Chapter 591: Chapter 591: Saving Thirty Years of Detours

"Renya, your Mito-san’s condition is getting worse and worse."

Night.

On the roof eaves of Senju Tobirama’s residence.

Senju Hashirama gazed at the full moon in the night sky, a trace of desolation flashing through his eyes.

Today was Renya’s birthday. He and Mito should have attended, but his wife’s condition was not good, so neither of them came.

"Is there really no way for Mito-san’s condition to improve?"

Renya knew that Uzumaki Mito’s health had developed problems several years ago, but he hadn’t expected it to worsen so quickly after only three years.

Although he didn’t interact with Mito-san very often, she had genuinely cared for him like a junior.

If possible, Renya naturally didn’t want her illness to worsen.

Unfortunately, birth, aging, sickness, and death were the natural order—things that ordinary means could not change.

"Tobirama has examined her. He said there’s no solution." Senju Hashirama showed a bitter expression.

The person he felt most sorry toward in this life was Uzumaki Mito.

In his early years, he had been constantly at war and never had time to care for his wife. Later, after founding Konohagakure together with Madara, disagreements in ideology led to conflict. At the Valley of the End, he struck down his best friend with his own hands, living afterward in guilt so heavy he nearly fell into depression.

During that time, he simply had no mind to care about his wife.

Then he learned from Renya that Uchiha Madara had faked his death, so he himself staged a fake death and left the village to search for his friend’s traces for several years.

Throughout that entire period, he never once considered whether doing so would break Mito’s heart...

Only after parting ways with Madara several years ago did he finally have time to return home and stay by his wife’s side.

But by then, Uzumaki Mito’s physical condition had already become dire.

If he could live it all over again, he would never treat his wife this way.

Unfortunately, there were no "what ifs." What had already happened could not be undone and could only remain buried deep in his heart as regret.

"Tobirama told me to spend more time with Mito during this period..." Senju Hashirama’s eyes grew moist.

Though he usually acted carefree, he wasn’t foolish. Of course he understood the implication behind Tobirama’s words.

Which meant that, given Mito’s current condition, she might not have much time left.

During the day, he stayed by his wife’s side caring for her. Only after she fell asleep late at night did he find time to come see Renya and vent the bitterness in his heart.

Madara was gone. Aside from Tobirama and Renya, he had no one else left to confide in.

Renya also felt sorrow in his heart, yet he was powerless to change anything.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death were the norm of the human world. Everyone had to face them—even himself.

Compared to dying on the battlefield, this could already be considered a natural passing.

There was no need to be overly heartbroken...

"When you have time, come visit your Mito-san more often. She’s been talking about you these past few days."

Senju Hashirama stood up, leapt down from the roof, and left without looking back.

In the darkness, his departing figure looked exceptionally lonely.

"Kid, what are you thinking?"

Senju Tobirama appeared beside Renya at some unknown time and asked softly.

He naturally knew his elder brother had come home, but he hadn’t come up earlier so as not to interrupt their conversation.

He had known from the very beginning that his sister-in-law’s condition was poor.

Over the years, he had constantly searched for solutions, but matters like this were never simple.

Orochimaru had proposed several methods to prolong life, but Tobirama rejected all of them.

"What thoughts could I have? Birth, aging, sickness, and death are completely normal."

Renya lay on the roof, hands behind his head, staring at the full moon in the sky without speaking further.

This old man’s body was still quite sturdy. Living another ten years or so shouldn’t be a problem.

It seemed that as long as there was no war, the average lifespan of shinobi could increase significantly.

Most shinobi died in battle; those who lived to old age were always the minority.

Fortunately, in recent years, all the major shinobi villages had remained peaceful, with none attempting to launch invasion wars.

At the root of it all, Konohagakure was simply too powerful.

At least for now.

As for what things would look like ten or twenty years later, that was hard to say.

Achieving true peace in the shinobi world was unrealistic, and Renya didn’t harbor such grand ambitions.

As long as you didn’t possess overwhelming desires, you wouldn’t be manipulated by schemers or turned into a pawn for someone else’s plans.

Take Uchiha Madara for example.

If he had simply laid back like Renya—wandering around the village, occasionally sunbathing with Senju Hashirama—how could Black Zetsu have toyed with him so thoroughly?

With Renya’s personality, even without knowing the plot, after reading the contents of the stone tablet he would only sigh a few times.

As for carrying out the "Eye of the Moon" Plan?

Sorry—no time!

"It’s good that you think this way." Senju Tobirama looked at Renya’s calm expression and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

He had worried that his sister-in-law’s death might push Renya toward extremes.

He worried even more that when his own day came, Renya might do something reckless out of grief.

After all, the mental stability of the Uchiha clan was never as steady as it appeared on the surface.

Fortunately, it seemed such things wouldn’t happen.

"Uncle, don’t you get bored staying in the laboratory every day?"

Since stepping down as Hokage, Senju Tobirama had immersed himself in research almost every day, year after year.

Orochimaru was young and could handle it, but this old man kept pushing himself despite his age.

Renya was honestly worried that one day he might overwork himself and just drop dead in the lab with a snap.

"Bored? How could doing research ever be boring?" Senju Tobirama glanced sideways at him and said irritably, "You’re the one who lies at home sunbathing all day. Don’t you get bored?"

When he first saw Renya sunbathing, he thought the boy was simply resting after exhausting battles.

But that "rest" lasted from age sixteen or seventeen all the way to thirty-six.

A full twenty years!

As Renya himself put it:

"You retire in your forties or fifties, while I started retirement at sixteen or seventeen."

Simply saving thirty years of detours!

"How could enjoying life every day without doing anything possibly be boring?" Renya replied just as irritably.

In his view, enjoying retirement could never be dull.

Compared to fighting desperately on the battlefield, his current life was practically heavenly.

Usually he just ate, slept, and basked in the sun. Occasionally he went fishing by the river with his good friend, grilled some barbecue, and relaxed.

Wasn’t that wonderful?

Senju Tobirama: "..."

He seriously suspected that the reason Renya stopped Uchiha Madara from carrying out the "Eye of the Moon" Plan was simply because, in Renya’s opinion, real life was already better than Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Reality was already happy and fulfilling—so why enter a fake illusionary world?

Sunbathing during the day, moon-watching at night.

Tsk tsk.

This kid truly knew how to enjoy life!

"Uncle, if you’ve got nothing to do, go to sleep early. Don’t you still have research at the lab tomorrow?"

"Unlike me, I never need to wake up early."

Senju Tobirama: "..."

His fist hardened.

Why did he suddenly want to punch this kid so badly?

Probably because Renya was just too punchable.

----------------

Fanfic is finished on Patreon (750 Chapters in total.)

Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)