Chapter 588: Chapter 588: Forget it, let’s bless them

"Why did you come?"

Shimura Danzō opened the door. Seeing his good friend’s handsome face, he felt inexplicably guilty.

After all, he had used Renya as a shield...

He wondered whether Lady Mito had already told Renya about this matter. How was he supposed to explain it then?

During this period, the person Danzō least wanted to face was Renya.

"Danzō, did you follow the instructions inside the pouch I gave you?"

Renya worried that Danzō might not be able to swallow his pride and would resort to some unreliable method instead, which was why Aunt Mito had angrily gone to Senju Tobirama.

Shimura Danzō had felt somewhat guilty at first, but hearing this instantly made his anger flare up.

It was precisely because of that stupid pouch that he had embarrassed himself so badly.

Compared to his own reputation, using Renya as a shield didn’t seem that terrible anymore.

After all, who told him to give such a terrible idea in the first place?

Thinking this, Danzō suddenly felt much more confident.

"What’s wrong with you now?" Renya was stunned when his good friend suddenly changed expression.

He had only come to ask about the situation—why did Danzō suddenly turn hostile?

I didn’t provoke him, did I?

"Come inside!"

Shimura Danzō looked around, confirmed no one was nearby, then dragged Renya into the courtyard without another word and shut the gate behind them.

What he didn’t notice was that several pairs of eyes in the alley around the corner had witnessed everything.

"So Koharu wasn’t talking nonsense. They really are together." Hiruzen murmured in disbelief.

"I told you—women’s sixth sense is always accurate!" Utatane Koharu said proudly.

After finishing their discussion in the office, they had originally planned to bury today’s events and go home separately.

However, Uchiha Kagami felt something was off. Perhaps Danzō simply didn’t want an arranged meeting and had no choice but to use such a strategy.

Hiruzen and Nara Motoha also found that reasonable, so they decided to visit Danzō together and discreetly probe the situation.

Everyone immediately agreed and set off from the Hokage Building. But before they even arrived, they saw Renya appear at the Shimura clan compound.

To avoid alerting their target, they secretly followed him, intending to confirm whether Renya and Danzō were really together as they suspected.

After witnessing Danzō and Renya acting so furtively earlier, it was difficult not to interpret their behavior as a private rendezvous.

"It seems I guessed wrong." Uchiha Kagami smiled bitterly. Renya and Danzō really were together.

Forget it—let’s bless them.

Given things had reached this point, what else could be done?

The group cast complicated looks at the tightly shut gate, then turned and left without hesitation, afraid they might hear something inappropriate coming from inside.

Although they couldn’t quite understand same-sex relationships, they were friends after all and at least owed them some respect.

The two people inside the courtyard had no idea they were being misunderstood.

"Wait—what did you say?!"

When Renya learned that his good friend had used him as a shield, his entire mood instantly collapsed.

No wonder when he ran into Aunt Mito earlier, she had looked at him with such a regretful expression.

She must have thought he was the same as Danzō—that he liked men instead of women!

So the true culprit behind everything was this guy Danzō!

Damn it, he never expected the truth to be like this...

At first, Renya really had considered using that excuse to escape marriage pressure. But he realized that once such a reason was used, he would never be able to hold his head high in the village again.

So he persuaded Senju Tobirama to help convince Aunt Mito instead, allowing him to avoid using such an embarrassing excuse.

That was why Renya had generously handed the pouch to his good friend.

Who would have thought the fire would eventually burn back onto himself?

"What else could I do!" Shimura Danzō complained. "Lady Mito asked me who I liked. I couldn’t just make up a random name, right? If she investigated, the lie would’ve been exposed immediately!"

"So... I could only use you as a shield!"

Renya: "..."

It felt like lifting a stone only to smash his own foot.

This really wasn’t Danzō’s fault. Hiruzen and the others were already married—it wasn’t like he could name them. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

If Aunt Mito asked even a single question, she would immediately notice something from their reactions.

So saying he liked Renya was actually the safest answer.

If it had been him, he would have used his good friend as a shield too!

If anyone was to blame, it was his own solution for being too perfect.

It could flawlessly deal with elders pressuring for marriage—but the reputation built over half a lifetime might be completely ruined.

"Nobody else knows about this... right?"

After an unknown length of silence, Renya finally asked.

If only Aunt Mito knew, that was fine. But if others found out, they might as well move to another timeline entirely.

Rumors were terrifying. Their current situation was like mud splashed on one’s trousers—even if it wasn’t filth, it would still be treated as such.

No matter how they explained, people would only believe what they saw and heard.

At this moment, Renya finally understood why Hatake Sakumo in the original story had chosen suicide.

Honestly, he almost felt too ashamed to keep living.

"Lady Mito said she wouldn’t tell anyone."

Shimura Danzō replied. He trusted Lady Mito’s words completely.

After all, she wasn’t a bigmouth like Utatane Koharu. If she said she wouldn’t tell anyone, she most likely wouldn’t.

If it had been Koharu instead, Hiruzen and the others would probably already know.

"That’s good... that’s good..." Renya secretly sighed in relief.

As long as the matter didn’t spread everywhere, it was fine. Otherwise, they really would have to change timelines.

"For a while, we shouldn’t meet. Otherwise people might misunderstand!"

Before, they spent time together frequently without thinking anything of it. But after this incident, Renya felt as though unseen eyes were constantly watching their every move.

As if the entire village already knew they were a couple.

Probably just psychological pressure...

Renya could only comfort himself this way. Besides Aunt Mito, no one else knew about it.

So there was nothing to worry about.

Wait—why am I even worried about being exposed?!

Renya suddenly realized he wasn’t actually gay. Even if rumors spread, there was no reason to panic.

As the old saying goes—if your conduct is upright, you need not fear crooked shadows!

Only people with guilty consciences would feel uneasy. Renya had no reason to care about others’ opinions!

"Forget it. I’m not actually confused about my orientation—why should I act so sneakily?"

With that, Renya directly lay down on the chair Danzō had used earlier, no longer bothering to avoid suspicion.

Shimura Danzō: "..."

Although he didn’t understand why his good friend’s attitude had changed so drastically, he didn’t ask further.

Instead, he brought another chair and lay down beside him.

And just like that, the two of them began sunbathing together in the courtyard.