Perfect Score in Practical Combat, How Am I Still Last?

"Why are you all staring at me?"

Renye was a little creeped out by the looks they were giving him.

"Renye-kun, do you know anything about Lord Tobirama's plan to take on Disciples?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked cautiously.

The others stared intently at Renye, waiting for his answer.

Renye shook his head. "He hasn't said anything to me about it."

Hearing this, they looked a bit disappointed.

They'd been hoping to get the inside scoop from Renye.

"But..." Renye changed his tone, "knowing him as I do, he'll probably pick the top performers as his Disciples."

"Haha, that's great!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was so excited he nearly jumped up.

If what Renye said was true, then him being taken as a Disciple by Lord Tobirama was as good as settled.

Danzō Shimura clenched his fists uneasily. His grades put him fifth in the class. Under normal circumstances, he'd be satisfied with that.

But knowing that Tobirama Senju was picking Disciples based on ranking, fifth place wasn't quite enough.

What if Lord Tobirama only took three Disciples? Wouldn't that screw him over as fifth?

Renye noticed Danzō's sour expression and guessed what he was thinking. With a touch of malice, he added, "Anyway, the top three are safe. As for the rest, who knows."

At those words, Danzō's face went pale.

He couldn't bear to think how hopeless it would be if he wasn't chosen!

Especially having to watch Hiruzen get taken as Lord Tobirama's Disciple right in front of him.

Just picturing that scene made it hard to breathe.

Danzō prayed in his heart, hoping Lord Tobirama would take notice of him!

Watching Danzō's face cycle through shades of green and white, Renye felt immensely satisfied.

For some reason, the more miserable Danzō looked, the happier Renye got.

As for Tobirama Senju taking on Disciples, Renye didn't have any particular thoughts about it.

He'd been getting guidance from Tobirama Senju all along anyway, so he was practically half a Disciple already.

After the meal.

Each of them went home with their own thoughts.

Hyuga Clan Grounds.

Yuki Hyuga had just reached the clan entrance when he saw a stern middle-aged man standing at the gate.

The middle-aged man's face darkened as he demanded coldly, "Where did you go?"

Yuki Hyuga lowered his head and said nothing.

The middle-aged man didn't speak, just stared at him silently.

After a long pause, Yuki Hyuga looked up. "Father, I went out to eat with my classmates."

"Oh? Is the food at home not good enough?"

"No..."

"Then why eat out!"

"Father, I know I was wrong."

"Since this is your first offense, practice the Gentle Fist a thousand times before dinner. Don't eat until you're done."

"Yes, Father!"

Tobirama Senju Residence.

Renye got home and didn't see Tobirama Senju anywhere.

That Old Man was probably holed up somewhere tinkering with forbidden techniques again.

He started his training for the day.

Renye's talent was decent enough. As long as he trained hard.

He could still manage to protect himself in the coming shinobi war, without being thrown away as cannon fodder.

He'd never had lofty ambitions. His goal in getting stronger was simply to survive.

That was all.

Renye had a clear sense of his own place.

He wasn't a cheat like Naruto and Sasuke, nor had he been brainwashed by the Will of Fire into losing his way.

He wasn't about to shout "Will of Fire" and charge in headfirst to get himself killed...

Night.

Tobirama Senju came back with his hair a mess.

He hadn't slept since last night, spending the whole time studying the origins of the Senju and Uchiha, but he'd made no progress.

Seeing Tobirama Senju in this getup, Renye was even more certain the Old Man was sneaking around developing forbidden techniques.

Around this time, he should be starting research on the Impure World Reincarnation, right?

"How'd the exam go, kid?"

He'd seen Renye reviewing before the test, so the results should be decent, right?

These basic questions—one look and you'd know them...

"Haha, not bad, not bad." Renye laughed it off.

Tobirama Senju didn't press further. After a simple dinner, he returned to his study to continue his research.

Renye couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "Good thing the Old Man didn't keep asking."

No help for it—ranking fifth from the bottom was honestly too embarrassing to bring up!

"Academic classes are my weak spot. I've got to catch up this summer break!"

Thinking it, he acted. Renye pulled out his books and started studying in earnest.

"Thirty days of hard work—I'll be top of the year!"

Five minutes later.

Renye closed the book with a blank expression. "Actually, a ninja just needs strong combat skills. Academic classes aren't that useful..."

Hadn't Naruto Uzumaki not even known what the word "rabble" meant?

That just proved it—in the ninja world, academic scores didn't matter.

"Yeah, it's not that I can't learn it. There's just no need to." Renye comforted himself.

"Time to sleep, time to sleep!"

"The feeling of knowledge entering the brain is truly captivating..."

Renye recalled what he'd just learned in his mind.

Well, empty as could be.

Even if nothing stuck, it didn't stop him from drifting into dreamland.

The study.

Tobirama Senju had scoured every book in the ninja world, and he'd actually found some relevant records.

He brushed the dust off the last page of an ancient text, and a faded mural peeked through the yellowed paper.

In the image, an old man holding a staff hovered in midair.

At his feet, two youths knelt on either side.

The youth on the left wore vine-patterned robes.

The youth on the right had eyes tinged with crimson ripples.

Text annotations bulged faintly at the mural's edge: "Indra and Asura, twin sons of the Sage of Six Paths."

According to the records, Indra inherited powerful Dojutsu and combat talent, but fell into darkness through obsession.

Asura cultivated Wood Release with a heart of compassion, using healing power to protect the living.

"Dojutsu... Wood Release..." Tobirama Senju murmured.

Though the records were vague, he knew this was the origin of the Uchiha and Senju clans.

The ancestors of the Senju and Uchiha were actually descendants of the Sage of Six Paths!

He guessed that Indra and Asura's clashing ideals had sparked the war between the Uchiha and Senju that lasted thousands of years.

Tobirama Senju was about to search for more evidence to confirm this.

Just then, his peripheral vision caught the end-of-term exam results on the desk.

He'd had Takuma Senju deliver them, but he'd been too busy researching to look yet.

So Tobirama Senju opened the score sheet.

First: Hiruzen Sarutobi

Second: Yuki Hyuga

Third: Kagami Uchiha

Fourth: Homura Mitokado

Fifth: Danzō Shimura

Tobirama Senju nodded in satisfaction. These were Konoha's future!

"Wait, why don't I see that kid's name?"

He started searching for Renye's name, finally finding it in fifth-from-last place.

"Perfect score on the Practical Assessment, and he's still near the bottom?"

He was puzzled, until he saw Renye's theoretical scores.

Tobirama Senju: "???"