"Tobirama, deep down, you should be pleased, right?"
Uchiha Ren leaned back casually, looking at Tobirama's slightly sour expression with a grin.
"No matter how you put it, I'm your successor. And as Hokage—I've done a pretty outstanding job."
"I led Konoha into peace talks with Kumogakure, defeated Iwagakure and Kirigakure, and earned over a hundred billion."
"With results like that, come on—give me a smile. Success isn't the goal. Being happy is."
Tobirama's expression darkened instantly.
"Hmph. Don't flatter yourself."
"The successor I chose was Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"You're nothing but an Uchiha usurper."
His tone was sharp.
Konoha was a military system. Ren's rise—
Was a classic case of overturning authority.
A taboo.
"But Hiruzen would never have done better than me."
Ren cut him off without hesitation, smiling with absolute confidence.
He knew the future too well.
If Hiruzen had taken the position, he would have patched things together—relying on the Daimyō's funding, slowly rebuilding Konoha bit by bit.
Then war would break out again.
Then recovery.
Again and again.
For decades.
"Hmph. And how would you know?"
Tobirama tried to argue, but Ren waved him off.
There was no point.
Tobirama viewed him through prejudice—
And Ren couldn't exactly show him the future.
"Let's talk about something practical."
Ren leaned forward slightly.
"How's the research on those electrical devices I gave you? Those things can make serious money."
At the mention of research—
Tobirama's attention shifted instantly.
"The air conditioner—its structure and principles are already fully understood."
"But the television and radio are more complicated."
"Signal transmission, converting sound and images into signals…"
Ren listened for a few seconds.
Then—
Raised a hand.
"Skip the process. Give me results."
"…Tch."
Tobirama frowned slightly, but complied.
"The air conditioner can already be produced."
"The television and radio still need further experimentation."
Ren nodded.
That speed—
Was terrifying.
Thirty years later, in the Naruto era, things like televisions and refrigerators had already appeared.
But here—
Tobirama was already reconstructing them.
However—
Production alone wasn't enough.
Ren wanted mass production.
And sales—
Across the entire shinobi world.
Air conditioners alone would sell like wildfire.
Summers in the Land of Fire could exceed forty degrees.
Even nobles piled ice in their rooms—
To no effect.
The Daimyō-level elites went even further—
Hiring Ice Release users.
At enormous cost.
And even then—
They had to pay by the day.
Maintaining a comfortable indoor temperature 24/7 was no small task.
"Manufacturing isn't the issue," Tobirama continued.
"The real problem is distribution."
"Air conditioners require electricity."
"Chakra could work—but common civilians don't have enough."
Ren understood immediately.
This wasn't about technology—
It was infrastructure.
The world was still in the era of firewood and candles.
Jumping directly into electricity—
Was too big a leap.
Even in Konoha—
Electricity hadn't been widely implemented.
Only major clans had electric lighting.
Ordinary villagers still used candles.
Troublesome.
But—
That wasn't Ren's problem.
"Then your workload just increased."
"Generators. Power lines. Light bulbs."
Ren listed them like menu items.
Tobirama's face twitched.
"You think I'm a beast of burden?"
"I'm alone. I don't even have assistants!"
He snapped.
Ren thought for a moment—
Then his eyes lit up.
"Actually… there is a solution."
"Multi Shadow Clone Technique."
Tobirama froze.
"…Explain."
"The drawbacks are simple," Ren said calmly.
"First—insufficient chakra makes clones useless."
"Second—too many clones cause backlash when they return."
"But you—"
Ren smiled.
"Don't have those problems."
Tobirama blinked.
"…Go on."
"You're an Edo Tensei body."
"You don't need to worry about fatigue or death."
"Split into dozens. Hundreds. Thousands."
"Work nonstop. 24 hours a day."
"Your brain becomes multi-threaded."
"Research efficiency skyrockets."
Silence.
Tobirama stood there—
Speechless.
It… made sense.
Too much sense.
But—
This was not what he had invented Edo Tensei for.
This wasn't just exploitation.
This was worse than treating him like an animal.
Animals still slept.
Had rest.
Ren, however—
Wanted him working nonstop.
"Living people need sleep."
"The dead resting is just a waste of time."
"…You bastard."
Tobirama's lips twitched.
When passion became endless labor—
It stopped being passion.
It became torture.
"Truly a wicked Uchiha…"
Ren ignored the insult.
"Tobirama, you were the Second Hokage."
"You devoted your life to Konoha."
"Even in death, your funeral generated value."
"And now—your soul continues contributing."
Ren placed a hand over his chest, speaking solemnly.
"I call this—true sacrifice."
"…Enough."
Tobirama nearly punched him.
"How can someone like you… even be an Uchiha?"
Ren grinned.
"Tobirama-sama."
"Don't you want Konoha to become great again?"
That single sentence—
Silenced him.
For Konoha…
Perhaps—
Enduring a little hardship wasn't so bad.
"…Fine."
"I'll agree."
"But there's a problem."
"My current body isn't strong enough."
"The sacrifice you used is too weak."
"I can barely use basic techniques."
"If you want me to use Multi Shadow Clone—"
"I need a better body."
Ren nodded immediately.
"Simple."
"I'll get you a stronger one."
Tobirama paused.
That was… too easy.
But inwardly—
He was thrilled.
With a stronger body—
He could use more techniques.
Even—
The Flying Thunder God.
Perhaps—
He could escape.
Perhaps—
He could reclaim his position.
Because in his eyes—
Ren was still unstable.
A Mangekyō Sharingan user—
Could not be fully trusted.
If anyone could restrain him—
There was only one person.
Himself.
And besides—
Working endlessly in this underground lab—
Only for all achievements to belong to Ren?
Unacceptable.
He refused to be a nameless foundation.
In his mind—
A perfect future formed.
He would reclaim the Hokage seat.
Combine his research—
With Ren's ideas.
Make Ren his subordinate.
Keep him in check.
And together—
Make Konoha stronger than ever.
Perfect.
"Now then," Tobirama said, regaining composure.
"About electricity—"
"Konoha already has a generator. I designed it."
"But it's far too small."
"If we want full-scale adoption—"
"We need multiple large power stations."
"And as for energy—"
"Two options."
"Chakra."
"Or coal."
Ren frowned slightly.
Coal—
Would be expensive.
Even now, he was mindful of costs.
Then—
An idea surfaced.
"What if…"
He looked at Tobirama.
"…we drained a tailed beast?"
Tobirama blinked.
"…What?"
Ren continued calmly.
"The Nine-Tails has massive chakra reserves."
"Drain it once—let it recover naturally."
"Repeat."
"A perfect battery."
Silence.
Then—
Tobirama exhaled slowly.
"…You're insane."
But after a pause—
He added:
"With that level of chakra…"
"…it could power Konoha for at least half a year."
Ren's eyes lit up.
"Perfect."
"No cost."
"Unlimited supply."
"Problem solved."
Tobirama stared at him.
He suddenly had the urge—
To hang this man from a streetlamp.
"Speed up development," Ren continued enthusiastically.
"Start with electric lights."
"I want every street in Konoha illuminated."
Tobirama frowned.
"…Why are you so fixated on lighting?"
Ren's expression turned serious.
"Electric lighting is revolutionary."
"It extends productivity."
"Day and night—"
"Both can be used."
"Shinobi and civilians alike—"
"Can contribute more labor to Konoha."
He paused.
"…I mean, unleash their potential."
Tobirama fell silent.
For some reason—
That urge returned.
Stronger than before.
Uchiha Ren…
At this rate—
You really will end up hanging from a streetlamp.
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