"Where's Jiraiya?"
The next morning, the team gathered at their usual spot, but Jiraiya was nowhere to be seen.
"Orochimaru, didn't you come here with Jiraiya?" Renya asked.
"No, Renya-sensei." Orochimaru shook his head. "That idiot probably hasn't even woken up yet."
Normally, they would run into each other on the way and travel together, but Orochimaru would never take the initiative to go find Jiraiya.
Mainly because they didn't live near each other—there was no reason to travel together.
"That idiot Jiraiya! It's only the second time we're gathering and he's already late!" Tsunade clenched her fists. "He actually dares to waste our time! I'm going to teach him a good lesson later!"
"Alright, you two go bring Jiraiya here," Renya said to them. "You three are teammates who fight together. You must uphold the principle of 'never abandon, never give up.'"
He wasn't sure whether, in battle, they would betray each other in a moment of crisis.
In the original timeline, the three of them never did that, but now that he was their teacher, things had already deviated from the original.
If that kind of situation really happened, it would be troublesome. They had to understand the importance of their comrades.
"Never abandon, never give up..." Orochimaru murmured softly, as if contemplating the meaning of those words.
He felt that what Renya-sensei said made sense.
Since they were a team, they shouldn't easily give up on their comrades.
"Don't worry, Renya-san." Tsunade smiled confidently. "I'll never betray my teammates just to survive alone!"
"Of course," Renya coughed lightly, "but if you ever face a situation where death is certain, you'd better run. If even one person can escape, that's still better than everyone dying."
He didn't want them to misunderstand his words and end up refusing to flee even when they could, getting themselves all killed.
His point was to assess the situation and not charge forward recklessly.
Sometimes losing one person was better than losing three.
These hot-headed kids, brainwashed from childhood by the Will of Fire, were exactly the type to charge in and die for nothing.
No protagonist plot armor—only protagonist recklessness.
If you don't die, who will?
"Got it, Renya-san." Tsunade nodded lightly.
Renya wasn't sure if that girl really understood him, but he knew Orochimaru did.
"I understand, Renya-sensei." Orochimaru's eyes lit up. "I'll take care of my teammates within the limits of my ability."
If things went beyond that limit... well, sorry, but he'd have to sell you out.
After all, surviving was what mattered most.
"Good. Since you understand, go bring Jiraiya over." Renya nodded with satisfaction. Orochimaru had always been a smart one since he was little.
The two of them immediately left to find Jiraiya.
"Sorry, Renya-sensei. I accidentally overslept."
Soon, Tsunade returned, dragging a bruised and swollen Jiraiya along.
"Jiraiya, what happened to your face?" Renya barely suppressed a laugh as he asked the obvious.
"I... tripped on my way out." Jiraiya glanced nervously at Tsunade standing nearby and mumbled in a small voice.
He definitely couldn't tell the truth, or he'd get beaten again.
"Be more careful next time," Renya said, almost laughing out loud.
"Got it, Renya-sensei," Jiraiya muttered, hanging his head, afraid that a certain someone would beat him again.
The four of them then headed to the mission hall to take on their assignment.
"This time, I won't intervene. Everything will be up to you."
Renya planned to let them gain real experience—unless things became truly critical, he wouldn't step in.
Flowers raised in a greenhouse needed to endure the storm before they could truly grow.
When his own team did missions back in the day, the supervising jōnin was basically decoration and never actually helped.
Several times they'd almost died at the hands of enemies, yet the jōnin never appeared.
Eventually, they just fired him.
With or without him, it made no difference—so the team might as well handle things themselves.
And so, Senju Yūsuke became the first jōnin in Konoha history to be fired by his own students.
Come to think of it, Renya hadn't seen that teacher in a long time.
Most likely, he'd died in the last war.
What a pity... maybe one day he should visit the Hero Memorial Park with Danzo and Koharu to check.
Even though that jōnin hadn't really done anything useful, he was still their teacher...
"Understood, Renya-sensei/San," the three replied.
"Remember, your mission must succeed—failure is not an option," Renya said before disappearing with the Body Flicker Technique.
This time, their mission was still an escort one, but instead of protecting a caravan, they were to safeguard a client directly.
Renya shadowed them along the way, silently observing their performance.
The three of them had decent luck—they hadn't encountered any danger so far.
"Haha, no enemies in sight! Looks like this mission's going to end perfectly!" Jiraiya said cheerfully, hands behind his head.
Everything was going smoothly, and they were about to complete the mission easily.
Relaxed and carefree, no trouble at all.
"Idiot, don't let your guard down." Orochimaru stayed alert, scanning the surroundings carefully.
The safer things seemed, the more dangerous they usually were.
If the client were to get hurt, they'd never be able to bear the consequences.
Tsunade took the lead at the front of the group, ready for any ambush.
The client—a fat middle-aged man—watched the three kids before him, trembling all over, his flabby flesh quivering with each step.
Whether it was from his size or pure fear, even he couldn't tell.
In truth, the client was scared out of his mind.
If danger really appeared, could three kids seriously protect him?
If not for the hidden jōnin escorting them, he'd never have dared to leave Konoha.
This was basically suicide.
Fortunately, they encountered no bandits along the way and made it through safely.
But as Renya watched the three of them arrive unscathed, he suddenly felt dissatisfied.
How were they supposed to grow without facing any danger?
No way—he couldn't just let them finish the mission so easily!
With that thought, Renya vanished from where he stood.
...
"Stop right there! This road was built by me, and this tree was planted by me!"
"If you wanna pass, you better pay the toll!"
Three burly men wearing sunglasses appeared, blocking Tsunade's group.
The client nearly wet himself, frantically glancing around, hoping the hidden jōnin would show up to protect him.
"Heh, heh, heh—don't worry! Just some petty bandits. I, the great Jiraiya-sama, can handle them in an instant!" Jiraiya shouted as he charged forward.
"Ah—!"
Jiraiya was instantly sent flying.
"So strong..." Tsunade and Orochimaru's expressions turned serious—they knew they'd met real opponents this time.
They exchanged a glance and attacked simultaneously.
"Dammit! You dare ambush me, the great Jiraiya-sama?!" Jiraiya scrambled up from the ground and rushed back into the fight.
The client, terrified, immediately hid behind a tree.
"Tch, now that's what I call a real mission."
Perched on a branch not far away, Renya watched the three of them struggling in battle.
As for the bandits—naturally, he was controlling them with genjutsu.
The three of them had no idea that when no danger was present... the greatest danger was Renya himself.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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