"Fat Cat, why did you follow me?"
Renya had just left the cave not long ago when a plump black cat appeared in front of him.
"Madara-sama told me to accompany you on your journey, meow." The scarred cat's eyes sparkled with joy.
Madara-sama really was too good to it!
Not only did it get paid vacation time, but it also got to eat delicious food every day. For it, this mission was practically a cushy job!
Especially since the food Renya cooked was the best it had ever eaten in its life…
Thinking of that, it subconsciously stuck out its pink tongue and licked its lips.
Renya's mouth twitched. He didn't need to think twice to know this fat cat had been sent by Uchiha Madara to spy on him…
This damn cat was an old hand at espionage, yet it still pretended to be clueless.
It was practically rubbing his intelligence into the ground.
Well, so be it. Either way, traveling alone was boring—having a fat cat around wasn't so bad.
"Let's go, Fat Cat."
Ever since being bribed with a pile of grilled fish, Scarface no longer minded Renya calling it that.
Fat Cat was Fat Cat—as long as there was grilled fish, it was fine.
"Kid, where are we going, meow?" Scarface tilted its head and asked.
Renya pulled out a map from his ninja pouch and spread it open.
"First stop on our trip—we're going to the Land of Rain."
He wanted to see for himself what that so-called [Demi-God of the Shinobi World] was all about.
Long ago, he had already wanted to meet Hanzō of the Salamander, but for various reasons, he'd been delayed.
Now he could take the chance during this journey to check it out…
...
If he remembered correctly—the Second Shinobi World War was initiated by Amegakure.
Hanzō of the Salamander, the leader of Amegakure, declared war against the Land of Iron, Sunagakure, and Konohagakure at the same time, under the banner of resisting invasion.
The war lasted from Konoha Year 32 to Year 37.
Since Amegakure sat at the border of three nations, the villages naturally placed the battlefield in the Land of Rain.
This meant the Land of Rain constantly saw shinobi from several great villages appear within its borders. Some shinobi even slaughtered helpless civilians, worsening the already poor and backward state of the country.
Perhaps this was the sorrow of small nations?
For the sake of his country and village, Hanzō ultimately declared war on all three nations at once.
In this war, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru fought against Hanzō together and earned the name "The Legendary Sannin of Konoha."
It had to be said—Hanzō did indeed have some strength. Not only did he dare declare war on three countries at once, but he could also suppress the combined attacks of the three Sannin by himself.
Even if Tsunade and the others were still in their growth phase, Hanzō's power was undeniable.
Renya only knew the rough outline of the shinobi world's plot and wasn't clear on many specific details.
In his impression, the early Hanzō wasn't bad. But later, due to aging and a shift in mentality, he was swayed by Danzō's manipulation and chose to oppress the Akatsuki organization. This led to the death of its leader, Yahiko, and in the end, Hanzō was killed by Pain, controlled by Nagato.
"Why do we have to go to the Land of Rain?" Scar frowned in displeasure.
It was well-known that the Land of Rain was a country where it rained constantly, with a very damp environment.
Such an environment wasn't very friendly to cats. Their fur would get soaked, and they'd end up as drowned rats…
If it were a smaller cat, it could perch on a human's shoulder.
But Scar was the size of a large dog—it couldn't be carried in a human's arms like other cats.
Seeing the fat cat's reluctant face, Renya chuckled and comforted it.
"When the time comes, I'll buy you a raincoat."
...
"Does such a backward place really have any value as a travel destination?" Scar muttered unwillingly, but had no choice but to agree.
After all, Madara-sama had already assigned the mission.
And besides, it was counting on following this cook every day to eat delicious food.
For the sake of grilled fish, a little rain was no big deal. All it needed was a shake, and the water would fly off.
And so, one man and one cat set off toward the Land of Rain.
Scar took advantage of a bathroom break to relay intel to Uchiha Madara.
"Madara-sama, that brat Renya is preparing to travel to the Land of Rain. I'll contact you again when the time comes."
Not far away, Renya witnessed the whole scene, but could only turn his head and pretend not to see anything.
Good grief, seriously, good grief!
This fat cat didn't even bother to hide it anymore. Not even pretending to be subtle as a spy?
If Renya ever dared imitate the cat—say, relaying information to Uchiha Madara right in front of Senju Tobirama—he would immediately be chopped into pieces by the furious Tobirama.
If not for Madara's reputation, he would've long since kicked this fat cat away.
"Kid, you saw that just now, didn't you?" Scar narrowed its eyes into slits as it looked at Renya.
It was only now realizing its voice might've been a bit too loud earlier.
But so what? If there was a problem, take it up with Madara-sama!
As Madara-sama's trusted subordinate, it had allowed such a serious slip-up to occur.
It must've been because it was recently bribed by Renya's grilled fish. This could never happen again.
Its master was Uchiha Madara—not the cook standing before it!
At least for now, anyway…
"N-No, I didn't see anything." Renya stuck to the principle that fewer words meant fewer mistakes. He couldn't be bothered to argue with a fat cat.
Since Uchiha Madara had sent Scar to watch him, it meant Madara hadn't given up on recruiting him. The next time Madara came, he would definitely invite him into the "Eye of the Moon" plan.
...
That way, people like Shimura Danzō and the others wouldn't be in danger.
"Good. That's better, meow." Scar nodded in satisfaction, thinking this brat was quite sensible.
Luckily, Renya didn't go complain to Madara-sama. Otherwise, its career as a spy would've been over.
If Madara-sama found out, he would definitely think it was more trouble than it was worth—and assign the task to another cat instead, never using it again as his trusted agent.
To prevent that from happening, it had no choice but to threaten this brat into silence.
Renya looked at the fat cat suspiciously, suddenly confused about Madara's true intentions.
If Madara really wanted to monitor him, why send such a stupid cat?
Unable to figure it out, Renya simply stopped thinking about it. After all, Uchiha Madara wouldn't attack him anyway.
Maybe he was just bored. That wasn't impossible…
...
Inside the cave.
"Madara, why did you send Scar out?"
Senju Hashirama looked at Madara in puzzlement, not understanding why he wanted Scar to follow Renya.
"We can't stay here forever," Uchiha Madara explained. "By letting Scar follow Renya, we'll be able to find him again later…"
Since Hashirama hadn't asked Renya to stay, Madara had to think of another way to meet him again.
With Scar around, finding Renya would be as easy as pie.
Hashirama's little scheme to prevent him from contacting Renya hadn't gone unnoticed by Madara. He simply chose not to care.
Hearing this, Senju Hashirama's face darkened. So Madara really was still thinking about Renya.
If he had known, he should have stopped Scar from leaving.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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