"Kid, why are you heading out on another mission again?!"
Inside the Hokage's office, Senju Tobirama frowned deeply as he glared at Renya, his tone dripping with frustration.
He had already lost count of how many times this brat had gone out on missions lately.
Every time Renya returned from completing one mission, he didn't even rest for a single day before taking another. Over and over, the cycle repeated.
The problem was that each mission took at least three to five days, and when Renya returned, he'd only rest for one night before leaving again.
That meant Tobirama had to wait three to five days, sometimes even longer, before he could taste Renya's cooking again.
As a result, these past days, Tobirama had barely eaten any of Renya's dishes. He was practically surviving on military ration pills just to keep himself alive.
As for gourmet meals?
Forget it. Renya wasn't even in the village. Where was he supposed to get delicious food?
After eating nothing but ration pills day after day, Tobirama had lost noticeable weight. If this continued, his body wouldn't be able to take it anymore.
No matter what, he had to find a way to keep this kid in the village today.
Last night, he only got to eat one meal, and that was nowhere near enough.
He thought Renya would finally stay put for a while, but the brat had barely woken up before heading straight to the mission assembly hall to take another assignment.
Tobirama had checked the mission details just moments ago — an S-rank assassination of a wealthy merchant from an enemy nation.
If Renya went on this one, he wouldn't be back for at least ten days, maybe half a month.
And the thought of not eating Renya's cooking for that long only made Tobirama more determined not to let him go.
By now, just the sight of a ration pill made him nauseous. He needed real food every day to balance it out.
No. There was no way he was letting this brat leave the village!
But what Tobirama couldn't figure out was why Renya kept insisting on taking missions in the first place.
Was the kid short on money?
That didn't make sense. Each S-rank mission paid roughly a million ryō, and in recent days, Renya had already completed three S-rank assignments.
There was no way he was short on cash…
So why was he so obsessed with doing missions?
And another thing — he used to take Danzo and Koharu with him on assignments, but lately, he'd been going alone.
Tobirama's sharp gaze locked on Renya, a nagging feeling growing in his chest. He was sure this brat was hiding something from him.
...
"I've already accepted the mission," Renya replied calmly, spreading his hands helplessly as he looked at Tobirama. "I can't just back out now, can I?"
In truth, it wasn't like Renya wanted to keep running around outside the village every day.
But what could he do when Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama kept calling him out to cook for them?
If he kept leaving the village daily just to make meals for those two, Tobirama would definitely notice sooner or later.
And to make matters worse, the two had gone from asking him to cook once a day to twice. The frequency kept increasing.
To avoid arousing suspicion, he could only sacrifice Tobirama for now.
So Renya chose to take missions as a cover to leave the village. Outwardly, it looked like he was away on assignments, but in reality, he was spending his days with Hashirama and Madara, cooking three meals a day for them.
Madara wasn't freeloading, though. Not only did he guide Renya's training, but he also helped him complete missions on the side.
With Madara's strength, assassinations were laughably simple. A job that would normally take five days, he could finish in half a day.
The rest of the time, Renya acted as their personal chef and trained alongside Madara.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten about Tobirama. Every time he returned to the village, he made sure to prepare a lavish dinner for him.
In short — his heart was in two places at once.
But even after cooking him an entire feast, the old man still seemed unsatisfied.
To smooth things over, Renya had already thought of a plan.
He intended to talk to Madara and Hashirama later — from now on, he'd only cook for them three days a week. The rest of the time, he'd return to the village and cook for Tobirama.
He couldn't neglect either side.
Renya just wanted to make sure no one discovered that he was "sailing on two ships" at once.
Otherwise, if he kept leaving on missions every day, Tobirama would eventually get suspicious.
And if the truth came out… that would be a huge problem.
On one side, he had Hashirama and Madara.
On the other, Tobirama…
It was a nightmare situation. No matter who he didn't cook for, someone would be unhappy.
...
"Do you have to go on this mission?" Tobirama's voice rose as he snapped, "Can't you rest for a few days?!"
It was hard to believe these words came from the Hokage himself.
But Tobirama just wanted Renya to stay in the village a little longer instead of leaving constantly.
If this brat went, who was supposed to cook for him?
He couldn't live on ration pills forever. He was already sick of them.
"A ninja can only truly grow stronger through real combat. I think you, of all people, should understand that," Renya said, reciting the excuse he'd prepared in advance.
Those were Tobirama's own words from his training days — he was just throwing them back at him now.
"You don't need me to teach you about balancing work and rest again, do you?" Tobirama tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, glancing up at him.
If it were Hiruzen or Danzo saying this, he'd be thrilled to hear it.
But Renya? Absolutely not.
If this kid left, who was going to feed him?
Besides, while Renya was strong, S-rank missions carried risks, especially when done alone.
Getting stronger was fine, but rushing it was dangerous. It was easy to make mistakes.
"Strength comes step by step. You have to build it up gradually. You can't become powerful overnight…" Tobirama said earnestly, trying to persuade him.
"I rested yesterday. I'm fine now," Renya replied, sighing inwardly.
The truth was, Hashirama and Madara were already waiting for him at the village gate.
He was worried they'd get impatient and just sneak into the village themselves…
Otherwise, there was no way he'd be leaving so soon.
Sorry. This is the last time.
He'd talk to the two later about splitting his cooking schedule.
There was no way he could be their personal chef every single day.
He wasn't faking his death, and he wasn't a missing-nin.
But if he kept running outside constantly, someone was bound to get suspicious sooner or later…
He still wanted to live a peaceful life in Konoha.
...
Upon hearing this, Tobirama's face darkened.
He had been talking for so long, his mouth nearly dry, and this brat still insisted on going.
"Fine," Tobirama snapped, waving his hand irritably to dismiss him. "Go."
Why was getting good food so damn hard?
With this kid gone, he'd be back to choking down ration pills again.
"I'll be back as soon as I can," Renya said as he turned and left the office.
Tobirama watched his retreating back, finally letting out a long, helpless sigh.
This brat had become a mission maniac again!
Every day, he was either on a mission or on the way to one…
How had he managed to endure this lifestyle back in the day?
Back then, he survived on nothing but ration pills. But now? Now, he couldn't handle it anymore.
Maybe it was true what they said — once you got used to luxury, going back to simplicity was torture.
After eating Renya's cooking, ration pills were unbearable.
He could only hope the brat came back soon…
There were so many jōnin in the village, but somehow, Renya was the only one constantly taking missions.
No. This couldn't continue.
He had to revise the mission assembly hall's rules.
...
Tobirama took out pen and paper and began drafting a new regulation:
During peacetime, ninja teams or individuals would have an upper limit on the number of missions they could take each month.
In other words—
No one would be allowed to constantly take missions anymore.
Of course, this wouldn't affect most regular shinobi. Nobody else was crazy enough to take missions non-stop anyway.
The only person this rule applied to was… well, a certain someone.
Tobirama stamped the finalized document with the Hokage's seal, the corners of his lips curling into a smug smile.
"Kid, I'm the Hokage here!"
And with that, Konoha's number-one mission maniac was officially grounded.