In the Land of Rivers, in front of a mansion.
At this moment, it was raining, and the rain curtain fell like fine silver threads.
Heaven and earth were shrouded in a hazy mist.
In the distance, three figures were slowly walking towards the mansion.
They wore black straw hats, and the bamboo strips hanging from the brim of their hats swayed gently in the rain, obscuring their faces.
"This is the employer's house," Danzo said, looking at the mission map in his hand.
"Something feels off, it seems we're late," Renye said, pulling his hat lower, his Sharingan glowing with a faint scarlet light in the shadows. "Stay alert."
He subconsciously gripped the Tachi at his waist.
The three of them simultaneously slowed their steps, and the sound of raindrops hitting their hats seemed to become distinctly audible.
Before long, the vermilion gate of the wealthy merchant's mansion was in sight.
Just then, a gust of wind suddenly rose, dislodging Renye's hat. He quickly pressed down on it, but his gaze met that of a figure on the rooftop, also wearing a hat.
Renye sighed inwardly; this mission had failed.
They were too late, leading to the employer's death...
But since they were already here, shouldn't they avenge the employer?
Thinking this, Renye immediately cast a genjutsu with his Sharingan.
The person on the rooftop, meeting his Sharingan, stood dazed in place.
"Heh heh, daring to look directly into an Uchiha's Sharingan," Renye's lips curved slightly. He didn't need to think to know the person's fate.
"Move!" Danzo low-roared.
In an instant, Koharu spun and threw Shuriken; several Shuriken pierced through the rain curtain, flying towards the figure on the rooftop.
"Puff puff puff—"
The sound of Shuriken entering flesh came, followed immediately by the person on the rooftop tumbling down.
Renye stepped forward and pushed open the door; a thick smell of blood, mixed with damp air, rushed out.
Inside, a pile of corpses lay scattered. These were likely the bodyguards the house owner had hired.
However, their strength was too weak, no match for the killer at all.
In the flickering firelight, a fat man in luxurious clothes slumped in a wooden chair, a gruesome wound at his neck almost severing his head, his cloudy eyes bulging, and his expression of solidified terror seemed to narrate the despair of his death.
It was clear, without a doubt, that this fat man was their employer.
"Damn it, we're too late!" Danzo clenched his fists in frustration upon seeing the scene inside the house.
"Renye-kun, what do we do now?" Utatane Koharu asked.
"Even though the employer is dead, we can't have come all this way for nothing, can we?" Renye looked at the lavish interior of the house. "Let's take some valuable things back; consider it travel expenses."
Danzo's mouth twitched, unsure what to say.
Uchiha Renye was truly becoming more and more wicked; he wouldn't even spare the belongings of the dead...
However, this suggestion was indeed good.
Just by looking at the interior decoration, one could tell that the owner of the house was definitely a wealthy person.
So, the three of them began to search the mansion.
If this scene were witnessed by anyone, they would surely believe that the Konoha Ninja were driven by greed, killing their employer to plunder his wealth.
"Hahaha, we're rich!" Danzo looked at a box full of gold, silver, and jewels with an excited expression, his mouth almost splitting from smiling.
"Danzo, finders keepers."
Renye and Koharu had arrived beside Danzo without him noticing.
Danzo: "..."
Watching the two take away two-thirds of the money in the box, he wished he could slap himself twice.
He should have been quieter.
Now, instead of getting rich, he was just getting a little money.
After the three of them finished their scavenging, they left the mansion.
Renye conveniently collected the corpses, planning to find a place to bury them.
The money collected would serve as the burial fee from the employer.
"Sigh, this mission failed," Renye said with some regret.
To stay away from Senju Tobirama, he had specifically chosen a protection mission, hoping to stay outside for a while.
Who would have thought they would be late, and the mission would end before it even began?
"Damn that Uchiha Tanaka!" Renye grumbled.
If it weren't for that old geezer delaying him, the employer wouldn't have died.
So, he naturally attributed the mission's failure to Tanaka, making him even more determined to kill the other party.
Danzo and Koharu were a bit confused; they didn't know who Renye was talking about.
Could it be that someone from the Uchiha had a conflict with Renye?
For some reason, when Danzo saw Renye having a conflict with the Uchiha, he felt very pleased.
Although Renye hadn't provoked him, he still couldn't stand to see him doing well.
Perhaps this was human nature's inherent flaw...
Renye found a scenic spot, buried the employer, and then led the two back.
——————
They didn't delay on the way; the three returned to Konoha in two days.
As soon as Renye entered the Village, he encountered three Uchiha members, one of whom, a brawny man nearly two meters tall, caught his attention.
Who else could this guy be but Uchiha Shun?
It was hard to imagine that this appearance belonged to a 14-year-old boy; people would believe it if he were said to be forty.
Uchiha Shun was expressionless, directly ignoring Renye.
In response, Renye said nothing, walking past them directly.
At this moment, one of the Uchiha boys looked at Renye mockingly, "Yo, isn't this Uchiha... Oh no, I should call you Senju Renye!"
He raised his voice on the words "Senju."
The news of Renye being kicked out of the Uchiha had long spread throughout the clan.
When these boys learned that Renye, who was called a genius, had been expelled from the clan, they naturally came to taunt him.
Renye stopped, turned, and looked at the Uchiha boy who had spoken.
The boy felt uncomfortable under Renye's gaze. To ease the awkwardness, he continued, "What are you looking at? You're just a stray dog kicked out of the clan!"
"So, what are you trying to express?" Renye suddenly smiled. "Are you showing off your superiority? Trash."
"Bastard, how dare you insult me!" The boy's face was filled with rage.
Renye looked at the angry boy, somewhat confused.
He was the one who provoked first, and Renye just retorted a couple of sentences, and he got angry?
No, what are you angry about!
Indeed, most Uchiha are arrogant fools...
"I think you haven't quite grasped the difference between us," Renye activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan. "Since when do the weak dare to shout at the strong?"
The boy saw those eyes and instantly froze in place.
Renye's figure flickered, appearing in front of the boy, and before the other two could react, he landed a heavy punch on the boy's nose.
The boy immediately spurted nosebleed and flew backward.
The intense pain made him awaken from the genjutsu. He looked at Renye with a twisted face and roared, "You dare hit me? Do you know who I am?"
At this moment, Uchiha Shun stepped forward and said, "This is Clan Leader Tanaka's second son, Yu Zhibo Liehuo."
"Heh heh, so he's that Tanaka guy's son?" Renye's eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't even put your father in my eyes, much less you!"
Before his words finished, Renye appeared in front of Liehuo, stepping on his chest and grinding his foot a few times forcefully.