Outside the room, Renji paced nervously from one end of the corridor to the other, his footsteps echoing against the wooden floor. Each step seemed to carry the weight of uncertainty that pressed down on everyone present.
"Renji, just sit. It should be fine," Elric's Grandpa's deep voice resonated through the hallway, carrying the authority of years and wisdom. His weathered hands rested calmly on his knees as he observed the younger man's restless movement.
But in the very next second, all eyes turned toward the slowly opening door. The hinges creaked softly as Elric emerged, his expression unreadable to everyone present. The silence stretched like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.
"What's the result?" Renji asked urgently, his voice betraying the importance this moment held for him.
A small smile appeared on Elric's face, like the first ray of sunlight breaking through storm clouds. He stood up slowly, his movements deliberate and meaningful.
"Take care of him. He is our friend from now on."
Elric extended his hand forward, and Renji mirrored the gesture without hesitation. The sound of their palms meeting in agreement echoed through the corridor—a simple slap that sealed a momentous decision.
"I expected nothing less from my son," Elric said, his voice filled with pride and satisfaction. "Now we have to make the other three villages also our friends."
"Haha!" Elric Grandpa's laughing voice filled the air, rich with amusement. "It's not three, but four. Among those ten thousand ninja, a thousand or so are from the Rock ninja village. It seems all four ninja villages are involved, but Rock shadows were left behind to attack Konoha if they came to support us, leaving Konoha empty and vulnerable."
"Will the Rock ninja accept this condition?" Renji wondered aloud, his brow furrowed in thought.
"I don't think they will, but anyway, there's no harm in trying," Elric replied with a pragmatic shrug.
.......
Before coming to this world, he was just a normal person—born in a peaceful country, surrounded by a loving family. Life had been simple, predictable, and safe.
Even after being born into this new reality, not much had changed for him initially. This world was undeniably messed up—in an age when children were supposed to play with mud and toys, they instead played with other people's lives, wielding weapons that could end existence with a single strike.
But all of that violence and chaos had always felt very far away from him. He had lived within the protected confines of the clan lands, where everyone treated him like their own child. With a loving family surrounding him, he had grown up almost like a normal child from his previous life—or perhaps even better than that.
So even though he knew intellectually that this world wasn't a good place, he had never been forced to face that reality himself. He hadn't truly learned what he already knew in his heart.
He didn't possess grand ambitions or burning desires for power. If the coalition force from the four ninja villages hadn't come, he might have lived a completely normal life—marrying a wife, having children, growing old in peace.
But now, everything had changed. His mind had shifted, crystallized into a new purpose.
He would improve this world. At the very least, he would make it as close to his previous life as possible, if not better.
Every child in this world should have the chance to grow up the way he had.
He couldn't help but remember Nagato from the original story—how many orphans had been created because some greedy nobles thought, "I don't have enough. I need more." The cycle of violence and suffering seemed endless, fed by human greed and the lust for power.
The best and fastest way to improve the world would be to take it over himself, as a dictator.
Both democracy and dictatorship had their advantages, but in this world—where individual people possessed the power to destroy entire countries single-handedly—democracy wouldn't mean anything significant. He really didn't have a choice in the matter.
Taking over the world wasn't particularly difficult, at least not for someone with his capabilities. On the contrary, it would be very easy: just go and eliminate anyone who opposed him, and voila—he would have a unified world under his control.
But unfortunately, if he took that approach, there might not be many people left to rule over. In a world where people would die a thousand times faster than they could reproduce, it would be incredibly difficult to convince populations to surrender willingly through force alone.
So he would have to take it slowly, methodically.
First, he would have to make people unwilling to fight by giving them something far more interesting than warfare.
His plan was ambitious but practical: build an internet infrastructure and develop cell phones, along with numerous comfort amenities like air conditioning, televisions, and everything else that would make people's lives as enjoyable as possible. Slowly but surely, he would make them dependent on the Uzumaki village and its innovations.
Then, with deliberate spread of news about the extraordinary quality of life available here, when people began to think, "Why wasn't I born in the Uzumaki village?"—that would mark his near-complete success, perhaps ninety percent of his goal achieved.
The remaining ten percent—kings and nobles who wouldn't simply sit back and watch their power being stripped away—he would just have to deal with them directly. Problem solved.
If everything proceeded according to plan, he might not even need to engage in combat. When the majority of a world's population began to believe in something collectively, no matter how powerful individual opponents might be, they couldn't change the tide of global opinion and desire.
His deep contemplation was suddenly interrupted by a cute, familiar voice: "What are you doing all alone, Elric?"
He looked around and noticed that a little girl had entered the room at some point during his musings, her presence so quiet he hadn't detected it immediately.
"Hey, Kushina," he said with a gentle but firm tone, "I've told you before—when entering someone's room, you have to ask permission first."
"No fair!" Kushina protested, her lower lip jutting out in an adorable pout. "Elric, don't you like me anymore? Before, you used to let me play in your room all day long!"
"It's not like that, Kushina," he explained patiently, his voice softening with genuine care. "You know there are some dangerous items in my room now. If something went wrong, you might get seriously injured."
"So why are you working with dangerous things?" she asked with innocent curiosity. "Does Auntie know about this?"
A mischievous smile appeared on Kushina's face as she continued, "Elric, you don't want to let Auntie find out about this, do you?"
A metaphorical black line appeared across his face as frustration mixed with amusement. He clenched his fist and gently bonked her on the head—not hard enough to hurt, but firm enough to make his point.
"Stop talking nonsense," he said with exasperated affection. "She obviously already knows about everything I'm doing."
Despite his mild irritation at being caught in his private thoughts, he couldn't help but feel a warm fondness for the spirited little girl who had burst into his serious contemplation like a ray of sunshine piercing through heavy clouds.
Everyone should have the chance to enjoy this.