— — — — — —
"I also need to talk with sister Tsunade!"
"I just found some old files that prove Danzo really was targeting the Senju Clan and even Nawaki back in the day! I can't believe it!"
"This… this really is connected to them. How dare they?"
Kushina's voice trembled with anger.
Whether it was Uzumaki Mito, Tsunade, or Nawaki back then — they were all good to her. Back when she had just arrived in Konoha, they were the ones who supported her.
And now, it turns out Nawaki and the fall of the Senju clan were tied to Danzo and even Hiruzen?
"No."
But Renzo shook his head and said calmly, "Let me handle this. I've got my own plans."
He definitely wasn't about to hand over a chance to meet Tsunade to Kushina. He was planning to make some moves on her too!
"Huh?" Kushina blinked. "You sure?"
"You do realize you're a Uchiha, right? Tsunade doesn't exactly have a lot of love for your clan. I can pull this off, but you? Not so sure."
The Uchiha-Senju beef was ancient and deep-rooted.
"Don't worry. I'm mentally very prepared. Worst-case, if I screw up, I'll let you handle it, Kushina-nee!" Renzo grinned shamelessly.
"…Alright, fine."
Kushina gave in. Seeing his expression, it looked like he had something else in mind when it came to Tsunade anyway.
"Then let's not waste time. I'll send you guys back now. Minato, you try to convince Jiraiya ASAP. The Kirigakure front will wrap up in less than a month."
"Here, everything's in this sealed scroll."
Renzo handed Minato a special sealing scroll, then waved his hand and gathered up all the original documents from the floor and table.
"You punk! So you were already prepared, huh? That confident I'd agree?"
Minato laughed and took the scroll.
"I believe in your love for Konoha, Minato-san. Once you read it, I knew you wouldn't say no."
Renzo looked full of certainty.
"Alright, alright. You got me. But I don't mind. Send us back, it's been long enough."
Minato chuckled and shook his head.
Though he could've just teleported back himself, out of respect for Renzo, he didn't.
"Got it."
Renzo activated the Flying Thunder God technique and, in a flash, appeared at Minato and Kushina's home.
Then, Kushina brought out a scroll containing the sealing jutsu they had agreed to trade. She handed it to Renzo, and only then did he finally leave — satisfied.
— — —
At the Senju Residence
Tsunade had just returned home from the hospital when she noticed someone sitting in her living room.
"…Huh?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
She calmly shut the door, took off her shoes, and walked in. Sitting down across from the man, she folded her arms and asked coldly:
"What the hell are you doing in my house, brat?"
"…If I remember right, your name's Uchiha Renzo? You better have a damn good reason for barging in like this. Just because you saved that Rena girl doesn't mean you'll leave this place in one piece!"
Yeah… she didn't have much love for the Uchiha. Though to be fair, she didn't totally hate them either.
She had heard from Kushina that Renzo was the one who saved Uzumaki Rena (Karin's mother). Not many people knew that, so her impression of him wasn't all bad.
"My apologies for the sudden visit, Lady Tsunade." Renzo smiled slightly.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm really not feeling the 'apology' in your tone. Just spill it already — what do you want? Or I will start throwing punches."
She even raised her fist a bit.
Renzo knew — that was the legendary monster strength fist. Not something you wanna mess with.
"…Fair enough."
Renzo nodded, then reached into his pouch and pulled out a stack of documents and mission files. He laid them out on the small table and gestured politely.
"Before I explain why I'm here, please take a look at these first. Once you've seen them, I'll tell you everything. They're directly connected to the Senju Clan… and your brother, Nawaki."
"…What?"
Tsunade's face darkened, her brow furrowing.
BANG!
She slammed her palm onto the small table, leaving a deep imprint. Her glare pierced straight into Renzo.
"You little brat… are you trying to piss me off on purpose?"
Daring to bring up the Senju and Nawaki in front of her — what, did he think that just because she had a sliver of goodwill toward him, he could say whatever he wanted?
"Not at all."
Renzo shrugged, completely calm. "I pulled these straight from Danzo's Root base. Read them first — Kushina and Minato have both seen them already."
"Oh?"
Tsunade's expression eased a little, though her eyes still held suspicion as she picked up one of the documents.
But the moment she started reading, her anger flared right back up—though this time, not at Renzo, but at Danzo and the Third Hokage.
"DANZO! HIRUZEN!! You two.."
Still, she didn't lash out immediately. Instead, she went through every single file on the table. When she reached the ones about Nawaki, her hands trembled and she nearly lost it, but she forced herself to read to the very last page.
By the time she was done, her eyes were filled with barely restrained fury as she looked at Renzo and asked, her voice low and dangerous, "You're saying you stole these from Danzo's base?"
"That bastard is known for being paranoid and careful. You're telling me you just walked in and got this stuff? He hasn't even noticed yet?"
Honestly, she already believed everything in those files. Many of the events they referenced happened decades ago—way before Renzo was even born—and the details matched up too well.
"Let's just say I've got my own special tricks," Renzo replied, casually spreading his hands. "Now, how about we talk about working together?"
"Working together?"
Tsunade frowned. "I don't recall agreeing to any sort of cooperation with you."
Right now, all she wanted to do was march over to Danzo and the Third and make them pay.
For years, she'd suspected that the fall of the Senju Clan and Nawaki's death weren't as simple as they looked. But suspicion wasn't proof. That lack of evidence was one of the main reasons she gave up on Konoha and walked away.
But now? With this stack of hard evidence in her hands? If she still did nothing, then who the hell was she?
"I'm talking about taking down Danzo… and maybe even the Third while we're at it," Renzo said bluntly. "By the way, Kushina and Minato are already on board."
"Minato's also going to talk to Jiraiya. And Orochimaru's in the mix, too. So now it all comes down to you, Lady Tsunade."
Renzo looked her straight in the eyes. He had to admit—this woman was gorgeous. And the fact that she was older? That just made her all the more tempting. Yep he was a milf guy.
"Huh?"
Tsunade was clearly surprised. The anger in her eyes faded a little as she gave Renzo a curious look. "Not bad, kid. I didn't think you had it in you. You really managed to rope in that many key players without making a sound."
"So… you planning to take down the Third and snatch the Hokage seat for yourself?"
Damn it! This brat was seriously dangerous.
The last time she'd heard of him was when he saved Uzumaki Rena. And before that, it was the incident where he used some monstrous Lightning Release technique to annihilate dozens of Iwa Jonin and hundreds of Chunin and Genin during a rescue mission with Minato.
Then the Third pulled him back to the village and kept him on ice. She even laughed back then, thinking the Third was just doing his usual "suppress the talented" routine.
But it looked like this kid hadn't been lying low—he'd just been quietly scheming all along.
"What a terrifying guy," Tsunade thought to herself.
Renzo just shrugged. "Taking down the Third is a must. He's done way too much damage over the years, and it's all hurt Konoha in the long run."
"Think about it—back in the day, Konoha was the strongest village in the entire shinobi world. Now? After the Third Great Ninja War, we're practically hollowed out."
"The advantage built up by the First and Second Hokage? Gone, thanks to him and Danzo. Letting him stay in power any longer would only make things worse."
"But I've got no interest in becoming Hokage myself."
"Sure, I've got the strength for it—but not the popularity, and I'm too young anyway. Plus, I hate dealing with that kind of hassle. To me, being Hokage just sounds like a giant pain in the ass."
"I've always believed that if your personal strength is high enough, it doesn't matter if you wear the title or not. So yeah, we've already agreed—Minato will be the Fourth."
Outside the Uchiha and a few close allies, the rest of Konoha's clans would never accept it. What was Renzo supposed to do—force them with raw power?
Too much trouble. Too much effort.
And honestly? Not worth it.
.
.
.