"This is the lunch you prepared for me?!"
It took a good while before Senju Tobirama finally snapped out of his shock, staring at Renya with disbelief written all over his face.
Inside the lunchbox, sweet and sour ribs were mixed haphazardly with stir-fried vegetables.
Beside them sat a bowl of seafood noodles, though the noodles seemed to have clumped together.
Senju Tobirama's eyelid twitched wildly. He couldn't help but wonder—did Renya really make this?
Could it be something he scavenged from a restaurant's trash bin?!
The terrible presentation alone was enough to completely kill one's appetite.
"Come on, Tobirama-san, eat it while it's hot. It won't taste good once it gets cold," Renya urged.
He had packed the food when it was already just barely warm. If it wasn't eaten now, it'd be stone-cold soon.
Senju Tobirama gave him a suspicious look.
"You didn't drug this, did you?"
Could this kind of food really be made by this brat?
Had his cooking skills deteriorated that badly from being out on missions?
"It just looks bad, Tobirama-san, but it still tastes pretty good," Renya seemed to read his doubt and explained, "Yeah, I made it myself…"
No way was he going to admit it was his leftovers.
Otherwise, this old man would absolutely blow a gasket!
Senju Tobirama stared at the unappetizing mess in the lunchbox, his brows twitching ever so slightly.
Under Renya's expectant gaze, he used his chopsticks to lift a clump of stuck-together noodles, the sauce trailing in sticky threads.
Even cold, the noodles retained a pleasantly chewy texture.
Minced garlic and a dash of aromatic vinegar hidden in the toppings unexpectedly awakened his taste buds.
With just one bite, Senju Tobirama knew—this was indeed Renya's cooking. His tightly furrowed brow relaxed at once.
The presentation might have been terrible, but the flavor was surprisingly delicious.
Even after not cooking for a long time, this brat's culinary skills were still top-notch!
He picked up another piece of sweet and sour rib. The moment his teeth crunched through the crispy outer layer, warm meat juices wrapped in caramelized sweetness exploded in his mouth.
Though the dish looked sloppy, Renya's control over cooking time and heat was absolutely spot on.
After swallowing the last bite of seafood noodles, he set down his chopsticks and subconsciously rubbed the rim of the bowl with his fingers.
To be honest, he wanted to drink the soup, but… there was no spoon.
And with Renya still standing right there, there was no way he could just lift the bowl and slurp it down.
Dignity was important to him.
He, Senju Tobirama, couldn't possibly disgrace himself like that…
"Was the taste okay, Tobirama-san?" Renya asked proudly, glancing at the now-empty lunchbox.
He knew it—this old man wasn't picky.
Senju Tobirama gave a slight nod.
"The flavor was good, but your knife work and plating still need serious improvement."
"Mm-hmm, got it." Renya nodded in agreement.
Who would have thought that all this food was actually leftovers from Renya's meal?
Renya silently buried the truth deep inside, vowing never to let this old man find out.
Senju Tobirama had a serious case of obsessive cleanliness.
Several years ago, the two of them had already adopted a separate meal policy.
Renya would always divide the food into two portions—one for each of them.
In fact, this was a common tradition in the shinobi world.
But Tobirama's particular cleanliness meant separate dining was absolutely necessary.
Others didn't really mind—Senju Hashirama, for example, actually liked everyone eating together.
If this old man ever found out these dishes were Renya's leftovers…
The consequences would be unimaginable!
Renya stole a glance at Senju Tobirama, who was now wiping his mouth, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Looks like the old man didn't suspect a thing.
Senju Tobirama, now fed and content, was in a much better mood.
This—this was real food. He finally understood why Renya hated soldier pills so much.
Who'd want to eat soldier pills when they could have real meals?
If Renya weren't about to head out on a mission, he would've made him deliver lunch every single day.
As Tobirama finished eating, Renya began packing up the dishes and casually asked,
"Tobirama-san, how's the situation in Konoha right now?"
He'd been out patrolling in the forest and wasn't up to date on Konoha's current affairs.
Nara Motoha had mentioned something briefly, but hadn't gone into detail.
At his question, Senju Tobirama pulled a file from the table and handed it over.
"Currently, the major nations have all stationed troops along the borders of the Land of Fire. An attack could be launched at any time."
Renya took the file and glanced at it, spotting diagrams of troop deployments from Konoha and the other villages. A flicker of confusion passed through his eyes.
The hell is this?
He couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Were all these little dots supposed to be troop locations?
Senju Tobirama, not noticing Renya's expression, continued,
"That file you're holding is the current war map."
"Mm, I see."
Renya nodded and, with a blank expression, placed the file back on the table.
Senju Tobirama's temples began to throb.
"You understood it?"
If he wasn't mistaken, Renya had just been holding the map upside down.
"Not really," Renya admitted honestly, still trying to justify himself. "Tobirama-san, this map is way too messy."
Senju Tobirama's mouth twitched, and he instinctively rubbed his brow.
He really had no idea what to do with this guy.
Already a Jōnin, and yet he couldn't even read a map?
How had he ever completed missions in the past?
Surely not by randomly wandering around and getting lucky?
Actually… Tobirama's guess wasn't far off.
At first, Renya had been the team leader on missions.
But after getting lost twice in a row, Danzo was assigned as the new guide.
"Come here," Tobirama said, motioning Renya over as he pointed at the map. "This is how you read a map..."
He felt it necessary to teach Renya how to read maps—just in case he got thrown onto a battlefield and had no idea what he was looking at.
Reading a map wasn't difficult. It's just that Renya had never really learned how, so he had naturally remained clueless all this time.
But with Senju Tobirama's patient explanation, he quickly caught on.
"So this is how you read a map..." Renya muttered with some amazement.
It was completely different from what he had thought before—no wonder he kept getting lost.
Senju Tobirama shook his head helplessly.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can go rest now."
He looked up at Renya, his expression stern.
"Make the most of your final downtime. Real war is about to begin."
Renya froze for a moment, but quickly came to his senses.
"I understand, Tobirama-san."
With that, he grabbed the lunchbox and left the Hokage's office.
Tobirama was giving him a warning—to rest well in the coming days and prepare for the war to come.
Once the fighting started, he'd definitely be sent to the front lines.
Senju Tobirama stood by the window, watching as Renya left the Hokage building. He murmured softly,
"Kid, whatever you do... don't die..."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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