Dawn broke.
Renye jolted awake from a dream, his back drenched in cold sweat.
His chest heaved violently, his eyes still holding traces of fear and confusion.
"It's that dream again..." Renye muttered, filled with surprise and uncertainty, "What exactly is that place?"
In that strange dream, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar place.
The air was thick with a pungent medicinal smell, and he lay on a cold experimental table, his limbs bound by unknown instruments, unable to move.
Strange red lights flickered on the laboratory walls, and various oddly shaped specimens were arranged around, subtly emitting a nauseating odor.
A figure in a white lab coat circled him continuously; for some reason, Renye couldn't make out the person's face.
That person held a notebook, seemingly recording something, and every movement made Renye feel utterly uncomfortable, as if he were a lamb to be slaughtered, to be studied and manipulated at will.
"Is this really my golden finger?" Renye couldn't help but wonder.
In the many novels he read before transmigrating, some protagonists did possess golden fingers related to dreams.
For example, a certain protagonist had dreams of being chased by different monsters for over ten years straight, only to later discover that this was his golden finger!
Thinking of this, Renye decided to see if there were any changes in himself.
After looking for a long time, he found nothing.
"Could it be... I need to act within the dream?" Renye frowned in thought.
He planned to see if he could discover anything in his dream tonight.
With that thought, Renye left his room, and after breakfast, he began his morning training.
The morning training was the same as yesterday: first, Chakra extraction, then physical training.
Just as Renye was concentrating on extracting Chakra in the yard, a gentle voice suddenly sounded from the main gate.
"Little one, so serious, are we?"
Hearing the movement, Renye opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the voice, puzzled.
He saw a red-haired woman standing at the entrance, her long red hair styled into two buns, adorned with decorations resembling talismans.
A purple diamond-shaped mark on her forehead was prominent, and her gaze was gentle.
A white cheongsam outlined her graceful figure.
Every gesture exuded an elegant temperament.
Renye recognized the person at a glance—wasn't this Uzumaki Mito, Senju Hashirama's wife?
Why was she here?
Although Renye recognized Mito's identity, he still pretended not to know, "Who are you?"
Uzumaki Mito smiled, walked with light steps to Renye, knelt down, looked him directly in the eyes, and said softly,
"I am Tobirama's elder sister-in-law. I heard he adopted an Uchiha child, so I came to see... You must be the child Tobirama adopted, right?"
For some reason, Renye felt that Uzumaki Mito could see through his inner thoughts, and this feeling made him very uncomfortable.
He instinctively took a step back, creating distance from Mito, "That's right, I'm the Uchiha adopted by the White-Haired Uncle."
Uzumaki Mito paused slightly at his words, covering her mouth as she chuckled, "Why do you call Tobirama the White-Haired Uncle?"
Renye pouted, explaining, "That guy finds me annoying... Coincidentally, I find him annoying too... It's good enough that I didn't call him 'White Hair'."
Uzumaki Mito was amused by Renye's words. She laughed and shook her head, "What a tsundere little brat."
Actually, she also didn't understand what Hashirama was thinking...
Why did he insist on Tobirama adopting an Uchiha child?
It was almost common knowledge that Tobirama was wary of the Uchiha Clan.
Because of this, Tobirama had often come home crying and complaining about Renye's annoying qualities.
Uzumaki Mito, curious from what she heard, decided to come and see just how annoying this 'annoying brat' Tobirama talked about really was.
After spending a short time with him, she realized Tobirama was exaggerating.
While Renye was a bit tsundere, he wasn't annoying... It was probably Tobirama's prejudice against the Uchiha, doing it on purpose.
The motive was obvious: he simply wanted to send Renye back.
Thinking of this, Uzumaki Mito reached out to stroke Renye's head, but Renye dodged her hand.
She was a little stunned, not expecting Renye to avoid her.
"Auntie, don't mess with my head," Renye said.
Uzumaki Mito was surprised, not expecting Renye to say that.
She chuckled, "Alright, alright, Auntie won't touch you."
"That's more like it," Renye said, crossing his arms, a look of arrogance on his face.
As a proud Uchiha, how could he allow an outsider to touch his head?
If this matter were to get out, what about Uchiha Renye's reputation?!
"Oh, I haven't asked your name yet," Uzumaki Mito just remembered she hadn't asked Renye's name.
"My name is Uchiha Renye," Renye looked at Mito, "Auntie, what about you?"
Uzumaki Mito smiled slightly, "Little Renye, my name is Uzumaki Mito. You can call me Auntie Mito."
Renye nodded, indicating he understood.
"Auntie Mito, I still have to train."
Renye began to usher her away. He didn't have time to argue with her now; he needed to get stronger as quickly as possible.
As he spoke, he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to extract Chakra.
Seeing this, Uzumaki Mito's pretty face was filled with surprise; she hadn't expected Renye to ask her to leave.
"What an interesting little brat," she said with amusement.
She finally understood why Tobirama had come to complain; this child, Renye, was indeed different from ordinary children.
It seemed Tobirama was in for a rough time.
Watching Renye train diligently, she slowly stood up and left the yard.
After Uzumaki Mito left, Renye opened his eyes, looking thoughtfully in the direction she had disappeared.
----
Senju Hashirama's residence.
"Big Brother, I'm begging you, can you please send that child away!" Senju Tobirama pleaded.
Senju Tobirama, who was always known for his composure and calmness, actually had such a humble side.
If anyone familiar with him saw this, they would be absolutely dumbfounded...
During this time, just thinking about having an Uchiha brat at home made him unable to do anything properly.
"Tobirama, you need to learn to be tolerant and accepting," Senju Hashirama said earnestly.
He truly hoped his brother could get along well with Renye, and ideally, form a bond.
This way, perhaps Tobirama would no longer hate the Uchiha.
Senju Tobirama: "..."
He had come here as soon as he woke up, hoping that his Big Brother would retract his decision, but no matter what he said, his Big Brother refused to budge.
Just then, Uzumaki Mito entered the house.
Seeing her, Senju Tobirama quickly looked at Mito and sought help, saying,
"Sister-in-law, quickly persuade my Big Brother!"
Since persuading Big Brother wasn't working, he would ask for Sister-in-law's help.
When it came to family status, it was all about Sister-in-law.
As long as Sister-in-law spoke, Big Brother was nothing; he would just have to obediently agree!
However, Mito's next words completely stunned Senju Tobirama.
"Tobirama, I've met that child, Renye. I think your Big Brother is right; get along well with that child."
"Hahaha, Mito is right!" Senju Hashirama said with a laugh.
Senju Tobirama: "???"
He hadn't expected such an outcome.
For a moment, he felt like the sky had fallen.
Senju Tobirama didn't know how he left.
His Big Brother and Sister-in-law, acting in unison, had unanimously decided that he should raise Renye until he came of age.
Just thinking about his future life, Senju Tobirama felt his vision go dark.
What a joke!