A light morning mist veiled the harbor of Village.
Two figures boarded a fisherman’s boat.
Renya’s gaze swept over the barrels on the deck, noting they were packed full of ice.
Clearly, it was for transporting seafood...
After all, bringing seafood inland from the Land of Water took ti. If it spoiled midway, the loss would be significant.
He looked out over the endless stretch of sea and murmured,
"This place really is cut off from the rest of the world."
Due to its unique geography, the Land of Water was hard to gather intel on from the outside.
That was one reason no one had discovered Obito’s long-standing control over the Mizukage.
"Haha, the view here’s pretty nice!" Hashirama said cheerfully, looking toward the sunrise slowly rising on the distant horizon.
Renya nodded in agreent.
"It really is."
Roughly two hours later, the boat finally docked.
Before they even stepped onto shore, the bustling cries of the dockworkers rang out.
The strong sll of seafood assaulted them, and Renya instinctively covered his nose.
He had to admit, the scent was a bit overpowering.
He was already starting to lose his appetite for seafood...
Because of his usual diet, Renya rarely ate sashimi.
This trip was purely because he’d heard the seafood in the Land of Water was top-tier—he wanted to try it for himself.
Fishern wearing straw hats held up bamboo baskets, live lobsters waving their claws.
Tanned n pushed carts piled high with baskets of shellfish.
"Young man, want to buy so shellfish?" one man called out warmly upon spotting Renya.
"Caught fresh this morning, guaranteed quality!"
"No, thanks," Renya replied instinctively. "Hashirama-san, let’s go."
He thought there wasn’t much to see at the docks—might as well head to Kirigakure directly.
With that thought, he turned to look at Hashirama beside him—only to find no one there.
Renya glanced around, and finally spotted Hashirama standing at a vendor’s stall.
Hashirama was curiously leaning over a seafood stand, using exaggerated hand gestures to haggle with the vendor. His loud laughter drew curious glances from passersby.
Renya: "..."
He walked up beside Hashirama and urged, "Hashirama-san, we should get going."
Hearing that, Hashirama reluctantly gave up, clearly disappointed.
"Renya, I was just about to seal the deal with the vendor."
He felt that if Renya hadn’t butted in, he absolutely could’ve driven the price down.
Watching the pair leave, the vendor let out a breath of relief and muttered under his breath:
"Who even haggles like that?"
Five hundred ryō per 0.5 kg, and that guy opened with—
Fifty ryō.
A bowl of ran costs sixty!
He nearly died of stress thanks to Senju Hashirama...
If the vendor hadn’t known Hashirama was a shinobi, he’d have chased him off already.
...
"Mizukage-sama, soone suspected to be the God of Shinobi has entered the village."
Kirigakure, Mizukage’s Office.
"What?" The First Mizukage, Byakuren, widened his eyes and shot up from his chair. "Did you say the God of Shinobi?!"
"Yes, Mizukage-sama," the subordinate confird.
"Damn it, what’s that guy doing here?!" Byakuren’s eyes bulged.
Only, his eyes were misaligned—making it look like he couldn’t focus them properly.
He’d lost his left eye during the war years ago, and over ti it had beco like that.
"Could it be that at the Five Kage Summit, I didn’t give him enough respect, and now he’s here for revenge?" The more Byakuren thought, the more terrified he beca.
Though all five Kage were considered top-tier powerhouses, Senju Hashirama’s strength was on another level entirely.
Forget him—even if the other four Kage tead up, they still wouldn’t be a match for Hashirama.
Thinking of that, Byakuren’s face went pale, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Quick, take to the God of Shinobi—I must apologize for my past arrogance myself!" Byakuren urged anxiously.
There was no ti to waste!
The God of Shinobi had shown up at his door!
Better to apologize in person before things escalated.
Maybe... just maybe there was still a chance to make ands...
He believed that soone with Hashirama’s magnanimity would surely forgive an old man like him.
...
On the other side of the village.
Renya and Hashirama were completely unaware of the events unfolding at the Mizukage’s office.
The two were standing outside a shop called "Taste of the Sea."
"Renya, what do you think of this place?" Hashirama asked.
Before Renya could respond, Tanihana let out a series of ows, then leapt from Hashirama’s arms and ran into the shop.
"Haha, looks like we don’t have a choice now." Hashirama scratched his head and laughed.
"What a greedy cat," Renya sighed helplessly and followed inside.
The shop was filled with the aroma of seaweed and sake.
Renya grabbed Tanihana by the scruff to stop it from darting around and disturbing the other patrons.
The proprietress, wearing a blue-and-white apron, froze when she saw the cat in Renya’s hand, then quickly smiled and said,
"Sorry, we don’t allow cats in the store—"
Before she could finish, Hashirama pulled out a wad of money and placed it on the counter.
"We can pay extra!"
Renya covered his face with his hand—what kind of over-the-top display of wealth was this?
Wait a second—where did Hashirama-san even get money?
Didn’t Mito-san confiscate all of it?
He rembered that all their expenses on this trip had been paid out of his own pocket—even the dango earlier was bought with his advance...
Noticing Renya’s expression, Hashirama scratched his head awkwardly.
"Haha, I managed to stash away a bit over the years..."
Renya nodded—he didn’t really care.
With Hashirama’s strength, making money was surely no trouble at all.
He just wondered whether it ca from missions... or embezzled funds...
"Right this way!" the proprietress said, taking the money and leading the two n and one cat to a seat.
"ow ow ow~" Tanihana started yowling anxiously upon seeing the sashimi on the surrounding tables.
If Renya weren’t holding it by the scruff, it would’ve bolted already.
Annoyed by the noise, Renya snapped coldly, "Ugly cat, keep yowling and I’ll turn you into a dead cat."
Hearing that, Tanihana imdiately quieted down.
Satisfied, Renya dropped it on the floor.
Just as Tanihana was about to move, Renya spoke again.
"If you dare run off, sa result—dead cat."
"ow~" Tanihana obediently lay flat on the ground.
Hashirama chuckled as he picked it up again, gently stroking its bristled fur.
When the sashimi platter arrived, Tanihana’s eyes locked onto the fatty salmon belly resting on the ice.
Just as Renya picked up a slice of tuna, Tanihana suddenly leapt onto the table and reached a paw toward a piece of sea bream.
"If you try to take it, I’ll cut off that paw," Renya said calmly. "Whichever one you use, that one’s getting chopped."
Tanihana froze mid-reach, paw hanging in the air, and gave Renya a resentful stare.
"You’re getting more and more unruly, ugly cat." Renya picked up a slice of sea bream and placed it in front of the cat. "From now on, you don’t eat unless I say so."
"Otherwise..." Renya narrowed his eyes, "You’re a dead cat."
Seeing Renya’s expression, Tanihana’s fur puffed up imdiately.
It looked genuinely terrified—so much so that it didn’t even dare eat the fish in front of it.
"Renya, don’t scare him like that." Hashirama chuckled and pulled the cat into his arms again.
Under his gentle stroking, Tanihana’s fearful expression slowly eased.
While the two were enjoying their al inside, Mizukage Byakuren arrived at the restaurant entrance in a fluster, led by his subordinates.
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