A Battle of Wits and Courage

Time came to evening.

Renye figured it was about time, and without Tobirama Senju needing to remind him, he went to the kitchen to make dinner on his own.

After sensing the killing intent Tobirama Senju had let off, Renye had completely settled down.

If this had been before, he would have absolutely put chili in the other's food, but this time he didn't.

No choice... when his own strength wasn't enough, he had to play the grandson first, and once he got stronger later, he could come back and be the grandfather.

During the meal, Tobirama Senju noticed that Renye, for the first time ever, hadn't bickered with him, and for a moment he actually felt a bit bored.

He still preferred Renye's unruly attitude.

Thinking this, Tobirama Senju slowly spoke up, "Brat, why aren't you talking?"

Hearing this, Renye paused in his eating, set down his chopsticks, "What do you want me to say?"

"Whatever you want, say anything you like." Tobirama Senju looked at Renye with interest.

The once defiant brat, under his training, had become as docile as a quail—that feeling was incredibly satisfying.

"Don't talk while eating." Renye's face was expressionless.

He didn't want to talk to Tobirama Senju right now; he even suspected this white-haired guy was fishing for a reaction.

Trying to provoke him like this, so he could have a convenient excuse to take him out.

Hah, as expected of the Inherently Evil Tobirama Senju, his heart was just dirty!

Tobirama Senju: "..."

He hadn't expected Renye to say that, and that speechless feeling came back again—sure enough, Uchiha guys were still the same, not easily changed.

"Brat, how old are you?" Tobirama Senju asked.

He'd taken Renye in for a while now, but only just remembered he didn't know Renye's age.

Renye gave him a faint glance and said, "Six."

Clearly, this white-haired guy was just making trouble out of nothing; it was best to finish eating quickly and leave to be safe.

Thinking this, Renye sped up his eating.

Tobirama Senju quietly watched Renye, lost in thought.

"I'm done." Renye stood up and headed for his room, "I'm going back to my room now."

Seeing this, Tobirama Senju quickly called out, "Brat, you haven't drunk your milk yet."

Renye stopped and watched Tobirama Senju bring out a glass of milk from the kitchen.

"Old Man White-Hair, why do we have to drink milk every day?" Renye said, a bit helpless.

Drinking a big glass of milk after every dinner made him feel bloated when he slept.

"You're still growing right now, milk is a must." Tobirama Senju explained.

Renye took the milk and looked at Tobirama Senju with some suspicion, feeling like this Old Man had some hidden agenda.

Tobirama Senju saw that Renye didn't drink the milk right away and knew Renye was suspicious.

So he didn't force Renye and said slowly, "You don't have to drink it if you don't want to, but milk helps with growth and development, especially for a brat your age."

Seeing that Tobirama Senju wasn't forcing him, Renye finally relaxed.

It seemed like the milk probably didn't have any issues.

If it really did, that Old Man would have definitely forced him to drink it.

Renye silently praised his own cleverness, then raised the glass and downed it in one go.

"I'm going back to my room now." Renye said, then turned and left.

Tobirama Senju watched this, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly into a barely noticeable smile.

Heh, naive Uchiha brat, still trying to match wits with me?

With just a small trick, he'd made Renye completely drop his guard and obediently drink the milk laced with sleeping medicine.

This move was called retreat to advance!

But what Tobirama Senju didn't know was that after Renye turned around, his eyes flickered and his face was ashen.

He knew Tobirama Senju was up to no good—that milk definitely had something in it.

After returning to his room, he went to the bathroom and spat the milk out.

Done with that, Renye lay on the bed as if nothing had happened and closed his eyes.

He was waiting for Tobirama Senju to come.

But he waited a long time, and Tobirama Senju still didn't show.

Renye couldn't help but start thinking—could the milk really have been fine?

Had he really just been overthinking it?

To be safe, Renye didn't sleep; he worried Tobirama Senju might come in the later part of the night.

And so he waited until dawn, but Tobirama Senju still hadn't shown up.

"Damn it. Guess I was overthinking it." Renye was speechless.

He'd even been silently congratulating himself on his cleverness earlier.

But after all that, he realized he'd spent the whole night outsmarting thin air.

Having stayed up all night, Renye dragged his heavy body upright. The mirror reflected his bloodshot eyes, ringed with dark circles.

"Heh. I've honestly out-stupided myself." Renye gave a bitter smile.

The sky was just barely light, and he had no intention of going back to sleep.

Renye went to the training ground in the yard and started his morning practice.

Just then, Tobirama Senju opened the door and watched Renye training seriously before speaking:

"Brat, need me to make you breakfast?"

"Then I'll trouble you, Uncle," Renye said, continuing his training.

Tobirama Senju headed to the kitchen to start cooking Renye's breakfast.

When he'd seen Renye's dark circles earlier, he'd nearly laughed out loud.

"Kid, you're still too green." Tobirama Senju looked smug.

Last night, the moment Renye didn't drink the milk right away, he knew the brat was getting suspicious.

Tobirama Senju was always cautious, so he hadn't made a move during the night.

He suspected Renye had gone back and spat out the milk—after all, you couldn't judge an Uchiha brat by normal standards.

Those wicked Uchiha brats were full of schemes.

Sure enough, he'd guessed right.

He planned to keep dosing Renye's milk for now, but wouldn't act. He'd wait a while longer.

Breakfast was simple: bread and fried eggs.

He was about to call Renye inside to eat, but then something occurred to him, and he flashed a wicked grin.

He took out a carton of milk, poured a glass, and set it on the table.

"Kids need to drink plenty of milk."

After doing that, he finally called Renye in for breakfast.

When Renye came inside and saw the milk on the table, the expression on his face froze.

Damn it. Milk again.

It was because of this milk that he hadn't closed his eyes all night.

At that thought, he felt like throwing the milk out the window...

Tobirama Senju watched Renye's reaction from the side, keeping his face neutral. Seeing his expression, he felt a surge of private glee.

Heh heh... A brat's a brat. Still too green.

"Brat, I've got things to do. Remember to wash the dishes after you eat."

Tobirama Senju turned and left, thoroughly satisfied.

If he stayed any longer, he was afraid he'd burst out laughing.

Seeing an Uchiha get humbled always made his day.

A beautiful day, starting with watching Renye eat crow!

Tobirama Senju was in high spirits. He decided to sneak off today and cook up another forbidden jutsu for fun.

As the ninja world's Master of Forbidden Jutsu, inventing techniques was as easy as playing.