to unlocking its true abilities. He recalled Itachi's black flames — Amaterasu — and the grim beauty of it.
He stood, pulling on his dark training garb, and walked out into the snowlit yard. The training posts stood there like old enemies, waiting for him.
Scarlet light flared in his eyes. Three tomoe twisted, merged, and became a boomerang-shaped Mangekyō.
"Let's see if you burn," he muttered. "Amaterasu."
A rush of agony split his vision. Then — whoosh — black fire erupted from nowhere, devouring the wooden post in silence. It didn't flicker like normal fire; it clung, it consumed. The smell was awful — scorched wood, chakra, and something like death.
His left eye bled.
Raizen smirked through the pain. "Left eye: ignition."
He turned his gaze slightly, his right eye burning now with pressure. "Then right eye…"
He focused. His will lashed out.
"Flame Control!"
The black flames twisted, snaking through the air. They shaped themselves into a dragon of shadow and heat, roaring without sound. Everything it touched turned to ash.
Then, with another pulse of intent, the dragon vanished — extinguished in an instant.
Raizen exhaled, chest rising and falling fast. Then he laughed, wild and breathless. "It works! Both sides — Amaterasu and control! Damn… it really works."
He could barely see through the blood and tears, but triumph drowned the pain.
"Left eye: Itachi's fire. Right eye: Sasuke's control. And my Susanoo's wings…" His voice softened. "Guess I'm the patch update nobody asked for."
His grin faded into thought. "If I combine Amaterasu with Flame Control inside Susanoo, it'll be unstoppable — a walking inferno in armor."
But he shook his head after a moment. The compound couldn't handle a full Susanoo test. Not yet.
He turned, walking back toward his quarters. The snow hissed softly where stray embers fell.
Tomorrow, he'd start the next phase — reorganizing the Konoha Alliance, shaping the academy that would train future shinobi.
Power, politics, education — piece by piece, he'd build the foundation for something that could outlive all their bloodshed.
For now, though, he allowed himself one exhausted, satisfied smile.
"Not bad for a reincarnated salaryman with eye hacks."
The night wind carried away his quiet laughter, leaving only the faint scent of smoke and ambition.