"The sun of Konoha is as warm and pleasant as ever!"
At the Senju Tobirama residence, Renya lay on his exclusive chair as usual, wearing sunglasses and basking in the sun, a rare look of contentment on his face.
After two months of fighting in the Land of Rain, the clothes on his body had practically started to mold.
There was no way to feel the warmth and comfort of sunlight at all.
Now that he had finally returned to the village, he could enjoy a leisurely retirement life at last.
After lunch, Senju Tobirama went to the laboratory with Orochimaru to conduct research, leaving Renya alone at home.
Sunbathing without being disturbed by anyone—this was truly a comfortable life!
"Renya-sama, there are only ten days left."
White Zetsu suddenly poked its head out of the ground at an inopportune moment and reminded him softly.
There were only ten days left until the one-month deadline given by Madara-sama.
If Renya failed to hand over a tailed beast on time, Madara-sama would definitely be furious, and the consequences would be extremely severe!
"What are you panicking for?" Renya shot it a sideways glance. "Didn't you see that I just got back to the village?"
Nag, nag, nag—always nagging.
Can't a person even get some rest?
Forget it. He would rest for a couple of days first. After he was well rested, he would go capture a tailed beast.
"Renya-sama, I've already reminded you.."
White Zetsu said weakly, then its body slowly sank back into the ground.
White Zetsu's interruption instantly ruined Renya's good mood.
That old man Madara really was a troublesome existence.
If Renya left him alone, Madara would definitely seek out chess pieces to carry out the "Eye of the Moon" plan.
By then, he might actually manage to gather all nine tailed beasts in a short period of time.
Rather than letting others capture the tailed beasts, it was better to do it himself.
As long as he outwardly complied while secretly defying him, constantly dragging things out.
Once Madara's body aged to a certain extent, he could tell him the truth.
Hopefully, after learning the truth, Madara would abandon the "Eye of the Moon" plan and obediently return to the village to retire. Otherwise, Renya would have no choice but to use his fists to make him submit.
Right now, Renya couldn't accurately judge Madara's exact condition. Tearing things apart openly carried too much risk.
It would be better to delay for another two years…
At present, Renya's chance of defeating Madara was only seventy percent, but in another two years, it could rise to eighty percent.
The longer he dragged it out, the higher the chance of success.
If all else failed, he could summon his companions and gang up on the aged Madara.
Although it was somewhat dishonorable, there was no helping it.
At worst, he would cripple him and personally take care of his retirement and funeral later on.
Renya gazed at the deep blue sky, his eyes behind the sunglasses filled with complexity.
Poor old Madara, tricked and led astray by Black Zetsu.
If it weren't for that mastermind behind the scenes, Madara would have long since retired peacefully in the village.
There was no way he would still be worrying about ninja world peace at such an advanced age.
It could only be said that Black Zetsu had truly harmed people deeply!
Unfortunately, that guy was elusive and extremely good at hiding. There was simply no way to find it.
However, it seemed that in the future it would pretend to be Madara's will.
When the time came, he would see if he could deal with it then.
After all, in his eyes, Black Zetsu was definitely not something good.
All it did day after day was deceive people.
In the end, Renya made up his mind—after delaying for another two years, he would tell Madara the truth and bring him back to the village to retire!
For the next few days, he stayed at home sunbathing.
It wasn't until there were only three days left before the one-month deadline that he finally packed up and left the village at an unhurried pace.
On the surface, he had taken on a long-term mission. In reality, he was heading out to capture tailed beasts.
Shimura Danzō once again helped Renya cover things up to deal with Senju Tobirama's inquiries.
It could only be said that the relationship between the two was extraordinarily solid.
"Renya-sama, we've already investigated the whereabouts of all the tailed beasts and their jinchūriki. Which tailed beast are you planning to capture first?"
White Zetsu's intelligence network spanned the entire ninja world, and it had long since figured out the distribution of the tailed beasts.
All Renya needed to do was follow the instructions and infiltrate to capture them.
"Which tailed beast is closest to me?"
Renya planned to capture the nearest tailed beasts first, then gradually move on to the ones farther away.
This would not only save time, but also allow other villages to react.
That way, they would tighten their defenses and increase the difficulty of capturing them.
"Renya-sama, the tailed beast closest to you is the Seven-Tails of Takigakure."
White Zetsu reported the intelligence precisely.
"The Seven-Tails jinchūriki is already very old. Takigakure is currently searching for a new jinchūriki, so now is the perfect time to make a move!"
"Takigakure?"
Mentioning that small ninja village inevitably made Renya think of Kakuzu.
He wondered whether that guy had been diligently taking bounty missions to earn money all these years.
As things stood, Renya no longer lacked the paltry sums Kakuzu could provide.
But it wasn't a matter of lacking money. The main point was enjoying the thrill of robbing.
Unfortunately, he hadn't run into Kakuzu all these years. Otherwise, he could have harvested those meager gains from him.
Still, it didn't matter. That guy possessed the Earth Grudge Fear technique, with five lives—basically impossible to kill.
During the process of capturing tailed beasts, they would eventually meet again.
No need to rush it.
...
Somewhere in the ninja world, at an underground exchange.
Kakuzu, who was checking bounties, suddenly shuddered without any warning.
The feeling was as if he were being stared at by a primeval ferocious beast!
He warily scanned the surrounding bounty hunters. To be on the safe side, he suddenly lashed out and slaughtered all of his同行.
Kakuzu stared at the severed limbs scattered on the ground, yet the unease in his heart still hadn't dissipated.
"It seems I shouldn't go out for a while."
His intuition had always been accurate, helping him survive several crises.
Being cautious was never wrong!
...
Late at night, Takigakure.
A moonless, windy night—perfect for murder and arson.
A black shadow silently infiltrated Takigakure without alerting any of the guarding ninjas.
He appeared on the roof of a building, and the moonlight briefly illuminated his attire.
A long black robe, a white spiral mask that only revealed the eyes on his face. Those exposed eyes emitted an eerie red glow in the darkness.
It was Renya after disguising himself.
No—now he should be called Uchiha Madara!
When traveling outside, one naturally had to put on a layer of disguise. Exposing his identity would be troublesome.
His target was clear—the elderly Seven-Tails jinchūriki in the village.
According to the intelligence provided by White Zetsu, due to old age and declining strength, his control over the tailed beast had greatly weakened. He was already under strict protection and isolation by the village.
Before a new jinchūriki was found, he had no freedom whatsoever.
"Poor guy. Let me help you find release."
After all, once Takigakure found a new jinchūriki, that old man would only have one fate—death.
It was better to die with purpose, using his life to stabilize old man Madara.
Renya's figure leapt across rooftops, and the perceptive power of the Sharingan allowed him to easily avoid all patrol ninjas.
Soon, he found the courtyard protected by special runes—this was precisely the residence of the aged jinchūriki.
"Found you."