In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.
Every day, Renya's routine was simple: prepare three meals for Senju Tobirama, bask in the sun in the courtyard, and occasionally head to the laboratory to develop new poisons in preparation for the eventual Second Great Ninja War.
From time to time, he would cook for Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya as well.
Without the chaos of war, Renya had completely embraced a life of leisure.
Each month, he only completed the minimum task quota set by the Mission Hall — never taking on even a single mission more than required.
Gone were the days when he was a mission maniac, endlessly chasing assignments. Now, he lived like someone who had fully "laid flat," enjoying a relaxed, lazy existence.
Since the ninja world was at peace, why not savor life?
Senju Tobirama was stunned by Renya's drastic change. Not long ago, this same young man had been a mission-obsessed workaholic. How had he turned into this?
Because of this, Tobirama even removed the mission limit at the Assembly Hall, thinking Renya would take on more work. Yet the result was the opposite — Renya still completed only the bare minimum and refused to do a single extra mission.
Tobirama could never figure out what had caused such a sudden change in him.
Still, it wasn't entirely bad. At least Renya no longer ran off constantly, and there was always someone to cook for him.
...
The war between Kirigakure and Iwagakure had already ended two years ago.
The Second Mizukage, Hōzuki Gengetsu, and the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, met the same fate as in the original timeline — killing each other in battle.
With both the Land of Water and the Land of Earth suffering heavy losses, neither village could recover anytime soon.
For at least the next ten years, large-scale wars in the ninja world were unlikely to erupt.
Renya had breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the news. Those two alive had always been a looming threat — their deaths were, frankly, a good thing.
Now, he had plenty of time to keep "lying flat."
...
At Senju Tobirama's residence.
Renya had just returned from delivering Tobirama's lunch. After washing the bowls and chopsticks, he went out into the courtyard and collapsed onto the recliner.
"The weather's nice today. Perfect for a nap."
Over the past three years, he had developed the habit of taking afternoon naps. Every day at noon, he would sleep for a while.
When you have nothing to do, boredom sets in fast — and sleeping was simply one way to pass the time.
Besides, since he had nothing urgent to handle, what else was he supposed to do if not nap?
...
"I wonder if Hashirama-san is still alive?" Renya murmured softly as he lay on the chair.
Ever since they parted ways three years ago, he hadn't seen either of them again.
Back then, Senju Hashirama's health had already started deteriorating. He also didn't know whether Uchiha Madara had managed to find a solution.
If not, then Hashirama's grave was probably covered with grass by now.
Still, Renya didn't believe Hashirama would die so easily.
After all, he was always with Uchiha Madara, and when those two were together, miracles tended to happen…
Perhaps Madara had already figured out a way to treat him.
Renya had thought more than once about using the summoning contract to contact Madara and ask about Hashirama's condition, but in the end, he always dismissed the idea.
Better not to get involved with Uchiha Madara unless absolutely necessary. That was the safest approach.
The man was planning his "Eye of the Moon" Project. Since Renya had no intention of joining him, why would he go out of his way to get involved?
What if he drew Madara's attention and ended up as just another pawn on his board?
As long as Madara didn't reach out first, Renya would pretend to know nothing.
...
People change over time…
Madara might seem relatively sane right now, but as the years passed, he would continue to watch himself age — yet still fail to awaken the Rinnegan.
When that day came, there was no telling what kind of extreme measures he might take to fulfill his plan.
And Renya… could very well become his target.
For example, Madara might decide to kill Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and others close to him, pushing Renya into grief deep enough to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Then, Madara would swoop in, explain his grand plan, and try to lure Renya into joining him to realize his "great vision."
That was exactly how he manipulated Obito in the original timeline.
Renya, of course, knew that the Infinite Tsukuyomi was just Black Zetsu's conspiracy, but Madara didn't.
He might really attempt something that crazy.
For now, all Renya could do was lower his presence as much as possible and quietly prepare for any contingencies Madara might have set up.
Fortunately, Tobirama was buried in office work every day, so there was little need to worry about Madara targeting him.
The only real concern was Danzo and the others, who frequently went out on missions.
Madara wasn't old yet, and he hadn't reached the stage where he would do absolutely anything to achieve his goal.
For the next few years, Danzo and his group should be safe.
But after that… things could change.
Renya wasn't willing to gamble on whether Madara would eventually make a move. When that time came, he planned to stay close to them, denying Madara any opportunity to act.
He wasn't even sure if the deaths of his comrades would really awaken his Mangekyō.
Originally, he had wanted to unlock it to gain stronger powers for self-defense. But now that he already had enough strength to protect himself, he no longer craved the Mangekyō.
If awakening it required losing his friends, he'd rather go without.
After all, there were few people in the current ninja world who could actually kill him.
...
Over these three years, his physical abilities had improved tremendously, and his defenses had become remarkably strong.
Renya estimated that his body's raw durability wasn't far off from the Third Raikage's before he activated his Lightning Armor.
After years of study, he had also managed to grasp the basics of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Flying Thunder God was notoriously difficult to learn, requiring almost pure talent.
He couldn't perform long-range teleportation like Namikaze Minato, but he was satisfied with what he could manage.
Not only was his body formidable, but with Flying Thunder God and his newly developed poisons combined, his strength had surpassed that of an ordinary Kage-level shinobi.
In other words, as long as he didn't act recklessly, he was practically impossible to kill.
Even if he did act recklessly, there were very few who could actually finish him off.
In this era without the Sage of Six Paths or the Ōtsutsuki, there were hardly any threats to his life.
Because he rarely fought in recent years, no one else was aware of his true progress.
Renya himself didn't know why his body kept slowly growing stronger every year, but he considered it a blessing.
Perhaps this was just the "cheat" perk of being a transmigrator.
He hadn't told anyone about this secret — especially not that old fox Tobirama.
If Tobirama found out, he would definitely turn into a mad scientist and dissect him for research.
Renya had zero intention of becoming that old man's lab rat.
...
As his thoughts drifted, he yawned, his eyelids growing heavy, and soon slipped into a deep sleep.
...
"Renya, Renya, wake up…"
Half-asleep, he faintly heard someone calling his name.
"Hiruzen… what do you want?"
Opening his eyes, he found himself face-to-face with Sarutobi Hiruzen's big grinning face — and instantly felt annoyed.
Didn't this guy know that disturbing someone's nap was unforgivable?
"Next week's my wedding with Biwako. Don't forget to come," Hiruzen said, pulling an invitation from his robes.
"You're getting married?"
Renya stared blankly at the invitation in his hand, blurting out the question instinctively.
"Does Danzo know?"
"I haven't told him yet," Hiruzen said, scratching his head with an embarrassed smile. "I'll go let him know in a bit."
...
Watching Hiruzen's back as he walked away, Renya murmured softly,
"Danzo's going to be heartbroken when he hears about this…"