"Hehehe, finally dead!"
Black Zetsu had been secretly following Urashiki all along. Now that he saw him killed, the gloom on his face instantly vanished.
That damn Ōtsutsuki Urashiki was finally taken down by the chef.
He would never forget the humiliation he suffered during this time!
Once he rescued Mother in the future, he must have her eliminate the Urashiki of this timeline.
If that doesn't work, having the chef kill him would also be fine...
In Black Zetsu's view, the investment he made back then was an extremely worthwhile deal!
The chef could not only cook but also act as a fighter.
If anything difficult came up in the future, he could completely let the chef handle it.
It's just a pity that Renya already knew about the conspiracy of the "Eye of the Moon" plan. Otherwise, he could have invited the chef to help rescue Mother.
Forget it, doing it himself would work just the same.
Black Zetsu took one last look at Urashiki's head, then left in satisfaction.
Urashiki was dead—no one could hinder him from rescuing Mother anymore!
"The corpse of an Ōtsutsuki must not be wasted."
Renya stored Urashiki's body into a storage scroll; it could be handed over to Orochimaru for research later.
Ever since Uchiha Izuna was revived, that old brat Senju Tobirama rarely went to the laboratory anymore.
All day long, he just argued with Izuna, and no one knew what there was to argue about.
So many years had passed, yet they still bickered endlessly every day.
That left Orochimaru to handle all the research alone.
Fortunately, Orochimaru truly loved scientific research. Even by himself, he could persist with experiments.
Handing Urashiki's body to him might lead to some discoveries.
For example, cloning a pair of Rinnegan!
After all, Urashiki could switch between the Byakugan, the blue Rinnegan, and the red six-tomoe Rinnegan.
After devouring the blue Rinnegan and the chakra of the red glowing fish basket, he could even open a golden Rinnegan on his forehead.
Orochimaru would surely enjoy studying Urashiki's body.
After greeting the Queen of Rōran, Renya used Flying Thunder God to arrive at the forest where he had met the one-eyed shopkeeper.
Three days had passed, and the man was already gone.
He felt somewhat helpless about it.
He originally thought he could deal with Urashiki immediately, but who would've thought that guy would only arrive in Rōran three days later?
But it didn't matter—he could just make a trip to the bounty exchange.
Following his memory, Renya headed to an abandoned mine within the Land of Rivers.
Back then, it was there that he met the one-eyed shopkeeper and Kakuzu, and also obtained the identity of the mastermind behind the bounty exchange as well as Kakuzu's "generous donation."
"Sir, what brings you here?"
Seeing Renya arrive in person, the one-eyed shopkeeper immediately stepped forward and asked respectfully.
"I came to let you know that Ōtsutsuki Urashiki has been taken care of by me."
He wasn't really telling the shopkeeper, but rather asking him to inform the boss behind the bounty exchange.
Otherwise, people might think he took money without doing the job...
"Understood, thank you for your trouble," the one-eyed shopkeeper said with a smile. "I will pass the message along to the boss."
Originally, Renya wanted to take this opportunity to meet the financial backer behind the scenes, but unfortunately, even the one-eyed shopkeeper didn't know where the boss was.
This matter could only be left unresolved for now—he'd look for another chance in the future.
At the entrance of the bounty exchange.
"Damn Uchiha Renya!"
Kakuzu held a bloody head in his hand, cursing a certain bastard nonstop.
After being a bounty hunter for so many years, he had finally managed to save up some money.
But it had been snatched away multiple times by that guy—no one could accept that.
But there was no helping it—he simply wasn't as strong.
A few years ago, he heard that in the Land of Wind there was a city called Rōran, where the residents all lived happy and prosperous lives.
Kakuzu figured that if the residents lived happily, it could only mean the place was rich.
So he developed the idea of robbing it and spent a month locating Rōran.
Just as he was about to rob the Queen of Rōran, she brought up the names of Konoha and Uchiha Renya!
At that moment, Kakuzu's expression became uglier than if he had eaten a fly...
He never expected that even after running all the way to the Land of Wind, he would still hear that bastard's name!
Knowing that Renya had a Flying Thunder God mark in Rōran, he could only leave after throwing out a harsh remark.
Since he couldn't rob, he could only honestly continue being a bounty hunter.
Anyway, with his abilities, making money was only a matter of time.
And for Kakuzu, who possessed Earth Grudge Fear, time was the one thing he lacked the least.
"Damn Uchiha Renya, in twenty-seven years you're finished!"
Kakuzu decided to patiently continue being a bounty hunter and wait until Renya grew old before taking revenge.
As long as he achieved revenge, he could resolve the knot in his heart.
As for the method, as long as it worked, it didn't matter.
The process wasn't important...
"Kakuzu, you bastard, badmouthing me behind my back again!"
Just as Renya walked out of the bounty exchange, he heard Kakuzu's curses from afar.
He didn't expect to run into Kakuzu in a place like this—could only say they were quite fated.
Three years apart, Kakuzu's wallet must have some money again.
Though the time gap wasn't long, he probably didn't have much on him.
But something was better than nothing.
Snatching it would just serve as Madara-sama's living expenses; if there was extra, giving some to Tsunade would also be fine.
After all, free money is still money.
Kakuzu: ???
Why did he hear that bastard's voice?
When he looked up, he saw Renya standing at the cave entrance with a half-smile.
Kakuzu's body instantly stiffened.
An illusion—this must be an illusion!
He thought that constantly thinking about that bastard day and night and cursing him had caused hallucinations.
That guy should be in Konoha—how could he possibly appear in a place like this?
He forced himself to calm down, chose to ignore the "illusion" at the entrance, and tried to walk straight into the cave.
Illusions have no physical form—if he guessed correctly, he could pass through.
"Bang"
Just like that, Kakuzu collided directly with Renya.
Renya: ...
What is this guy even doing? Does he think pretending not to see me will make things go away?
Kakuzu: ...
There's actual physical contact… looks like I'm really sick.
In truth, he knew everything—he just didn't want to accept reality.
The experience of being robbed three years ago was still vivid in his mind.
He thought that coming to the Land of Rivers for missions would mean he wouldn't run into that damned bastard again.
Yet by sheer coincidence, the two met once more.
"Damn it, I'll fight you to the death!"
Kakuzu finally couldn't bear the humiliation and, after twenty years, launched an attack on Renya once again.
...
One minute later.
"Thanks for the gift, I like it very much."
Kakuzu lay on the ground in a miserable state, watching helplessly as that bastard swaggered away.
"Come visit Konoha when you have time—I'll treat you to a meal."
Tears welled up in Kakuzu's eyes; he was on the verge of collapse.
"Bastard… bastard!"
The savings from three years of hard work had been stolen again by that bastard.
The most humiliating part was being robbed twice by the same person in the same place—and beaten twice as well.
Damn you, just you wait!
Even if he wasn't his match now, thirty years later would be a different story.