Besides cooking for Tsunade, Renye had been cultivating at the training ground these past few days.
He had expected Hashirama and his wife to be gone for several days, but they returned on the third day of their departure.
Knowing that his older brother was back, Senju Tobirama brought Renye and Tsunade to the gate to greet them in advance.
"Tobirama, Renye, I told you there was no need to come pick us up..."
At Konoha's gate, Senju Hashirama's face was pale, and he forced a faint smile when he saw the three of them.
Renye's heart sank when he saw Hashirama's appearance.
How could Uncle Hashirama's physical condition be getting worse and worse?
He had only been gone for three days, so how could this be?
Seeing this, Senju Tobirama couldn't help but ask, "Big Brother... are you alright?"
He was truly worried about his older brother's health.
If he had known this would happen, he shouldn't have let him leave!
Senju Hashirama waved his hand and said with a smile, "Tobirama, don't be nervous, I'm fine, a good night's sleep will fix it."
"Yes, a good night's sleep will fix it!"
"I'm a bit tired from traveling these past few days, I'll be fine after a good sleep when I get back."
His tone became increasingly firm, as if it were truly as he said.
It was just caused by excessive fatigue...
Uzumaki Mito, who was standing beside him, had red eyes, and she gently held her husband's hand.
"Hashirama, if you're tired, let's go home and rest."
Her voice trembled, revealing her inner turmoil.
If she had known things would turn out this way, she wouldn't have agreed to go to the Land of Whirlpools with Hashirama.
When they first left, Hashirama's body was perfectly fine.
Soon after leaving the Land of Fire, Hashirama suddenly collapsed without warning and fell into a coma.
This terrified Mito, but fortunately, Hashirama woke up shortly after.
The problem appeared here: after Hashirama woke up, his face was pale, like a patient who had been suffering from illness for a long time.
Clearly, this was a recurrence of an old injury.
After Hashirama woke up, seeing Mito's worried expression, he only said one sentence,
"Sorry, Mito, I don't think I can accompany you to the Land of Whirlpools anymore."
Mito said nothing, helping her husband return the way they came.
At this moment, returning to her hometown was no longer important; she only wanted her husband to be safe and sound...
Hashirama heard Mito's words and gently patted the back of her hand.
"Alright, let's go home and rest."
With that, the two stepped forward and entered the Village.
Renye and Tobirama subconsciously made way for them to pass.
Hashirama slowly stopped as he passed by the two.
"Tobirama, I want to rest well for a few days, so don't disturb me."
"Tsunade, let's go home." Mito smiled and extended her hand to Tsunade.
"Yay, Grandpa and Grandma, you're finally back!" Tsunade took her grandmother's hand and left with her grandparents.
"Grandpa, are you feeling unwell?"
"Mmm, it's not a big problem, I'll be fine after two days of rest."
"Grandpa, rest well, and when you're better, we can play dice together."
"Haha, no problem, Little Tsunade, do you want to win back the pocket money you lost before?"
"Of course, I'll definitely win this time!"
Renye and Tobirama silently watched the three grandparents and grandchild gradually walk away.
"Uncle, has Uncle Hashirama's body truly reached that point?" Renye murmured softly, his expression complex.
The feeling Hashirama gave him just now was like that of an Old Man in his twilight years, exuding a strong aura of death...
That oppressive feeling made it somewhat difficult for him to breathe.
Senju Tobirama stood with his arms crossed, expressionless.
Only his slightly trembling fingers showed that he was not as calm as he appeared.
His mind was a chaotic mess of surging emotions, and even his breathing became labored.
Senju Tobirama had always been a calm person.
But seeing his older brother like this, his heart, which had always been as hard as iron, felt as if something had tightly gripped it.
Big Brother, it seems he's going to die...
He had thought his older brother could last for a few more years, but fate played a joke on him, and this day came so quickly.
Seeing Senju Tobirama like this, Renye knew that Old Man was feeling bad, so he didn't say anything more and quietly stood by his side.
He clearly knew that given Senju Hashirama's current condition, he probably wouldn't live for many more days.
Memories of his time with Hashirama over the years flashed through Renye's mind, and his fists unconsciously clenched.
Although he always considered himself an outsider, he was still a person.
A living, breathing person with emotions and flesh and blood!
He always remembered who was good to him and who was not.
Seeing Hashirama's appearance, Renye couldn't help but feel sad.
And as Hashirama's younger brother, Senju Tobirama's feelings about seeing his older brother become like this were even more indescribable.
Night devoured the last ray of sunset, and Renye and Senju Tobirama stood side by side in front of Konoha's gate.
The evening breeze stirred a few withered leaves, sweeping past their feet.
Senju Tobirama maintained his arms-crossed posture, the hem of his dark robe fluttering up and down in the wind.
After an unknown amount of time, the bright Gekko shone on Senju Tobirama's face.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was hoarse: "Kid, you go back first."
Renye subconsciously looked up, only to see the Gekko splitting that stern face into two halves of light and shadow.
The half of his face hidden in shadow was unclear, while the part exposed to the Gekko remained cold, with only the reddish streaks in the corners of his eyes revealing a hint of imperceptible fatigue.
Renye opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat and he swallowed them back.
In the end, he just nodded heavily.
Renye walked ahead, and in a trance, he heard the soft rustle of fabric behind him, and Senju Tobirama's footsteps followed, neither hurried nor slow.
Two shadows overlapped and stretched out on the stone path, extending towards the depths of Konoha.
Along the way, Renye thought a lot.
The power of Hashirama's cells, the reason for Hashirama's deteriorating body, and any possible solutions...
But after thinking for a long time, he still had no clue.
He didn't want Hashirama to die like this, but there was simply nothing he could do.
Senju Tobirama had walked in front of Renye at some point.
Hadn't he also been thinking about solutions?
Over the years, he had tried many methods, even resorting to human experiments, but he still hadn't found a way to improve his older brother's condition.
Unconsciously, the two arrived at Hashirama's door.
They subconsciously stopped, looking at the closed door.
Senju Tobirama wanted to go up and knock on the door, but after hesitating for a long time, he finally gave up.
Big Brother had told him before not to disturb him.
Senju Tobirama knew that his older brother didn't want him to see him in his seriously ill state...
Renye saw this scene, pursed his lips, and his expression dimmed.
"Uncle, let's go home."
Senju Tobirama nodded, took one last look at the door, and then left.
After the two had completely left, Hashirama's weak voice came from inside the house.
"Mito, have they left?"
Immediately after, Mito's choked voice was heard.
"Yes, they've gone back."
"That's good, that's good..."
"Hashirama, you must hold on!"
"I'm sorry, Mito, I might have to break my promise."