Three days later, at the Mission Hall.
"Renya-sensei, can we not do D-rank missions?"
When Jiraiya learned that their upcoming assignments were all dull village chores, his face instantly fell.
D-rank missions were a waste of time for them. It'd be better to take on C-rank missions instead—at least those helped them improve through real combat.
"No. You'll finish your missions properly in the morning, and I'll guide your training in the afternoon," Renya refused flatly without hesitation.
What a joke. Let them take C-rank missions? That would just be asking for trouble.
He had no interest in playing babysitter for those three again.
Catching cats and chasing dogs in the village sounded much more peaceful.
"Guide our training?" Jiraiya's eyes lit up, his earlier gloom vanishing in an instant.
They couldn't leave the village, sure—but having their sensei personally guide them was still great!
Orochimaru looked at Renya with anticipation, wondering what kind of training methods their sensei would use.
After all, Renya-sensei was a hero of the village with a record of remarkable achievements!
"Alright, go do your missions first." Renya tossed them a few mission scrolls. "Come to my yard this afternoon."
Saying that, he turned and left.
There was no need for him to accompany them—those D-rank errands posed zero danger.
If anyone could manage to get in trouble during a D-rank mission, no one in the village could save them anyway.
"Let's hurry and get them done!" Tsunade urged impatiently. "If we finish early, we can make it in time for lunch and drop by Renya-san's place for a free meal!"
Hearing that, Orochimaru and Jiraiya immediately got to work.
Tsunade was right—students visiting their teacher's house for lunch sounded perfectly reasonable, didn't it?
...
"Teaching students really is a troublesome job," Renya sighed.
Had he known it would turn out like this, he would never have taken apprentices in the first place.
He was even more averse to hassle than the entire Nara clan—training students was nothing but trouble to him.
Fortunately, Tsunade and the other two weren't bad kids. If they had been fools, he would've walked away without a second thought.
This only proved how important it was to choose your own disciples. The poor souls stuck with useless students had his deepest sympathy.
Since it was still early, Renya decided to go home and take a nap. After that, he'd bring lunch to that old man, Senju Tobirama.
He wondered if Hiruzen and Danzō were back to work yet.
Both of them had been off duty these past few days due to "health issues."
What Renya hadn't expected was that the main culprit, Sarutobi Hiruzen, had fallen ill too—and even worse than Danzō.
Apparently, Hiruzen wasn't as cunning as he appeared; he just genuinely loved tinkering with that stupid dipping sauce... and ended up making himself sick.
Renya had no words left for the man.
...
At the Senju compound.
Renya returned to his room, lay on the bed, and quickly drifted back to sleep. Nothing beat a good second nap.
...
"Renya-san, wake up! Time to make lunch!"
Half-asleep, Renya heard someone calling his name. When he groggily opened his eyes, he saw Tsunade standing by his bed, softly urging him awake.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Orochimaru peeked nervously from the doorway—they didn't dare to enter their teacher's room like Tsunade did.
"Mmh... you guys finished your missions already?" Renya rubbed his head and glanced at the clock on the wall—it had only been two hours.
He'd underestimated them. He should have given them more work.
Who would've thought they'd finish so fast?
"Hehe, Renya-san, hurry and prepare lunch for Grandpa Tobirama!" Tsunade stuck out her tongue playfully.
Renya gave her a long, exasperated look. That brat clearly just wanted to mooch off a meal, but instead she was using Tobirama as an excuse.
He quickly realized why they had finished so fast—it was so they could come in time for lunch.
"You three wait in the living room," Renya said, getting up and heading for the kitchen.
"See? I told you it'd work!" Tsunade said proudly, hands on her hips. "As long as we finish before lunch, we get to enjoy a free feast!"
"Tsunade, you're a genius!" Jiraiya exclaimed with admiration, swallowing hard. "Can we do this again tomorrow?"
That way, they could eat delicious food every day!
"Not so sure," Orochimaru said quietly. "Sensei will probably increase our number of missions tomorrow."
If they got assigned more, they wouldn't finish before lunch—and there'd be no chance for another free meal.
Given what he knew of their teacher, that was highly likely.
"What? No way..." Jiraiya looked disappointed. He'd already been dreaming of daily lunches at his teacher's place.
"If we focus and work hard, we'll still make it," Tsunade said seriously.
"Tsunade's right!" Jiraiya's enthusiasm reignited. "If we boost our efficiency, there's still hope!"
Orochimaru didn't comment. They clearly didn't understand Renya-sensei at all.
Tomorrow's mission list would definitely be overwhelming.
But he chose not to crush their spirits—tomorrow would make things clear enough.
...
"You three eat first. I'm heading out to deliver this."
Renya packed the dishes neatly and spoke to the three, who were already eating happily, before lifting the food box and leaving home.
"Renya-sensei sure has a close relationship with the Hokage," Jiraiya said between mouthfuls, unable to hide his admiration.
The Hokage sure was lucky—he got to eat gourmet meals every day.
Unlike them, who could only mooch once in a while.
Maybe if he became Hokage someday, Renya-sensei would bring him lunch too?
"Of course," Tsunade said proudly. "Renya-san was raised by my Grandpa Tobirama since childhood!"
"Tsunade, can you tell us why the Hokage-sama adopted our teacher?" Orochimaru asked curiously.
After all, the Uchiha and Senju clans had been bitter rivals for generations. Why would the Hokage adopt an Uchiha child?
It was something that had puzzled him for a long time.
"Yeah, tell us, Tsunade!" Jiraiya chimed in eagerly.
No one in the village dared to talk about that subject anymore. All they knew was that Uchiha Renya had been adopted by Senju Tobirama—but the reason remained a mystery.
"Hehe, since I'm feeling generous, I'll tell you!" Tsunade puffed out her chest. "Back then, Grandpa Tobirama heard that there was a young Uchiha boy with amazing cooking skills, so he went to the Uchiha compound and adopted him."
"And that boy became Renya-san!"
In truth, she didn't know the details either—but she couldn't admit that, so she just made something up.
"Wow, so that's how it happened!" Jiraiya said in sudden realization. "Renya-sensei has been great at cooking since childhood!"
"The Hokage-sama truly has foresight," Orochimaru murmured softly.
As expected of the Hokage—he'd recognized Renya-sensei's talent right away.
He'd basically found himself a personal chef for life.
Meanwhile, the man in question, busy delivering lunch, had no idea he was currently the subject of such wild rumors.