The Future of Hiruzen

"Afraid you'll be disappointed, Uncle."

Renye watched Tobirama Senju's retreating back and murmured under his breath.

Ever since he'd started being tutored by Tobirama Senju, he could clearly sense the man deliberately and subtly instilling in him the ideology of loving the village. An ordinary child would have been unconsciously influenced.

But Renye was different. He had lived two lives; his worldview was already set, hard to change.

Tobirama Senju had been implicitly telling Renye that for the sake of Konoha Village, one must even be willing to give up their life when necessary. The village's safety came before everything, including one's own life.

But Renye didn't see it that way. When it came down to it, he was an "outsider." He had no strong sense of belonging to the village or the clan.

In his view, only his own survival was the most important thing. He kept striving to get stronger, all for the sake of surviving the coming shinobi war.

Renye stood up, gazed into the distance, and said softly, "If I become strong enough in the future, I wouldn't mind helping you protect the village..."

There was a saying: In poverty, one cultivates their own virtue; in success, one benefits the world. If you had the ability, you'd naturally be willing to help. Without it, taking good care of yourself was more important than anything.

Renye resumed his harsh training. Getting stronger was a very long process. Unless you were a cheater, it would take years or even decades.

Sarutobi Clan Compound.

The Sarutobi Clan had joined Konoha during the village's founding, making them one of the village's veteran families. The clan often produced shinobi proficient in all five elemental natures, with formidable combat power. That was a major reason Hashirama Senju had valued them and invited them to join.

At this moment, the current clan head of the Sarutobi Clan, Sasuke Sarutobi, was flushed with excitement.

The reason was simple: the First Hokage's younger brother, the man most likely to become the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had come to visit his home!

"Lord Tobirama, may I ask what brings you here today?" Sasuke Sarutobi inquired cautiously.

In all these years, Tobirama Senju had only come once before, with his elder brother, when the Sarutobi Clan first joined Konoha.

As the saying went, one doesn't visit the temple of the Three Treasures without a reason. Since Tobirama Senju had come, there must be some major announcement.

Sasuke Sarutobi unconsciously rubbed his fingertips together, speculating on Tobirama's intentions. Tobirama Senju's personality and style of doing things were vastly different from his elder brother Hashirama's. Talking to a man like that required caution; it was best not to try to guess his thoughts, or you'd end up at a disadvantage...

Sasuke Sarutobi abandoned the idea of trying to figure out what Tobirama Senju was thinking.

Tobirama Senju didn't answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the Black Tea on the table and leisurely savored it. Sasuke Sarutobi wasn't in a hurry either; he just watched quietly.

After a long while, Tobirama Senju set down his teacup.

Seeing this, Sasuke Sarutobi's expression tensed.

Was it coming? What was the true purpose of his visit?

"Clan Head Sasuke, I would like to take your son as my disciple. Are you willing?"

The expression on Sasuke Sarutobi's face shifted from initial tension to shock, then to delight, and finally to excitement.

"You... you truly wish to take my son as your disciple?" His voice was hoarse, his hands trembling involuntarily.

Was he dreaming? Lord Tobirama actually wanted to take Hiruzen as his disciple!

With Tobirama Senju's prestige in Konoha Village, becoming the Second Hokage was a foregone conclusion. That meant Hiruzen would have a Hokage teacher as his backing.

When he himself retired and Hiruzen became clan head, which clan in Konoha would dare to disrespect the Sarutobi Clan? The clan's status would absolutely rise under Hiruzen's leadership. Perhaps the Sarutobi Clan could even become a great clan like the Senju and Uchiha someday!

The more Sasuke Sarutobi thought about it, the more excited he got, nearly fainting from happiness. This wasn't just a simple matter of taking on a disciple; there were many things tied to it.

Tobirama Senju nodded. "Hiruzen Sarutobi is a very fine child. I believe that with my guidance, he will surely become an excellent shinobi."

"I thank Lord Tobirama on behalf of my son!" Sasuke Sarutobi bowed deeply, his eyes glinting.

Whether the Sarutobi Clan could rise depended on you, Hiruzen!

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally arrived, albeit late.

He had been training just moments ago, and upon hearing that Lord Tobirama wanted to take him as a disciple, he rushed over without stopping.

Tobirama Senju noticed the signs of training on Hiruzen and gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Hiruzen Sarutobi, are you willing to become my disciple?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, breathing heavily, quickly replied:

"Yes, I'm more than willing!"

He had dreamed of becoming Lord Tobirama's disciple...

Just yesterday, they were still fantasizing about being chosen by Lord Tobirama, and now today, the dream had come true—it felt surreal.

Seeing Hiruzen's agreement, Tobirama Senju said, "Tomorrow at Tiger Hour, meet me at the Training Ground in Konoha Forest. Remember, don't be late."

With that, he turned and left.

"Got it, Teacher!" Hiruzen Sarutobi exclaimed excitedly.

Tobirama Senju was speechless—this kid sure changed his tune fast...

Next, he found Kagami Uchiha, Danzō Shimura, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado in turn.

Originally, Koharu Utatane wasn't on Tobirama's list, but recalling her potential as a Medical Ninja, he made an exception and admitted her.

After all, when carrying out missions in the future, the team would always need a Medical Ninja, wouldn't they?

Besides, having a Medical Ninja among his disciples meant he could push the training intensity a bit higher—since any injuries could be treated immediately.

"Heh, that way these brats can't use injuries as an excuse." Tobirama Senju's smile was utterly sinister.

Having taken on several talented disciples, he was in a pretty good mood.

He'd skip researching the Uchiha today and just mess around with a Forbidden Technique for fun.

It wasn't sustainable to keep slipping Mengkhan Medicine into Renye's milk every day.

As time went on, Renye's resistance was growing stronger—at this rate, the Mengkhan Medicine would lose its effect.

Tobirama Senju planned to whip up a new type of Knockout Drug while he was at it, during his research on the Forbidden Technique.

Otherwise, the Mengkhan Medicine situation was bound to be exposed sooner or later.

When that happened, he'd definitely get labeled by that kid Renye as a pervert, an evil scientist, someone who doesn't even spare children, and all sorts of things like that.

Just imagining that scene made Tobirama Senju's scalp crawl.

No matter what, this absolutely could not be exposed!

Leaving aside how Renye would react, if Elder Brother found out he was using Renye for research, he'd definitely be beaten to death...

That night, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others were too excited to sleep.

They were all looking forward to what tomorrow's training would be like.

But that same night, Renye was unusually suffering from insomnia.

"Why can't I sleep?"

In the over a year since arriving in the ninja world, this was the first time he'd had insomnia—he wasn't even the slightest bit sleepy.

Normally, he'd fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, but today, no matter what, he just couldn't drift off.

Renye was utterly baffled.