When Senju Tobirama arrived on the battlefield, he naturally took over the command.
The previous Commander became his adjutant, responsible for relaying orders and offering suggestions.
The deaths of the Long-haired Strong Man and Kinkaku plunged the Kumogakure forces into complete disarray, leaving them leaderless.
With their battlefield Commander dead and no orders from the Village's higher-ups, the Cloud Ninja were at a loss.
Seizing this opportunity, Senju Tobirama led the Konoha Ninja in a victorious pursuit, pushing the front lines forward a hundred miles in just a few days.
The remnants of the Kumogakure army fled, without even the thought of resistance, only hoping their Village would surrender soon.
In fact, the higher-ups of Hidden Cloud Village were already in a frantic state upon hearing the news.
They truly hadn't expected to lose several Shadow-level Experts in a single war!
For such a long time, Hidden Cloud Village hadn't even nominated a candidate for the Second Raikage…
The few individuals with the highest hopes and most popular support to become Raikage had all sacrificed themselves on the battlefield.
The remaining ones were either too old or too inexperienced, mostly incapable of bearing such a heavy responsibility.
Adding to that, the Konoha Ninja on the front lines were pressing hard; if they didn't surrender soon, the situation would become irreversible.
The Village's higher-ups regretted their actions, wishing they hadn't attacked the Land of Fire if they had known this would happen…
Now, the only option before them was surrender.
Kumogakure's higher-ups prepared to elect a Second Raikage, and then initiate surrender to Konoha Village.
...
"Kumogakure will surrender within three months."
Senju Tobirama stood on the newly occupied watchtower, looking at the retreating Cloud Ninja in the distance, his tone confident.
The current Hidden Cloud Village had suffered heavy losses, practically losing the qualifications to contend with Konoha.
There was no benefit in stubbornly holding on; surrender was only a matter of time.
And all of this was thanks to…
Senju Tobirama subconsciously looked at the black-haired young man beside him.
Renye Jonin, with a senbon in his mouth, mumbled in agreement:
"Exactly, all their high-level combatants are dead, what can they fight with? They can't possibly send the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki to the battlefield, can they?"
Putting aside whether Hidden Cloud Village's Jinchuriki had suppressed their Tailed Beast, even if they had, whether they dared to send it to the battlefield was another matter entirely…
If they really forced out the Jinchuriki, that would be a huge problem.
At that time, they would only be able to ask Aunt Mito to go to the battlefield.
Senju Tobirama glanced at him sideways: "Are you very idle lately?"
Renye immediately became alert, quickly spitting out the senbon from his mouth, "No, I'm very busy lately!"
Before he finished speaking, he began to pretend to observe the surrounding environment, as if searching for hidden Cloud Ninja.
This Old Man wants to find an excuse to make him cook again; he absolutely cannot let him catch him!
It was one thing to cook at home, but on the battlefield too? Was he not allowed to live?
And if this matter were to spread, how would he ever get by in the Village again?!
The esteemed ‘Poison Master of Death’ of Konoha, the one who made Sand and Kumogakure unable to lift their heads, was secretly a cook for the Senju family.
If people found out, he would surely be socially dead!
Senju Tobirama snorted lightly, saying nothing more.
Did he think that meant he wouldn't have to cook?
This kid was too naive!
He had a hundred ways to make Renye obediently cook.
He hoped Renye wouldn't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.
For the past few months, he had been processing documents in the Village, directing the battlefield situation…
He was busy every day, so much so that he didn't even have time to sleep, and for meals, he just made do with soldier pills.
Now that he was on the battlefield, shouldn't he have a good meal?
It was well known that commanding a battlefield was a very brain-consuming task, requiring ample nutrition to replenish the expenditure.
When they returned to the Konoha Camp, he absolutely had to make this kid cook a meal to reward him!
It wasn't that he wanted to eat delicacies, but rather that he needed to supplement his nutrition.
As Hokage, his physical health was of utmost importance; there could be no signs of malnutrition.
There were still many things in the Village that needed him to handle.
Renye noticed Senju Tobirama's ill-intentioned gaze and had a feeling that this Old Man was plotting something.
Damn it, he couldn't possibly be planning to make him cook again, could he?
...
Just as Renye expected, the following days became exceptionally "fulfilling."
During the day, he would occasionally visit the front lines, casually killing a few unobservant Cloud Ninja.
Or he would stay in the Konoha Camp to study the theory of the Flying Thunder God Technique; after half a year of study, he had mostly grasped it.
He was one step closer to completely mastering the Flying Thunder God Technique.
As for the evenings…
"Kid, it's time to cook."
Senju Tobirama's voice rang out promptly from outside the tent.
Because he had become the Hokage's exclusive cook, Renye's life had also thoroughly improved.
From his original three-person tent, he now had a single-person tent.
This greatly reduced the risk of the matter being exposed, and Renye was quite satisfied with this.
As long as Danzo Shimura and Utatane Koharu didn't find out…
Renye went to Senju Tobirama's tent, tied on an apron with a look of utter despair, and while chopping vegetables, he gritted his teeth and muttered:
"The dignified Second Hokage, invincible on the battlefield, yet constantly thinking about food every day!"
"Damn it, he really treats me like a cook!"
Senju Tobirama listened to Renye's grumbling, a slight smile playing on his lips.
This kid was becoming more and more talkative lately.
But this was not bad…
Much better than that evil Uchiha brat from back then.
This time, Renye prepared two portions of ingredients, one for the Old Man and one for himself.
Since he had to cook anyway, he might as well make an extra portion for himself.
For this meal, he hadn't eaten dinner.
Thus, a strange phenomenon appeared in the Konoha Camp.
Every deep night, the aroma of food would waft from the Second Hokage's tent, an aroma that could spread across half the Konoha Camp.
Some Konoha Ninja, awakened by the food's aroma, would always see Renye Jonin stealthily carrying a bento box back to his own tent.
He originally thought he wouldn't be discovered…
But unfortunately, good times didn't last, and the matter was eventually exposed.
...
On a certain moonless, windy night, Hiruzen Sarutobi and others followed the scent to Renye's tent.
"Oh, eating well, aren't we?"
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly appear, Renye's hand trembled, and the grilled fish almost dropped to the ground.
He had been too engrossed in eating the grilled fish just now and hadn't noticed the movements around him.
Now, he was caught red-handed.
Immediately after, Danzo Shimura pulled back the curtain: "Sharing is caring."
Uchiha Kagami, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado squeezed in one after another.
Five pairs of eyes stared intently at the delicacies on the table.
Renye: "…"
It was over, he had been discovered.
The thing he worried about most had finally happened.
Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile, "Renye, you're not being fair. You secretly cook for Tobirama-sensei, but you don't cook for us."
Danzo Shimura added ominously, "Chef, you wouldn't want this matter to spread, would you?"
Renye: "…"
These bastards, how dare they threaten him!