Hurry Up and Say It Wasn't You!

Tobirama Senju Residence.

Late at night, Tobirama Senju sat alone in the house.

The dim lamplight flickered, casting his shadow crookedly across the floor.

The low table before him was laden with dishes; the steam that had once risen had long since dissipated, and the food had gone cold.

Tobirama Senju hadn't touched his chopsticks. His brows were knit tight, his face dark and grim.

Today, the Uchiha brat had gone to school and hadn't had time to make dinner.

It had been a long while since Tobirama himself had cooked, so on a whim, he'd prepared a lavish spread, wanting Renye to taste his skill.

But Tobirama Senju hadn't expected that Renye wouldn't come home at all.

At first, he'd reheated the dishes now and then, but after a few rounds, he gave up.

"That brat—what the hell is he up to?" Tobirama Senju suppressed his anger.

How long had it been? Still not back?

Could he be... out doing something bad?

"That innately evil Uchiha brat!"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Renye was probably off causing trouble.

Picking on classmates, cursing them, beating them up...

Just as he was about to get up and go look for him, Renye walked into the yard.

The moment he stepped inside.

Renye noticed the food on the table and Tobirama's grim expression, and instantly understood what had happened.

Looks like this Old Man had been waiting for him a long time...

"Brat, what were you doing this afternoon?" Tobirama Senju's face was ashen, his eyes fixed tightly on Renye.

The Ninja Academy let out early, around three in the afternoon.

But now it was almost eight at night.

Tobirama Senju was curious—what had Renye been doing for those five hours?!

If it were anyone else, he might not have grilled them like this.

But facing an Uchiha, he had to tread carefully.

Those Uchiha were all lunatics, even the kids.

And lately, the village had been buzzing with reports of the Uchiha Clan clashing with other families.

Those arrogant bastards were bound to stir up something.

Tobirama Senju had to stay vigilant.

Even if this Uchiha had lived with him for a year...

Faced with Tobirama's interrogation, Renye looked awkward.

He thought about making up some excuse, but seeing the dangerous glint in the other's eyes, he dropped the idea.

This Old Man guarded against him like he was a thief.

If he got caught lying, things would get messy.

With that in mind, Renye decided to tell the truth. "This afternoon, history class was too boring, so I fell asleep. By the time I woke up, it was already dark."

Tobirama Senju was taken aback. He hadn't expected Renye's lateness to be for this reason.

Sleeping in class was fine—better than bullying classmates.

That was Tobirama's thought.

"I don't know who wrote that textbook, but it's totally dull," Renye said, spreading his hands. "I don't get it. Konoha Village hasn't even been around as long as I've been alive. Did they really need to make a whole history book out of it?"

Tobirama Senju's face darkened with exasperation as he shot Renye a glare.

"Brat, what do you know?"

Sure, Konoha's history was just a few thin pages now, but in ten or twenty years, it'd be a thick volume.

And history books existed to truthfully record current events, so future generations would know what happened in this era.

Renye curled his lip dismissively and muttered, "I have my doubts about the truthfulness of history books."

Tobirama Senju: "..."

He'd only "slightly" exaggerated the Senju Clan's achievements, hadn't he?

Did this brat have to say that?

He'd written about the Uchiha Clan too!

He hadn't denied their contributions—was Tobirama Senju that kind of person?

In the founding year of Konoha, the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and the Uchiha Clan reached an agreement, ending the war and establishing Konoha Village. Hashirama Senju, beloved by the villagers, became the village's Hokage and led Konoha to prosperity. (Excerpt from Konoha History)

If you can't find the book by title, try searching by author—maybe it just changed names!

That old man Tobirama Senju even went so far as to erase Madara Uchiha's name.

No help for it—who could blame him, when Madara had defected?

Even if the Uchiha raised objections, they'd be shot down with the fact of Madara's betrayal.

That way, the Senju Clan could rightfully claim the greatest credit for founding Konoha Village.

It was a little trick Tobirama Senju played while compiling the history books.

After all, everyone wants their own clan to go down in history...

Tobirama Senju probably never imagined, even to his death, that the Senju would one day be wiped out.

"Uncle, the food's getting cold." Renye didn't want to keep discussing this, pointing at the dishes on the table.

"Don't sleep in class from now on."

After giving his order, Tobirama Senju picked up the dishes and headed to the kitchen.

After the meal.

Renye went to the training ground to practice shuriken throwing.

Over the past year, his throwing skills had improved drastically—he could nearly hit a fixed target a hundred times out of a hundred.

Just then, a shout came from outside the gate.

"Lord Tobirama! Hokage-sama is calling you to the office!"

Hearing this, Tobirama Senju came out of his room, glanced at Renye, and said:

"Kid, I've got business. I'm heading out."

With that, he opened the courtyard gate and left.

"What could have happened this late at night?" Renye muttered to himself.

Still, he didn't worry too much. With Hashirama Senju around, Konoha was at its safest—the sky wasn't going to fall.

What Renye didn't know, though, was that this matter was closely tied to him.

Before long, Tobirama Senju returned, his face ashen.

Renye noticed Tobirama Senju's expression and grew curious.

What had happened to make that old man so furious?

"Kid, did you hit someone today!" Tobirama Senju said, suppressing his anger.

Hearing this, Renye froze, as if he hadn't expected the question.

He'd done it so covertly—how had he been found out?

He'd checked his surroundings back then, making sure no one was around before acting.

Before striking, he'd even bagged Reppu Uchiha's head and hadn't said a word the whole time.

Renye couldn't understand—how had he been exposed?

Seeing this, Tobirama Senju understood at once.

Sure enough, it was this little brat!

"Kid, tell me it wasn't you!"

"Huh?" Renye blinked in confusion, incredulously cupping his ear—he thought he'd misheard.

"I know this has nothing to do with you," Tobirama Senju continued.

Renye snapped to attention, his face serious: "I didn't hit anyone. This has nothing to do with me."

Hearing this, Tobirama Senju nodded in satisfaction. "I knew it wasn't you. Alright, go back to sleep."

Watching Renye return to his room, Tobirama Senju sighed helplessly. "This kid really knows how to cause me trouble..."

The gist of it was simple.

Reppu Uchiha had been ambushed from the shadows, and his father had found out.

Reppu's father was the deputy captain of the Konoha Military Police Force. After asking his son if he'd provoked anyone in the past couple of days, he'd zeroed in on Renye as the suspect.

So he stormed into the Hokage's Office and lodged a complaint with Hashirama Senju.

He demanded a confrontation with Tobirama Senju, even claiming Renye had been acting on Tobirama's orders...

Tobirama Senju naturally wouldn't admit to it. After a round of verbal sparring, Reppu Uchiha's father, lacking evidence, had no choice but to leave in frustration.

That was what had just happened.

Tobirama Senju's goal was simply to make sure Renye didn't confess to the beating.

If he'd won in a fair spar, that would be one thing—but striking from the shadows was truly dishonorable.

After all, this was Konoha Village, not a battlefield.

Reppu Uchiha was a comrade, not an enemy.