Night fell.
After finalizing matters with Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Ren immediately selected a suitable sacrifice from the ANBU prison and reconstructed a new body for him.
Of course, just like before—
He layered restriction commands onto Tobirama.
Ensuring that the man could do nothing but remain in the underground lab—
Working.
While Ren wasn't afraid of Tobirama rebelling—
Avoiding unnecessary trouble was always better.
After all, digging up a former Hokage's grave and forcing him into labor…
Wasn't exactly something that sounded good if it got out.
Tobirama, face dark with resentment, threw himself into research.
In one breath—
He created over sixty shadow clones.
All devoted to research.
The strongest research team in the shinobi world—
Was born.
This was already the limit of his current Edo Tensei body. Combat ability had been completely sacrificed for the sake of clone quantity.
A light punch—
Would disperse them.
But for research?
Perfect.
And as expected of Tobirama—
Within just three weeks of full effort—
The results came pouring out:
Light bulb designs.
Large-scale storage batteries.
Generator modification blueprints.
Power plant construction plans.
Everything—
Complete.
All that remained—
Was to throw money at it.
A profitable venture.
In the future, Konoha's electricity consumption would be enormous.
Perhaps one day—
Just selling electricity alone—
Could sustain the entire village.
A power plant—
Was an investment in the future.
Of course, building one wasn't cheap.
At minimum—
Three billion ryo.
And that didn't even include research costs.
No other village would dare invest in such a project.
But Konoha?
Now—
It could.
Still—
Ren had to consider the Uchiha as well.
So he decided—
To invest personally as Uchiha clan head.
Half the cost—
From the Uchiha.
Naturally—
Such a massive project immediately drew attention.
That very day—
Hyuga Takuma came knocking, bringing Hyuga Asuka—and a pile of gifts.
At this point—
Even if Ren said he was eating dirt—
Hyuga Takuma would ask for a share.
What if it turned out to be something valuable?
And yet—
That shameless man still tried to push another girl toward him.
Twelve years old.
Ren felt a headache coming on.
Between Kaede and Rin—
He was already feeling drained.
Another one?
He might not live long enough to enjoy it.
Soon after—
Nara Shikaku arrived.
Then Senju Toma.
Clearly—
The Uchiha wouldn't be eating alone.
The clans had money now.
Three billion?
Split among them—
Nothing.
They even began arguing over investment shares.
Ren watched with satisfaction.
They were learning.
In the end—
He made the decision:
Konoha—30%.
Uchiha—20%.
Hyuga and others—
The rest.
As long as the Uchiha held the Hokage position—
They would retain veto power over the power plant's future.
Next—
Labor.
The project was massive.
Konoha alone didn't have enough workers.
So recruitment opened externally.
The response—
Explosive.
Refugees displaced by war flooded in.
These people had been surviving on occasional relief—
Barely scraping by.
Now—
They had work.
Food.
Hope.
Ren had originally planned to pay wages.
But the refugees—
Competed fiercely for positions.
"Just feed us—we'll work!"
Ren smiled.
And accepted.
Capital—
Thrived in this distorted world.
Still—
Experienced workers were different.
So Konoha's engineering teams kept their wages.
Skilled labor—
Had to be preserved.
—
A month passed in a flash.
The scale of this project exceeded anything Konoha had ever attempted.
It drove the economy forward—
On every level.
—
Hokage Office.
"Good progress…"
Ren leaned back in his chair, sighing contentedly.
One hand held a report.
The other—
A cup of goji berry tea.
He sipped slowly.
Lately—
He had been… overexerting himself.
The original generator had been upgraded and put into use.
Meanwhile—
At the construction site—
Rows upon rows of cylindrical structures had been built.
Hundreds of them.
Each nearly ten meters tall.
They were—
Chakra storage containers.
Designed to hold—
Tailed beast chakra.
At the center—
A massive circular facility.
The extraction core.
Everything was ready.
All that remained—
Was the "battery."
Ren sent for Mito Uzumaki.
—
Mito arrived.
After hearing his plan—
Even she was stunned.
Others used tailed beasts as weapons.
Ren?
He wanted to use one—
As a rechargeable power source.
"Uchiha Ren… you should know…"
"The Nine-Tails is not easy to deal with."
"Extracting its chakra isn't simple."
She began listing difficulties.
Ren listened.
Then understood.
This wasn't refusal.
It was negotiation.
He could exploit Tobirama—
But not Mito.
She was alive.
Powerful.
Influential.
And—
A stakeholder.
If he tried to get her labor for free—
He'd lose support.
"Fifty thousand ryo per extraction."
Ren made his offer.
Equivalent to an A-rank mission.
Cheap—
Compared to coal.
"…"
Mito smiled faintly.
"Ren… the Nine-Tails and I…"
"We share a deep bond."
"I've always believed in… understanding it with love."
Ren almost laughed.
Love?
The same woman who beat it with chains?
"…"
The message was clear.
Increase the price.
"One hundred thousand."
Ren adjusted immediately.
"S-rank mission level."
"Even elite jonin don't complete many of those yearly."
Mito thought for a moment.
That was—
Already a lot.
Over time—
Millions.
Enough to secure Tsunade's future.
"…Deal."
Ren didn't hesitate.
"Sign it."
He drafted the contract instantly.
Stamped it.
Handed her the pen.
Mito hesitated.
Something felt off.
Ren's emotions—
Too pleased.
Was the price too low?
She frowned.
Ren quickly acted.
"If you're backing out, I'll take it to the shareholders."
"You're getting paid just for sitting still."
"Others might say you're greedy."
That did it.
"I'll sign."
She wrote her name.
Ren exhaled.
Relief.
Excitement.
Too obvious.
Mito's eyes narrowed.
...Of course.
She'd underpriced.
—
Konoha Power Plant.
Mito stood in the central chamber.
Chakra surged violently from her body.
Inside—
The Nine-Tails struggled.
Chains bound it tightly.
Ren entered the seal space.
Watching.
Ensuring nothing went wrong.
Mito placed her hands on the device.
Chakra—
Began to flow.
Or rather—
Was forcefully extracted.
From the Kurama.
For a tailed beast—
This was like having both health and energy drained simultaneously.
It roared in fury.
"Uzumaki Mito—!"
"You damn—!"
Then—
It noticed Ren.
"Uchiha Ren!"
"Do something! I helped you become Hokage!"
Ren raised a hand.
"Quiet."
"You've lived inside her for years."
"Paid any rent?"
"Now she's taking a little chakra—what's the problem?"
"You're a polite tailed beast, right?"
"Learn gratitude."
Silence.
Then—
Pure disbelief.
"…Rent?"
"…Gratitude?!"
The Nine-Tails' eyes widened.
"Do you hear yourself?!"
"This prison—if not for her sealing—I'd have left long ago!"
"You're just like Madara Uchiha!"
"You've never treated us as living beings!"
"Uchiha Ren—how will you repay what you owe me?!"
"You shameless bastard—!"
The curses poured out.
Ren waved a hand lazily.
Unbothered.
Every bit of chakra extracted—
Smelled like money.
And the louder it screamed—
The more it proved—
There was still plenty left.
Ren smiled.
Cold.
Greedy.
"Mito."
"Increase the output."
"It still has energy to shout."
"Drain it dry."
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