Senju Clan Compound.
Senju Tobirama walked with Renya toward his own residence.
The news that he had adopted a Uchiha child had already spread throughout the Senju clan.
Along the way, the Senju clansmen all cast various glances at Renya—curious, shocked, disgusted...
Renya ignored their reactions, silently following behind Senju Tobirama, lost in thought about his future plans.
Compared to being adopted by Senju Tobirama, he would have much preferred to stay in the Uchiha compound.
Given Tobirama's wariness toward the Uchiha, Renya would have absolutely no privacy within the Senju clan. That meant many of his plans couldn't be carried out.
He looked at Tobirama's back with a face full of grievance.
What on earth were the Senju brothers thinking, adopting someone like him?
Before long, the two of them arrived at their destination.
Tobirama's residence was located in a quiet area of the Senju clan compound, far from the bustling markets and shopping streets.
"Come in with me," Tobirama said as he pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard.
Renya looked around the courtyard with curiosity. A few tall cherry blossom trees stood within, petals in full bloom drifting down gently, covering the entire courtyard in a soft blanket of pink.
"Pretty stylish, huh," Renya muttered under his breath.
Tobirama: "..."
Clearly, he had heard what Renya said.
"This will be your room from now on," Tobirama said, pointing toward one of the rooms.
"Got it," Renya nodded, pushing the door open and walking in.
Seeing Renya's arrogant attitude, Tobirama couldn't help but be reminded of a certain someone. He scowled and muttered, "Damn Uchiha brat!"
Along the way, Renya had fully thought things through.
As much as Tobirama hated the Uchiha, he wouldn't go so far as to murder a Uchiha child in cold blood.
Of course, that was assuming Konoha had already been founded.
If it were still the Warring States Period, Tobirama probably wouldn't mind sending a young Uchiha on a one-way trip...
Since Tobirama wasn't going to kill him, what was there to be afraid of?
Besides, with a good-natured guy like Hashirama around, as long as he didn't do anything stupid, Tobirama couldn't really do much to him.
Renya looked around the interior of the room. It was far better than the place he used to live.
Tobirama leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, looking down at Renya with a low voice:
"Rude little Uchiha brat, you still haven't introduced yourself."
For some reason, Renya found Tobirama's tone annoying. He replied coldly:
"My name is Renya. Uchiha Renya. And you are? White-haired old man!"
Tobirama hadn't expected that kind of answer. He froze for a moment.
Internally, he grumbled: 〖Truly a wicked Uchiha brat, never one to take a loss!〗
"Renya, huh? I'm Tobirama. Senju Tobirama!" he said.
"Oh, white-haired old man, could you not copy my way of talking?" Renya pouted.
So this was the future Second Hokage? He seemed kind of childish!
Tobirama's mouth twitched, and he instinctively clenched his fists.
His fists were… trembling with tension!
"Heh, brat, you should be grateful you're living in peaceful times!" Tobirama said coldly.
If this were five years ago, he wouldn't even bother talking so much.
The moment he saw a Uchiha, it would've been an instant Flying Thunder God Slash!
"Thank goodness I'm living in peaceful times!" Renya nodded solemnly. "Otherwise, I really would've been scared you'd try to kill me."
Tobirama: "..."
He suddenly realized that this brat might not be as obedient as he looked.
"Alright, old man, stop standing there like an idiot. I'm hungry... go fry me two dishes!" Renya said.
Tobirama stared at Renya in disbelief and exclaimed, "You want me to cook for you?!"
Renya spread his hands and said helplessly,
"I'm only six years old right now. You can't seriously expect me to cook for myself, right?"
Upon hearing this, Tobirama stared at Renya with a blank expression. After a long pause, he finally turned and walked off.
Watching Tobirama's retreating back, Renya grinned and called out:
"White-haired old man, add extra chili! I like it spicy!"
Tobirama stumbled hard at that, nearly falling over.
Once Tobirama had entered the kitchen, Renya dropped his smile and closed the door to his room.
"As I thought, my guess was right," Renya murmured.
It looked like Tobirama had been pressured by Hashirama into adopting him. As for the exact reason, he didn't know yet—maybe he could figure it out from Tobirama later.
At least for now, Tobirama wouldn't do anything to him. He might even agree to some outrageous requests.
That whole act just now had been a test to probe Tobirama's boundaries—a kind of obedience test.
The conclusion: although Tobirama was forced to adopt him and found him unpleasant, aside from lacking privacy, he wouldn't actually harm him...
Thinking this, Renya let out a sigh of relief.
He then sat cross-legged on the floor and began refining chakra.
Regular chakra refinement helped master the balance and fusion of physical and spiritual energy, making the process smoother and more efficient, and allowing for more effective use of chakra when performing ninjutsu.
...
After begrudgingly finishing the cooking, Tobirama went to call Renya for dinner.
This was beyond ridiculous!
He, Senju Tobirama—the man who hated the Uchiha the most in all of Konoha—had actually cooked for a member of the Uchiha clan!
While he was frying the food, he almost couldn't resist spitting in it.
That wicked Uchiha brat wanted to eat his cooking? Let him eat spit!
Luckily, he held himself back. Otherwise, Renya would've been eating something far worse...
Staring at the tightly shut door, Tobirama felt a bit curious.
What was that brat doing in his room?
Tobirama activated his sensory abilities and found that Renya was sitting cross-legged, diligently refining chakra.
Tobirama was slightly taken aback and murmured, "This brat..."
He hadn't expected such a young child to train so diligently. Judging from his refining efficiency, it was clearly the result of long-term practice.
During peacetime, most children Renya's age just wanted to play. Very few took training seriously.
In that moment, Tobirama's impression of Renya changed significantly.
Tobirama walked to the door and called into the room,
"Brat, time to eat!"
Renya opened the door, raising an eyebrow. "Old man, how's your cooking? I'm super picky, you know!"
Tobirama: "..."
Okay, his impression of Renya just crashed back to rock bottom.
...
The two of them entered the kitchen. Renya glanced at the dishes on the table, then muttered:
"Old man, your cooking looks... indescribable."
Tobirama's expression turned dark, and he said coldly,
"I've got some soldier pills. Want those instead?"
As he spoke, he pulled out two pills.
"Ahem, I was just kidding," Renya immediately knelt in front of the table and began devouring the food.
Although the presentation wasn't great, the food didn't taste good either.
Yeah... from now on, I'll handle cooking myself.