"What are you doing here?"
At Senju Tobirama's residence, Renya had just returned when he saw Uzumaki Mito standing in the courtyard, busy cleaning.
"Since I knew you two were coming back, I came to help tidy up your rooms."
Renya and Senju Tobirama had been away from the village for such a long time that their house had been left empty and uninhabited, collecting dust everywhere.
Whenever she had free time, Mito would bring Tsunade along to clean the place, hoping that when the two returned, they'd have a neat and comfortable home to live in.
After all, unlike Hashirama, neither Renya nor Tobirama had a gentle wife to take care of things at home. Even when Hashirama was away for long stretches fighting on the battlefield, his household was still well-maintained.
Mito thought perhaps it was about time to find suitable matches for them. Especially for Tobirama—he wasn't getting any younger. If he didn't settle down soon, who would take care of him later?
It wasn't like Renya could look after an elderly Tobirama in the future, right?
As the eldest sister-in-law, she naturally felt responsible for thinking about Tobirama's lifelong happiness.
"Thank you so much, Mito-san," Renya said awkwardly, scratching his head.
He hadn't expected Uzumaki Mito to come all the way over just to clean up for them, and judging from the looks of it, she was almost done.
In the past, this was something Renya would usually handle himself, but now that Mito had done it all, he didn't even know what to do with himself.
Mito smiled warmly and said, "Just sit down and rest for a bit. I'll be done soon."
"Mm, thanks, Mito-san." Renya walked over to the stone bench in the courtyard, about to sit down.
At that moment, a young, lively voice suddenly rang out.
"Renya-san! You're finally back!"
From the corner, Tsunade spotted him and immediately dropped her broom, sprinting over with excitement and latching onto his leg with both arms.
It had been more than a year since they'd last seen each other, and she'd grown taller.
"Little Tsunade, did you miss me?" Renya chuckled, ruffling her blonde hair and casually wiping a smudge of dust off her cheek.
"Of course I did!" Tsunade lifted her head, her bright eyes sparkling, and answered loudly.
Ever since Renya-san left the village, she hadn't had a single bite of his amazing cooking.
She'd even dreamed several times of sitting at a table full of delicious dishes, only to wake up and find it empty. That kind of disappointment was unbearable.
Every time it happened, she would think—if only Renya-san were home, she could sneak over to his place and freeload a meal…
She'd even begged her grandma to send her to the battlefield just so she could find him, but her grandma firmly rejected the idea.
Since then, she'd often come to her granduncle's house instead, hoping to run into Renya if he happened to come home.
Day after day, she'd waited, and now Renya-san was finally back.
Tsunade couldn't help but break into a huge grin. At last, she could finally eat the food she'd been craving all this time.
Today, she was determined to make Renya-san prepare a massive feast. She was going to eat until she couldn't anymore!
She had to make up for all the delicious meals she'd missed over the past year!
Renya looked into Tsunade's fiery, expectant gaze and didn't even need to guess—he knew exactly what this gluttonous little girl was thinking about. She was definitely fixated on food again.
Pinching her chubby cheeks, he teased, "Want to stay for lunch?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Tsunade nearly jumped into the air with excitement.
Renya-san really understood her better than anyone—he could read her mind before she even said a word.
Sitting on the stone bench, Mito watched Tsunade's antics and shook her head with an amused smile.
While Renya was away from the village, the little girl had constantly pestered Tobirama at the Hokage's office, asking when Renya would return.
Later, when Tobirama also left for the battlefield, Tsunade even insisted Mito take her there to look for him.
All of this—just for food. Mito didn't know whether to laugh or sigh.
She figured it might be time to start learning some cooking skills from Renya herself.
Renya promised to make a lavish meal for lunch, which finally made Tsunade release his leg. She happily hopped away toward the corner of the yard to play with the cats.
"Hehe, that little girl really loves your cooking," Mito said with a gentle smile, her gaze following Tsunade fondly.
She adored her only granddaughter dearly.
"As long as she enjoys it, that's enough," Renya replied, following Mito's gaze toward Tsunade.
...
"You stupid cat! You peed on my hand?!"
"Meow! Meow! Meow—!"
Bang!
With a single punch, Tsunade slammed her fist onto Tanihana's head, earning a pitiful wail from the poor cat.
Renya's lips twitched slightly. Was this little girl already showing violent tendencies at such a young age?
"Renya, do you have a girl you like?" Mito suddenly turned her head toward him. "Do you want Auntie to introduce you to someone?"
"Cough! Cough! Cough—!" Renya almost choked on his own saliva, staring at her in disbelief.
"Mito-san, what are you talking about?"
He was only sixteen! Wasn't it way too early for this kind of conversation?!
At least wait until he was twenty before talking about marriage…
Besides, he wasn't interested in women at all, let alone having a girl he liked.
No, scratch that—he barely even knew any girls in the first place.
Aside from Koharu from his team, there weren't really any other female acquaintances.
And he certainly wasn't interested in Koharu, nor did he have any desire to meet new women.
He'd much rather spend his time training or working on poisons.
After all, as the saying went: With no women in your heart, your sword remains sharp and steady!
"Mito-san, I'm only sixteen," Renya said, hoping to reject her suggestion by pointing out his young age.
"Sixteen isn't young anymore," Mito replied softly. "Back in our time, people were already getting married and having children at fifteen or sixteen."
Though he was still young now, she thought it wouldn't hurt to start looking early. In a couple of years, he could get married directly.
Otherwise, what if he delayed it too long and ended up with no prospects?
What if he ended up like Tobirama, already past forty and still single, without a woman by his side?
Back then, both she and Hashirama had worried endlessly about Tobirama's situation.
Mito had watched Renya grow up—he was practically like a son to her—so naturally, she was concerned about his future happiness as well.
"If there really isn't a girl you like, I could introduce you to a few girls from the Senju clan," Mito said softly.
Renya: "…??"
Introducing a Senju girl to an Uchiha… wouldn't their kids end up with wildly unpredictable bloodlines?!
Actually, now that he thought about it, he was a little curious about what their children might be like. Would they inherit traits from both sides?
Seeing his hesitation, Mito assumed Renya had silently agreed.
"Just stay here a moment. I'll call a few of them over right now."
She knew several well-mannered young women in the clan whom she thought would make perfect wives for him.
Renya quickly snapped out of his thoughts.
He was just curious—he didn't actually want to go through with it!
"No need, Mito-san," Renya said hurriedly, pressing her down when she tried to stand up. "I'm still young, and marriage is too soon for me."
"Meeting them now doesn't hurt. Later on, you could—"
Mito began, but he cut her off mid-sentence.
"Mito-san, I should start preparing lunch now."
This wasn't working. He needed to divert her attention somehow, and it seemed like there was only one way left—to sacrifice Senju Tobirama.
With the noble philosophy of better him than me, Renya shifted the topic entirely.
"Isn't Tobirama-san still single? Why not focus on finding him a wife first, Mito-san?"
"I'm not in a rush, but if Tobirama-san doesn't get married soon, he might miss his chance altogether."
After tossing out that line, Renya immediately turned around and slipped into the kitchen.
Sorry, old man.
This is all for your own good.
I hope you understand my intentions…
You wouldn't want to stay single at your age either, right?