“Why are you all looking at me?”
Renye felt a bit uneasy under their gazes.
“Renye-kun, do you know if Tobirama-sama plans to take on disciples?” Hiruzen Sarutobi asked cautiously.
They all stared at Renye, anticipating his answer.
Renye shook his head, “He hasn’t told me.”
Hearing this, they were somewhat disappointed.
They had hoped to get firsthand information from Renye.
“However…” Renye changed the subject, “From what I know of him, he will most likely take the top-ranking students as his disciples.”
“Haha, that’s truly great!” Hiruzen Sarutobi was so excited he nearly jumped.
If it was truly as Renye said, then his being taken as a disciple by Tobirama-sama was a sure thing.
Danzo Shimura anxiously clenched his fists; his rank in class was fifth, which he would normally be satisfied with.
But knowing that Senju Tobirama would take disciples based on ranking, fifth place was a bit insufficient.
What if Tobirama-sama only took three disciples? Wouldn’t he, in fifth place, be out of luck?
Renye noticed Danzo Shimura’s bad expression, guessed his thoughts, and mischievously said, “Anyway, the top three are secure, but as for the rest, I don’t know.”
Upon hearing this, Danzo Shimura’s face instantly turned pale.
He couldn’t believe how desperate he would be if he wasn’t chosen!
Especially watching Hiruzen being taken as a disciple by Tobirama-sama with his own eyes.
Just thinking about that scene made him feel breathless.
Danzo Shimura prayed in his heart, hoping he could be chosen by Tobirama-sama!
Watching Danzo’s face alternate between green and white, Renye felt incredibly pleased.
He didn’t know why, but the more Danzo suffered, the happier he became.
As for Senju Tobirama taking disciples, Renye had no particular thoughts.
He had often been tutored by Senju Tobirama, making him almost half a disciple of Tobirama.
After dinner.
Each of them, lost in their own thoughts, returned to their homes.
——————
Hyuga Clan Land.
As Hyuga Yushu arrived at the entrance of the clan land, he saw a stern middle-aged man standing at the main gate.
The middle-aged man’s face was grim as he coldly questioned, “Where have you been?”
Hyuga Yushu lowered his head, remaining silent.
The middle-aged man said nothing, just watched quietly.
After a long while, Hyuga Yushu looked up, “Father, I went out to eat with my classmates.”
“What, is the food at home not good enough?”
“No…”
“Then why did you go out to eat!”
“Father, I know I was wrong.”
“Since this is your first offense, perform a thousand Gentle Fist strikes before dinner. You are not allowed to eat until you finish!”
“Yes, Father!”
——————
Senju Tobirama Residence.
Renye returned home and did not see Senju Tobirama.
That Old Man was probably hiding somewhere again, tinkering with forbidden jutsu.
He began his training for the day.
Renye’s talent was quite good; as long as he trained diligently,
he would still be able to protect himself in future Ninja wars, and not be used as cannon fodder.
All along, he had no grand ambitions; his goal in getting stronger was merely to survive.
That was all.
Renye was very clear about his own position.
He wasn’t a cheat like Naruto or Sasuke, nor was he so swayed by the fire will that he lost his way.
He couldn’t shout “fire will” and then foolishly rush forward to sacrifice himself…
Night.
Senju Tobirama returned with messy hair.
He hadn’t slept since yesterday evening, constantly researching the origins of the Senju and Uchiha, but unfortunately, he had made no progress.
Renye saw Senju Tobirama’s appearance and became even more certain that the Old Man was secretly dabbling in forbidden jutsu.
At this time, he should be starting to research Edo Tensei, right?
“Kid, how did you do on the exam?”
He saw Renye reviewing before the exam, so his score should be decent this time, right?
Such basic questions, one would know them after a quick look…
“Haha, it was alright, alright.” Renye chuckled.
Senju Tobirama didn’t press further; after a simple dinner, he returned to his study to continue his research.
Renye couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, “Good thing that Old Man didn’t keep asking.”
There was no way around it; being fifth from the bottom was really too embarrassing to show!
“Cultural subjects are my weakness; I must catch up this summer!”
Acting on his thought, Renye took out his books and began to study diligently.
“Thirty days of hard work, I will become the top of my grade!”
Five minutes later.
Renye expressionlessly closed the book, “Actually, Ninja only need to be strong; cultural subjects aren’t very useful…”
Didn’t Uzumaki Naruto not even know what the term “rabble” meant?
This also indirectly showed that in the Ninja World, academic scores weren’t important.
“Hmm, it’s not that I can’t learn it, it’s just that there’s no need to learn it.” Renye comforted himself.
“Time to sleep, time to sleep!”
“The feeling of knowledge entering my brain is truly captivating…”
Renye recalled the knowledge he had just learned in his mind.
Hmm, it was empty.
Even though he hadn’t learned anything, it didn’t stop him from falling asleep.
Study room.
Senju Tobirama had scoured various books in the Ninja World and indeed found relevant records.
He brushed away the dust from the last page of an ancient text, and a faded fresco faintly appeared on the yellowed paper.
In the image, an elder holding a staff floated in mid-air.
At his feet, two young boys knelt on either side.
The boy on the left wore vine patterns.
The boy on the right had crimson ripples in his eyes.
Text annotations slightly protruded from the fresco’s edge: “Indra and Asura, Six Paths Sage’s twin sons.”
The record stated that Indra inherited powerful ocular jutsu and combat talent but fell into darkness due to his obsession.
Asura, on the other hand, cultivated Wood Release with a heart of universal love, using his healing power to protect all beings.
“Ocular jutsu… Wood Release…” Senju Tobirama murmured to himself.
Although the records were vague, he knew this was the origin of the Uchiha and Senju Clan.
The ancestors of the Senju and Uchiha were actually descendants of the Six Paths Sage!
He guessed that Indra and Asura’s conflicting ideologies led to the thousands of years of war between the Uchiha and Senju.
Senju Tobirama was about to continue searching for other information to confirm this.
Just then, his peripheral vision caught sight of the final exam report card on the table.
He had asked Senju Takuma to deliver it and hadn’t had time to look at it yet, being busy with research.
So, Senju Tobirama opened the report card.
“First Place: Hiruzen Sarutobi”
“Second Place: Hyuga Yushu”
“Third Place: Uchiha Kagami”
“Fourth Place: Homura Mitokado”
“Fifth Place: Danzo Shimura”
Senju Tobirama nodded with satisfaction; these were Konoha’s future!
“Wait, why don’t I see that kid’s name?”
He began searching for Renye’s name and finally found it in the sixth-to-last position.
“Full marks in the practical assessment, so why is he still at the bottom?”
He was a bit confused until he saw Renye’s theoretical score.
Senju Tobirama: “???”