At the Senju Tobirama Residence.
“Is Hashirama’s injury getting better, Uncle Hashirama?” Renye asked.
Since the Battle of the Valley of the End, Senju Hashirama’s injuries had shown no signs of healing.
Logically, with Hashirama’s physique, even fatal injuries should heal quickly.
But several months had passed since the Battle of the Valley of the End, and Hashirama’s injuries still hadn't improved.
This couldn’t help but make Renye worried; if Senju Hashirama died like this, wouldn’t a Ninja War break out immediately?
Senju Tobirama’s expression was solemn as he explained, “My elder brother’s cells seem to have entered a dormant state.”
During this time, he had conducted a comprehensive study of his elder brother’s body and was surprised to find that his elder brother’s cell division rate was extremely slow, like that of an aging person.
Upon hearing this, Renye couldn’t help but frown, “This is troublesome…”
The reason Senju Hashirama possessed powerful vitality and regenerative abilities was precisely because of his abnormally active cell division.
This allowed Hashirama to quickly regenerate damaged body tissues, enabling him to recover quickly even from severe injuries in battle.
But now, Hashirama’s cell division was slow.
This could only mean that during his battle with Madara, his cells were overused.
They were used to repair severe injuries,
or to undergo a large amount of cell proliferation to perform powerful Ninjutsu.
This led to a temporary decrease in cell division speed within a short period.
It’s like when the human body loses a lot of blood, the division of hematopoietic stem cells accelerates, but after a period of time, the division might slow down and require some time to return to normal.
Perhaps this was the reason why Senju Hashirama had not recovered for so long.
Renye guessed that it wouldn’t be long before Hashirama’s cell division rate would return to normal.
However, excessively fast cell division would also have a drawback: it would begin to consume life force.
Too many cell divisions lead to rapid consumption of life force.
This might be the cause of Senju Hashirama’s death…
What Renye could think of, Senju Tobirama naturally also understood.
Since his elder brother was injured, he had been researching solutions but had made no progress.
Tobirama sighed helplessly, “I’ve done my best.”
Renye remained silent.
Knowing the subsequent developments in the Ninja World, he was the person who least wanted Senju Hashirama to die.
A person’s reputation precedes them.
The title of Ninja God was not given for nothing.
As long as Senju Hashirama was alive, other countries would not dare to covet the Land of Fire.
Then war would not break out, and he would have enough time to grow stronger.
But once Senju Hashirama died, the balance of power in the Ninja World would change.
After all, if the two strongest people in the Ninja World—Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara—both died, other Ninja Villages would naturally launch wars against a leaderless Konoha.
Senju Tobirama’s expression was solemn; he thought the same as Renye.
His elder brother’s severe injuries made him realize the fragility of life and the immense loss to the Village when powerful Ninja passed away.
He began to ponder, “How can deceased Ninja serve Konoha again?”
If he could research such Ninjutsu, he could break through the boundaries of life and death.
This way, even if his elder brother truly passed away, he could summon him back…
As long as he could research this Ninjutsu, Konoha would not have to worry about the coveting of other countries.
Renye didn’t know Tobirama’s thoughts, otherwise he would have been absolutely dumbfounded.
——————
In the evening, at the Senju Hashirama Residence.
“Tobirama, little Renye, you’ve arrived,” Uzumaki Mito said softly.
Hashirama’s injuries hadn’t healed for a long time, which made her extremely worried, to the point where she looked haggard.
“Sister-in-law, how is Big Brother lately?” Senju Tobirama’s throat moved.
Senju Tobirama had three brothers in total, two of whom died in the Warring States Period, leaving only Hashirama as his elder brother.
He didn’t want his elder brother to die like this…
“Still the same, no improvement at all,” Uzumaki Mito’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
During this time, she had invited many medical Ninja to treat Hashirama, but it had no effect.
Seeing this, Tobirama comforted her, “Don’t worry, Sister-in-law, I will definitely find a solution.”
After speaking, he led Renye into the house.
“Tobirama, little Renye, why have you come?”
Senju Hashirama sat up with difficulty and looked at the two.
“Uncle Hashirama, are you alright?” Renye’s face showed worry.
He prayed in his heart, “Uncle Hashirama, please hold on for a few more years, I haven’t grown strong yet.”
Senju Hashirama felt a warmth in his heart when he saw Renye’s worried expression.
He had indeed not misjudged this child…
“Haha, little Renye, you don’t have to worry, my injuries will heal soon.”
He had a premonition that his injuries would recover very soon.
“Big Brother, is what you said true?” Senju Tobirama quickly asked.
“It’s true, Tobirama,” Hashirama said, “I can feel the injuries on my body slowly recovering.”
Saying that, he revealed the injury on his arm.
Renye and Tobirama quickly stepped forward to examine it.
Just as Senju Hashirama said, the wounds on his body were healing.
Although they weren’t healing as fast as before, they were truly healing.
Seeing this, Renye immediately breathed a sigh of relief,
“It’s good that you’re alright, Uncle Hashirama.”
“Haha, I made you worry.” Hashirama reached out and ruffled Renye’s hair.
The more he looked at this child, the more he liked him.
The worry on Renye’s face just now couldn’t be faked; he could clearly feel that this child was truly concerned for his safety.
“Big Brother, it’s good that you’re alright. If anything happens, just have Sister-in-law come find me.”
Tobirama looked at Hashirama, paused, and then said, “Big Brother, you must recover. The Village cannot be without you…”
Hearing this, Hashirama put away his smile, his expression serious: “I understand, Tobirama.”
After understanding Senju Hashirama’s condition, Renye immediately began to frantically accept missions.
He knew that he didn’t have much time left to grow stronger.
He had to possess the strength to protect himself before Senju Hashirama passed away.
This way, he wouldn’t become cannon fodder in a war.
………
In the following days, Renye was either executing missions or on his way to execute missions.
This really wore out Danzo Shimura and Utatane Koharu.
Several times, the three had just finished a mission, their injuries not yet recovered, when Renye had already started a new one.
However, the results were significant.
During the course of their missions, the three engaged in multiple life-or-death battles, constantly reviewing and summarizing, and their strength greatly improved.
In just one year, their strength was already close to that of a Chunin.
Yusuke Senju gave the three a high evaluation.
——————
At the border of the Land of Fire.
“Renye-kun, after this mission, shall we take a break?” A hint of fatigue flashed in Utatane Koharu’s eyes.
This was already their fifth mission this month.
Excluding travel and rest time, they were almost constantly on missions.
Hearing this, Danzo Shimura paused his bandaging, his gaze falling on Renye.
Although he didn’t speak, he also wanted to rest.
Renye lowered his eyes, wiping innocence; the blade reflected their disheveled appearances.
Utatane Koharu was pale from Chakra overuse.
Danzo Shimura’s bandaged arm was still seeping blood.
Amidst their anticipation, Renye nodded in agreement.
“It is indeed time for a break,” Renye sheathed his sword.
Danzo’s tense expression finally relaxed a little.
Damn it, they could finally rest.
If he had to do another mission, he might die during it…
Koharu, meanwhile, clapped Renye’s back excitedly and turned to run towards the Village: “Then it’s settled, I’m going to sleep for three days and three nights!”
Mission complete, preparing for return.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long.