"When are you planning to go out on a mission, brat?"
Seeing Renya walk in carrying a food box, Senju Tobirama couldn't help but ask.
He was starting to think that if Renya didn't leave for missions, he'd get to eat hot meals every day.
Sure, he could go out and buy food or cook for himself, but nothing compared to Renya's cooking.
His taste buds had been completely spoiled...
If the food wasn't made by Renya himself, he'd rather eat ration pills.
"After I eat, I'll head out, old man."
Renya spoke while placing the food from the box onto the table.
"I see..." A trace of disappointment flickered across Senju Tobirama's face.
He had been hoping Renya would stay in the village for a few more days, but it seemed the kid just couldn't sit still.
Renya scooped a bowl of rice and handed it to Tobirama.
"Here, eat first. I'll head back home to eat mine."
Tobirama blinked.
"You haven't eaten yet?"
He thought Renya was coming by this late because he'd already eaten at home, but apparently not...
"I was busy training this morning. By the time I remembered to cook, it was already noon," Renya explained.
Tobirama nodded, his heart warming a little.
Seems like the kid still had a conscience.
The first thing he did after finishing the meal was bring it over to him.
Seeing Renya about to leave, Tobirama blurted out without thinking,
"Don't go. Eat with me here."
He froze the moment the words left his mouth.
Renya paused in surprise and looked at Tobirama, then smiled.
"It's fine, old man. I already made mine at home."
He waved his hand and left the office.
Tobirama watched Renya's back, lost in thought.
"Why did I say that?"
Suddenly, he recalled the words his big brother once told him.
"Could it be... I'm actually developing feelings for that brat?!"
Tobirama gave a bitter chuckle and shook his head, picking up his chopsticks and bowl.
"...Mmm. Delicious."
...
Leaving the office, Renya recalled what Tobirama had just said and couldn't help but mutter to himself,
"That old man must've been poisoned by mushrooms."
There had been stir-fried mushrooms in today's lunch, and he suspected Tobirama might be hallucinating from eating them, hence that weird comment.
Though… he was pretty sure the mushrooms were fully cooked.
Just thinking back on that moment made Renya's skin crawl with goosebumps.
Something about Tobirama felt... off.
Yeah, he must've been mushroom-poisoned.
"That old guy's acting strange. I'd better avoid going home for a while."
Faced with the odd behavior of Tobirama, he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
What if the man suddenly awakened some bizarre tendency and dragged him off for dissection?
With that thought, Renya found Danzō and Koharu, and the three of them headed to the mission hall to pick up an assignment.
This time, the staff didn't give them any trouble. They successfully received a mission and departed the village.
Tobirama stood at the floor-to-ceiling window, watching Renya's figure disappear beyond the gates of Konoha, and softly muttered,
"Come back soon, brat..."
Renya's departure meant there'd be no more hot, delicious meals for a while.
He glanced at the half-eaten dishes on the table, then went over and packed the leftovers into the food box.
He planned to save them for dinner.
Tobirama took out the [Uchiha Observation Manual] from his robes and wrote:
[As time passes, I feel like I'm starting to form a bond with that evil little Uchiha brat...]
————————
"Renya-kun, why did you stop?"
At the gates of Konoha, Koharu and Danzō looked at the suddenly paused Renya with curiosity.
"It's nothing."
Renya shook his head and instinctively turned to glance back at the village.
Just a moment ago, he had felt someone watching him, and it made him extremely uncomfortable.
But the moment he turned around, that feeling vanished.
Renya was sure it wasn't just his imagination.
There was only one possibility: someone in the village had their eyes on him.
"But who could it be?" Renya fell into deep thought.
Uchiha? Senju? Or maybe someone from another clan?
You couldn't blame Renya for being paranoid. After all, fame breeds jealousy, and the strong attract attention.
He was a Uchiha, yet raised by the Senju.
And the one who raised him just happened to be the acting Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
That status made plenty of people want to cozy up to him.
So being watched was no surprise...
Shortly after the three left.
A boy stepped out from behind a tree, murmuring softly,
"So the traitor has left the village."
Before his voice even faded, the boy turned and walked away.
On his back was the unmistakable fan-shaped crest of the Uchiha clan.
————————
Uchiha clan grounds, meeting hall.
A stern-looking middle-aged man sat at the head of the room.
On either side sat several white-haired elders...
"I propose that we expel Uchiha Renya from the clan!" an elder on the left said.
"Agreed! He's not worthy of the Uchiha name!" another elder on the left chimed in.
"He rejected the clan!"
"I disagree," interrupted a one-eyed elder on the right.
"It was a forced choice back then. That boy can't be blamed."
"Indeed... that child has suffered," sighed another elder on the right with resignation.
"Suffered? Heh, I don't think so," the elder on the left scoffed.
"Isn't that traitor doing just fine with the Senju?"
"You're really getting senile—blaming a kid for your own faults," the elder on the right snapped coldly.
"If you've got the guts, go say that to Senju Hashirama!"
The elders on the left immediately fell silent.
Just then, a boy entered the hall.
"Father, I'm back."
The speaker was the same boy who had stood by the Konoha gate earlier.
The man at the head seat spoke in a deep voice,
"Retsu, has Uchiha Renya left the village?"
Uchiha Retsu quickly replied,
"Yes, Father-sama. That traitor just left."
The man didn't ask further. He turned to the gathered elders.
"Elders, I will go ask that child myself what he truly thinks..."
"If he's willing to return to the Uchiha, the clan will give him that chance. But if not..." he paused,
"Then he can get out of the Uchiha for good."
Hearing this, the elders all nodded.
The one-eyed elder furrowed his brow and was about to speak, but the elder beside him gently held him back.
Glancing at his companion, he sighed in resignation.
At first, all the elders had seen Renya as a genius of the Uchiha.
But when they reached out to him, they found that Renya was deliberately distancing himself from the clan.
That sparked discontent among some of the elders.
Eventually, the elders split into two camps—one believed Renya couldn't be blamed; his hands were tied by circumstances.
The other thought Renya had been brainwashed by Senju Tobirama and no longer deserved to bear the Uchiha name. They wanted him expelled.
The middle-aged man rose to his feet and left the meeting hall.
...
Hokage's Office.
While handling paperwork, Senju Tobirama suddenly set down the documents in his hands.
His expression darkened.
"Those Uchiha bastards are getting bolder by the day."
As he spoke, his figure blurred and vanished from the office.
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