Whenever Renya cooked, there would always be a group of "passing by" shinobi appearing around him for no apparent reason.
They pretended to be training, discussing tactics, or even repairing ninja tools, but their eyes would all, without fail, drift toward the direction of the rising cooking smoke.
These guys were all shinobi from the camp's kitchen unit, hoping to sneak over and see if they could pick up a recipe or two while they were at it.
"Renya being strong is one thing, but his cooking is delicious too… how are the rest of us supposed to live?" the leader of the kitchen unit sighed.
They were all only at the genin level, tasked with cooking on the battlefield.
The aroma of Renya's cooking would drift throughout the camp, making the other shinobi start to resent the kitchen unit.
Since they were being demanded to make better food, they had no choice but to come and try to learn by watching.
But Renya always cooked inside his tent, and the kitchen unit didn't dare go in—they could only stand outside and breathe in the fragrance.
...
Day by day passed, and just when Renya was about to be forced into becoming the "Little Master Chef of the Hokage World," a turning point finally arrived.
Three months after Senju Tobirama had arrived on the battlefield—
A Kumogakure envoy, holding a white flag high, came to the Konohagakure camp.
"We… surrender."
News soon came from the village—
The Second Raikage had been elected, and in the end, Kumogakure chose to surrender.
Thus, they took the initiative to end this year-long war…
The exact terms of compensation would require Senju Tobirama to personally travel to the Land of Lightning to discuss.
...
In the Konohagakure camp's command tent—
The Kumogakure envoy knelt on one knee, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He respectfully held out a scroll edged with lightning patterns, presenting it to Senju Tobirama, who was seated in the central position.
"Kumogakure… officially surrenders to Konoha."
His voice was hoarse, filled with unwillingness, yet tinged with helplessness.
The tent was silent. The clan heads of Konohagakure's major families stood solemnly on either side, their expressions grave.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō stood beside Tobirama.
Renya leaned casually in the corner, arms crossed, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.
The war was finally over.
It had ended even sooner than he had expected.
Not surprising, though—losing four Kage-level powerhouses in a single war would be unbearable for any village.
If they didn't choose to surrender, Konoha would eventually march right into their village.
It seemed Kumogakure had suffered heavy losses this time. For a long while to come, they would be in no position to start a war.
Renya was quite satisfied with his achievements—he could now slack off in peace.
The Second Great Ninja War was still nearly twenty years away, meaning he could get an early start on his retirement.
By the time that war came, he'd be in his thirties or forties.
He could even skip it entirely and keep enjoying a laid-back life in the village.
Just thinking about his future of lying around nearly made Renya laugh out loud.
Of course… that was the ideal situation.
Who could say what the future might hold?
...
Senju Tobirama accepted the scroll, his gaze scanning the terms written upon it—
War reparations, territorial concessions, free sharing of jutsu… each one marked Kumogakure's complete defeat.
"After several consecutive defeats, Kumogakure's high-level combat strength has been nearly wiped out," Tobirama said coldly. "Surrender is indeed the wise choice."
The Kumogakure envoy kept his head lowered, not daring to argue.
The First Raikage, his strongest personal guard, Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and even the newly appointed battlefield commander…
Their deaths had dealt Kumogakure a devastating blow!
It had directly stripped them of the ability to continue fighting Konoha.
As Tobirama had said, surrender was the most intelligent decision they could make.
Continuing the war would bring nothing but harm to the village…
"Surrender can be accepted," Tobirama closed the document, his tone leaving no room for argument. "But the exact compensation details must be discussed directly with the Land of Lightning's daimyō."
The envoy trembled. "This…"
The daimyō was the head of state, holding supreme executive authority and serving as the highest ruler of the nation—
Deciding the country's political direction and handling all state affairs.
That included foreign relations with other nations, as well as major decisions such as war or alliance.
The daimyō also held supreme military authority—the shinobi village was essentially a military base, with shinobi as the daimyō's hired military force.
The daimyō also controlled the nation's economic lifeline, providing financial support to the shinobi village for its development and growth.
Every year, the Five Great Shinobi Villages had to apply for financial allocations from their daimyō to fund their development…
Tobirama's demand was clearly unreasonable.
Making the daimyō personally negotiate—this was clearly meant to utterly crush Kumogakure's reputation!
"Is there a problem?" Tobirama asked.
"N-no…" The envoy dared not refuse and could only nod with difficulty. "Once I return, I'll arrange it immediately!"
Before coming here, the higher-ups had already instructed him—no matter how unreasonable Konoha's demands were, they had to grit their teeth and agree…
After all, Kumogakure could not afford to drag this out any longer.
After the envoy withdrew, the atmosphere in the tent finally relaxed.
"Tobirama-sensei, we won!" Mitokado Homura couldn't hide her excitement.
"Hmph, Kumogakure should have surrendered long ago. They just wasted so much time," Shimura Danzō snorted.
"Haha, finally, we can rest," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a laugh, slinging an arm over Danzō's shoulder.
Tobirama set the surrender scroll aside, his gaze sweeping over the people in the tent.
"Nara Shikamasu," he said in a low voice.
The Nara commander immediately stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Hokage-sama."
"You will arrange for the shinobi in the camp to return to Konoha in batches, ensuring their safety along the way."
"Yes." The Nara commander nodded, then hesitated slightly. "And you…?"
"I will personally go to the Land of Lightning," Tobirama said calmly. "Though the war has ended, the subsequent negotiations are the key."
As the victorious nation, the Land of Fire could present appropriate compensation demands to the Land of Lightning.
These reparations could go a long way toward offsetting Konoha's losses in the war.
This was precisely why Tobirama wanted to negotiate with the Land of Lightning's daimyō in person.
Daimyō were never short of money—it was the perfect opportunity to extort them for a substantial sum.
As for whether this would offend the Land of Lightning's daimyō?
Tobirama didn't care in the slightest…
Before Kumogakure had launched the war against Konoha, they had needed the daimyō's approval.
Since they had chosen war, they had to be prepared for the consequences of defeat.
For those who dared to target Konoha, he would never show mercy—on the contrary, he would make them pay a heavy price!
Upon receiving the order, the Nara commander left with the clan heads to begin arranging the withdrawal.
Only a few people remained in the tent with Renya.
Tobirama's gaze fell on them, his tone steady. "You all will come with me."
"Yes, sensei!"
Renya had no objections and agreed without hesitation.
He had been worried that the old man might not take him along.
Although Kumogakure had surrendered, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't try something desperate!
If the old man got killed off by the plot, it would be a problem.
With him there, at least he could ensure Tobirama's safety…
"Don't worry, old man!"
Renya clenched his fist, thinking to himself:
"With me here, nothing will happen to you!"