— — — — — —
"Relax! I've got your back from now on! If you ever run into Hades, just leave him to me!"
Makarov stretched out his arm with magic and patted Renzo's shoulder reassuringly.
"Haha, sure thing," Renzo replied with a wry smile.
Guess that's what you do when you're short—use magic to make up for it.
Short in real life? Pffft~
"Oh, right!" Makarov quickly changed the topic. "You guys don't have a place to stay yet, do you? Got anything planned? If not, I can get you set up in the guild dorms."
"Of course, guys and girls would need to be separated," he added.
"But if you and your master-disciple crew want to stay together, you'll probably need to rent or buy a house in town."
Luckily, the male dorms at Fairy Tail hadn't been destroyed… yet.
"Let's just buy a nice, big house—or even just some land. I've got a quick-build technique for making houses," Renzo said with a grin.
Yeah, that Fantasy Creation: Luxury Estate Technique, Hero Renzo left behind was pretty handy.
"Oh?" Makarov raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you're even richer than I thought! Alright then—after the party, I'll take you to meet the mayor. We can look into properties or land plots together."
"Thanks, Master," Renzo replied politely.
"Haha! Don't mention it! It's the least I can do. Anyway, let's head back to the guild hall—being away too long isn't good."
"Parties are meant to be enjoyed together, after all!"
— — —
Meanwhile, in the Naruto World—
Uchiha Renzo was deep in his lab, analyzing the true nature of Sage Chakra when he suddenly got a mental ping from a Shadow Clone back at home.
"Oh? Orochimaru's looking for me? Interesting timing—I was just about to look for him too."
With a light smile, Uchiha Renzo activated his Flying Thunder God seal and instantly teleported back home.
Once there, he walked into the living room, took a letter from his clone, gave it a quick read, then scribbled a reply on a small slip of paper and tucked it into the mouth of a message-carrying white snake.
"Go," he said simply.
The white snake vanished in a puff of smoke.
...
That same evening, Renzo appeared in one of Orochimaru's underground bases and came face to face with the snake himself.
"Tsk tsk… shouldn't you be commanding your troops at the frontlines right now? You actually found the time to come here? A message via your snake would've done just fine," Renzo teased with a smirk.
Orochimaru smiled faintly. "This is just a Shadow Clone. But I felt that you, Renzo-kun, deserved this level of attention."
"If I wasn't so busy, I would've even come in person."
"Also, congratulations on mastering Sage Mode."
He licked his lips and eyed Renzo with clear interest. "Now I really don't regret sending a clone to see you. Seeing you in person… I can tell your transformation wasn't just from Sage Mode, was it?"
He could feel an overwhelming sense of danger from Renzo now.
That sense had always been there, but this time it was different—stronger. Sharper.
"You could say that," Renzo replied casually. "I've had some breakthroughs with genetics and kekkei genkai. If you're interested, we can trade. Right now, I've got a new serum that extends life by 300 years. Interested?"
He offered it up with a charming grin, baiting the hook.
"Did you say… 300 years?" Orochimaru's eyes lit up with greed. If he weren't sure he couldn't beat Renzo, he might've tried to take it by force right then and there.
"That's right. A big step toward true immortality," Renzo nodded, calm and confident.
Power made negotiating so much easier.
"What do you want for it?" Orochimaru asked, skipping the games.
Straight to business.
"If you want the serum—and possibly the formula—then I want three jutsu: Spirit Transformation Technique, Living Corpse Reincarnation, and Edo Tensei. In return, you'll get three vials of the serum."
Orochimaru's snake eyes narrowed slightly. "You've got a bigger appetite than I expected, Renzo-kun. You're still young and already have a serum like that—why are you so interested in soul-based techniques?"
Renzo just shook his head. "I've got my reasons. The only thing you need to decide is: deal or no deal."
Orochimaru chuckled, impressed. "Alright then. Add in 1,000 pounds of that special meat you gave the Snake Sage last time, and 100 pounds of that exotic tobacco."
"Keep the price at three vials, and I'll give you the three jutsu right here, right now. Deal?"
A man who knows what he wants.
"Oh—and if I wanted to get a long-term supply of that meat and tobacco," Orochimaru asked, eyes gleaming, "what kind of deal would we be talking?"
"Oh?" Renzo raised an eyebrow, amused. "So you've met Manda recently, huh? How's that big snake doing? He should've recovered by now, right?"
Orochimaru let out a grin. "He's still got a dent on his forehead, thanks to you."
"You didn't hold back, did you? But honestly, I appreciate it—thanks for giving him that beating. He's been much more obedient lately."
Lately, Manda's attitude during summoning had noticeably improved.
Orochimaru could really feel the difference.
Looking back, he realized he might've spoiled the giant snake too much.
Maybe tough love really is the right way to raise that thing.
"Glad to hear it," Renzo chuckled. "That temper of his just needs a few more beatings to mellow out."
"Anyway, I'm good with your terms. As for long-term supply of sea king meat and spirit tobacco…"
Renzo's tone shifted slightly.
"Danzo's been getting a little too bold lately. I hear he's sent quite a few Root agents to the frontlines to collect our Sharingan."
"If you can help me 'clean up' those Root ninjas… and agree to work with me in the future to slowly dismantle and, eventually, take down Danzo and his entire faction… then I can give you a monthly supply—one ton of sea king meat, and 500 pounds of spirit tobacco."
Most of the disobedient Uchiha on the frontlines were already dead. Renzo figured it was enough.
With the internal mess cleaned up—traitors and deadweight eliminated—it was time to start handling the threats outside the clan.
Otherwise, the Uchiha would just end up repeating the same tragic fate all over again.
As for the old geezers—the Great Elder and Second Elder?
They were already well past their prime, and most of their loyalists were gone. There wasn't much chaos they could stir up now.
If Fugaku couldn't handle those two relics on his own, then maybe he didn't deserve to be clan head after all.
He should just step down.
...
Orochimaru was taken aback.
"Already planning to move against Danzo?"
"Looks like he's more prepared than I thought—and clearly has a pretty solid intel network too."
Still… Orochimaru wasn't totally sold.
He didn't really know the true value of sea king meat or tobacco. All he knew was that Manda loved the stuff—and seemed way more energized after having some.
But if Renzo thought a few barrels of meat and smoke were enough to get Orochimaru involved in something as major as taking down Danzo… he was underestimating his bargaining partner.
Renzo, noticing Orochimaru's hesitation, calmly added:
"Don't underestimate the value of sea king meat. It's packed with life force. If consumed alongside a bit of body-honing training, it boosts physical strength and toughens up your cells over time."
"If you agree, I'll even throw in a secret body-training technique."
"As for tobacco—it contains a gentle form of natural energy. Smoking it over time doesn't just improve your body and slightly enhance your life essence—it also strengthens your mental resilience."
"Put all that together… you should be able to guess what it means for a ninja."
Renzo wasn't bluffing either.
Why else did the nobles and adventurers in the KonoSuba world chase after that stuff like it was gold?
In a world of superpowers, even smoking could make you stronger.
Orochimaru's eyes lit up.
"Cell and body strengthening… enhanced life force… and even improved mental clarity?"
"That's a full-on upgrade to a ninja's core stats."
"And with that kind of improvement, increasing chakra reserves would be child's play."
"No wonder your growth's been terrifying lately. I'm seriously curious—where the hell are you getting this stuff?"
"I heard you haven't even left Konoha recently…"
"And I've definitely never heard of anything like this anywhere in the ninja world."
Orochimaru felt like he was starting to piece things together.
"Yeah…" Renzo shrugged playfully. "Does it really matter? Don't forget—I've got Flying Thunder God."
"So… are you in or not?"
.
.
.