Chapter 43: Three Years Later

Three years passed quickly.

It was Konoha Calendar Year 59. On the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, in the Land of Waves, Ren and Might Guy were on a training journey. After three years, Ren was now twelve years old, a growing young man. His appearance had also changed. The baby fat that once softened his face had gradually faded, his bones grew rapidly, and not only had his height increased considerably, but his facial features had become more angular and resolute. Compared to his previous cuteness, he was now undeniably handsome.

Walking down the street, Ren's appearance was enough to attract the attention of many girls.

"Look, there's a handsome guy there!" "Oh, he's so handsome! But he looks a little young~ What a pity!" "What are you afraid of? Are you afraid others will say you're an 'old cow eating young grass'? I heard that young handsome guys like the most charming and mature older women~" "Hmph~ Stop teasing me!" "Heh heh heh, after all, he's a handsome and drool-worthy little guy~~"

Whispers drifted from behind Ren and Might Guy. Both were strong ninja, with keen senses, and naturally, they could hear those murmuring voices clearly.

Ren's expression was indifferent. He had heard too many compliments about being handsome and was long used to it. But for Might Guy... this was quite a blow! At this moment, Might Guy's face was like a corpse, stiff and ugly, his mood sinking to an extreme low. He was so depressed he wanted to cry! He thought of himself, a dignified elite Jōnin of Konoha Village, the famous Green Beast! His year-round sculpted physique, his perfect height of over 1.8 meters, in the prime age for romance... yet, these women, no one even noticed him! Their discussion didn't even mention him at all! Everyone's eyes were fixed on Ren beside him, and the content of their discussion was solely about Ren! Is he not as attractive as a twelve-year-old?

Might Guy, who had reached this conclusion, immediately felt a blow to his heart! It wasn't until Might Guy and Ren walked out of town and the whispering voices behind him completely faded that Might Guy finally regained some vitality.

"Where are we going next?" Ren asked him.

"The next mission should be coming soon. Konoha's recent mission release efficiency is quite average." Might Guy said with a little sigh.

At this moment, in front of Might Guy and Ren, with a bang, a white mist rose. A small green turtle with a quest scroll tied behind its back appeared before them. This was Might Guy's summoned animal—the Blue Water Turtle. Ren had long ceased to be surprised by this.

In the three years Ren and Might Guy had been training outside, they had never returned to Konoha, but they had always maintained very close contact. Most of their communication involved Might Guy's summoned animals traveling to and from Konoha, helping them continuously receive tasks released by the village.

"The mission is here. The content of this mission is: Protect Mr. Tazuna and complete the bridge construction. Level: C-rank." Might Guy recited the mission content to Ren, then immediately sighed, "This task is too simple. Before, we were both performing B-rank tasks. Now to get a C-rank task again, I'm simply not interested at all~"

Even Might Guy thought it was an unchallenging, boring task... that must truly mean it was boring.

However, Ren, next to Might Guy, was stunned for a moment. Tazuna? Isn't that the Land of Waves mission? In the original story, Kakashi took Naruto and his team to perform their first C-rank mission. How did it come to me now?

It might be that his own appearance had changed some of the original plotlines, so this task had coincidentally fallen into his hands. It was ostensibly a C-rank task, but in terms of real difficulty, it reached A-rank! Although Ren didn't like a guy like Tazuna who lied about his mission and concealed information, he felt that this task was very challenging! Because this mission would lead to an encounter with the rogue ninja from the Land of Water—Zabuza Momochi! He was someone Ren wanted to fight, not only because of the opponent's elite Jōnin strength, but also because of the Kubikiribocho (Executioner's Blade) in his hand! Ren wanted to know whether Zabuza's blade or his own blade was stronger!

At this moment, the sound of the system releasing a task came to his ear:

[Task release: Collect the blood of the Kubikiribocho and the blood of Ice Release.]

[Quest Reward: Zanpakutō - Drawing of the Daiguren Hyōrinmaru!]

As soon as this news appeared in Ren's mind, his breathing hitched for a second. OMG... OMG! Ren rarely showed such surprise. Even when he had previously obtained a six-star difficulty Six Paths Sage Ninja blueprint, he had never been so so shocked. Because the reward blueprint this time was a Zanpakutō! The sword of the Tenth Division Captain of the Soul Reapers, Tōshirō Hitsugaya. The Daiguren Hyōrinmaru had a wide attack range and additional ice and snow damage. It was known as the strongest Zanpakutō in the ice category! Ren was thrilled!

"Let's go perform this mission!" Ren shouted towards Might Guy, filled with fighting spirit and excitement.

Might Guy: "???" Don't you usually dislike even the difficulty of B-rank tasks? Why are you so excited about a C-rank task right now? Did I have a fever, or did he have a fever? Might Guy thought there must be something wrong with one of them...

---

In a tavern outside the Land of Waves, Might Guy and Ren met Tazuna, the client for this mission. It might have been a year earlier than the time of the task in the original story, but Tazuna at this time wasn't as sloppy and dejected as he was in the original, nor did he look like an alcoholic.

But when he saw Ren, there was still a bit of distrust in his eyes.

"So... among the people performing this mission, are you the only one who's a ninja?" Tazuna asked with a slanted look.

Might Guy treated the client seriously and explained, "Yes, but this one next to me is my disciple, and his strength is not much weaker than mine now. With the two of us here, it is enough to complete this task."

"Huh?" Tazuna put on a very exaggerated expression, then laughed. "Mr. Guy, are you kidding me?! How old is this kid? Ten years old, or eleven? If he really has that kind of strength, why isn't he even a ninja yet?"

"Mr. Tazuna, I'm twelve this year." Ren smiled.

"Hmph, isn't that still a kid?" Tazuna said casually after taking a gulp of sake.

And the moment his voice fell, the kunai in Ren's hand flashed in the air, already at Tazuna's neck. A tingling sensation transmitted to his brain, and a faint pink line immediately appeared on his neck.

With an unchanging smile on Ren's face, he said, "Mr. Tazuna, if you still don't trust my strength, I can cut your throat right now."

Madman! He's crazy! And a very powerful madman! Although only twelve years old, Tazuna dared not underestimate the strength of this child, because his eyes had already explained everything. It was a pair of murderous eyes. Tazuna instantly went pale with fright. It was as if the blood was flowing backward throughout his body; he was terrified to the extreme. He had no doubt in his heart that if he completely angered the person in front of him, Ren would truly kill him!

"I, I'm the client, you can't kill me! This violates the rules of your ninja's mission!" Tazuna shouted in horror.

The smile on the corner of Ren's mouth grew stronger, and he said slowly, "As you can see, I am not a ninja yet, and you are not my nominal client. It doesn't matter if I kill you now~ Now, do you still question my ability?"