— — — — — — —
Renzo set down his empty teacup and looked straight into Fugaku's eyes. "I've said everything I needed to say."
"Also, let me make one thing clear—I will always stand by your side as long as it's for the good of the clan.
"If you ever need me to clear out obstacles, just say the word. I have no hesitation in using force."
After spending over a year interacting with him, Renzo had come to a conclusion—Fugaku was a decent person. He genuinely wanted to reform the Uchiha Clan and change their difficulty.
The only problem was that he lacked the boldness and ability to see it through.
But if Renzo was willing to help, it might actually work out.
Handling all the reforms himself would be way too much trouble for Renzo.
Why go through all that effort when he could just use Fugaku as a tool to get things done?
Might as well make full use of this man.
And besides, this way, Fugaku and most of the Uchiha would benefit too.
That was enough for Renzo.
Rather than waiting until Konoha decided to wipe out the Uchiha—leaving him on the run—why not deal with the Uchiha-Konoha conflict before it reached that point?
"..."
Fugaku fell into deep thought after hearing Renzo's words.
After a long silence, he finally looked up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Renzo.
"Let's go with your plan. This time, when we go to war, I'll take most of the First and Second Elders' faction with me. While I'm gone, I'm leaving the clan in your hands."
It was clear that making this decision took a lot out of him.
"Alright," Renzo nodded firmly.
He was genuinely pleased.
'Looks like there's still hope for Fugaku after all.'
'Nice—I just scored myself a reform tool. This is great!'
"One more thing," Fugaku continued.
He turned around and called over Uchiha Itachi, pulling the boy in front of him.
"Itachi is almost old enough to start training. I want you to take him as your disciple and teach him. What do you think?"
Fugaku knew very well how talented Renzo was. And that's exactly why he wanted Itachi to be his student.
This way, not only would it strengthen the bond between their family and Renzo, but Itachi would also gain an excellent teacher.
A win-win situation.
"Is that so?"
Renzo looked at Itachi for a few moments, meeting the boy's curious gaze.
After some thought, he nodded at Fugaku.
"Alright, I'll take him as my student. But he's still too young. Let's wait another year. Starting at three years old will be better for his growth—forcing him too soon might do more harm than good."
Renzo had always believed that Itachi's illness in the original story was likely caused by pushing his body and potential too hard at a young age.
On top of that, the strain of the Mangekyō Sharingan had slowly worn him down.
Even though Renzo didn't particularly like the original Uchiha Itachi, that didn't mean he couldn't train a version of Itachi that aligned with his own vision.
The same went for Uchiha Shisui.
There was no way he was going to sit back and let the Third Hokage and Danzo manipulate two of the Uchiha's most talented members into betraying their own clan.
That would just be annoying for him.
Why even bother reincarnating into this world if he was just going to let history repeat itself?
Besides, in the future, Renzo planned to study the mechanics of their Mangekyō Sharingan abilities.
If he could crack the secrets behind their techniques, he might even be able to learn them himself.
Establishing a good relationship early on would make that a lot easier.
"Of course," Fugaku smiled when Renzo agreed. "I'll leave him in your hands. I trust you."
He then patted Itachi's head and said, "Itachi, greet your teacher."
"Uchiha Itachi greets his teacher!"
The young boy bowed deeply to Renzo.
"Alright, stand up," Renzo said. "Come find me in a year. I'll start training you then."
With that, Renzo stood up and turned to Fugaku. "If there's nothing else, I'll be heading out."
"Alright, I'll walk you out," Fugaku said.
He and Itachi escorted Renzo out of the Uchiha compound before returning inside.
— — —
Once back, he had Mikoto take Itachi away and then called out toward one of the rooms in the house.
"Kage!"
Swish!
In the next moment, Uchiha Kage appeared in a flash, bowing slightly.
"Clan Leader!"
"What do you think of Renzo's plan?" Fugaku asked as he poured himself a cup of tea.
"I want to hear your honest opinion."
"I agree with his approach," Uchiha Kage responded without hesitation.
As he saw it, the clan's internal problems had reached a breaking point—it was time to clean house.
And the upcoming war was the perfect opportunity to send those people to the battlefield.
It wasn't about deliberately getting rid of them.
It was simply a matter of using their expendable lives to protect the more valuable members of the clan.
That was only fair, wasn't it?
At the very least, it was better than having to kill their own people outright.
Fugaku nodded after hearing this.
"I understand. You're dismissed."
"Yes, sir."
Swish!
Uchiha Kage vanished once again.
"Sigh..."
A long silence followed before Fugaku let out a deep sigh. "This is the only way..."
— — —
Meanwhile, Renzo had just returned home.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, he sensed the sword aura marks that he had left on Kakashi, Nohara Rin, and Uchiha Obito being triggered—one after another, within less than five minutes of each other. His brows immediately furrowed.
"Looks like old man Madara has finally made his move on them."
"Then—"
"It's my time to shine."
Without hesitation, Renzo left a water clone at home, while his real body disappeared in a flash.
---
In the next instant, he reappeared underground in a hidden base several kilometers away.
"Red Queen!"
"Prepare the Grim Reaper Gundam for launch immediately!"
As soon as he arrived, Renzo issued the order.
"Yes, Master!"
Red Queen immediately complied, moving the Grim Reaper Gundam to Launch Bay #1, getting it ready for deployment.
Renzo then teleported into the cockpit of the Grim Reaper Gundam, powered it up, and launched.
After flying at low altitude for a short distance to avoid being detected by Konoha's surveillance, he shot up into the sky, accelerating toward Kakashi and the others.
In moments, he reached Mach 5, and his speed was still climbing.
This Grim Reaper Gundam was a creation he had worked on during his free time. Using his Fantasy Creation ability, he had crafted it based on the knowledge and memories of the Gundam world, along with some technical data he had obtained from Orochimaru.
Not only did this Gundam have a propulsion system from the Gundam universe, but it also featured a chakra-driven engine!
A dual-power system—capable of running on both chakra and nuclear energy.
And the result? It wasn't just a simple case of 1+1=2. The synergy was far beyond that.
---
"Red Queen! Lock onto Kakashi's location and show me their current status."
"Also, use the satellite to search for Uchiha Madara—find him if possible!"
As he sped toward his destination, Renzo issued another command.
Oh! The satellite?
It was an upgraded version based on ninja world technology.
Not only did it have standard scanning and communication capabilities, but it also featured a chakra detection system.
It could pinpoint chakra sources, making it the perfect tool for tracking down powerful individuals.
"Understood! Beginning search..."
High above in space, a satellite rapidly adjusted its trajectory, repositioning itself over the region where Kakashi's team was engaged in battle.
In less than five minutes, it arrived at the designated area and began scanning a radius of several dozen kilometers.
Soon, it locked onto Kakashi and the others, projecting a real-time image onto Renzo's display.
On-screen, Kakashi and his team were struggling against a large number of Iwa-nin.
Kakashi's left eye was already blinded.
Obito's Sharingan had just awakened.
As Renzo observed the live feed, Red Queen continued scanning the surrounding area, searching for any massive chakra signatures underground.
This time, it only took 20 seconds for Red Queen to respond.
"Master! A massive chakra source has been detected 123 meters ahead of Kakashi's position, 250 meters underground! The energy readings are at least on the level of a Tailed Beast!"
"It is highly likely to be Uchiha Madara!"
"Shall I fire an orbital weapon for a precise strike on the target?"
"Uh..."
Renzo's eye twitched. "If you fire that thing over there, do you think Kakashi and the others will still be alive afterward?"
"No, they won't." Red Queen answered without hesitation.
Renzo rolled his eyes. "Then why even ask?!"
Is this AI brain-dead or something?
Red Queen, however, continued speaking in her usual monotone.
"I was simply providing the most optimal tactical suggestion based on calculations. Judging from the target's chakra energy level, he is extremely powerful. In close combat, Master's probability of victory is only 55%."
"Factoring in all known data on Uchiha Madara from the system's database, Master's win rate drops to just 30%. Therefore, engaging him in direct combat is highly unadvisable."
Red Queen spoke with absolute seriousness.
"Ah..."
Renzo facepalmed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Seriously, you're still far from being the real Red Queen! You're way too rigid!"
"I uploaded some artificial memories into your core to make you more flexible, so why do I feel like they're not having any effect?"
Red Queen: "..."
She had no idea how to respond to that.
.
.
.