"Old man, between Hiruzen and Danzō, whose performance has been better?"
In the Hokage's office, Renya placed a bowl of nourishing medicinal cuisine on the desk and asked.
He had a good relationship with Danzō and naturally wanted to know how his friend was viewed by Senju Tobirama—both his impression and his performance. At the very least, it would give him a rough idea of Danzō's chances of becoming Hokage.
"Danzō told you about this?" Tobirama scooped a spoonful of the medicinal food, his gaze inevitably drawn to it.
He swallowed subconsciously. The aroma alone was enough to make his mouth water.
After half a year, he could finally eat Renya's cooking again.
Not easy—really not easy at all!
"Old man, I'm talking to you." Renya rolled his eyes irritably as Tobirama's attention remained fixed on the food.
Eat, eat, eat—does he ever think about anything else?
He still didn't know how high Danzō's chances of becoming Hokage were!
If Danzō's performance wasn't good enough, Renya would have to come up with another plan. No matter what, he couldn't let his teammate Danzō become Konoha's darkness!
"Hmm, Danzō has been performing well lately." Tobirama realized his lapse in composure and coughed lightly to ease the awkwardness.
Renya: "…"
Performing well? That's such a vague, official-sounding answer!
Might as well have said nothing. That kind of empty talk could only fool someone as gullible as Danzō.
Tobirama had just picked up the spoon again when Renya's sharp reflexes snatched it away.
"Not so fast." Renya waved the spoon teasingly. "Since Danzō's doing well, how's Hiruzen's performance then?"
He wasn't going to let Tobirama eat until he got a real answer.
Tobirama placed the bowl down helplessly and gave Renya a long look. This brat had really grown up—not as easy to fool as he'd been when he was little.
In truth, it wasn't that Renya had grown up—it was that his wings had hardened.
"Hiruzen's performance has also been good."
Renya's mouth twitched. For a moment, he didn't even know what to say.
Good grief, as expected! The old man was spouting nonsense again.
Both Hiruzen and Danzō performed well—so the question remained:
Who will become the Third Hokage?!
"So?" Renya stared straight at Tobirama. "Old man, who are you planning to make Hokage?"
To be honest, he and Danzō had been teammates for over a decade. Naturally, he wanted Danzō to get what he wished for.
But the final decision lay in Tobirama's hands. That old man would definitely choose whoever he thought was more suitable for the position.
Everyone knew—a qualified successor was of utmost importance… but whether that would be Hiruzen or Danzō was still anyone's guess.
Tobirama's eyes flicked from the spoon in Renya's hand to the young man's serious expression.
Looked like this brat wasn't going to let him eat until he gave an answer.
After a short silence, Tobirama spoke slowly.
"They've both achieved good results in my evaluations. I haven't decided on the final candidate yet."
In other words—he didn't know either.
Judging from their current performance, the two were neck and neck. He'd need to keep observing from multiple angles before making a decision.
"Tsk, you sure take your time, old man," Renya said in dissatisfaction.
He'd been away from the village for half a year, and the old man still hadn't chosen a successor—unbelievable!
Still, at least he knew Danzō still had a chance at becoming Hokage...
"Give me the spoon. The food's getting cold." Tobirama looked longingly at the bowl in front of him.
He couldn't eat without a spoon—what, was he supposed to drink straight from the bowl?
That would be way too undignified.
"Here, take it." Renya handed the spoon back and pulled up a chair to sit across the desk.
The desk was still piled high with documents—maybe even higher than before he'd left.
"Dealing with paperwork every day... I really don't get what's so great about being Hokage," Renya muttered, picking up one of the reviewed files.
The moment he saw the title, his face froze.
On the document's cover, it read: [Iron Country businessman claims to have seen Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara! A handsome Uchiha youth was spotted beside them—suspected to be Madara's illegitimate son.]
Renya quickly hid his expression. Fortunately, Tobirama was too absorbed in eating to notice anything unusual.
Damn it! The rumor had spread all the way to the Land of Fire!
If Tobirama started to get suspicious, that'd be a nightmare. If he followed the trail and started investigating, that old man might actually uncover something.
After all, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama never bothered to hide their identities! If it was discovered that Renya had been traveling with them, the consequences would be... catastrophic.
Suppressing his unease, Renya feigned curiosity.
"Old man, what do you think about this report?"
"Fake." Tobirama glanced at the document and said the word flatly.
Even a novelist wouldn't dare write something so absurd.
Though he didn't believe it at all, he had still sent Anbu agents to Iron Country to verify the information.
He'd know the truth soon enough.
Renya didn't dare speak further and just continued flipping through the stack of documents.
[Sunagakure's Jinchūriki lost control, causing massive damage to the village...]
[Amegakure's leader Hanzō of the Salamander is missing...]
[Famous bounty exchange in the ninja world completely looted by a mysterious man. Witnesses claim the perpetrator had a black cat at his side...]
Renya: "…"
Why did all of these reports seem to have something to do with him?!
Who the hell was collecting this intel?! Bastards!
He felt like he'd been trapped by the system of capital itself.
Seeing Renya seriously flipping through the files, Tobirama's expression softened in satisfaction.
This brat—always saying he didn't want to be Hokage, yet look at him now. His body was being very honest!
If Renya ever wanted to be Hokage, neither Hiruzen nor Danzō would stand a chance.
Wait—why did the kid's face keep changing expressions?
"What's wrong?" Tobirama leaned forward, trying to see what Renya was looking at.
[Famous bounty exchange looted by a mysterious man...]
"This wasn't your doing, was it?" Tobirama's expression turned suspicious.
Such a strong reaction—if he hadn't done it himself, he was definitely involved somehow.
This brat was always too honest for his own good. Whatever he felt was written right on his face—he had no idea how to hide it.
In truth, Renya had left only one small flaw—but it was enough to perfectly conceal all the others!
Heh. The old man was still too young at heart, fooled by his harmless appearance so easily.
Hmph, the so-called "Master of Konoha's Forbidden Techniques" wasn't all that impressive after all!
But then again, who would ever suspect a chef?
Especially one he'd raised since childhood...
"Since you've found out, I won't pretend anymore." Renya smirked proudly. "I wanted to live as an ordinary man, but it's hard to make ends meet just completing missions..."
"I won't hide it any longer—I'm a billionaire. Time to come clean!"
Tobirama: "???"