Senju Tobirama sat at his desk, writing the last character on a document with his pen.
Outside the window, the last rays of the setting sun gradually faded, and the lights in Konoha Village lit up one by one.
He put down his pen, rubbed his brow, and glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already well past dinner time.
One hour and twelve minutes.
—He was a full hour and twelve minutes late!
Usually, by this time, Renye would have already started clearing the dishes from the table, but today he hadn't come to deliver dinner.
Could that Old Man have forgotten such an important matter?
Senju Tobirama had been dealing with documents all afternoon, just looking forward to a delicious meal at dinner time to relieve the day's fatigue.
It could be said that he relied on this meal to maintain his enthusiasm for work, but the meal was late in arriving.
Tobirama frowned slightly, a hint of displeasure flashing in his red eyes.
He stood up, walked to the window, and looked in the direction of the Commercial Street.
Renye usually came from this road to the Hokage Office to deliver his meals.
The street was bustling with people, lively and vibrant, but there was no familiar figure carrying a food box.
Senju Tobirama stared for a long time, still not seeing Renye.
“Grrr—”
His stomach rumbled again, making him feel inexplicably annoyed.
He had been eating Renye's cooking every day recently, and not eating a meal made him feel very unaccustomed.
He hadn't felt this way before; it was just that his appetite had become picky from the battlefield.
Even when that Old Man was on the battlefield, he would cook for him.
After a long time, it was uncomfortable not to eat a meal.
Moreover, Tobirama had been dealing with his sister-in-law's urging for marriage at noon, and he hadn't eaten much of the food on the table; it had all been eaten by Renye and Tsunade.
Now he was counting on dinner, but that Old Man was still not here, who knows what he went to do.
He sat back down in his chair, his fingers tapping the desktop in a slow, oppressive rhythm.
Why hasn't he come yet… why hasn't he come yet?
“Wait ten more minutes.” He looked at the clock and muttered to himself, “If he still hasn't come, I'll go back and see.”
These documents on the table could be reviewed tomorrow, but he absolutely could not work on an empty stomach; that was not his style.
Without delicious food, how could he have the mind to work?
As he waited anxiously, ten minutes quickly passed, and Renye's figure still did not appear.
“Hmph, I want to see what that Old Man is up to!” Senju Tobirama took off his Hokage hat and left the Hokage Office.
That Old Man actually forgot such an important matter, it's unforgivable!
…………
Senju Tobirama Residence.
Renye rushed into the house in a panic, casually placing the sweets he bought on the table, and then plunged into the kitchen.
It's over, it's over, it's so late!
After being a cook for so many years, this was the first time he had forgotten to cook.
He frantically rummaged through ingredients, pots and pans clanging, only to discover with horror that there were no ingredients at home at all.
He had been fighting outside recently, so how could there be ingredients at home?
He had cooked at Aunt Mito's house this afternoon, and then went shopping with Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others until now, so he had no time to buy ingredients.
“I was so busy having fun that I forgot to prepare ingredients,” Renye murmured softly, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. “That Old Man won't come looking for trouble with me, will he?”
He glanced at the time; it was more than two hours later than his usual meal delivery time.
It was clearly unrealistic to go out and buy ingredients at this time.
By the time the ingredients were bought, Senju Tobirama would already be back.
No, he was probably already on his way back.
“No time, no time…” Renye muttered to himself, his gaze sweeping across the cupboard and finally settling on a bag of flour in the corner.
Now he could only make a bowl of noodles for now.
He quickly set up the pot, added water, grabbed the flour, and frantically kneaded the dough.
Move faster, you clumsy hands!
The dough was kneaded crookedly in his hands, bulging here and collapsing there.
He completely disregarded its appearance, only wanting to get the noodles into the pot quickly.
He had to be fast, time was of the essence.
No one knew when Senju Tobirama would return.
Flames licked the bottom of the pot, and the water quickly boiled, bubbling and rolling, as if urging him to hurry.
Renye immediately put the noodles into the pot, and while they were cooking, he started rummaging through the kitchen again, trying to find some side dishes.
But after searching high and low, besides a handful of wilted greens, he couldn't find any decent ingredients.
Renye stood in the wind, utterly disheveled, holding the greens.
But time was short, and he had no other choice but to bite the bullet and throw the greens into the pot.
Just eat it for now; anyway, that Old Man isn't picky.
Finally, the noodles were cooked.
Renye quickly scooped up the noodles, dumped them into a bowl, and then covered them with the few wilted greens, trying to make the meal look less meager.
As soon as he placed the noodles in the food box, he heard familiar footsteps at the door.
Renye's heart sank, and before he could react, Senju Tobirama's tall figure appeared at the kitchen doorway.
He just turned around and saw Senju Tobirama leaning against the doorframe with a dark expression, his red eyes fixed on him.
“Uncle, why are you here? I was just about to bring you dinner,” Renye said, raising the food box in his hand somewhat guiltily.
“Two and a half hours,” Senju Tobirama's voice was low. “You're two and a half hours later than usual.”
He was almost starving in the office, and when he got home, he saw that Old Man had just finished cooking.
“I went shopping with Danzo and the others this afternoon and forgot about it,” Renye quickly explained the reason.
Senju Tobirama's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed upon hearing this.
After all, it was he himself who had suggested that Renye go out more...
Since that Old Man forgot to cook because of this, then he would forgive him.
Anyway, it was only two more hours without food.
And isn't that Old Man already finished cooking now?
“Don't forget next time.”
Senju Tobirama didn't continue the topic, walking closer and looking at the food box with anticipation.
After waiting all afternoon, he could finally eat delicious food.
He wondered what delicious things that Old Man had cooked today?
“Uncle, are you starving?” Renye slowly opened the food box under Tobirama's expectant gaze.
When Senju Tobirama's gaze fell on the bowl of bland noodles, his expression instantly froze, and a large question mark appeared on his forehead.
He saw a few tangled noodles at the bottom of the bowl, with a few wilted greens floating sparsely on top.
Was this kind of food really made by that Old Man?
A moment later, he slowly looked up at Renye.
“You… just made this?”
That Old Man actually dared to fool him; he absolutely couldn't let him off tonight!
He had originally thought that since Renye had just returned from the battlefield, he wouldn't use him for experiments for a short while.
Now, it seemed he had to change his mind.
“After eating too much rich food, it's good to have something light occasionally to change the taste.”
“Don't you agree, Uncle?”
At this moment, Renye had not yet realized the seriousness of the situation.
Senju Tobirama left silently, carrying the noodles with a dark expression.
But really, although the presentation was a bit lacking, the taste was quite good.
As expected of food made by that Old Man...
Renye wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, saying with lingering fear.
“I finally managed to bluff my way through.”
...
...
PS: I had writer's block today, only two chapters. It's probably because I haven't been fighting Zetsu these past two days, boohoohoo...