"Lady Tsunade, the Sand Ninja camp has been completely destroyed. Should we take this opportunity to attack them?"
The messenger spoke excitedly while looking at Hayato Ren with admiring eyes.
The reason why the Sand Ninja had suffered such heavy losses was entirely due to Hayato Ren's efforts.
At least within the Leaf camp, Hayato Ren's name was now known to everyone.
Hearing this, Tsunade merely nodded calmly, as if she had already known about this matter.
"Good. Now gather the other Jonin. We'll begin the meeting immediately."
At this moment, Hayato Ren suddenly spoke up:
"I'd like to get some proper rest, so I won't be attending."
Tsunade nodded, then promptly went to preside over the meeting.
The next day, the Sand Hidden Village formally declared war on the Leaf Village.
Moreover, they openly and covertly condemned Hayato Ren's "sneak attack" as dishonorable conduct.
However, this condemnation was naturally ignored by the Leaf.
Considering that the Sand Ninja's commander was Chiyo, after discussion, the Leaf decided not to launch a sneak attack while the Sand Ninja were rebuilding their camp.
After all, the battle-hardened Chiyo would undoubtedly anticipate such a move.
A sneak attack now would most likely fall right into the Sand Ninja's ambush.
During this period, Hayato Ren found himself with plenty of free time.
Since the conflict between the Leaf and Sand Ninja now consisted only of continuous small-scale skirmishes, there was no need for someone of his caliber to intervene.
Out of boredom, Hayato Ren even started keeping a diary.
June 1st.
To ensure the war proceeds smoothly, I plan to eliminate over fifty Sand Ninja this month.
June 2nd.
Sparred with Tsunade.
June 3rd.
Sparred with Tsunade.
June 4th.
Hayato Ren, oh Hayato Ren, have you forgotten the goal you set at the beginning of the month? How could you become so degenerate? Still went to Tsunade's room in the evening.
...
More than half a month passed, and Hayato Ren hadn't stepped outside the Leaf camp even once.
Every day, he was either sleeping or sparring with Tsunade.
Fortunately, Tsunade's physical constitution was far superior to that of an ordinary ninja. Otherwise, even the most fertile land would be worn out if plowed daily by a tractor.
After a brief period of reflection, Hayato Ren finally decided he should go out and complete some missions.
Recently, Yuhi Kurenai and the others had been steadily accomplishing their tasks.
If he, as their teacher, continued to be this idle, it would be utterly disgraceful.
So, after gently patting the sleeping Tsunade, Hayato Ren got dressed and prepared to go out for a walk.
...
"This wasn't the right choice."
Hayato Ren spat out the sand from his mouth, complaining with a helpless expression.
Humans are never satisfied. He could have been lying comfortably in bed, holding the fragrant and soft Tsunade while sleeping soundly.
Yet here he was, in this godforsaken place, watching lizards and cacti bare their teeth.
Hayato Ren genuinely regretted his recent decision.
To make matters worse, today's weather happened to feature a sandstorm.
Although the scale was far smaller than Tyranitar's previous sandstorm, visibility had dropped to less than five meters.
Fine grains of sand constantly scraped against Hayato Ren's face. Had it not been for the glasses Nohara Rin had given him earlier, he wouldn't even be able to keep his eyes open in these conditions.
"In this damned weather, even the Sand Ninja should be holed up at home," Hayato Ren muttered to himself.
He decided he'd use the Flying Thunder God to return home after walking just ten more minutes. This wretched weather was unbearable for any human.
No wonder the Sand Hidden Village always targeted the Leaf—compared to the harsh ecological environment of the Land of Wind where the Sand Village was located, the Land of Fire where the Leaf resided could be called paradise.
Just then, several dark figures suddenly appeared ahead of Hayato Ren.
These shadows were directly in front of him and kept moving closer, seemingly unaware of his presence.
Hayato Ren immediately stopped walking and casually drew the long sword from his waist.
Indeed, heaven rewards the diligent—the Chakra signatures of those distant figures were completely unfamiliar to him.
Meaning the enemies had come to him of their own accord.
Soon, the two groups encountered each other.
The Sand Ninja were startled by Hayato Ren's sudden appearance. After a brief standoff, they immediately created distance between themselves and him.
"Is that guy the legendary Demon Summoner Hayato Ren? I remember the village said if we encounter him during a mission, we can abandon the mission without punishment."
"Then should we run now? As long as the green hills remain, there'll be no shortage of firewood."
"Do you think any of us can escape from that demon?"
"Whether we advance or retreat, we're doomed. Let's split up and run. What if someone escapes? I don't want to die here for nothing."
"You're right. Let's scatter. I don't believe he can catch all of us."
...
Hayato Ren listened to the Sand Ninja's "secret" discussions—conducted at full volume—with a strange expression on his face.
Were they calling him that "Demon Summoner"? The nickname was so cringey he felt like he could dig a three-bedroom apartment with his toes.
He had thought he would earn a nickname similar to Namikaze Minato's due to his Flying Thunder God technique, like "Black Flash" or something.
After all, Namikaze Minato was called the "Yellow Flash" because of his golden hair.
With his own beautiful black hair, he should at least qualify for "Black Flash."
But this nickname indicated that Charizard and the others intimidated enemies more than his Space Ninjutsu, Flying Thunder God.
Just as the four Sand Ninja finalized their escape routes and prepared to flee, they were shocked to discover their bodies wouldn't obey them.
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't even move a single finger.
Then, a malicious laugh suddenly echoed through the air.
"Gengarr, gengarr, gengarr."
Gengar emerged from the shadows. The reason the Sand Ninja couldn't move was that they had fallen victim to Gengar's Body Immobilization Technique.
At this moment, Gengar's "cheerful" laughter sounded like the footsteps of the Grim Reaper to these Sand Ninjas.
Death was approaching them step by step, ready to swing its scythe and reap their lives at any moment.
Hayato Ren walked up to the group of Sand Ninjas and looked them over carefully.
There were four Sand Ninjas in total—three men and one woman, consisting of three Chunin and one Jonin.
This formation, similar to the Leaf's, was organized in a squad format. However, such grouping was not typically used for ordinary infiltration and reconnaissance missions.