Guidance

Tobirama Senju Residence.

Renye lay on the bed, still looking utterly incredulous. A Ninjutsu Scroll rested beside his bed.

Tobirama Senju's earlier words kept replaying in his mind.

He had been adopted by Tobirama Senju for a year now, yet the old man had always been wary of him, let alone guided his training.

But now, Tobirama Senju had actually taken the initiative to offer him guidance. It all felt unreal.

"I'm not under a genjutsu, am I?"

Renye bit the tip of his tongue. The pain told him that this was not a genjutsu.

He truly had not expected those words to have such a powerful impact.

Not only had Hashirama Senju given him the Senju Ninjutsu Scroll, but even Tobirama Senju was willing to guide his training.

Renye's heart raced, and the excitement on his face was impossible to hide.

Tobirama Senju was a Kage-level powerhouse. With his guidance, Renye believed he could go farther and become stronger!

Immersed in his excitement over growing stronger in the future, Renye gradually drifted off to sleep.

At the Tiger Hour, a crescent moon hung over the Senju Clan Compound.

Before dawn had even broken, Tobirama Senju's deep voice sounded from outside the door.

"Brat, how long are you planning to sleep?"

Hearing the voice, Renye sprang out of bed. As he got dressed, he called toward the door, "Uncle, wait a moment! I'll be right there!"

Before long, Renye was fully dressed. Hugging the scroll, he opened the door.

Tobirama Senju stood outside. He glanced at Renye without saying much, then turned and headed for the training ground.

Renye silently followed behind him.

The two arrived at the center of the training ground.

Tobirama Senju turned around and looked directly at Renye—or rather, at the Ninjutsu Scroll in Renye's hands.

How could Renye not understand what that meant?

He promptly handed over the Ninjutsu Scroll.

Tobirama Senju accepted the scroll, nodded in satisfaction, and put it away.

Under Renye's shocked, suspicious, and bewildered gaze, Tobirama Senju explained awkwardly, "We won't be learning ninjutsu today. We'll start with basic training."

Renye eyed Tobirama Senju suspiciously. "Uncle, you aren't going to run away after tricking me out of the scroll, are you?"

Tobirama Senju's face reddened as he snapped, "Brat, what do you mean by that? Do you think I'm that kind of person?!"

Though he had indeed intended to guide Renye at first, what was wrong with studying the clan's Ninjutsu Scroll during the process?

Renye said nothing and simply curled his lip.

Tobirama Senju: "..."

To be honest, he wanted to turn around and leave right then.

Fortunately, Renye did not dwell on the matter. Eagerly, he said, "Uncle, didn't you say you were going to guide my training? Let's get started!"

"Show me the ninjutsu you can use," Tobirama Senju said.

He had watched Renye train before. Renye's control over Chakra had been... difficult to put into words. He wasted far too much Chakra whenever he cast ninjutsu.

At the time, he had not said anything because he did not want Renye to grow stronger...

But Renye's earlier words had made Tobirama Senju realize that he truly did harbor prejudice against the Uchiha Clan.

The Uchiha Clan was indeed prone to falling into extreme emotions, but that also showed that they understood "love" better than ordinary people.

Renye's words had thoroughly awakened him and changed his fixed impression of the Uchiha.

Of course, Tobirama Senju only acknowledged Renye, not every Uchiha...

That was why he had taken the initiative to offer Renye guidance.

Upon hearing Tobirama Senju's words, Renye did not hesitate. He formed hand seals and cast a ninjutsu.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball burst from his mouth, its scorching light illuminating the training ground.

Renye was quite satisfied with it. This was the result of his year of training.

He had thought Tobirama Senju would praise him, but the other man's next words struck Renye like a blow to the head.

Tobirama Senju frowned deeply and said coldly, "Fire Release is not simply the reckless release of Chakra."

Renye raised his head in confusion, seemingly unable to understand what he meant.

Seeing this, Tobirama Senju raised a hand and formed seals. Dark blue flames rose from his fingertips, entirely different from ordinary orange-red fire.

"Your technique looked fierce just now, but your Chakra was in disarray, like an uncontrollable wildfire."

As his hand seals changed, the flames abruptly condensed into a slender fire whip. It precisely wrapped around a distant wooden post, then gently set it back in place without damaging it in the slightest.

Renye stared in stunned amazement.

Such meticulous Chakra control—he truly deserved to be called the Shinobi World's Master of Forbidden Jutsu!

But thinking about it, that made sense. If he could not control Chakra precisely, wouldn't he get blown away while developing ninjutsu?

Moreover, the ninjutsu Tobirama Senju developed were all extremely powerful, which made precise Chakra control even more necessary.

Renye felt a little envious. It would be great if I had that kind of Chakra control too...

"Brat, try again," Tobirama Senju said, interrupting Renye's fantasy.

Hearing that, Renye tried again, doing his best to control the flow of Chakra as he formed hand seals.

This time, flames burst from his palm, but they formed an irregular mass and instantly reduced the grass and trees in front of him to ashes.

"Your Chakra flow is too rigid." Tobirama stepped forward and grabbed his wrist. The icy touch made Renye's entire body stiffen. "Imagine that the flames are alive. You aren't commanding them—you are dancing with them."

A strand of Chakra carrying an icy chill flowed through his meridians, somehow smoothing out his blazing, chaotic fire-nature Chakra.

When Renye gathered Chakra for the third time, Tobirama Senju suddenly struck and disrupted the sequence of his hand seals.

"No one will wait for you to proceed step by step in real combat," Tobirama Senju said in a deep voice. "The ability to adapt is more important!"

Clearly, he was not just going through the motions. He was teaching Renye with genuine seriousness.

Renye hurriedly adjusted. The flames in his palm strangely transformed into a fiery serpent that shot forward. Though it veered off course, it had already begun to take shape.

"You've improved." Tobirama Senju nodded and formed the Snake seal. A precise fireball struck a wooden post, instantly setting it ablaze. Before long, the post had turned to ash.

"Some ninjutsu require too many hand seals and are difficult to cast in battle. You need to learn how to simplify the seals." Tobirama Senju thought for a moment, then added, "Forget it. You won't be able to learn that yet..."

For example, with Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet, an ordinary Jonin needed forty-four hand seals to cast it, while Tobirama Senju could use it with only three.

Renye had no particular thoughts about that. Simplifying hand seals was difficult in itself and required powerful Chakra control. For now, he should not even think about it.

"The essence of Fire Release lies in the balance between explosive power and control. Go. Before dawn, make your flames learn to obey."

With that, he turned and left.

"Uncle, I'll succeed!"

Watching Tobirama Senju's retreating figure, Renye felt filled with motivation. Flames reignited in his palm as he threw himself back into training.

It was easy to think about, but actual practice was a different matter...