"Water Style: Severing Wave!"
A high-pressure blade of water sliced through with the force to cut steel—Kinkaku's outstretched hand was severed, blood spraying like a waterfall!
"What?!" Kinkaku's ferocious expression froze on his face.
White hair swept past Renya's field of vision, and familiar deep-blue armor gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
That man stood with his back to him, arms folded across his chest.
"Kid, be more careful next time."
If he hadn't arrived in time, this brat would be dead.
...
Renya's vision blurred for a moment, and a familiar back appeared in front of him.
He stared blankly at the figure, his pupils contracting slightly, and asked in disbelief:
"What are you doing here?"
The one who had saved Renya was none other than Senju Tobirama, who had come to the battlefield.
Renya hadn't expected Tobirama to suddenly appear here, much less to save him.
Wasn't this old man supposed to be stuck in the village handling paperwork?
How did he have time to come to the battlefield?!
"You're Kinkaku from Kumogakure, right?" Senju Tobirama looked coldly at the heavily wounded Kinkaku.
Seeing the severity of Kinkaku's injuries, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.
These brats were already capable of holding their own against Kage-level opponents?
Tobirama's lips curled upward slightly, feeling gratified in his heart.
As expected of the disciples he had trained—they were bound to become the hope of the village one day!
"You... you're the Second Hokage?!" Kinkaku stumbled back, clearly recognizing Tobirama's identity.
He was already on the brink of death and had planned to take Renya down with him.
He had almost succeeded—until the Second Hokage suddenly appeared and ruined everything.
The late-arriving Sarutobi Hiruzen and others looked at the silver-haired man in shock.
"Tobirama-sensei!"
Renya coughed up a mouthful of blood and reminded them:
"Cut the reunion talk—kill Kinkaku first!"
Tobirama's mouth twitched slightly at the remark, muttering inwardly that this brat had no sense of timing.
Only then did Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others remember what was important.
"Don't move. I'll deal with Kinkaku," Tobirama said without turning his head.
"Koharu, treat Renya."
"Yes, Tobirama-sensei!" Koharu immediately rushed to Renya's side and began treating his wounds with medical ninjutsu.
With Tobirama-sensei present, the injured Kinkaku wasn't much of a threat.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others finally relaxed their tense nerves.
"Hiruzen, keep an eye on things," Renya said softly.
The three looked at him with odd expressions, glancing toward Kinkaku, who was currently being overwhelmed in combat. They didn't understand what Renya meant.
Did Renya actually think Tobirama-sensei couldn't defeat Kinkaku?
That's impossible!
None of them gave it further thought.
...
After receiving basic treatment, Renya stood up and looked toward the ongoing fight in the distance.
He was genuinely a bit worried that something might go wrong during the battle between Tobirama and Kinkaku.
If this old man ended up getting killed just because of some "plot armor"...
Wouldn't all his recent efforts be for nothing?
Thankfully, what Renya feared didn't happen. The battle ended quickly.
The heavily injured Kinkaku was no match at all—after a few dozen exchanges, Tobirama caught an opening and killed him.
Once the fight was over, Senju Tobirama withdrew his chakra and walked back to them.
"Still haven't broken that reckless habit of yours," he frowned, looking at the deep, bone-revealing wound on Renya's chest. "If I hadn't left a Flying Thunder God mark on you..."
As he spoke, green healing chakra lit up in his palm, and he gently pressed it to Renya's vicious wound.
For a master of forbidden jutsu in the shinobi world, using medical ninjutsu wasn't out of the question.
Renya finally realized how the old man had suddenly appeared—it was because he'd secretly planted a Flying Thunder God mark on him.
As expected from the inherently shady Senju Tobirama!
If he ever betrayed Konoha one day, would the old man instantly appear with a Flying Thunder God Slash?
Feeling the itchy sensation as his wound began to heal, Renya chose not to voice his complaints.
After all, the old man had saved his life—he could let it slide this time.
But it was exactly because he wanted Tobirama to survive that he had to kill Kinkaku and Ginkaku.
"Weren't you in the office dealing with paperwork? Why did you come to the battlefield?" Renya suddenly asked.
"I sensed your chakra was in disarray, so I came," Tobirama replied, casting a glance at Kinkaku's corpse in the distance. His voice softened. "You've grown—forcing Kinkaku of Kumogakure into this state."
During the fight with Kinkaku, he'd sensed that the enemy's chakra was out of control—clearly poisoned by something developed by Renya.
Combined with the severe injuries, death was only a matter of time.
What he didn't know was that Renya had also killed the future Third Raikage.
Without these Kage-level powerhouses, Kumogakure wouldn't be able to kill this old man...
At the very least, not with their current strength.
After all, those real threats had already been eliminated.
"You sensed my chakra?" Renya looked completely confused.
The battlefield was god-knows-how-many miles from Konoha—how the hell did the old man sense his chakra?!
Was he messing with him?
Tobirama didn't offer any explanation. Let the brat fill in the blanks himself...
...
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others finally snapped out of it.
Uchiha Kagami muttered under his breath:
"Tobirama-sensei really does care about Renya-kun... He didn't even talk to us once..."
"Kagami!" Shimura Danzō quickly elbowed him and warned, "Tobirama-sensei hates people who gossip about comrades behind their backs!"
"Huh? How do you know that?" Uchiha Kagami asked, confused. He didn't remember ever hearing that before.
Danzō's expression darkened, and he stayed silent.
Only now did he remember—he'd learned that during one of Renya's genjutsu traps...
Naturally, he couldn't tell the others such an embarrassing thing.
Seeing that Danzō didn't want to talk, Kagami wisely dropped the subject.
...
"Hey... don't you guys feel like someone's missing?" Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly asked.
The group exchanged looks.
"Inen!"
Only now did they remember that Mitokado Homura, who had also been seriously injured, was still lying somewhere on the frontlines.
...
By the time they rushed over, Mitokado Homura had collapsed beneath a tree, unconscious.
Senju Tobirama and Koharu hurried forward and began healing him with medical ninjutsu.
"Am I... dead?" Mitokado Homura opened his eyes groggily and scanned the faces in front of him.
When he saw Tobirama, his eyes went wide in shock.
"Sensei, why are you here?!"
At first, he thought he had died.
But the moment he saw his teacher, he immediately snapped back to awareness.
"You've done well."
Senju Tobirama patted Homura's shoulder.
"Sensei, it wasn't hard at all!"
Hearing that, Mitokado Homura felt like all the pain in his body had vanished.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others looked at him enviously.
Damn it, Homura actually got praised by sensei!
Watching this unfold, Renya let out a helpless sigh.
These brats were really brainwashed hard...