The Shinobi World was far from peaceful at the moment—many merchant caravans had been attacked by bandits along the road.
Fortunately, all of them were easily dealt with by Orochimaru and the others.
You could say the caravan leader's money was well spent!
Following Renya's advice, Tsunade and Jiraiya no longer held back when facing enemies.
It was clear the two had already crossed the threshold of taking a life for the first time—now, killing would come naturally.
Though it sounded grim, that was just how this cruel world worked.
If you didn't kill, you'd be killed—and even children weren't spared from this fate.
In such a world, shinobi could only keep fighting, living their lives as if licking blood off the edge of a blade.
Perhaps that was why Uchiha Madara was so obsessed with the "Eye of the Moon Plan."
Maybe only through that could the shinobi world achieve true peace.
Extreme? Certainly. But... it made a strange sort of sense.
If it weren't for the fact that Infinite Tsukuyomi was Black Zetsu's scheme, Renya might have even been tempted to experience that illusory world for himself.
It would probably be beautiful and peaceful, wouldn't it?
When the Fourth Great Ninja War comes, maybe he could even get himself caught in a tree and enjoy the illusion for a while.
After all, with the Akatsuki backing everything up, he was confident that Naruto and Sasuke would eventually win.
And decades from now, he'd be an old man anyway. Dying inside a dream world didn't sound too bad—a peaceful way to go.
...
Within the Land of Rivers.
"Thank you, shinobi-sama, for escorting us all the way here. This is your payment!" The caravan leader handed over the remaining balance.
"Mm, stay safe on the road." Renya took the money.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru all glanced at the money pouch in Renya's hand.
They had finally earned their first payment as shinobi!
Tsunade's eyes gleamed—she could finally use this money to win it back at the casino!
Jiraiya and Orochimaru, however, came from civilian families. Unlike the noble Tsunade, they planned to spend their money on weapons, supplies, and food.
The total reward for this mission was eighty thousand ryō. Indeed, the shinobi profession paid well.
But it was also a high-risk job—earning money with your life on the line.
In five days, they had earned eighty thousand ryō. Split four ways, that meant twenty thousand each.
But after deducting the cost of kunai, shuriken, and other supplies, they hadn't really made much profit.
Fast money—faster expenses.
Of course, that was only the situation for ordinary fresh graduates. It had nothing to do with Renya, the ultra-rich.
To him, money was just a number.
The pay from this mission wasn't even as much as the interest he made yesterday.
"Here, this is your mission reward. Take it." Renya handed out the money to the three.
"Renya-sensei, something's wrong—why is it only ten thousand ryō?" Jiraiya scratched his head in confusion.
Tsunade and Orochimaru also looked at Renya in puzzlement.
If they remembered correctly, the total payment was eighty thousand ryō. Split four ways, that should've been twenty thousand each...
"Ten thousand isn't bad." Renya said calmly, "You three just graduated as genin, while I'm an experienced elite jōnin of the village."
"Even though we completed the mission together, the pay obviously can't be split equally, right?"
"After all, my value speaks for itself."
"That... does make sense." Jiraiya suddenly realized. "You're an elite jōnin, so of course you'd get a larger share of the pay!"
"Mm, promising student!" Renya looked at him with an approving smile.
Tsunade and Orochimaru: "..."
This idiot Jiraiya really was hopeless—Renya-sensei was clearly skimming off their reward!
And that fool actually thought it was reasonable. Truly hopeless.
"Renya-san, I'm telling Grandma and Second Grandpa that you're deducting my mission pay!" Tsunade pouted unhappily. "Even a kid's money, you have to take!"
She had planned to use that money to gamble it all back!
Now that she was short ten thousand, her comeback odds had just dropped sharply.
"Tsunade, you're still young. You can't handle too much money yet..." Renya tucked the banknotes into his pocket. "I'll hold onto it for you. When you get married someday, I'll give it back as your dowry."
As her uncle, wasn't it reasonable for him to safeguard her funds?
Besides, this girl was a natural-born gambler. If she had money, she'd go lose it immediately. Her nickname, "The Fat Sheep of the Gambling Table," didn't come from nowhere.
Better he keep it... or rather, temporarily keep it.
Tsunade: "..."
Renya-san was too evil! She'd tell Grandma and Second Grandpa when they got back!
"Orochimaru, do you have any objections?" Renya turned to the quiet boy. "I'm a fair man—if you think the distribution's unfair, feel free to speak up."
"N-No objections." Orochimaru's lips twitched. How could he dare?
He'd just consider the money a respectful gift to his teacher. After all, Renya was his sensei.
"Good. Since no one has objections, let's head back." Renya nodded in satisfaction. "It'll take some time to return to the village."
The journey to Konoha would take about three days, with breaks along the way.
Altogether, they'd need around four days. Round trip, ten days gone in total.
In that time, Renya could've completed one or two S-rank missions!
Being a team leader wasn't easy after all.
...
Four days later, Konoha Village.
"I'm giving you one day off. Meet at the usual spot the morning after tomorrow." Renya sighed, exhausted from looking after students. He needed a break.
"Got it, Renya-sensei/Renya-san!" the three replied.
"Alright, off you go." Renya waved his hand to dismiss them.
But none of them moved—they just stood there staring at him.
"What are you looking at me for? It's getting dark—don't you have homes to go to? Don't tell me you want me to treat you to dinner?"
The moment he said that, Renya regretted it.
He realized too late—that was exactly what they wanted.
What a disaster!
"Renya-san, we'll help out in your kitchen," Tsunade said cheerfully. "You just made a ton of money—we can finally eat something good today!"
"Renya-sensei, I want seafood!" Jiraiya said, drooling.
Orochimaru stayed silent, but the anticipation on his face said it all.
"Fine, fine." Renya sighed in defeat. He had barely earned some money, and now he was about to spend it all.
As a rich man, of course he'd use only the best ingredients.
But the eighty thousand ryō he'd earned wouldn't even cover the cost—it actually ended up costing him more.
Still, what could he do? He was their teacher.
He couldn't just feed his students plain rice, could he?
The three of them ate happily at Renya's home, enjoying every bite before finally leaving, satisfied.
Renya stood at the door, watching the trio walk off together, and sighed helplessly.
"What a bunch of gluttons!"
After several exhausting days, coming home only to cook again was pure torture.
Senju Tobirama was probably still holed up in his lab.
Renya decided to pack up the leftovers and bring them to him.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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