Obito's expression stiffened as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah, you're right... It's just that Renzo's progress is way too fast!"
Asuma sighed, shrugging helplessly. "I've watched him go from a normal graduate to a total monster in no time! You can't even call this normal growth anymore."
"Shouldn't progress be a steady curve?"
"But Renzo's growth isn't a curve—it's a straight-up cliff! There's no way that's normal!"
Fortunately, Renzo was a good guy. He was willing to take Asuma and Kurenai under his wing and help them grow. Whenever they had free time, he'd train them. Even though it was just his shadow clone guiding them, the results were undeniable.
Their battle experience had skyrocketed.
Without that training, Asuma knew there was no way he could've taken down a Sand Chunin without getting injured today.
"Right?! Right?!" Obito nodded rapidly. "So it's Renzo who's weird, not us! We're the normal ones!"
Hearing that, Asuma's face darkened instantly. He glared at Obito. "'we'? Don't lump me in with you! I'm a genius of the Sarutobi clan! My strength is way above yours!"
He still remembered that Obito had been at the bottom of their class.
Even if he couldn't compare to Renzo, there was no way he was dropping to Obito's level!
Obito wasn't sure why Asuma suddenly got so mad, but he definitely wasn't going to let that slide.
"What do you mean you're stronger than me?! You barely beat that Chunin faster than I did!"
"I took him down without a scratch!"
"I only got a few light injuries!"
Obito finally ran out of words. Huffing, he turned his head away in frustration and stomped off to Rin's side, putting on his best wounded expression to get her sympathy.
Rin chuckled at his antics before starting to clean and bandage his wounds, applying some healing salve as well.
Watching this, Kurenai's eyes flicked between Rin, Renzo, and Asuma. She suddenly had a realization. "It seems like our team is missing a medical ninja. Maybe I should start learning medical ninjutsu."
She didn't need to be a master, but at least she could handle emergency treatment for Renzo and Asuma during missions.
In the field, having a medical ninja could mean the difference between life and death.
Now that she had the idea, she was determined to start training once they returned.
"Alright! We've rested enough. Let's move out!"
They set out once more. Thankfully, they didn't encounter any more enemy ninjas on the way, making it safely to the front-line base.
It was there that Renzo finally met Orochimaru.
The guy gave off an unsettling, snake-like vibe.
"I heard you encountered an ambush by a Sand scouting unit on the way? Can you tell me what happened?" Orochimaru asked Minato.
"Of course," Minato nodded and recounted the events in detail.
Then, he took out the intelligence reports and items Renzo and Kakashi had collected and handed them over. "Here's everything we gathered."
"Hmm. Well done." Orochimaru nodded, passing the materials to the intelligence team beside him.
Then, his gaze shifted to Renzo. Licking his lips with his long tongue, his eyes filled with intrigue. "So you must be Uchiha Renzo—the one who wiped out four Sand Chunins in an instant?"
Under Orochimaru's eerie stare, Renzo felt a chill run down his spine. But he still held his composure and bowed slightly. "It's an honor to meet you, Lord Orochimaru."
"Hehehe…" Orochimaru chuckled, observing Renzo for a while longer before withdrawing his gaze. "You're quite impressive. I look forward to seeing what you accomplish."
With that, he dismissed Renzo's team, keeping Minato behind to discuss further matters.
Clearly, whatever came next was beyond their level.
"Damn… That Orochimaru guy is seriously creepy..."
Once they were far enough from the command tent, Obito finally dared to voice his fear.
Obito, of course, had no volume control. Several nearby Konoha ninjas turned to glare at him instantly.
He nearly jumped out of his skin and quickly shrank back, bowing his head to avoid eye contact.
"Could you shut up for once? Look around before you talk!" Kakashi deadpanned as he passed by. "Lord Orochimaru is one of the Legendary Sannin. You can't just talk about him like that."
Renzo, on the other hand, gave an apologetic smile to the surrounding ninjas and bowed slightly. "Sorry about that! Our teammate has a few… issues in his brain. He didn't mean any disrespect. Please forgive him."
The ninjas finally stopped glaring, though some still snorted in annoyance.
"Hmph! That brat better learn to watch his mouth. Lord Orochimaru isn't someone to be casually discussed!"
"Whatever, he probably just got scared."
"Hehe, can't blame him. Lord Orochimaru does have quite the intimidating presence!"
"That kid's just a rookie."
The ninjas slowly dispersed, muttering among themselves.
Once they reached a quiet spot at the edge of the camp, Obito finally exploded in frustration.
"You better wise up. If you don't die at the hands of an enemy, you'll get yourself killed by your own allies first!" Renzo sighed.
"No kidding," Kakashi added sarcastically, folding his arms. "Weak, reckless, and loud-mouthed. Honestly, I'm worried for your future. Maybe you should just quit the squad."
Obito snapped. "What?! You're calling me weak?! If anyone's leaving, it's you! I'll never let you have Rin!"
Rin's embarrassed and furious shout echoed through the camp.
"Uh... hehehe..." Obito immediately turned sheepish.
But then, as if remembering something, he turned to Renzo and pointed an accusatory finger. "Wait a minute! Didn't you say earlier that I'm mentally ill?!"
Renzo nodded without hesitation. "Yeah, and?"
A bulging vein popped on his forehead as he fumed. "What do you mean 'and'?! You're the one who's mentally ill!"
"Ahhhh…" Renzo dragged out his reply lazily, completely uninterested in arguing.
Ignoring Obito, he turned and waved to Kurenai and Asuma. "Alright, time for training! Let's go!"
"Bye, Rin! Bye, Kakashi!"
Laughing, Kurenai and Asuma jogged after Renzo toward the training grounds.
"We should follow them," Kakashi muttered before casually heading in their direction.
He wanted to see exactly how Renzo trained—and maybe even test himself against him.