Danzo, Hiruzen, what do you think that kid is thinking?"
Senju Tobirama thought it over again and again, yet still couldn't figure out what Renya actually meant.
After all, that kid never looked particularly smart in his daily behavior.
It left Tobirama confused—was Renya speaking with hidden meaning, or had he simply been brainwashed by Uchiha Madara?
In the end, he could only ask his two disciples.
"Tobirama-sensei, I think Renya had no choice. For some reason, he could only temporarily follow Uchiha Madara's arrangements."
Shimura Danzo voiced his guess.
"Tobirama-sensei, I think Danzo is right."
Hiruzen echoed.
"The words Renya said before leaving were clearly meaningful."
[Just wait for the day I succeed.]
Wasn't that clearly saying that Renya had already thought of a solution, but needed some time?
And the reason he left the village was merely part of his plan.
Senju Tobirama looked at the two of them in surprise.
Was Renya really that smart?
If his two disciples hadn't reached the same conclusion, he would have thought Renya had simply been fooled blind by Uchiha Madara.
Now it seemed he had misunderstood him.
However, Tobirama was still dissatisfied with Renya's approach.
Why didn't he discuss something like this with him?
Uchiha Madara was inherently sinister and extremely scheming.
With Renya's simple personality, wouldn't he be toyed with completely?
He couldn't help but worry about Renya's safety.
If Uchiha Madara discovered that Renya was deceiving him, wouldn't he tear him apart?
Tobirama understood Madara's strength better than anyone.
Renya might not be his match.
No, he couldn't let Renya act recklessly on his own.
Even if they were to deal with Madara, he had to be involved.
"Send out the order. We must find Renya's whereabouts."
Senju Tobirama immediately gave Danzo the command to search the entire ninja world for Renya.
Especially the Land of Water.
That kid would definitely sneak into Kirigakure to attack the Three-Tails Jinchūriki and the Six-Tails Jinchūriki.
He was heading for Kirigakure himself right now.
He couldn't let Renya face Uchiha Madara alone.
Seeing this, Shimura Danzo and Hiruzen followed their teacher to Kirigakure on their own initiative.
The difficulty of capturing the Six-Tails had skyrocketed—exactly the effect Renya wanted.
With higher difficulty, time could naturally be delayed.
No matter how strong he was, it would be impossible to quietly abduct the Six-Tails Jinchūriki right in front of so many people.
There would definitely be a hard-fought battle.
Moreover, once the other ninja villages learned the news, they would surely be happy to come deal with this mysterious individual.
It would be equivalent to Renya alone confronting the Five Great Ninja Villages.
To put it bluntly, they might as well announce the start of the Third Great Ninja War.
If it didn't drag on for a year or two, it would be an insult to the Five Great Ninja Villages.
...
Dozens of meters underground, in a vast subterranean space.
"Madara-sama, the matter of capturing the Tailed Beasts has been exposed. I've already left Konohagakure."
The moment Renya arrived, he began pouring out his grievances to Madara.
Talking about how unlucky he was—how he had hidden himself so well, yet still got discovered.
It was all the fault of that damn Takigakure leader.
If he'd known this would happen, he should have slaughtered them all that night.
With that pitiful expression, he looked just like a homeless middle-aged man.
Time really flew—he had already gone from youth into middle age.
Uchiha Madara showed no expression in response to his complaints.
His emotional stability was frightening.
"You should have left Konohagakure long ago."
Only after Renya had nothing left to say did he calmly speak.
Years ago, he had already suggested that Renya leave the village and follow him to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.
But due to Senju Hashirama's interference, it fell through.
From then on, he never brought up Renya leaving Konohagakure again.
Even after Renya agreed to join the Eye of the Moon Plan, Madara still tacitly allowed him to remain in the village.
As long as the Tailed Beasts were captured on schedule, that was enough.
Now that he had left Konohagakure, he could stay by Madara's side and focus entirely on capturing the remaining Tailed Beasts.
Renya: "..."
Madara was still Madara.
All his gentleness was reserved for Hashirama.
He simply didn't know how to comfort people.
Not adding fuel to the fire already counted as mercy.
And yet Renya had just been splashed with oil.
What the hell did "you should have left Konohagakure long ago" mean?
Wasn't that basically saying, "Sure, you're homeless now, but that's a good thing"?
"During this time, you can live here."
Uchiha Madara pointed to the stone bed across from him.
"You can sleep there… Of course, if you're not used to it, you can move out."
He didn't really care about such things—wherever Renya wanted to live was fine.
"I'll stay here."
Renya had no intention of moving out.
He wanted to take advantage of this last stretch of time to build a good relationship with Madara-sama.
Chat with him when there was nothing to do, cook him meals, and so on.
Better stack a few layers of armor first, so things would be a bit easier when they eventually fell out.
After all, he was going to inherit Madara's estate in the future.
Uchiha Madara said nothing and slowly closed his eyes.
The vast underground space fell silent once more.
Ever since Madara parted ways with Hashirama, he had become increasingly taciturn.
Back then, they could still exchange a few words.
Now, there was nothing left to say.
"Madara-sama, Hashirama-sama told me…"
Renya began recounting how Senju Hashirama had approached him to inquire about his old friend.
As expected, as soon as Hashirama was mentioned, Madara-sama became interested.
Though it wasn't obvious, Renya noticed it clearly.
Tsk tsk, truly a classic tsundere Uchiha.
Putting on an indifferent face on the surface, while secretly thinking about the other person all along.
No wonder they were such close buddies—their bond was truly undeniable!
Another day terrified by the power of Konohagakure friendship.
Over the next few days, Renya chatted with Madara whenever he had time and prepared three meals a day.
He was essentially caring for a lonely elder.
Madara had no wife and no children, yet Renya treated him with such patience.
If he didn't get the inheritance after all this, that would be too much.
His demands weren't high—he only wanted that pair of Rinnegan.
As for the scythe and the Gunbai from before, those were merely elderly resource donations.
They didn't even count as inheritance.
Time really passed quickly.
Madara was already close to the point of wobbling when he walked.
That old boast of "beating Uchiha Madara with my fists" was finally about to come true.
Punching Uchiha Madara (elderly), kicking Senju Hashirama (crippled).
His era had finally arrived.
After lurking in the ninja world for decades after transmigrating—beating up a cane-wielding Uchiha Madara!
This fully proved that as long as you outlast the strong, you'll eventually become the strongest.
When heroes grow old, the survivor becomes king.
After several days of close interaction, Uchiha Madara gradually noticed that Renya sometimes looked at him with a strange gaze.
As if he were expecting something…
Did this kid develop psychological issues again?!
To be honest, he was a bit afraid.
The plan was on the verge of success—there couldn't be any mishaps now!