With a grand wave of his hand, billionaire Renya directly took out one billion ryō to fund the village's construction, and even hired people to repair the residences of Senju Tobirama and Senju Hashirama.
Now, the homes of Hashirama and Tobirama could only be described as top-class mansions…
In addition, Renya spent a huge sum building two laboratories—one for himself to research poisons, and the other for Senju Tobirama to conduct experiments. Both were equipped with the most complete facilities imaginable.
Tobirama was deeply moved. The kid had really grown up.
With the most advanced equipment in the shinobi world, he could finally conduct research without restraint.
The money Black Zetsu left for Renya was far beyond imagination!
Gold is hard currency no matter the era, and the value of that pile of gold was dozens of times greater than silver notes.
As everyone knows, research equipment burns through money, yet after Renya built two fully equipped laboratories, he found that most of the money he'd looted still remained. He couldn't help but sigh at how incredibly wealthy that mysterious employer was.
All that gold together could buy the lives of every shinobi in Konoha!
Senju Tobirama was completely dumbfounded by Renya's wealth. He couldn't help but sigh—Renya really had luck on his side, to have discovered such massive fortune in the exchange house.
Because of what Renya had told him, Tobirama had immediately snuck into the Land of Fire's exchange house that very night, only to find the vault completely empty…
All he could do was marvel at Renya's luck.
In truth, the moment Tobirama broke into the exchange house, White Zetsu had already transferred all the money underground.
Not everyone enjoyed the same privilege as "the cook." Anyone else trying to touch Black Zetsu's fortune wouldn't stand a chance.
Even if Black Zetsu wasn't interested in wealth, it wouldn't let anyone else benefit from it.
With a fortune in his hands and too much free time, Renya began buying up properties on Konoha's commercial street—dessert shops, taverns, restaurants, clothing stores, and more.
He also invested in the industries of other clans—barbecue joints, flower shops, ninja tool stores, pet shops, and so on.
In short, over 60% of Konoha's businesses were now tied to Renya.
He didn't have to lift a finger; every morning when he opened his eyes, huge sums of money were already flowing into his account.
In just a short time, he had become one of Konoha's largest taxpayers—all thanks to that mysterious employer's generous backing!
Unfortunately, he'd never had the chance to meet that employer. Renya had even gone to the exchange house in the Land of Rivers in hopes of meeting him face-to-face.
But the boss had the old shopkeeper pass along a message: "The time has not yet come."
Taking money but not being given work to do—it even made the normally thick-skinned Renya feel embarrassed.
He could only sigh that this mysterious backer really was raising him like a loyal dead servant…
But who wouldn't want a boss like that?
Even though Renya had never met him, he had already become that employer's devoted follower.
If the boss told him to go east, he'd never think of going west. That was loyalty!
Even Black Zetsu himself probably hadn't expected that just by spending a bit of money, he would completely win over the "cook's" heart.
However, it was too busy arranging its grand plan to rescue its mother and didn't have time to personally monitor Renya's daily life.
One day, one week, one month, one year.
In the blink of an eye, three years passed.
...
Senju Tobirama's residence.
"Renya, why hasn't Tobirama-sensei finished evaluating us yet?" Sarutobi Hiruzen looked in confusion at Renya, who was leisurely sunbathing.
The evaluation had started three years ago, and Tobirama-sensei still hadn't announced the final results.
At this rate, their kids would be old enough to run errands already.
Hiruzen and Danzō had gone from excited, to confused, to utterly lost. They had no idea what their teacher intended…
After talking it over, they came to Renya for answers.
"Don't rush. Maybe this is a test of your patience and temperament," Renya said lazily, sipping from his fruit juice, gesturing for the two to calm down.
"Renya has a point," Danzō nodded in agreement. As long as he could one day become Hokage, waiting a few years meant nothing to him.
Hopefully, Hiruzen would give up on his own—that would make things perfect.
Tobirama-sensei had only told them to "do their best," never specifying the exact contents of the evaluation. Because of that, they lived every day on edge, terrified of making mistakes that would disqualify them from inheriting the title of Hokage.
"Renya-san, I want juice too!"
A chubby little boy wearing split pants toddled into the yard, his big round eyes locked onto the glass of juice.
"Ah, Nawaki, you're here!" Hiruzen said with a cheerful grin. Ever since having his own child, he had become very fond of kids.
That kind of feeling was something bachelors like Renya and Danzō couldn't understand.
Laughing, Hiruzen scooped up the little bundle of energy and began to playfully squish him.
"Hiruzen-san, let me go!" Nawaki struggled and wriggled, but he couldn't escape the older man's grasp.
"Renya-san, Danzō-san, help me!"
"Slurp."
Renya took a satisfied sip of his juice and watched the scene quietly.
Finally, the little hellion was getting what he deserved!
Ever since Nawaki had developed self-awareness, he'd been mischievous beyond belief. Only Tsunade could handle him; even Mito-san couldn't.
"How boring," Danzō muttered, curling his lip in disdain. "Kids are such a hassle."
If he had time to babysit, he'd rather focus on figuring out how to pass their teacher's evaluation.
"Uwaaaah! Hiruzen-san's bullying me! I'm telling Grandma!"
Unable to take it anymore, Nawaki unleashed the ultimate technique of children—bursting into tears.
"You're doomed," Renya said gleefully, watching Hiruzen with a look of pure schadenfreude. Once this little ancestor started crying, there was no calming him down.
Danzō's mouth twitched into a smirk. Serves Hiruzen right. Of all people, he just had to tease Tobirama-sensei's grandson.
He could already imagine Hiruzen missing out on the Hokage position because of this incident.
"Nawaki, be good, don't cry, alright?" Hiruzen said awkwardly, forcing a smile.
"Waaaaah!" Nawaki cried even louder.
Hiruzen: "…"
If he'd known it'd end like this, he wouldn't have teased him.
If Mito-sama found out, the consequences would be disastrous!
Renya noticed that while Nawaki was crying, his gaze kept darting toward the juice in his hand.
The kid had quite the scheming mind—trying to use this opportunity to snatch his drink.
Heh, clever, but not clever enough.
Renya smirked, then, under Nawaki's disbelieving stare, downed the entire glass in one gulp.
Kekekeke… kid, experience comes with age!
Danzō, who had watched the whole thing, thought, "…"
This guy Renya is so bored he's actually bullying a child now. Seriously, unbelievable!
"Waaaaaah!" Nawaki's crying reached a heartbreaking pitch.
Renya-san was just too mean—even picking on a three-year-old!
Completely flustered, Hiruzen begged, "Please, stop crying already!"
Playing with someone else's kid wasn't fun at all. He'd rather go tease Shinnosuke at home—at least he could discipline his own child with a couple of smacks if needed.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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