Benefits Delivered to My Doorstep—Why Refuse Them? [Please Bookmark, Please Send Flowers]

When the time came, the Uchiha Clan would have a field day watching the Senju make fools of themselves. Weren't you Senju supposed to be so impressive? Look, even your clan's little princess had been won over by someone from the Uchiha Clan. Tsk tsk, you were really going downhill with age.

One could imagine how the Senju Clan would react then. Even if the Uchiha continued protecting Uchiha Hiko, Hiko's days would not be easy. He might even face all kinds of targeting and assassination attempts!!!

The village might look peaceful on the surface, but once you lacked the strength to protect yourself and had offended great clans like the Senju and Uchiha, you would die horribly. While you were in the village, they would mind the consequences and would not do anything to you—but would you stay in the village forever?

The moment you left the village would be the day you died!!!

"Tsunade... Hmph, this is interesting. If she wanted to use me, Uchiha Hiko, as a weapon, she needed to pay a price first, didn't she? Two Ninjutsu Scrolls was downright stingy." Hiko sneered inwardly and put the matter aside.

No matter how she hinted at it, Hiko only needed to take the benefits and keep neither too close nor too distant from Tsunade. If the clan questioned him, he could say that Tsunade was difficult to handle and that he was working hard on it.

Fortunately, no one believed this kind of thing could be accomplished in a day or two. The stubborn old guys of the Uchiha Clan could afford to wait.

Once I have absolute strength, I'll make you pay!!!!

Eating, bathing, refining Chakra—Hiko's Chakra reserves grew day by day. As the intensity of his training steadily increased, his progress was tremendous, though it also left him exhausted and covered in injuries.

What was miraculous was that after one night of sleep, all the adverse effects brought on by training would completely disappear. That was one of Hiko's strengths—or, more accurately, the strength of that God-tier Evolution Potion.

"Great Elder... Sooner or later, I'll repay this debt!!!"

Early in the morning, Hiko stood before the mirror and looked at his reflection. His pair of Sharingan stood out glaringly.

Other than inside his own little home, Hiko had never used his Sharingan. He silently continued making himself stronger. What he needed was time, and an opportunity to soar. The Uchiha could give him that opportunity, but they could not be relied on. They wanted to use him against the Senju Clan—what a calculating scheme.

Besides the Uchiha, there was also Konoha's highest authority!!!

But it would not be easy to draw that person's attention without making himself stand out too much. And the Third Hokage's favor was only a small safeguard, a platform to take off from. Countless difficulties still lay ahead, waiting for Uchiha Hiko to overcome.

Carrying his own breakfast—and, of course, Tsunade's Meat Pie—Hiko slung his schoolbag over his back, left home, and headed for the Ninja Academy. As for the so-called reward, there was no reason to turn down something offered for free. Ninjutsu was one of the things Hiko currently lacked most.

If he waited until graduation to complete missions and exchange Contribution Points for Ninjutsu Scrolls, who knew how long that would take.

He wondered whether his current Chakra was enough to use Ninjutsu...

Hiko became distracted again. Without a Teacher's guidance, he was practically clueless about this. Only after getting the scrolls could he try and find out.

Spacing out absentmindedly seemed to have become something Hiko enjoyed doing.

Before he knew it, Hiko had arrived at school. Since he had been spacing out, his steps had been a little slow, and by the time he entered the classroom, nearly all the other students had arrived. Though they studied together and could be considered classmates, aside from Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, Hiko had never paid attention to anyone else. They were practically strangers.

"Ah-ha~~~~"

Tsunade was sprawled over her desk, dozing as she waited for Hiko's Meat Pie. She had deliberately slept in a little longer today, and fortunately, Hiko had not disappointed her.

Tsunade did not stand on ceremony. She picked up the Meat Pie and began taking bites as though everything were only natural. The two did not exchange a word.

Tap~ tap~

The sound of her eating filled the classroom. The aroma of the Meat Pie drifted through the room, making quite a few people widen their eyes. They were very curious where Hiko had bought it. How had they never seen it before?!

Jiraiya, who sat in front, especially nearly drooled as he stared at the Meat Pie in Tsunade's hand. Perhaps he felt it would be embarrassing, or perhaps he was afraid Tsunade would lose her temper, but Jiraiya kept forcing himself not to look. His expression as he endured, endured, and endured some more nearly made Hiko burst out laughing. It was just a Meat Pie—was it really necessary?

Mmm~~~ Delicious, delicious!!!

Tsunade did not stand on ceremony with Hiko because, in her heart, they could at least still be considered friends. It was not that Tsunade had fallen in love with Hiko at first sight, nor was it some nonsense about love growing from hatred. That was ridiculous. Besides, for five-year-old children, if they did not dislike someone and had a favorable impression of them, they were friends. It was that simple.

They were not like adults, with all their complicated schemes.

"Tsk~~ Slow down. No one's going to steal it from you."

Watching Tsunade go from yawning one moment to full of life the next, Hiko noticed the crumbs stuck to the corner of her mouth. He did not know whether some compulsive habit had kicked in, but he subconsciously raised his hand and gently wiped them away.

It was a perfectly ordinary gesture, but with all kinds of messy rumors already spreading wildly outside, it became a big problem...