As time passed, the various nations gradually stopped probing Konoha.
The number of enemy ninjas infiltrating the Land of Fire began to decline.
At first, Renya and the others remained on high alert every day, occasionally encountering enemies. But toward the end, several days could pass without a single infiltrator.
The three were quite glad for the relative peace, and the month passed quickly.
"We can finally go back to the village," Koharu said with excitement.
The month had been full of heavy tasks, and they had been under intense vigilance daily, leaving them mentally exhausted. Now, they just looked forward to the ninja who would relieve them so they could return home to rest.
Even the usually stern Shimura Danzo couldn't help but smile slightly when he learned they were going back.
At last, they could return to the village to rest.
Renya held a book in his hands, studying seriously.
Over the past month, he had read this book dozens of times and understood most of its contents.
It wouldn't be long before he completely mastered it.
Then he could start learning the remaining books. As long as he understood all of them, he could officially begin learning the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Renya estimated it would take five months to learn all the theory.
Five months to learn theory, then another five months to practice Flying Thunder God.
In less than a year, he could master the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Thinking this, a slight smile tugged at his lips.
"It doesn't seem that hard after all."
Renya was immersed in his fantasy of mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique within a year.
If Senju Tobirama knew his thoughts, he would definitely scoff and say to him, "So naive!"
Danzo and Koharu instinctively glanced at the mumbling Renya.
They naturally knew Renya was learning the Flying Thunder God Technique.
At first, they wanted to learn it too, but when they saw the complex theory, they decisively gave up.
Their intuition told them this ninjutsu wasn't something ordinary people could learn, and it wasn't worth the time.
Watching Renya so serious, both felt admiration.
Even knowing it might be impossible, he still faced the challenge head-on?
This kind of persistence and effort was something they could learn from!
Shimura Danzo clenched his fist.
If only he could be as persistent as Renya, one day he too might become Hokage!
At that moment, all three simultaneously looked in the same direction.
Koharu's eyes lit up.
"The replacements are here!"
They saw three people slowly walking toward them, two of whom were familiar.
Nara Motoha smiled lazily in his signature style, shaking the three-colored dango skewers in his hand.
"I brought some sweets especially for you as a farewell gift."
"Thank you, Motoha-kun!"
Koharu's eyes sparkled as she hurried up to Nara Motoha, took the skewers from his hand, and then passed them to Renya and Danzo.
They had nearly thrown up from eating their standard military rations all month; finally, something tasty!
"I don't—"
Shimura Danzo wanted to refuse, but looking at the tempting skewers before him, he swallowed involuntarily and reluctantly took them, blushing.
Renya, on the other hand, accepted without hesitation and started eating the dango Koharu handed him.
"Why are you guys here to replace us?" Renya tossed aside the finished skewer and asked casually.
Nara Motoha sighed helplessly, showing a pitiful expression.
"It's all because my old man said I was slacking off at the front lines, so he sent me here as punishment."
Hearing this, Renya felt touched.
This wasn't about him slacking off—it was just that the Nara clan leader was worried about Motoha encountering danger at the front.
Recently, as the other nations ceased probing Konoha, hardly any ninjas had been infiltrating the Land of Fire.
So coming here now was definitely an easy assignment.
It seemed the Nara clan head really cared about his son...
Hyūga Muki remained silent, casting a sidelong glance at the three.
When his gaze met Renya's, he only gave a polite nod.
Renya curled his lips in disdain.
This guy was still the same as always, radiating a "stay away from me" aura.
He recalled the last time they met—Hyūga Muki didn't say a word then either.
...
The handover went extremely quickly.
Renya stuffed the scroll into Nara Motoha's hand and deliberately patted his shoulder.
"Patrol well. Don't let the Nara clan leader catch you slacking again."
Nara Motoha laughed.
"With Muki-kun here, patrolling is totally unnecessary."
Renya: "..."
He suddenly remembered that Hyūga Muki's Byakugan could see through everything, so there was no need for a tedious patrol like theirs.
As long as they were within the Byakugan's field of vision, enemies would have nowhere to hide.
"Tch, so having the Byakugan is a big deal?" Renya activated his Sharingan and glared at Hyūga Muki in displeasure.
Hyūga Muki was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting Renya's reaction.
After a brief silence, he slowly uttered one word:
"Boring."
Renya's mouth twitched.
He turned and waved his hand.
"Not interesting. Let's go back."
Nara Motoha watched the three departing figures curiously.
"Muki-kun, you don't seem very willing to talk to Renya-kun, huh?"
Hyūga Muki didn't answer, staring at Renya's back as if lost in thought.
Nara Motoha could only helplessly rub his forehead.
Great, now he doesn't even want to talk to him.
...
Hokage's Office.
Senju Tobirama frowned as he examined the documents sent from the front lines.
Iwagakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure appeared to have formed an alliance, jointly deploying troops around the Land of Fire.
Currently, they had no plans to launch an attack, but reinforcements were needed at the front lines to prepare for a possible simultaneous strike.
Troops from the Land of Lightning were stationed to the northeast.
Troops from the Land of Water to the southeast.
Troops from the Land of Wind to the southwest.
Troops from the Land of Earth to the northwest.
The Land of Fire was thus squeezed in the middle by the four great nations.
If they all attacked at once, the Land of Fire would be trapped in a pincer attack.
At that time, Konoha's casualties would definitely be severe!
Though Konoha's overall combat power exceeded the other villages, fighting against four nations at once would still be very difficult.
After all, the village no longer had someone as powerful as Senju Hashirama or Uchiha Madara.
Tobirama stared at the mountain of documents on his desk, feeling a headache coming on.
He reached out and rubbed his temples.
"Gurgle—"
An untimely rumbling from his stomach interrupted his thoughts.
Tobirama froze, suddenly remembering he had forgotten to eat.
No choice—the recent period had been too busy to even find time for meals.
He opened a drawer and took out two military ration pills, popping them into his mouth.
The indescribable taste vaguely reminded him of a certain boy who always complained about the taste of military rations.
Tobirama's lips curled involuntarily into a faint smile.
His gaze pierced through the window, resting on the dark forest outside Konoha.
"The day of the handover has finally come..."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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