"Re...sama, we should retreat now!"
Tobi, who was hidden underground, hurriedly poked his head out to warn him. Because he was too anxious, he almost blurted out Renya's name.
Renya looked at the many elite jōnin before him and the three Kage glaring at him like tigers watching their prey. Without the slightest hesitation, he agreed to Tobi's suggestion.
This wasn't him wanting to run—it was Tobi who suggested it.
If there's a problem, go ask Madara-sama!
Now he could finally abandon the mission and run away openly and aboveboard.
"You just wait. I'll be back!"
Renya suddenly tossed a smoke bomb onto the ground, and his entire body was instantly swallowed by thick smoke.
"Stop him! Don't let him get away!"
The Third Raikage shouted anxiously, his figure turning into a streak of blue lightning as he charged into the smoke.
Unfortunately, he was still one step too late.
When the smoke dispersed, only the Third Raikage remained on the field.
"Damn it! He got away again!"
The Fourth Mizukage had already anticipated this outcome. If the mysterious man didn't have some way to escape, he would have been captured last time already.
"Hokage, Kazekage, I think you owe us an explanation."
The Fourth Tsuchikage stared darkly at the two who had been standing on the outskirts doing nothing, as well as the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja in the distance who had never joined the support.
These two villages waved the banner of a shinobi alliance, yet never did anything substantive.
Every time the mysterious man appeared, they hid at the back, never intending to offer any assistance.
This act couldn't be more fake.
If the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja had provided support just now, the mysterious man would never have escaped so easily!
"Hey, hey, hey—what do you mean by that?"
Before Danzō could speak, Shamon couldn't hold back anymore.
"You youngsters—do you even know how to respect your elders? When I became Kazekage, you were still drinking milk in your mother's arms."
"Didn't you see that the Hokage and I were preventing the mysterious man's tactic of luring the force away?"
Shimura Danzō looked at Shamon in surprise, not understanding why he was defending him.
"If we'd all rushed in like you to surround the mysterious man, we would have truly fallen for his trick!"
Shamon looked at the three confused figures and spoke eloquently.
"Can any of you guarantee that the mysterious man has no accomplices? Since he can create those white humanoid creatures, he can naturally create other companions as well…"
The three newly appointed Kage were completely stunned by these words.
The key point was that it sounded extremely reasonable.
That's right—who could guarantee that the mysterious man secretly capturing the tailed beasts was acting alone?
If all of them had gone to deal with the mysterious man, they really might have fallen into his trap!
"Kazekage-senpai is right!"
After being thoroughly talked into it by Shamon's tongue, the few of them completely "understood" the two men's good intentions.
No wonder the Second Kazekage managed to survive until now.
Seeing their sudden realization, Shamon couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
They were just a few youngsters who had recently reached jōnin. The hardships I've eaten over the years are more than the salt you've ever tasted!
Deceiving them was effortless.
Shimura Danzō stared at Shamon in shock.
Worthy of being a veteran Kage from the same era as Tobirama-sensei—his experience really was far beyond that of juniors like them!
Just moving his lips was enough to scare them stiff.
No wonder Sunagakure was still being presided over by the Second generation.
Seeing the shocked look on Danzō's face, Shamon felt rather pleased inside.
He wasn't defending the Hokage here only because he knew the mysterious man's identity—he also wanted to take this opportunity to latch onto Konoha's coattails.
He was going to retire soon. Building a good relationship with Konoha now could be considered an inauguration gift for the next Kazekage.
Aside from Konoha and Sunagakure, the other villages simply didn't have this kind of foundation.
After all, all the old-generation Kage-level powerhouses of the other villages were already dead.
Clearly, Shamon's move did indeed win Danzō's favor.
After all, who doesn't like smart people?
It's just that Danzō had no mood to chat with Shamon right now.
He recalled the hand signal Renya had secretly formed with his left hand when he threw the smoke bomb.
That gesture was exclusive to their squad.
To confirm his suspicion, he dismissed Shamon with a few words, then returned to the Konoha group and found Utatane Koharu.
Utatane Koharu had naturally noticed Renya's gesture earlier. Seeing Danzō approach, she asked softly,
"Danzō, you saw it too, didn't you?"
Hearing this, Shimura Danzō knew he hadn't been mistaken—Renya really had left him a message.
The two found an unoccupied corner to talk.
Leaving behind only a baffled Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mitokado Homura.
"What are they talking about?"
"No idea."
...
On a reef above the sea not far from the Land of Water.
"Renya-sama, the mission failed again. What should we do now?" Tobi said in a panic.
He hadn't expected his perfect plan to fail just like this.
"What a pity."
Renya removed his mask and said regretfully, though no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of his mouth.
Tobi was immersed in the sorrow of the mission's failure and didn't notice Renya's expression.
Otherwise, he definitely would have asked what he was laughing about.
It was indeed a pity that Madara-sama's assigned mission had failed—but his own plan had succeeded.
Couldn't he be happy about that?
"Renya-sama, can we really complete the mission Madara-sama assigned us with just the two of us?"
Tobi was only a White Zetsu, and the help he could provide Renya was limited.
Because of that, he felt deeply guilty.
If he were stronger, maybe things wouldn't have turned out this way.
"Alright, don't be so sad." Renya smiled as he comforted him. "Go to the Land of Rain and bring Hanzō of the Salamander to me. That guy is my helper."
Hearing this, Tobi's eyes lit up.
So Renya-sama had already found a helper long ago. All that worrying earlier had been for nothing.
"Renya-sama, I'll go bring Hanzō of the Salamander to you right away!"
After speaking, Tobi immediately dashed toward the direction of the Rain Village at full speed, needing to bring the helper to Renya-sama in the shortest possible time.
Renya watched Tobi's back until it disappeared from view, then lay down on the reef to bask in the sun.
Facing the shinobi allied forces alone was indeed a bit taxing.
He had already reached an agreement with Hanzō of the Salamander before, so he might as well just call him over to help.
When the two of them faced the shinobi allied forces together, Madara-sama would feel a bit better upon hearing the news.
As long as the two of them held back a little, it would be perfectly reasonable for the mission to fail, right?
Hmm, he can't let Hanzō of the Salamander use poison to attack!
Otherwise, what if he accidentally injured Konoha ninja?
He couldn't possibly hand out antidotes right in front of everyone, could he?
For now, he'd sunbathe and rest a bit. He even had a date with Danzō tonight.
Before leaving, he had deliberately made the squad-exclusive hand signal to Shimura Danzō.
Worried that Danzō might not have seen it clearly, he even did it twice.
Ever since the squad was disbanded, he hadn't made that gesture in a long time.
It had already been many years since he last did it.
The rough meaning was for Danzō to wait for him in the small grove tonight.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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