"You guys should go back and rest for a few days. After that, take on some D-rank missions in the village."
At the gates of Konoha, Renya gave the three of them his instructions.
This escort mission had taken five full days, most of which was spent traveling.
Bringing students along was no easy task—it meant ensuring their safety at all times.
There was no room for slacking off, let alone acting like a hands-off instructor.
Even if these three had talent, they were still just freshly graduated genin.
If they ran into a jōnin from an enemy nation, it would be a guaranteed total wipeout!
If luck was on their side, maybe one or two could escape—but to actually counterkill a jōnin? Impossible.
Every shinobi capable of reaching jōnin rank was a seasoned fighter, especially the elite jōnin.
It was unthinkable that a few newly graduated genin could take one down.
Unless they were geniuses on the level of Hatake Kakashi or Uchiha Itachi, escaping alive was already a miracle.
"Got it, Renya-sensei/–san!" the three responded.
"Mm. Go to the Medical Department first and have a medical-nin treat your wounds," Renya said, looking at the heavily injured Jiraiya. "If you don't have enough money, come find me later."
There was no way he could just watch his students suffer injuries they couldn't afford to heal.
He wasn't that kind of irresponsible teacher.
"Thank you, Renya-sensei!" Jiraiya said, eyes brimming with tears of gratitude.
To have such a teacher—he truly was lucky.
Tsunade looked thoughtfully at Jiraiya, who was covered in bandages.
If she could become a medical-nin, then they wouldn't have to spend money at the Medical Department whenever they got hurt.
And as a medical-nin, she could earn money treating the injured!
That way, she'd never have to worry about not having enough money to gamble again!
Yes, that's it.
I'll learn medical ninjutsu—I'll become a medical-nin!
At that moment, the idea of becoming a medical-nin first took root in Tsunade's heart.
Her initial motivation might have been gambling money, but that didn't matter at all...
The three headed off together toward the Medical Department.
Orochimaru and Tsunade had also been injured during the fight, though not as badly as Jiraiya.
...
Renya glanced up at the sky and noticed that it was still early for lunch.
He decided to report the mission results to Senju Tobirama in the Hokage's Office first.
He was already used to filing reports after every return.
...
Hokage's Office.
Bang!
The office door swung open as Renya strolled in casually.
"Kid, you're back," said Senju Tobirama, not even looking up as he continued to review the stack of documents before him.
"Hey, old man, why are you here alone? Where are Hiruzen and Danzo?" Renya asked curiously, glancing at Tobirama, who was still busy with the paperwork.
Wasn't it usually Hiruzen and Danzo who handled the documents while Tobirama supervised from the side?
Why weren't they here today?
Could it be... they'd been fired?!
Renya recalled how Tobirama had chewed the two of them out last time, leaving them unable to lift their heads.
If they'd messed up paperwork again, and the old man got angry... maybe he really did strip them of their duties!
"Old man, don't tell me you fired them?" Renya asked, testing the waters.
Senju Tobirama: "???"
Though he didn't quite understand why Renya would say that, he still answered honestly.
"They both ate something bad yesterday and took a day off."
Otherwise, he wouldn't be the one stuck doing the paperwork.
"Ate something bad?" Renya frowned. "What did they eat?"
Looks like Konoha's food safety education still had a long way to go.
Those unscrupulous merchants—always using cheap, low-quality ingredients without caring about customers' health!
And now, the next generation of Konoha's leadership had fallen victim to it.
This called for a serious crackdown! He'd have to make an example of them!
Of course, the truth was nothing like what Renya imagined...
"They went for barbecue," Tobirama said, twitching at the memory, "and Danzo ate some sauce that Hiruzen made himself."
Yes, he'd been there yesterday.
Fortunately, he hadn't tried Hiruzen's homemade sauce, or he wouldn't be sitting here today.
That monkey was always making dangerous experiments like that!
Renya: "???"
That guy Hiruzen was still tinkering with the Sarutobi family's secret sauces?
And Danzo, seriously? He'd already fallen for that once, over ten years ago!
Did he really not learn his lesson?
Wait... maybe Hiruzen did it on purpose!
If Danzo kicked the bucket after eating that sauce, Hiruzen could move up from Hokage's assistant to Hokage candidate!
Heh, what a schemer.
He'd almost been fooled by that thick-browed, honest-looking bastard!
Poor Danzo...
Though, to be fair, it wasn't entirely Danzo's fault. He had no idea the sauce came from Hiruzen—he thought it was a new dipping sauce from Akimichi's Barbecue Restaurant.
And so, fate struck again.
When he finally found out the truth, he nearly wanted to kill Hiruzen on the spot.
"Old man, you keep working on your paperwork. I'll bring you lunch later," Renya said, waving as he left the Hokage's Office.
He planned to check whether Danzo had survived. The guy couldn't have actually died and let Hiruzen get his way, could he?
...
Shimura Clan Grounds.
"Renya? What are you doing here?" Danzo's face was pale as he staggered out of the restroom, his legs wobbling beneath him.
He was clearly suffering from severe dehydration.
Damn that Hiruzen—how could he make me eat that stuff?!
When I become Hokage, I'll make him pay!
I'll have the Sarutobi family's sauce recipes sealed and banned!
"Danzo, are you okay?" Renya asked instinctively, watching the man's miserable state.
"I–I'm fine," Danzo said, clutching his stomach. "Just... a bit of diarrhea."
Ever since he'd eaten that sauce-dipped barbecue yesterday, he hadn't left the toilet.
His whole body felt drained, except for his stubborn mouth.
Grrruuuh...
Danzo's face suddenly twisted. "Damn it, that feeling again!"
He turned and rushed straight back into the restroom.
Muffled groans echoed from inside.
Renya couldn't bear to watch any longer. The moment Danzo went back in, he quietly slipped away.
Now he was sure of it—Hiruzen had definitely done that on purpose!
...
Meanwhile, at the Sarutobi household, a similar scene was unfolding.
"Ugh—ahhh!"
"Father, are you okay?" young Shinnosuke gently knocked on the bathroom door.
His father had been inside since yesterday and hadn't come out once.
He was really worried about his father's health.
"I–I'm not... gone yet..." came Hiruzen's weak voice from within. "Shinnosuke, tell your mother... to ask Tobirama-sensei for two more days off..."
In his current state, leaving the toilet was out of the question.
"Understood, Father!" Shinnosuke called, running off.
"Looks like... I should stop experimenting with the Sarutobi family's secret sauces..."
This time, his little project had nearly killed him.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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