"Boss, this fish—remove the scales and guts."
The morning market in Konoha was bustling with people. Renya squatted in front of a seafood stall, gently picking up a plump salmon with his fingertips.
All the ingredients that Senju Tobirama bought last night had already been devoured by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
To avoid raising suspicion, he had no choice but to come to the market and buy some fresh ingredients again.
That way, he could cook lunch for Tobirama and deliver it later.
Cooking behind that old man's back for Hashirama and Madara… this feeling was oddly thrilling!
…Almost like having an affair.
Renya worried Tobirama might suddenly return and catch him in the act, but luckily, the old man was buried in paperwork at the office and had no time to come home.
And soon, there wouldn't be any need to worry about being exposed at all. Before leaving, Madara had made him sign a summoning contract. From now on, he could deliver food directly, without any risk of Tobirama finding out.
The only tricky part was coming up with excuses to leave the village.
But Renya had already thought of a solution—he could just casually pick up a mission and leave openly.
He was known as Konoha's mission maniac anyway; occasionally taking on assignments was perfectly normal, right?
There's no way that old man would ever suspect anything.
He never imagined his first meeting with Madara would turn out like this. Instead of exchanging blows, he somehow ended up becoming a personal chef, delivering meals straight to his door.
As expected of the "Shura of the Shinobi World"… Renya felt awkward enough to keep refilling Madara's teacup over and over, and to his horror, Madara finished an entire pot without once getting up to use the restroom.
Renya had to admit, the man's bladder capacity was godlike.
But cooking for Madara and Hashirama was one thing—the fact that he had to sneak around doing it, hiding it from Tobirama, really made it feel… illicit.
He was terrified Tobirama might find out; he had no idea how he would even begin to explain.
He had even taken on the Senju surname, yet here he was, tangled up in this strange, ambiguous relationship with the former Uchiha clan head.
Knowing Tobirama, who knew what crazy thing he'd do if he found out?
The bond between them had taken so much effort to build, and one wrong move could make it crumble completely.
Renya didn't want things to be this way… but he had already promised Hashirama-san.
For Hashirama's sake, he could only make Tobirama suffer in silence.
He just wondered whether Hashirama, spending so much time with Madara now, could somehow convince him to abandon the "Eye of the Moon Plan."
Renya doubted it. Madara's will was unshakable—he'd never give up his dream because of someone else's persuasion.
He was the type who'd rather smash into a wall headfirst than turn back.
This wasn't something Renya could meddle in anyway; it was better to leave it to the future main cast to deal with.
To put it bluntly, he wasn't even sure he'd live long enough to see the Fourth Great Ninja War.
After all… who could know which came first—tomorrow, or an untimely death?
Renya wondered idly… if he died, would someone use Edo Tensei to bring him back?
If so… wouldn't that technically mean he could live a little longer?
As Renya was lost in thought, a teasing female voice came from behind him—
"Renya-kun, buying ingredients for Tobirama-sensei's lunch so early in the morning?"
Renya turned his head and saw Koharu standing there with a basket in hand, smiling sweetly at him.
She wasn't wearing her usual ninja gear today but instead had on an elegant tea-brown kimono, giving her an unexpectedly fresh, striking look—
If you ignored the mischievous glint of gossip in her eyes, that is.
Koharu had always been fond of the way Renya and Tobirama-sensei got along. Though technically foster father and son, their relationship was even closer and more enviable than that of most real fathers and sons.
She often whispered about it with Uchiha Kagami and the others in private.
"Koharu." Renya gave a small nod as a greeting.
Koharu stepped a little closer, lowering her voice.
"Renya-kun… you forgot to cook for Tobirama-sensei yesterday…"
She gave him a sly wink. "You didn't get scolded, did you?"
Renya gave a small huff, his face flashing with tsundere pride.
"That old man wouldn't dare scold me."
Koharu blinked, then burst into laughter—whether at Renya's tone or his expression, even she wasn't sure.
"What are you laughing at?" Renya frowned, annoyed. "I'm telling the truth!"
"Mhm, mhm." Koharu nodded quickly, still covering her mouth as she giggled softly.
In all of Konoha, aside from Mito-sama, Renya was the only one bold enough to speak of Tobirama-sensei like this.
If she hadn't seen him rushing out in a panic yesterday, she might have actually believed him.
Renya-kun really was too tsundere.
An image popped into her head—Renya, looking pitiful, bowing his head to apologize to Tobirama-sensei.
"Hey, I said I'm telling the truth!" Renya repeated stubbornly, unwilling to let it go.
He was starting to suspect Koharu's mind was wandering into… less-than-pure territory.
Girls his age really did love imagining all sorts of nonsense.
Taking the fish from the stall owner, Renya placed it into his basket.
"Go ahead and laugh if you want. I'm heading back."
This kind of thing only needed explaining once—if he kept going, it'd look like a guilty cover-up.
He wasn't bluffing; Tobirama really wouldn't dare scold him.
And if Tobirama ever actually did… well, then he'd just go on strike and let the old man cook for himself.
After being his personal chef for so many years, he deserved some credit, didn't he?
Besides, Tobirama wasn't the kind of man to bite the hand that fed him.
"Renya-kun, wait, don't go!" Koharu reached out, trying to stop him, but Renya was already walking away.
She still wanted to dig up a little more gossip from him.
Guess she'd have to wait for next time.
"Hey! Young man, you haven't paid yet!" The stall owner finally remembered the youth who had just taken his fish without paying.
He was about to give chase, but by then, Renya had already melted into the crowd.
The stall owner sighed in frustration, then turned his gaze toward the young woman who'd been chatting with Renya moments ago.
"Miss, you see…?"
Koharu: "…"
So this was… the price of loving gossip, huh?
In the end, Koharu had to pay for Renya's salmon.
...
Senju Tobirama's residence.
Renya had just returned home when he saw Uzumaki Mito already waiting in the courtyard.
"Mito-san? What brings you here?"
He had a vague guess—it probably had something to do with Hashirama. He wondered what Hashirama-san had told her.
"Renya, you've heard about Hashirama coming back to the village, right?" Uzumaki Mito's face bloomed with a joyful smile.
Her husband, who had faked his death and stayed away from the village for two years, had finally returned today.
"I know." Renya nodded.
He thought Mito-san would ask more about Hashirama, but instead, she shifted the topic entirely—
"Renya, little Tsunade is about to reach school age. Could you tell Tobirama about it for me?"
"No problem, Mito-san." Renya agreed without hesitation.
With Tobirama being the principal of the ninja academy, placing Tsunade into the best class was as simple as a word.
Not that Tsunade needed special treatment—with her talent, she'd end up in the top class anyway.
But if they had the privilege, why not use it?
Time flew so fast. In the blink of an eye, that little girl Tsunade was about to start at the academy.
When the time came, Renya planned to personally escort her on her first day—and maybe even catch a glimpse of future legends like Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Those two would definitely be worth keeping an eye on.