Just as they were about to enter the Land of Fire, Renjiro suddenly stopped. His students looked at him. Hodaka asked, "Teacher, what happened?"
Renjiro replied, "Shen Cheng is dead!"
His students were all shocked.
Mieko and Hodaka thought, "How could such a strong person suddenly die?"
Feng Zheng was the quickest to recover from the shock and concluded, "It seems Kakuzu killed him for his heart. Although Renjiro didn't say anything, his Shadow Clone probably destroyed one of the hearts. Most likely the lightning one."
Hodaka asked, "Teacher, how did he die?"
Renjiro replied, "It seems they had an argument. When Shen Cheng turned around, Kakuzu attacked him. His technique indeed relies on hearts, and he took Shen Cheng's heart after killing him."
Renjiro pondered seriously for a while. After some time, he said, "Don't tell anyone about him. I will secretly report to Hokage-sama and have him investigate Kakuzu."
His students nodded. In peacetime, the death or betrayal of an Elite Jonin was always a big deal. It was better to leave such matters to the Village to handle.
The squad continued to advance rapidly. Hodaka asked, "Teacher, aren't we going to the patrol outpost?"
Renjiro shook his head and said, "No. A lot has happened on this mission, and it's best to report to the Village immediately. As for Seiichi, I'll talk to him later."
Feng Zheng thought, "Yes, that would be best. Although we are within the Land of Fire, I am not safe here."
Because they had eaten soldier pills, they did not feel tired. So they continued without any rest until they arrived at Konoha.
Land of Rain:
Deep within the dense forests of the Land of Rain, there was a hideout. Even light struggled to reach it.
Only a handful of people knew of its existence. A man sat motionless in this hideout.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the ground and appeared before him.
The man opened his eyes. His eyes glowed with a purple light. Multiple circles could be seen in his eyes.
White Zetsu said, "Pain! Pain! You won't believe what I saw!"
The sitting man was Nagato, also known as Pain. Pain looked at White Zetsu, waiting for him to continue. But he said nothing.
Pain asked, "What did you see?"
White Zetsu said excitedly, "Kakuzu and Shen Cheng engaged with a Konoha squad. The Konoha Ninja successfully escaped and injured them. In the end, Kakuzu and Shen Cheng had an argument, and Kakuzu killed him."
Pain was very surprised. He asked, "Which Konoha squad did they encounter? Have the remaining two Sannin returned?"
Black Zetsu replied, "No. It was Konoha Elite Jonin Senju Renjiro and his students."
Pain asked, "How strong are he and his students?"
Black Zetsu replied, "Renjiro has a bounty of 45 million ryo and is very strong, but not yet S-Rank. His students have just been promoted to Chunin."
Pain was surprised again. However, he quickly became disappointed. He thought, "A squad of newly promoted Chunin led by an Elite Jonin successfully injured Akatsuki members and managed to escape. They even caused an argument, leading to the death of one of my members. How disappointing."
White Zetsu said, "It was so unexpected! Shen Cheng just turned around, and Kakuzu stabbed him in the back."
Pain and Black Zetsu ignored White Zetsu. Black Zetsu asked, "What do we do now?"
Pain replied, "Let Kakuzu act alone for now. Find him a partner he can't kill."
White Zetsu said, "Since the Konoha Ninja fought them, Konoha now has information about us. If they focus their attention on us, it could cause a lot of trouble! They have some very powerful Ninja!"
Pain said, "They probably already know about us. Even if they take any action against us, it won't pose a threat. You don't need to worry; just focus on finding stronger members."
Zetsu nodded and left. White Zetsu said, "This is truly surprising. I thought he would be angry or upset."
Black Zetsu said, "He is very strong. Even without Akatsuki, he could capture all nine Tailed Beasts. So he doesn't care about those weaklings who die so easily."
White Zetsu laughed, "Yes, his eyes are so scary!"
Zetsu would search for new members for Akatsuki. Unfortunately, Hidan would not be able to complete his rituals for quite some time. Therefore, more Akatsuki members would die at Kakuzu's hands.
Konoha:
After an overnight journey, the Renjiro Squad returned to Konoha early in the morning. Along the way, Renjiro imparted his vast knowledge to his students, preparing them for their future.
Upon entering Konoha, they immediately headed to the Hokage Building. The group walked towards the Hokage Office.
The door was closed. Renjiro stepped forward and knocked. However, an ANBU Ninja appeared before him.
The ANBU Ninja said seriously, "Hokage-sama is busy. Please wait a moment."
Renjiro looked back at him and said, "This matter is very important."
The ANBU Ninja was startled. He knew Renjiro. He said, "Hokage-sama is in a meeting with the elders."
Renjiro said, "This matter is even more important. It's good that the elders are present; they will also want to hear my report."
The ANBU Ninja nodded and said, "Please wait a moment."
He knocked on the door.
Inside the office, Hiruzen was discussing matters with Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado. They stopped as soon as they heard the knock.
The ANBU Ninja entered and said, "Hokage-sama, Senju Renjiro has returned and has something important to report."
Hiruzen frowned. He thought, "Anyone who knows Renjiro knows he wouldn't interrupt without good reason."
He said, "Alright, let him in."
Hearing Hiruzen's words, Renjiro entered the office. His students followed him. The ANBU Ninja left the office and closed the door.
Hiruzen looked at Renjiro and asked, "Renjiro, how was the mission?"
Renjiro replied, "The mission went smoothly. There were 16 rogue Ninja from Hidden Mist Village, and we killed 13 of them. I will report the details later. What happened on our way back is very important."
Hiruzen and the elders paid close attention. Renjiro was one of the few relatively active Elite Jonin in Konoha. If he considered something important, it must be serious.
Renjiro said, "On our way back, we were attacked by two rogue Ninja, one of whom was Shen Cheng from Hidden Cloud Village."
Hiruzen and the elders immediately became serious.
Renjiro continued, "The other one is named Kakuzu, a rogue Ninja from Takigakure. Feng Zheng remembered his information from the bounty list. It is said that he once tried to assassinate the First Hokage."
This greatly surprised them. Koharu immediately said, "That's impossible. If it's true, that person should be very old and not worth our attention."
Renjiro said, "He is stronger than me and could easily be classified as an S-Rank Ninja. Fortunately, we tricked them with clones to escape; otherwise, even escaping would have been unlikely."
This shocked them again. Renjiro's strength was top-tier in Konoha.
Only three people in Konoha could claim to be able to kill him without letting him escape. Hiruzen asked, "Even you couldn't escape?"
Renjiro nodded. He said, "What's more concerning is that they were wearing the same uniform, both wearing black cloaks with red clouds."
Hiruzen's eyes widened. Renjiro noticed. Hiruzen said, "Akatsuki."
After a pause, he continued, "That's the organization my traitorous student joined after betraying us."
Renjiro was greatly surprised. He asked, "Orochimaru is there too? How much do we know about this organization?"
Hiruzen replied, "Not much. Jiraiya tracked Orochimaru, and then they fought. He got this information from Orochimaru. We did some investigation. It's a mercenary organization. Iwagakure and the surrounding small countries often hire them."
"We don't know much about them. Their leader is a mystery. So is the total number of their members. Besides Orochimaru, we've only heard of Juzo joining them. Now we know Shen Cheng and Kakuzu have also joined them."
Renjiro analyzed, "That's not much information."
Hiruzen nodded. They discussed some things about Akatsuki and the measures they should take. Renjiro then told them all the details of the encounter.
Feng Zheng, Hodaka, and Mieko listened carefully and observed how Renjiro spoke with the leadership and provided information.
They noticed that Renjiro did not mention Feng Zheng's performance in the battle with Shen Cheng.
After half an hour of discussion, Hiruzen handed the mission rewards to the Renjiro Squad.
Hiruzen looked at the newly promoted Chunin, who had just experienced such a terrible encounter. He thought, "Alas, I don't want such young children to face such dangers. But since they survived, this incident will make them even stronger. Should I reward them with something to motivate them?"
With that thought, Hiruzen's gaze fell on Feng Zheng. He immediately decided, "No, there's no need."
After the Renjiro Squad bid farewell, they left the Hokage Building.