Senju Tobirama put down his chopsticks and looked up.
"Big Brother, you really should take Sister-in-law back for a visit."
There was no reason for him to object to such a thing...
"Haha, glad you agree," Hashirama said with a hearty laugh.
Mito smiled warmly at Tobirama. She was naturally happy that her brother-in-law was being so considerate.
"When do you plan to leave?" Senju Tobirama asked.
"How about tomorrow?" Senju Hashirama looked toward Mito for confirmation.
Seeing her nod, he smiled and said, "Alright, tomorrow it is."
"Fine. I'll assign a squad of guards to protect you," said Senju Tobirama.
At those words, Renya gave Tobirama a strange look.
Wait a second... is that necessary?
Then he turned to look at Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito.
One was the God of Shinobi, and the other was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
With that lineup, who in the Shinobi World would dare make a move on them?
You'd have to have a death wish.
Sure, Senju Hashirama's body wasn't what it used to be, and his strength had declined sharply—but still, no average person could challenge him.
And Uzumaki Mito—don't be fooled just because she was a woman.
As a member of the Uzumaki clan, she was born with powerful chakra and was highly proficient in sealing techniques. Not to mention she had a Nine-Tails sealed inside her.
Just based on Mito's sealing prowess, she could easily suppress most Kage-level powerhouses.
This couple had practically no rivals in the current Shinobi World.
Unless Uchiha Madara suddenly showed up...
But Uchiha Madara was busy planning his Eye of the Moon scheme and had no time to deal with them.
And Tobirama still wanted to assign them guards? That's like putting on pants just to fart—completely unnecessary.
"No need, Tobirama." Senju Hashirama waved his hand, rejecting the offer.
Hearing that, Tobirama didn't insist.
He had just mentioned it in passing anyway.
With the strength of his brother and sister-in-law, they didn't need guards at all.
He only brought it up for the sake of caution.
...
After Senju Tobirama finished eating, the couple took Tsunade and left.
Since they were heading out early the next morning, Tsunade would stay with Tobirama for the night.
Moonlight spilled over the Senju compound.
"Renya-san, I want a midnight snack!" Tsunade sat on Tobirama's shoulders, swinging her little legs.
Tobirama quickly held onto her to keep her from falling.
"I want three-color dango—with double red bean paste!"
"Didn't you just eat dinner?" Renya said helplessly.
This little glutton was really something.
Tsunade blinked her big watery eyes and dragged out her words.
"But I'm hungry again~"
Listening to his granddaughter whine and feeling her legs swinging in front of him, the normally stern and cold Second Hokage swallowed and ultimately didn't say no.
He hesitated for a long time before finally mumbling,
"Eating too much at night isn't good for your health."
"Just a little bit, I'll only eat a little, please? Grandpa Tobirama~"
Tsunade suddenly clamped her legs around his neck, wrapped her arms around his forehead, and wiggled side to side, her hair tickling his cheeks.
Renya looked at the softening expression in Tobirama's eyes and scoffed.
He almost forgot—this old man was a total granddaughter simp.
In the end, Tobirama gave in and turned to Renya.
"Kid, make her a little something. And brew some hawthorn tea to help with digestion."
Renya: "???"
What the hell? If you agreed, then you go make it!
Why are you ordering me around?
Do I look like I have nothing better to do?!
"Renya-san, pretty please~" Tsunade begged sweetly.
Faced with her puppy eyes, Renya gave in almost instantly.
"Sigh, fine..." Renya sighed and walked into the kitchen.
He was really becoming the Senju clan's full-time chef.
After eating her dango, Tsunade went to bed satisfied.
In the living room, Senju Tobirama looked at Renya slumped on the sofa, his eye twitching.
The kid just cooked a meal—was that really so exhausting?
Renya lay back on the couch, eyes blank as he stared at the ceiling.
He was so used to constant missions that now, with nothing to do, he felt completely out of place.
Once Hashirama and Mito returned, he planned to head out on missions again.
As for Tobirama's earlier suggestion?
Please. He had already rested for a few days—he'd done enough to show respect to that old guy.
Uchiha Tanaka was a threat, but not to the point where Renya had to stay holed up in the village.
If he really ran into him out there, he'd just kill him.
Worst case scenario, he'd lose an eye and Uchiha Tanaka would lose his life.
Honestly, Renya strongly suspected that Tobirama's real reason for making him stay home wasn't anything noble.
He probably just wanted a free cook.
That old guy had been stuffing himself these past few days.
Renya even saw him sneak some of Tsunade's three-color dango earlier.
And he had the nerve to say, "Eating too much at night is bad for you, so let Second Grandpa help you finish this."
Tch!
He clearly just wanted to eat it himself...
"If you're tired, go get some rest. You've got to see them off tomorrow." Tobirama placed a glass of milk in front of Renya.
Hearing that snapped Renya back to reality.
It was indeed getting late—time to sleep.
Renya picked up the glass of milk, but then suddenly paused.
Senju Tobirama noticed Renya's odd expression and swallowed nervously, trying hard to maintain a calm facade.
Could it be... this kid figured it out?
No way—that was his latest version of knockout powder.
Unlike traditional versions, this one was stronger!
It was colorless, tasteless, and had no side effects.
The perfect product for home use, travel, assassination, or robbery.
By all logic, Renya shouldn't be able to detect anything...
As Tobirama anxiously waited, Renya finally spoke.
"Old man, this milk hasn't expired, has it?"
He'd been away for a while, so naturally no one had touched the milk in the kitchen.
It had been sitting there for days—no doubt it had expired!
Tobirama immediately relaxed.
Oh, that's what he was worried about.
This brat really gave him a scare...
He rolled his eyes. "It's not expired. It was delivered this morning."
He was the Second Hokage and second-in-command of the Senju clan—he wouldn't stoop to drinking expired milk.
That would be too embarrassing!
"As long as it's not expired." Renya nodded and downed the milk in one gulp.
"Alright, I'm heading back to bed."
As soon as Renya stood up, everything went black and he collapsed onto the sofa.
Senju Tobirama revealed a triumphant smile.
"Look how tired this kid is—he fell asleep right here."
"But... maybe I used too much of that powder..."
Muttering to himself, he bent down and picked up Renya, slipping away from the Senju compound under cover of night.
With Big Brother out of the house tomorrow, he could finally do his research in peace.
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Chapter for the review