Stir-fry Two Dishes for Me

Senju Clan Compound.

Tobirama Senju led Renye toward his own residence.

The news of his adoption of the Uchiha child had already spread through the Senju Clan.

Along the way, Senju clan members eyed Renye with varied expressions—curiosity, shock, disgust...

Renye ignored the reactions around him, silently following behind Tobirama Senju, his mind churning over his plans from now on.

Compared to being adopted by Tobirama Senju, he would rather stay in the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Given Tobirama Senju's wariness of the Uchiha, Renye would have no privacy in the Senju Clan from now on—that meant many things couldn't be done.

He stared at Tobirama Senju's back, his face full of resentment.

Who knew what had gotten into the Senju brothers, deciding to adopt him out of the blue.

Before long, the two reached their destination.

Tobirama Senju's residence was in a quiet area of the Senju Clan, far from the noisy markets and commercial streets.

"Follow me inside." Tobirama Senju pushed open the door and stepped into the yard.

Renye curiously looked around the yard. Several tall cherry blossom trees were planted there, in full bloom, with pink petals fluttering down and scattering across the entire courtyard.

"Pretty tasteful, huh." Renye muttered under his breath.

Tobirama Senju: "..."

Clearly, he had heard Renye's words.

"This will be your room from now on." Tobirama Senju pointed to a room.

"Got it." Renye nodded, pushed open the door, and walked in.

Seeing Renye's arrogant attitude, Tobirama Senju couldn't help but think of someone, and said irritably, "Damn Uchiha brat!"

Along the way, Renye had fully figured things out.

No matter how much Tobirama Senju hated the Uchiha, he wouldn't be deranged enough to lay a hand on an Uchiha child.

Of course, that was on the condition that Konoha had already been established.

If it were the Warring States Period, he'd probably be happy to send an Uchiha child to an early grave...

Since Tobirama Senju wouldn't kill him, what was there to fear?

Besides, with Hashirama Senju, that good old man, around, as long as he didn't court death, Tobirama Senju couldn't do a thing to him.

Renye looked around the room—it was much better than where he'd lived before.

Tobirama Senju leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, looking down at Renye, his voice low:

"Ill-mannered Uchiha brat, you haven't introduced yourself yet."

For some reason, Renye was annoyed by Tobirama Senju's attitude, and said coldly:

"My name's Renye. Uchiha Renye. And you? White-haired Uncle!"

Tobirama Senju hadn't expected Renye to answer like that, and paused for a moment.

He silently grumbled to himself—truly a wicked Uchiha child, never letting anyone get the upper hand!

"Renye, is it? My name is Tobirama. Tobirama Senju!" Tobirama Senju said.

"Oh, White-haired Uncle, can you stop copying me?" Renye curled his lip.

Was this the future Second Hokage? Felt a bit childish!

Tobirama Senju's mouth twitched, and he instinctively clenched his fist.

Hard—his fist was getting hard!

"Heh, kid, you should be glad you were born in a good era!" Tobirama Senju said coldly.

If it were five years ago, why would he need to waste so many words?

Whenever he ran into an Uchiha, he'd just hit them with a Flying Thunder God Slash!

"Good thing I was born in a good era!" Renye nodded in agreement. "Otherwise, I'd really be afraid you'd make a move on me."

Tobirama Senju: "..."

He suddenly realized this kid wasn't as well-behaved as he looked on the surface.

"Alright, Uncle, don't just stand there dumbly. I'm hungry... Go cook me a couple of dishes!" Renye said.

Tobirama Senju stared at Renye in disbelief, exclaiming, "You want me to cook for you?!"

Renye spread his hands helplessly. "I'm only six now. You can't expect me to cook for myself, can you?"

Hearing this, Tobirama Senju stared at Renye expressionlessly for a long moment, then turned and left.

Watching Tobirama Senju's retreating back, Renye chuckled:

"White-haired Uncle, add more chili—I like it spicy!"

Hearing this, Tobirama Senju stumbled sharply, nearly falling.

Seeing Tobirama Senju enter the kitchen, Renye put away the smile on his face and closed the door.

"So, my guess was right." Renye muttered to himself.

It seemed Tobirama Senju had been coerced by Hashirama Senju. As for the exact reason, he couldn't know yet—maybe he could pry it out of Tobirama Senju later.

At least for now, Tobirama Senju wouldn't do anything to him, and might even satisfy some outrageous demands.

Renye's earlier move had been a test of Tobirama Senju's limits—or rather, a compliance test.

Conclusion: though Tobirama Senju had been forced to take Renye in, aside from being annoyed by him and having no real privacy, he wouldn't actually harm him...

Thinking this, Renye couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He then sat cross-legged on the floor and began training to refine Chakra.

Regular practice in Chakra refinement allowed for better mastery of the mixing ratio and fusion method between physical energy and Spiritual Energy, making the process smoother and more efficient, and enabling more effective use of Chakra when performing jutsu.

After reluctantly cooking dinner, Tobirama Senju prepared to call Renye to eat.

What an absolute joke of a situation!

He, Tobirama Senju—the man in Konoha who hated the Uchiha most—never thought he'd be cooking for an Uchiha clan member!

When he was stir-frying earlier, he'd barely stopped himself from spitting into the pot.

That wicked Uchiha brat wanted to eat his cooking? Let him eat spit!

Good thing he held back—otherwise Renye would've been eating his saliva...

Tobirama Senju looked at the closed door, a little curious.

What was that brat doing in his room?

Tobirama Senju used his sensory ability and found Renye sitting cross-legged in the room, focused on refining Chakra.

Tobirama Senju paused slightly, murmuring, "This brat..."

He hadn't expected someone so young to be so diligent. Judging by the efficiency of his refinement, it was clearly the result of long-term practice.

In peacetime, kids Renye's age usually loved to play; few of them trained seriously.

For a moment, his impression of Renye improved quite a bit.

Tobirama Senju walked to the doorway and called into the room, "Brat, time to eat!"

Renye opened the door and raised an eyebrow. "Uncle, how's your cooking? I'm pretty picky, you know!"

Tobirama Senju: "..."

Alright, his impression of Renye had just plummeted back to rock bottom.

The two arrived at the kitchen. Renye looked at the food on the table and curled his lip.

"Uncle, this cooking of yours is... kind of hard to describe."

Tobirama Senju's face darkened, and he said coldly, "I've got Military Rations Pills here. Want some?"

With that, he pulled out two pills.

"Ahem, I was joking." Renye promptly knelt at the table and started wolfing down the food.

Though the dishes didn't look great, the taste wasn't good either.

Looked like he'd have to handle the cooking himself from now on.