"Lightning Release: Assault!"
The moment the assassin shouted the name of his jutsu, Renya's figure vanished from where he stood.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, he appeared right in front of the assassin. In the instant the leader's pupils reflected the crimson glow of Renya's Sharingan, a chill brushed against his neck.
His final conscious thought was seeing his own headless body still frozen in a charging stance, hands locked mid–hand seal—while the black-haired boy's blade was already swinging toward the second assassin.
The second assassin met Renya's scarlet Sharingan.
The blade raised in his hand suddenly froze in mid-air.
In his vision, countless venomous snakes had coiled tightly around his arms.
Although reason told him it was only genjutsu, the primal fear surging from instinct slowed his movements by half a beat.
That brief hesitation was all Renya needed to perform three actions in quick succession...
First, he sidestepped the attack from a third assassin, then reversed his grip and slit the throat of the one trapped in the genjutsu.
At the same time, his left hand formed seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The searing fireball forced the third assassin to dodge.
In that instant of evasion, Renya somehow appeared behind him—no one knew when—and a flash of the blade sent the man collapsing to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, the three assassins had been slaughtered by Renya.
The other enemy ninja, seeing this, tried to rush in to surround and kill him, but they were blocked by Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, who had already reacted.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet!"
"Earth Release: Great Moving Earth River!"
Mitokado Homura's Earth Release trapped the assassins in place, followed immediately by Hiruzen and Danzō's relentless barrage of ninjutsu.
Most of them had no time to evade and were struck down on the spot.
Uchiha Kagami and Koharu guarded Senju Tobirama's side, their shuriken flying true and striking down two assassins attempting to circle around and ambush Renya.
The last assassin, realizing the situation was dire, quickly formed hand seals.
"Lightning Release—"
His seals were never completed—Renya's blade pierced through his heart from behind.
"Kumogakure..." Renya murmured in the assassin's ear, "You sent this bunch of nobodies to assassinate me?"
This time, all twelve assassins were chūnin. There wasn't even a single jōnin leader among them.
He couldn't understand what the Second Raikage was thinking, sending only a group of chūnin to kill them.
What was the point of this?
It would've been better not to send anyone at all...
Weren't these guys just delivering their heads on a platter?
Could it be the Second Raikage thought he had too many men under his command?
Unfortunately, this assassin could no longer answer Renya's questions.
Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō finished off the last two.
From start to finish, the entire battle had lasted less than a minute.
Renya pulled his blade from a corpse, the sword sliding into its scabbard with a crisp click.
Looking at the bodies sprawled on the ground, even after the fight ended, he still couldn't understand the meaning behind Kumogakure's actions.
If they were going to attempt an assassination, they should've at least sent some jōnin, right?
This was clearly underestimating them.
Senju Tobirama glanced at the corpses, his expression calm as he said,
"Dispose of the bodies and continue eating. Renya, come roast the rabbit meat."
Renya's mouth twitched. He had just been ambushed, and this old man was still thinking about eating?
"Coming, old man."
Though grumbling inwardly, he obediently walked over to the campfire to roast the rabbit.
While he worked, Hiruzen and the others quickly disposed of the bodies and returned to the fire.
"Didn't think Kumogakure's target would be you, Renya. Seems your performance on the battlefield has earned their hatred," Hiruzen said with a sigh.
Then again, after killing so many of Kumogakure's elites, it would've been strange if they didn't hate him.
If he were one of their higher-ups, he'd also be plotting ways to remove Renya.
"Why weren't there any jōnin among these assassins?" Danzō asked, puzzled.
It was the very question on everyone's mind.
Why send dozens of chūnin instead of jōnin to assassinate them?
"Sensei, do you know the reason?" Uchiha Kagami asked curiously.
If you didn't understand something, asking the teacher was always the right move.
At those words, everyone turned toward the silent Senju Tobirama, waiting for his explanation.
Meeting six pairs of eager eyes, Tobirama patiently explained:
"The reason is simple—this was not the Second Raikage's idea."
From the moment he saw the assassins' overall strength, he had guessed the cause and effect.
"Sensei, you mean..." Koharu asked tentatively, "Someone forced the Raikage to send people to assassinate us?"
"Exactly." Tobirama gave a slight nod.
"But who could force the Raikage to do something?" Danzō frowned.
Hiruzen also furrowed his brow, completely at a loss as to who might be pulling strings from the shadows.
"If I'm not mistaken—it was probably the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning," Renya said from the side while tending the rabbit over the fire.
The truth wasn't hard to guess...
In the shinobi world, aside from Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, the only people who could order a village's Kage around were the daimyō of each country.
A daimyō was like a monarch, and a Kage like a military leader—the two existed in a cooperative hierarchy.
Tobirama's demands had clearly angered the Land of Lightning's daimyō, who then ordered the Second Raikage to assassinate Tobirama.
The Raikage knew it was impossible for such an attempt to succeed, but he couldn't outright refuse the daimyō's command, so he sent a bunch of chūnin instead.
That explained everything.
Hearing this, the group immediately understood the entire situation.
"Renya, you're really smart!" Hiruzen praised, though his gaze had already fallen on the freshly roasted rabbit.
"Here." Renya shot him a look and handed over one of the rabbits.
This guy acted like he'd never eaten before...
"Renya's guess is correct."
Tobirama lightly cleared his throat, reminding everyone of his presence—his own eyes also drifting toward the rabbit.
He'd been waiting all night for this roasted rabbit, and now that it was ready, the brat hadn't even brought it to him first.
Unforgivable.
...
Renya naturally picked up on Tobirama's hint, inwardly cursing the old man for being so particular, but still passed him the largest, juiciest rabbit.
"Old man, your rabbit."
Tobirama accepted it with feigned calm, taking the sizzling meat in hand.
He first flicked away the excess salt from its surface with his thumb, then brought it close to his lips.
Breathing in the savory aroma made him swallow unconsciously.
The moment his teeth bit into the crispy, charred skin, the rich juices spread through his mouth.
The meat was roasted to perfection—crispy outside, tender inside—with a distinct smoky flavor from the pine branches.
"Not bad..." Tobirama nodded in satisfaction after wiping the grease from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief.
"Delicious, delicious!"
Hiruzen and the others had already started devouring theirs.
The rabbit meat truly was delicious—the earlier grilled fish instantly lost all appeal in comparison.
Renya chewed on his portion while keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.
He could only hope what he feared wouldn't happen...