Defense Broken

Hearing this, Renye exchanged a glance with Motoya Nara, then stepped forward.

The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan possessed x-ray vision and a nearly 360-degree field of vision.

Once Yuki Hyuga activated his Byakugan, he naturally spotted the two hiding in the shadows.

"Hey there, Yuki Hyuga," Renye greeted.

"What a coincidence, running into you here," Motoya Nara chimed in.

Yuki Hyuga's Byakugan swept over them. "You two want to corner me too?"

At that, Motoya Nara quickly shook his head. "No, no..."

He'd just witnessed Yuki Hyuga effortlessly defeat Hikaru Uchiha and Rin Uchiha.

This guy was terrifyingly strong—a straight-up monster!

If they actually fought, his own fate would be miserable.

Renye felt a stir of intent, a bit eager to try.

He really did want to spar with Yuki Hyuga, to see who was stronger.

The strength Yuki Hyuga had shown was formidable, but without crossing hands, there was no way to know who was superior...

Renye ultimately shelved the idea.

There was plenty of time ahead; they'd have their chance to duel eventually.

He wasn't some battle junkie, no need to actively court trouble.

"You've got it wrong. We were just passing by," Renye explained.

Seeing they meant no harm, Yuki Hyuga deactivated his Byakugan.

Renye stared at his eyes with curiosity and asked, "Yuki-kun, at what age do you Hyuga clan members usually Awaken the eyes?"

He wasn't too familiar with such matters, so he spoke up to ask.

Motoya Nara's gaze followed, equally curious about the question.

Yuki Hyuga looked at them with confusion, wondering why they were asking this.

Despite his puzzlement, he still explained, "The age of Awakening varies by individual, but it's usually between ten and twelve."

Renye understood. The Hyuga and Uchiha were similar—aside from rare exceptions, the Awakening age was around the early teens.

Wait. Something clicked in Renye's mind, and he looked at Yuki Hyuga in surprise. This guy seemed to be one of those exceptions...

"Yuki-kun, how old are you?" Renye asked.

"Six."

Renye: "..."

Well damn, a year younger than him.

"Yuki-kun, you're really strong—Awakening at six!" Motoya Nara was deeply shaken.

Was this the world of geniuses?

Yuki Hyuga showed no reaction. He'd heard similar words far too often.

And Motoya Nara was wrong—he hadn't Awakened at six, but at five!

Renye stared hard at Yuki Hyuga, a puzzled look on his face.

This guy's talent was that strong, so why hadn't he heard of him?

He knew of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzō Shimura, Kagami Uchiha—but never Yuki Hyuga.

Yuki Hyuga's talent was no weaker than theirs.

He quickly figured it out. There was only one truth!

That truth was—Yuki Hyuga had never fully grown up... and died.

This made Renye sigh. Sure enough, a genius who actually matured was the real genius!

Those cut down midway or lost to mediocrity didn't count.

Renye clenched his fist, resolved to train hard.

His goal in getting stronger had never changed—to have the power to protect himself in the ninja world.

Noticing Renye's odd state, Yuki Hyuga asked, "Uchiha Renye... are you alright?"

Renye waved a hand at that, signaling he was fine.

Yuki Hyuga thought Renye was discouraged by his talent, so he offered words of comfort: "Don't envy me. Train hard, and you can do it too."

Renye: "???"

He finally understood why Rin Uchiha and Hikaru Uchiha had wanted to corner him...

This guy was way too good at showing off!

Yuki Hyuga walked over to Renye and stopped. "I'll be waiting for you to catch up to me."

After saying that, he left directly.

Renye stood there, staring blankly as Yuki Hyuga's figure walked away, until it vanished from sight, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

Those words kept replaying in his mind.

I'll wait for you to catch up to me... catch up... up...

After a long moment, the more Renye thought about it, the redder his face got, and he completely broke down.

"The hell are you acting cool for?!"

King of Show-offs—this guy was absolutely the King of Show-offs!

If Yuki Hyuga were still here, he'd attack without hesitation and beat the hell out of that "King of Show-offs"!

"Renye, are you okay?" Motoya Nara asked cautiously.

It was the first time he'd seen Renye this angry.

"I'm fine, I'm totally fine!"

Seeing Renye look like he wanted to kill someone, Motoya Nara fell silent.

You call that fine?

Still, he tactfully didn't press further, feeling a bit of schadenfreude inside.

So he wasn't the only one crushed by that monster...

He was one of the top geniuses of the Nara Clan, reaching the level of a genin at just six years old.

He'd thought his talent would make him stand out at the Ninja Academy.

But on the second day of school, Yuki Hyuga beat him in two moves.

Not only that, there were plenty of classmates stronger than him.

Motoya Nara was thoroughly humbled.

He finally realized the gap between an ordinary genius and a monstrous prodigy...

Renye's roar snapped him back to reality.

"This is infuriating! He's such a show-off! Such a damn show-off!"

Motoya Nara: "..."

Didn't he just say he was fine?

Why was he angry again?

Renye was fuming, never expecting that two sentences from Yuki Hyuga could break his composure.

He swore to himself he'd get even.

Wasn't it just showing off?

He could do that too!

Years later, whenever Renye thought back on those two lines, he still couldn't let them go...

Tobirama Senju Residence.

"What's up with that kid?"

Tobirama Senju leaned quietly against the kitchen doorway, muttering to himself.

As soon as Renye got home, Tobirama noticed something was off.

Renye was cooking with a face full of dark lines.

He was curious—what could have made the kid this angry?

Normally, this kid didn't even annoy others, which was already a blessing...

Just then, Renye brought out the food.

"Kid, what happened?" Tobirama Senju asked.

"Nothing, just ran into a King of Show-offs," Renye said.

"King of Show-offs?" Tobirama Senju didn't understand the term.

Renye didn't bother explaining. After eating, he headed to the Training Ground.

He needed to get stronger, so that when he eventually beat Yuki Hyuga, he could throw out some cool lines too.

Tobirama Senju watched Renye train while pondering the meaning of "King of Show-offs."

But after racking his brain for a while, he still couldn't figure it out.

"Wonder what's gotten into that kid?"

Since he couldn't figure it out, he stopped thinking.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he'd studied the Uchiha.

Thinking this, Tobirama Senju got up and went to the kitchen. After adding a large amount of Mengkhan Medicine to the milk, he revealed a satisfied smile.

He arrived at the Training Ground and handed the milk to Renye.

"Kid, it's about time."

Hearing this, Renye stopped training, drank the milk, then returned to his room to bathe and sleep.

That night, he dreamed of the laboratory again...