Say It Wasn't You!

Tobirama Senju Residence.

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

The dim yellow lamplight flickered on and off, casting his crooked shadow across the floor.

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

Tobirama Senju had not touched his chopsticks. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his expression was dark.

The Uchiha brat had gone to school today and had no time to make dinner.

Tobirama Senju himself had not cooked in a long time, so on a whim, he had prepared a lavish meal, intending to let Renye taste his cooking.

But Tobirama Senju had not expected Renye to remain absent all this time.

At first, he had occasionally reheated the dishes. After warming them up several times, he gave up.

"What exactly did that brat go off to do?" Tobirama Senju suppressed his anger.

How long had it been already? Why was he still not back?

Could he have... gone off and done something bad?

"An Uchiha brat born with innate evil!"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Renye had probably gone off to do something bad.

Like bullying his classmates, insulting them, beating them up...

Just as he was about to get up and go out to look for him, Renye happened to walk into the courtyard.

The moment he entered the house,

Renye noticed the dishes on the table and Tobirama Senju's grim expression. He immediately understood what had happened.

Looks like this old man had been waiting for me for quite a while...

"Brat, what did you do this afternoon?" Tobirama Senju's face was livid as he stared fixedly at Renye.

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

But it was nearly eight in the evening now.

Tobirama Senju was very curious about what Renye had been doing for those five hours!

If it had been anyone else, he might not have interrogated them like this.

But when dealing with an Uchiha, he had to remain vigilant.

The Uchiha were all lunatics, and even the brats were no exception.

Moreover, there had recently been plenty of reports in the village about the Uchiha Clan getting into disputes with other clans.

Those arrogant bastards were bound to cause trouble sooner or later.

Tobirama Senju had no choice but to be cautious.

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

Faced with Tobirama Senju's question, Renye looked awkward.

He had wanted to make up an excuse and brush it off, but seeing the dangerous look in the other man's eyes, he abandoned that idea.

This old man guarded against him as if he were a thief.

If he found out Renye was lying, things would get troublesome.

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

Tobirama Senju was somewhat taken aback. He had not expected this to be the reason Renye had come home late.

Sleeping during class was one thing. It was better than bullying classmates.

That was what Tobirama Senju thought.

"I don't know who wrote that book, but it isn't interesting at all." Renye spread his hands. "I don't understand. Konoha Village hasn't even existed as long as I have. Was there really a need to publish a separate history book?"

Tobirama Senju's face darkened as he shot Renye an annoyed look.

"Brat, what do you know?"

Konoha's history might only be a few thin pages now, but in ten or twenty years, it would become a thick book.

Besides, the existence of history books allowed current events to be truthfully recorded, so that people in the future could know what had happened during this era.

Renye curled his lip disdainfully and muttered, "I have doubts about the authenticity of historical records."

Tobirama Senju: "..."

Hadn't he merely "slightly" exaggerated the Senju Clan's achievements?

Did this brat really have to put it that way?

He had written about the Uchiha Clan too, hadn't he?

He had not denied the Uchiha Clan's contributions. Was Tobirama Senju that kind of person?

In Konoha's first year, Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, reached a cooperative agreement with the Uchiha Clan, ending the era of war and founding Konoha Village. Deeply beloved by the villagers, Hashirama Senju became the village's Kage and led Konoha toward prosperity. (Excerpt from Konoha History)

That old man Tobirama Senju had even removed Madara Uchiha's name.

It could not be helped. Madara had defected, after all.

Even if the Uchiha questioned it, they would be shut down with the fact that Madara Uchiha had defected.

This allowed the Senju Clan to rightfully become the greatest contributor to the founding of Konoha Village.

This was also one of Tobirama Senju's little schemes when compiling the history book.

After all, everyone hoped their own clan would leave its name in history...

Perhaps Tobirama Senju had never imagined, even until his death, that the Senju would one day be wiped out?

"Uncle, the food's cold." Renye did not want to discuss this any further and pointed at the dishes on the table.

"Don't sleep during class in the future."

After giving that reminder, Tobirama Senju picked up the dishes and headed into the kitchen.

After dinner.

Renye went to the training ground to practice throwing Shuriken.

After a year, his throwing skills had improved tremendously. He could now hit a stationary target almost every time.

Just then, a shout came from outside the door.

"Lord Tobirama, Hokage-sama wants you at the Hokage's Office!"

Hearing that, Tobirama Senju came out of the house and glanced at Renye.

"Brat, I have something to deal with. I'm heading out first."

With that, he opened the courtyard gate and left.

"At this hour, could something have happened?" Renye muttered to himself.

However, he did not think much of it. With Hashirama Senju in Konoha, it was the safest place there was. The sky would not come crashing down.

What Renye did not know was that this matter was closely tied to him.

Not long after, Tobirama Senju returned with a livid expression.

Noticing Tobirama Senju's expression, Renye grew curious.

What had happened to make this old man so angry?

"Brat, did you beat someone up today?!" Tobirama Senju suppressed his fury as he spoke.

Renye froze, apparently not expecting him to ask that.

He had clearly handled it very discreetly. How had he been found out?

At the time, he had checked his surroundings and only made his move after seeing that no one was around.

Before acting, he had even put a bag over Reppu Uchiha's head and had not said a word the entire time.

Renye could not understand how he had been exposed.

Seeing this, Tobirama Senju immediately understood.

Sure enough, this brat had done it!

"Brat, hurry up and say it wasn't you!"

"Huh?" Renye looked completely bewildered. He dug at his ear in disbelief. He must have misheard just now.

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

Renye immediately caught on and said with a serious expression, "I didn't beat anyone up. This has nothing to do with me."

Hearing that, Tobirama Senju nodded in satisfaction. "I knew you didn't do it. Alright, go back and sleep."

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

The course of events was simple.

Reppu Uchiha had been attacked from behind, and his father found out about it.

Reppu's father was the vice-captain of the Konoha Military Police Force. After asking his son whether he had provoked anyone over the past few days, he narrowed the suspect down to Renye.

So he stormed into the Hokage's Office to complain to Hashirama Senju.

He demanded a confrontation with Tobirama Senju and even claimed Renye had acted at Tobirama's instigation...

Naturally, Tobirama Senju could not admit it. After a round of verbal sparring, Reppu Uchiha's father had no evidence and could only leave unwillingly.

That was what led to the scene just now.

Tobirama Senju's purpose was simply to make sure Renye did not admit to beating Reppu.

If he had defeated the other boy in a spar, that would have been one thing. But attacking him from behind was truly dishonorable.

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

Reppu Uchiha was a companion, not an enemy...