Starting From Being Adopted by the Second Hokage!

Mission complete, Senju Yusuke led the group back to the village.

Because both Danzo and Renya were injured, their pace was slow.

They moved in starts and stops, and it took them three full days to return to Konoha.

...

Elsewhere, Senju Tanaka was hurrying back to the village with the unconscious Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mitokado Homura slung under his arms.

Uchiha Kagami followed closely behind, clearly injured as well.

Senju Tanaka wore a pained expression. "If I'd known this would happen, I never would've let you take on a B-rank mission."

Earlier, the kids had begged to take on a B-rank mission, and for some reason, Tanaka had agreed.

But the mission target turned out to be two chunin and one genin.

How could three freshly graduated genin stand a chance?

The fight lasted barely two minutes before Sarutobi Hiruzen and Mitokado Homura were both incapacitated. Only Uchiha Kagami was left struggling to hold on.

If Tanaka hadn't stepped in when he did, the three of them would've been meeting their ancestors by now.

If Tobirama found out about this, Tanaka was absolutely going to get chewed out.

...

The two teams ended up meeting at the Konoha gate.

"Tanaka, what happened to you guys?" Senju Yusuke raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh, don't even ask." Tanaka sighed and explained, "These little brats insisted on doing a B-rank mission, but they didn't have the strength. They almost got themselves killed."

Renya glanced at the two unconscious, badly injured boys and twitched the corner of his mouth.

Damn, they really got wrecked.

Shimura Danzo couldn't help but grin smugly.

At first, he'd been worried that Hiruzen's team would outperform theirs.

But seeing them come back in such sorry shape made him feel a whole lot better.

"Kagami, you okay?" Danzo actually smiled a little for once.

Uchiha Kagami scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm… I'm fine, I guess."

Back when they got the B-rank assignment, the three of them had bragged about it right in front of Danzo. Never imagined the slap to the face would come so soon.

"I'll take them to the hospital first, no time to chat."

Senju Tanaka dashed off toward the Konoha hospital.

Kagami limped after him.

"Haha! That's hilarious!" Danzo burst into laughter.

He'd thought Hiruzen's squad was hot stuff just because they got a B-rank mission.

Turns out—what a joke!

"Hahahaha—cough, cough, cough!"

He laughed too hard and accidentally tugged on his own injuries. His face went pale in an instant.

Renya: "…"

Is this what they call laughing yourself into misery?

Senju Yusuke's face twitched.

"Alright, I'm taking you guys to the hospital too."

...

After a quick patch-up at the Konoha Hospital, Renya headed home.

—

Senju Tobirama's Residence

Including travel time, the mission had taken five days in total.

Renya pushed open the door and stepped into the courtyard.

Senju Tobirama heard the movement and came out of his study. The flash of surprise in his eyes faded quickly.

"Brat, you're back."

In the few days Renya had been gone, even Tobirama couldn't enjoy his meals.

He'd realized that his appetite had been spoiled by Renya's cooking. Nothing else tasted right anymore.

Just as he was about to ask Renya to whip up a couple of dishes, something caught his attention, and he instinctively frowned.

Through his senses, he could tell that Renya's chakra had changed. It had become cold and oppressive, making him feel inexplicably repulsed.

"This brat…" Tobirama's eyes narrowed.

Renya looked confused. Why'd the old man's face change all of a sudden?

He hadn't done anything, had he?

Wait… could he be hitting menopause or something?

While Renya racked his brain for answers, Tobirama finally spoke.

"Brat, did you awaken the Sharingan?"

"How did you know?" Renya was visibly startled.

He hadn't even told Tobirama yet. How did the old man figure it out?

Tobirama's expression turned into one of "just as I thought."

After long years of observing the Uchiha clan, he'd discovered that once an Uchiha awakened their Sharingan, their chakra would noticeably shift.

The stronger the eye, the colder the chakra became.

And Tobirama absolutely detested that cold, oppressive chakra.

Usually, the colder the chakra, the more emotionally unstable the Uchiha became, making them prone to dangerous decisions.

That was precisely why Tobirama always kept a watchful eye on them.

To him, the Uchiha were a bunch of high-powered lunatics. No one could predict when one of them might snap.

If those maniacs ever did go berserk, the village would be doomed.

"Brat, show me your Sharingan," Tobirama said, eyes fixed on Renya's.

Renya wasn't sure what he was after but did as he was told.

A single black tomoe appeared near his pupil.

The moment his eye activated, Tobirama could clearly sense Renya's previously calm chakra begin to surge wildly, turning cold and violent.

But that chilling sensation disappeared just as quickly.

Tobirama fell into deep thought.

What kind of secret did the Uchiha's eyes hide?

Why did awakening them change a person so dramatically?

He decided—tonight, he'd study Renya's Sharingan thoroughly.

"Alright, brat," Tobirama said.

Hearing this, Renya slowly deactivated the Sharingan.

This old man's behavior was seriously weird. Who knows what he was scheming.

...

Evening.

Senju Tobirama sat at the table, thoroughly enjoying the dinner Renya had made.

As expected, nothing beat the brat's cooking.

The last few days, when Tobirama had to cook for himself, everything had tasted like cardboard. He had no appetite at all.

Before long, the dishes on the table had been wiped clean.

Tobirama dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the bandage wrapped around Renya's shoulder.

"Brat, I heard you guys took on a B-rank mission?"

Renya nodded. "It was harder than we expected."

The scene replayed in his mind like a film reel—Danzo exposing their weakness, Koharu forced to heal him, Renya battling a brute in a hopeless fight…

This mission made Renya realize how naive they'd been about combat.

A ninja's battle was cruel and unforgiving. One misstep, and you could die right there.

He relayed the mission's details to Tobirama.

But Tobirama didn't scold them for taking on a B-rank assignment.

To him, a ninja only grew through constant fighting.

Tobirama gave a small nod, fingers lightly tapping on the table.

"I'm very satisfied with how you handled this mission. Only by brushing shoulders with death can you truly understand what it means to be a shinobi."

With that, Tobirama stood up, carrying his dishes into the kitchen.

Renya sat on the couch and picked up a novel to flip through.

Since the current shinobi world didn't have TV, there were few entertainment options.

So Renya had bought a few books to pass the time.

The writing quality was so-so—nothing compared to the novels from his past life.

Maybe someday, when he had time, he'd write a couple himself.

He'd read so many stories in his previous life. If he just followed the usual tropes, he was bound to make a fortune.

After all, novels in this world were mostly flat and straightforward.

If he published something good, wouldn't people in the shinobi world stay up all night begging for updates?

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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