"Bang"
The door to the Hokage's office was pushed open.
Danzo, busy reviewing paperwork, didn't even lift his head at the sound. The only person bold enough to enter without knocking was, of course, Renya.
"Renya, did you complete your mission?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked with a smile.
"Daytime, where's he?" Renya asked, puzzled. He didn't see Senju Tobirama anywhere.
The office contained only Danzo and Hiruzen.
Normally, that old guy was either buried in paperwork or still buried in paperwork, glued to his chair as if it were part of him.
But this time, Renya didn't see him sitting at the desk reviewing files. Simply put, the sun had risen in the west.
"The teacher hasn't come by these past few days," Danzo explained softly.
"Haven't come?" Renya frowned. "Then what is he doing?"
That guy couldn't be sick, right? With his physical condition, illness was unlikely. A month ago, he was full of life and vigor.
"I don't know," Danzo shook his head. "The teacher only occasionally comes to check on our paperwork. The rest of the time, he's practically nowhere to be seen."
Renya was puzzled, and so were Danzo and Hiruzen.
The teacher, who usually exhausted himself handling paperwork, seemed these past few days to be occupied with something far more important—so much so that he was completely absent.
Although curious, the two didn't dare ask further.
Tobirama-sensei must have his reasons. Their job was simply to focus on their own duties.
Some things were better left unknown.
Perhaps this was a test for them.
"How do you two not know anything?" Renya said, slightly exasperated.
Spending every day in the office handling paperwork, yet knowing nothing when asked a simple question.
"Haha, we don't have time to investigate the teacher's affairs," Hiruzen said, scratching his head awkwardly. "Besides, there's a mountain of paperwork waiting for us to review."
Renya looked at the piles of files on the desk and finally didn't press further.
"You guys keep busy. I'll head back first."
Saying that, he turned and left the Hokage's office.
"This guy didn't even close the door again!" Danzo muttered with a dark expression. "Hiruzen, close it!"
Renya never knocked when entering the office, and now he didn't even bother to shut the door behind him.
This was a habit Tobirama-sensei had spoiled him with since childhood. Once Renya became Hokage, he would definitely have to fix all of Renya's bad habits.
"Again with closing the door…" Hiruzen muttered reluctantly.
Ever since Danzo became Hokage's assistant, he kept finding ways to make Hiruzen do tasks.
"Stop talking nonsense. I'm the Hokage's assistant!"
Hiruzen: "..."
Well, who could argue with the Hokage's assistant? Rank and authority always win.
"Bang"
Under the assistant's mighty authority, Hiruzen finally shut the door.
Danzo's lips curved almost to his ears in satisfaction.
Hmm, so this is the taste of power.
...
Senju Tobirama's residence.
"Are you home?" Renya called out at the door to Tobirama's room.
No one responded.
"I'm coming in, okay?"
"Really coming in!"
Renya used a key to open the door but found no trace of Tobirama.
"Strange… where did that old guy run off to?"
If he wasn't at home, he must be in the lab.
A little reminder: If you enjoy this book and don't want to lose track of it, add it to your bookshelf!
Maybe that old guy was developing a new jutsu.
Thinking so, Renya headed toward the lab Tobirama had built.
...
Inside the laboratory.
"Schizophrenia…"
"Multiple personalities? Or some kind of spiritual possession?"
In the ninja world, there were indeed techniques allowing a soul to separate from its body and possess others.
Renya's condition could be caused by some malevolent spirit possessing him.
Of course, that was only one possibility. There could be others.
For example, Renya might be having a mental breakdown…
Tobirama-sensei frowned as he stared at his notebook. The scrolls in front of him were covered in dense data and symbols, some sections repeatedly rewritten, layers of ink piled upon each other.
These were his findings over the past few days, yet there had been little progress regarding Renya's condition.
"Maybe it's not just an illness, but an imbalance of mental energy and chakra, causing that entity to appear."
Tobirama's eyes lit up. He immediately began jotting down his thoughts.
"A method to stabilize both mental energy and chakra is needed…" He flipped open a dusty notebook—records from his research into Yin Release.
Yin Release, a jutsu created through imagination, could be the key to treatment.
It essentially harnessed mental energy to create form from nothing.
It could transform invisible mental energy into tangible matter or phenomena, such as creating physical illusions, spirits, or giving objects form.
Genjutsu was the representative ability of Yin Release.
Since Renya's issue was on the mental side, a technique derived from Yin Release had a high chance of curing him.
...
"You really are working on this!" Renya said as he opened the lab door.
"Kid, what are you doing here?" Tobirama didn't expect Renya to appear so suddenly and hastily hid the documents and scrolls on his desk.
These materials must not be seen by the boy.
At least, not yet!
"What are you doing?" Renya asked, confused. What could he be hiding?
Before Renya could step closer, Tobirama had already put the documents away.
"I'm researching jutsu."
"What kind of jutsu?" Renya asked. "Another powerful forbidden technique?"
"Something like that. Not for you to see yet," Tobirama thought. Once the jutsu was completed, the first person it would be tested on would be him.
"Oh." Renya knew that the old guy definitely had something he was hiding.
But if he didn't want to say it, he wouldn't press.
Everyone had their secrets, himself included. Not everything could be revealed.
Like the truth about Hashirama and Madara's fake deaths…
He could never let Tobirama know about that; otherwise, he would be forced to reenact Uchiha Izuna's death.
Seeing that Renya didn't ask further, Tobirama breathed a sigh of relief and quickly changed the subject.
"Kid, did you complete your mission?"
"Yes. I didn't see you in the office, so I came to check the lab," Renya replied honestly.
"Good. I'll be studying jutsu these days. Just bring the meals to the lab. And remember to knock before coming in!" Tobirama instructed.
Until a solution was found, he wouldn't leave the lab.
If the kid barged in like before, he'd inevitably discover the secret he was hiding.
"Got it," Renya said obediently.
Knock?
Don't be silly. I'll never knock in my life!
He had never had the habit since childhood—barely even kicking the door open was a stretch.
"In a couple of days, Tsuna will graduate. Remember to go serve as the lead Jonin for their team."
"Got it," Renya waved casually and left the lab.
He was exhausted now and needed to go home for a nap.