"I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, old man."
Renya gazed at the back of Senju Tobirama as he walked away and murmured softly.
Ever since he began receiving guidance from Senju Tobirama, he could clearly feel that the other man was consciously or unconsciously instilling in him a love for the village.
An ordinary child would’ve been subtly influenced over ti.
But Renya was different. He had lived two lives, and his worldview was already fully ford—difficult to alter.
Senju Tobirama had been subtly telling Renya that, for the sake of Konoha, one must even be willing to sacrifice their life when necessary.
The safety of the village outweighed everything, even one’s own life.
But Renya didn’t see it that way. At the end of the day, he was an "outsider," with no strong sense of belonging to either the village or the clan.
From his perspective, the most important thing was to stay alive.
He trained hard to beco stronger, all for the sake of surviving the future ninja wars.
Renya stood up and looked into the distance, murmuring,
"If I ever beco strong enough, I wouldn’t mind helping you protect the village..."
As the saying goes: When poor, protect yourself; when rich, help the world.
If one has the ability, they’ll naturally want to help.
If not, then taking care of oneself is more important than anything else.
Renya resud his harsh training. Becoming stronger was a long journey—unless you were a cheater, it would take years or even decades.
...
Sarutobi Clan Grounds
The Sarutobi Clan had joined Konoha during its founding, making them one of the village’s elder clans.
Their mbers often excelled in all five chakra natures, with formidable combat strength. That was precisely why Senju Hashirama had invited them to join.
At this mont, the current clan head, Sarutobi Sasuke, had a flushed and excited face.
And who could bla him? The younger brother of the First Hokage—Senju Tobirama, the one most likely to beco the Second Hokage—had co to visit his ho!
"Tobirama-sama, may I ask what brings you here today?" Sarutobi Sasuke asked cautiously.
All these years, Tobirama had only visited once before, when the Sarutobi Clan first joined Konoha along with his elder brother.
If Tobirama had co, it had to be for sothing important.
Sarutobi Sasuke absentmindedly rubbed his fingertips, trying to guess Tobirama’s intention.
Tobirama’s personality and approach to things were vastly different from his older brother’s.
When speaking with soone like him, it was best to be extrely careful and not try to read his thoughts—doing so was a quick way to suffer...
Sarutobi Sasuke abandoned any attempt to guess what Tobirama was thinking.
Tobirama didn’t answer right away. Instead, he picked up the red tea on the table and slowly savored it.
Sasuke wasn’t impatient. He simply watched in silence.
After a long while, Tobirama set down his cup.
Sarutobi Sasuke’s expression tensed.
Was it finally coming?
Why had he co?
"Sasuke-san, I would like to take your son as my student. Would you be willing?"
Sarutobi Sasuke’s tense expression shifted—first to shock, then delight, and finally excitent.
"You... You truly wish to take my son as your student?" His voice was hoarse, and his hands trembled uncontrollably.
Was he dreaming?
Tobirama-sama actually wanted to take Hiruzen as his student!
Given Tobirama’s prestige in the village, it was practically guaranteed that he would beco the Second Hokage.
And with that, Hiruzen would have the Hokage himself as his ntor.
When Sasuke eventually stepped down and Hiruzen beca clan head, which clan in Konoha would dare disrespect the Sarutobi?
Under Hiruzen’s leadership, their clan’s status would definitely rise.
Maybe one day, the Sarutobi Clan could even stand shoulder to shoulder with the Senju and Uchiha!
The more he thought about it, the more excited Sasuke beca—he nearly passed out from happiness.
This might seem like a simple apprenticeship, but it was loaded with implications.
Tobirama nodded. "Sarutobi Hiruzen is a very talented child. With my guidance, I believe he will beco an excellent ninja."
"On behalf of my son, I thank you, Tobirama-sama!" Sarutobi Sasuke bowed deeply, his eyes sparkling.
Whether the Sarutobi Clan could rise or not—it all depended on you now, Hiruzen!
Just then, Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived at last.
He had been training earlier. The mont he heard Tobirama-sama wanted to take him as a student, he rushed over without a second thought.
Tobirama noticed the signs of training on Hiruzen and gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen, are you willing to beco my student?"
Hiruzen panted heavily and quickly replied:
"Yes, I absolutely am!"
He had dread of becoming Tobirama-sama’s student...
Just yesterday, they were still fantasizing about being chosen. Who would’ve thought that dream would co true today?
It felt surreal.
Seeing Hiruzen accept, Tobirama said, "Tomorrow at 4 am, et at the training field in Konoha Forest. Don’t be late."
With that, he turned and left.
"Got it, sensei!" Hiruzen replied excitedly.
Tobirama was montarily speechless. This kid was quick to start calling him teacher...
Next, Tobirama went to find Uchiha Kagami, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Koharu Utatane one by one.
Originally, Koharu Utatane hadn’t been in Tobirama’s plans. But rembering her potential as a dical ninja, he made an exception and accepted her.
After all, when carrying out missions in the future, the team would need a dic-nin, right?
Besides, having a dic among his students ant he could crank up the intensity of their training. If they got injured, they could be healed right away.
"Heh... That way, these brats can’t use injuries as an excuse." Tobirama chuckled darkly.
After recruiting several gifted students, his mood was excellent.
Today, he wouldn’t study the Uchiha anymore. He felt like researching a forbidden jutsu for fun.
He couldn’t keep drugging Renya’s milk with sleeping agents forever.
Over ti, Renya’s resistance had grown. If things continued like this, the drugs would stop working altogether.
Tobirama planned to develop a new kind of sedative while researching forbidden jutsu.
Otherwise, it was only a matter of ti before the drugging got exposed.
And when that happened, Renya would definitely slap him with labels like [Pervert], [Evil Scientist], and [Even Experints on Kids].
Just imagining that scene made Tobirama’s scalp tingle.
No matter what, this could never be exposed!
Forget Renya’s reaction—if his big brother found out he was using Renya as a lab rat, he’d beat him to death without hesitation...
...
That night, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others were so excited they couldn’t sleep.
They were all looking forward to what tomorrow’s training would be like.
anwhile, Renya experienced a rare bout of insomnia.
"Why can’t I sleep?"
He’d been in the ninja world for over a year now, and this was the first ti he couldn’t sleep—not even a bit of drowsiness.
Normally, he would fall asleep the mont he hit the bed. But tonight, no matter what, sleep just wouldn’t co.
Renya was completely baffled.
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