"You brat, are you saying… the mission wasn't completed, but you still brought back the heads of the rogue Sunagakure ninja?"
In the Hokage's office, Senju Tobirama's expression instantly darkened as he looked at the two severed heads placed on the desk.
This brat just couldn't stop causing trouble every single day—how was he supposed to explain this to Sunagakure?
They had given Konoha a mission to assist in capturing the rogue ninja, yet Renya and the other two ended up killing them and even brought their heads back to the village.
Noticing Tobirama's face, Renya immediately realized they were in big trouble this time.
He shot an annoyed look at Danzō. If it weren't for that guy's constant pushing, would he have done something like this?
If that old man decided to hold them accountable, he'd just sell out Danzō.
At that moment, Danzō wore a proud expression, waiting for his teacher's praise, completely oblivious to the severity of the situation.
They had obtained important intelligence from Sunagakure. Surely Tobirama-sensei wouldn't be stingy with praise and rewards.
Danzō even felt he was now one step closer to the position of Fourth Hokage.
"Do the ninja from Sunagakure know about this?" Tobirama asked with a frown.
If they didn't know, Konoha could still play dumb. Even if Sunagakure suspected them, there was no proof, was there?
As long as there was no evidence that Konoha had killed the rogues, then officially, Konoha hadn't done such a thing.
Even if Sunagakure had suspicions, they'd just have to grit their teeth and swallow it.
But if Sunagakure ninja had actually seen the three of them kill the rogues, then this would be troublesome.
Renya had already realized the seriousness of the matter and unconsciously stepped back.
Crap, that old man was definitely about to get angry.
Koharu noticed and also stepped back with him. Only Danzō was still standing there like an idiot, waiting for their teacher's praise.
When the other two stayed silent, Tobirama's gaze fell on Danzō.
"Danzō, did the Sunagakure ninja see you take action?"
"Sensei, we grabbed the heads right in front of them."
Though puzzled as to why Renya wasn't saying anything, Danzō still answered honestly.
His face brimmed with confidence, as if he had accomplished something worth being proud of.
"Danzō's finished," Renya muttered under his breath.
Koharu nodded in agreement. She felt Renya was right.
Seeing Danzō's smug look, Tobirama's eyelids twitched violently. He almost wanted to punish this brainless fool on the spot.
After a brief silence, he suppressed his anger and asked,
"Danzō, do you have any idea what the consequences of this are?"
Only then did Danzō realize he was in trouble.
Yes, they had stolen information from Sunagakure. But since this wasn't wartime, such an action clearly escalated tensions between the two nations…
Of course, in the shinobi world this kind of thing wasn't rare, as long as you didn't get caught.
But this time, they had been caught red-handed—the Sunagakure ninja saw them walk off carrying the heads.
If only Renya had listened to his suggestion to silence the witnesses, then the truth would never have been exposed.
Yes, this was all Renya's fault!
They carried out the mission together—why should he take the blame alone?
Just as he was about to speak up and push the blame away, Renya struck first.
As the future "Shadow" of Konoha, he might as well adapt early to carrying the blame.
After all, he would be blamed for many things in the future.
"It's all Danzō's fault. He insisted we get the intelligence, and Koharu and I were persuaded by him, which led to this mistake."
Danzō: "???"
He looked at Renya in disbelief. He hadn't expected Renya to sell him out so cleanly.
"Sensei, let me explain—" Danzō began, but Renya cut him off.
"Explain what? An explanation is just a cover-up, and a cover-up means you did it."
Renya looked at Danzō with feigned grief.
"I warned you there was a risk of exposure, but you wouldn't listen. And now look where we are."
"You—"
"Enough, stop making excuses. Just admit your mistake honestly. I'm sure he will forgive you."
Danzō: "…"
His fists clenched tight.
He finally understood—this bastard Renya was making him take the fall!
When there were benefits, they all acted together, but now that there was a problem, everything was being dumped on him.
That bastard actually treated him like the designated scapegoat!
No wonder Renya had stayed quiet this whole time—he'd been waiting for this moment.
Danzō had been so focused on expecting praise that he hadn't even noticed their teacher's expression.
Otherwise, he never would have stood proudly at the front like an idiot.
"Enough, all of you, quiet." Tobirama waved his hand to silence Renya. He knew this brat was just using Danzō to divert his anger.
And to be fair, it worked. His fury had subsided quite a bit.
Since the deed was done, the only thing left was to explain the situation to Sunagakure and send the heads back.
He was certain the Kazekage wouldn't pursue the matter—or wouldn't dare to.
In the end, the shinobi world was ruled by strength, and Konoha just happened to have it.
So what if they had stolen intelligence? If necessary, they'd just return it.
If Sunagakure dared to keep pressing the issue, then Konoha would get angry.
"Then what about the heads?" Renya asked cautiously when he saw Tobirama had calmed down.
Tobirama glanced at the two heads on the desk.
"Hand them over to the Yamanaka clan."
If the Kazekage sent people, they'd return the heads. If not, then forget it.
Tobirama wasn't afraid of offending other villages. Even without this incident, a war between Konoha and Sunagakure was inevitable.
Everyone knew the true cause behind future wars.
Some things couldn't be solved through endless concessions—otherwise, people would just think Konoha was weak and become even more brazen in the future…
"Got it."
Renya grabbed the two heads and turned to leave. Danzō and Koharu quickly followed after him.
Watching them go, Tobirama sighed helplessly. These brats really knew how to cause him trouble.
...
"Danzō, are you okay?" Koharu asked timidly.
"What do you think?" Danzō shot back with a dark expression.
Yes, it had been his idea, but the other two hadn't opposed it at the time. Yet in the end, the entire blame had fallen on him.
"Still angry, huh, Danzō?" Renya slung an arm over his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "It was just a stopgap. See? We're fine now, aren't we?"
He knew Tobirama wouldn't punish them for this. That old man wasn't the indecisive type. There was no way he'd let such valuable intelligence slip through his fingers.
As for pushing the blame onto Danzō—that had been to divert the old man's attention.
Otherwise, from what Renya knew of Tobirama, he definitely wouldn't have let him off so easily!
For the sake of his own safety, he could only let Danzō take the hit.
Besides, he was destined to become the Shadow of Konoha anyway. Might as well start adapting early.
"Alright, I'll treat you to a meal as compensation."
Danzō gave him an annoyed glance but, in the end, only snorted and dropped the matter.
After all, this guy was the team captain.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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