Has My Cheat Arrived?

At the mention of the Senju Clan.

Hideki instinctively thought of Hashirama's Wood Release and Tsunade's big...

The Senju Clan had once been incredibly glorious. They had founded Konoha alongside the Uchiha, and the entire Shinobi World had rushed to imitate them.

Hashirama's Wood Release and Tobirama's Sea Release had kept the Shinobi World from raising its head for who knew how many years.

Tobirama's dominance might not have been quite as overwhelming, but he had still allowed Konoha to develop peacefully for more than ten years.

He had laid the foundation for Konoha's current status as the unrivaled strongest hidden village.

However, after the Second Shinobi World War, the Senju Clan had gradually faded from people's sight.

Hideki had heard plenty of speculation in his previous life as well.

Some said they had changed their names and retired into the mountains.

Others said they had all died in battle, or that something had gone wrong with the continuation of their bloodline, causing them to gradually fade from Konoha and disappear from the Shinobi World.

But no matter what, the strength of the Senju Clan's members spoke for itself.

The old man before them looked much older than Hiruzen Sarutobi. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi at the beginning of Shippuden had only looked about like this.

Good grief, if this old man really is from the Senju Clan, wouldn't he be from Tobirama's era?

Hideki was secretly shocked.

There was no definite evidence proving that the old man was a Senju clansman.

He had no clan crest, and there were no witnesses either.

Yet Hideki remained absolutely certain.

There was no other reason than the old man's strength and the hatred in his eyes when he looked at the Uchiha.

"Kid, you're pretty gutsy, huh? Lying to an old man with your eyes wide open... You do this kind of thing a lot, don't you?"

Ignoring Obito's nearly feral expression and roaring, the old man looked at Hideki with interest.

"..." Hideki remained silent.

A child's charm did not work on an old man, and he could not beat him head-on. He could not think of any way to get away unscathed.

"Oh? You're quite stubborn. Weren't you being so polite just now? Offering compensation and apologizing... Heh, I almost believed you."

When the old man saw that Hideki did not react, he became interested instead.

"What's your name? Where are your parents?"

"Hideki. Hideki as in handsome tree. I don't have a surname. My parents are dead," Hideki answered bluntly.

"Hideki... A crafty little brat. You're quite suited to becoming a ninja."

After pondering for a moment, the old man put away his flask, walked over to Hideki, and squatted down in front of him.

"Want to leave?" the old man asked, his heavy alcoholic breath washing over Hideki's face.

Hideki frowned. Before he could answer, Obito beside him began shouting.

"You stinking old man, let Lord Obito out already! Come at me if you've got a problem! Watch Lord Obito take you down in minutes... Mmph!!!"

Soil tangled with grass stuffed Obito's mouth, leaving only his nose free to breathe.

Obito's roar turned into muffled groans. He was utterly furious but powerless.

The old man had merely lifted a finger, clearly indicating that his chakra still permeated the ground.

Hideki secretly envied that move.

His Hydrogen Release consumed chakra reserves on the one hand and chakra control on the other.

The old man before him had yet to reveal his chakra reserves, but Hideki knew he was far inferior when it came to chakra control.

"I'm asking you, kid. Do you want to leave?" the old man asked again.

Hideki stared into the old man's eyes. He saw amusement and malicious delight. Clearly, the old man was up to no good.

But Hideki still nodded. "I do."

"Then that makes things easy." The old man immediately pointed at the broken tree nearby, the very "Love Tree" that Hideki had blown down with a Rasengan.

"You broke my tree, so I won't ask you for money. Come here every day to trim its branches, water it, and fertilize it. That'll count as compensation."

"I won't make you skip school, either. Come here after class every day and work until sunset. Just finish the tasks I give you. How about it?"

Hideki was stunned upon hearing that. This plot... he knew it!

A reclusive master using "work" as an excuse while secretly guiding his disciple and teaching him divine techniques.

This was a bona fide fortuitous encounter!

Could it be that my cheat has appeared!? An old grandpa?

As Hideki's thoughts ran wild, Obito beside him had already entered roaring mode. "Mmph mph mph mph!"

"Fine! I accept, Grandpa!"

Hideki hurriedly agreed to the old man's terms. Obito immediately stopped roaring and stared at Hideki with bloodshot eyes, utterly incredulous!

It was as if he were saying: Hideki, think this through!

Right after Hideki agreed, the old man snapped his fingers. The grass binding the two of them suddenly parted on its own.

Hideki and Obito exchanged a glance and quickly jumped out.

When they looked at the old man again, all he left them with was his back.

"There's a chakra mark I left on you. Even if you run out of Konoha, this old man can catch you again in minutes."

"So don't get any crooked ideas. Be here on time tomorrow, or I'll bury you together with my tree and keep you buried for seven days and seven nights!"

The old man did not forget to threaten them arrogantly before leaving.

If this had happened before, Obito would probably have charged forward with his fists raised long ago.

The last person who had dared to threaten the two brothers was still lying in Konoha Hospital!

But after being thoroughly manhandled by that old man, especially after seeing Hideki humble himself just to secure a chance for them to leave...

Obito could no longer care about anything else.

He clenched his fists tightly and looked at Hideki with reddened eyes. "Don't worry, Hideki. I... I'll definitely help you with the work!"

"..."

Hideki shot Obito an annoyed glance.

He even suspected that if Obito had not been wearing the Uchiha fan crest, the old man would not have made things so difficult for them.

One lousy tree, and that terrible acting...

"Hm?"

Hideki froze. He suddenly felt as though he had stepped into a trap.

The question returned to its original starting point.

If it was only one tree, this was not enough...

Not to mention there were so many trees here. Konoha's greenery was among the best in the Shinobi World.

He had a feeling that the old man had been after him from the start.

Had he taken a liking to his formidable ninja talent?

"Forget it." Hideki sighed and shook his head.

Compared to that strange old man, an even more serious problem awaited him.

His clone was gone!

"Obito, you skipped class before. How did the teacher punish you that time?" Hideki suddenly asked.

Obito paused, thought back for a moment, and said, "Strictly speaking, I overslept that time. It was already noon when I woke up, so it didn't count as skipping class. But the teacher still made me stand as punishment for a week."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." Hideki sighed again. "I was just wondering, if we tell the teacher that our clones knocked us out and went to class themselves... how long will the two of us have to stand as punishment?"

Hideki and Obito hurried as fast as they could, but they still only made it back to school before noon dismissal.

The two of them sneaked over to peek into the classroom through the window.

Teacher Guangtai was teaching, the students were drowsy, and everything looked normal.

But Obito's heart sank to the bottom...

"It's over, Hideki. What do we do now... Oh man, they're not going to call our guardians, are they? If my grandma finds out, she'll definitely be furious!"

Obito feared neither heaven nor earth, but like every elementary school student, having his guardian called was always his weakness.

"This one's on me, Obito." Hideki sighed as well.

Who could have known that sneaking out to train would bring out a strange old man who was possibly a Senju?

Well, this was great. Being made to stand was no big deal, and he was not afraid of having a guardian called, but if they were kept after school, they would be finished.

That old man definitely would not be pleased.

"Huh?" At that moment, Obito noticed something. He let out a quiet cry and nudged Hideki. "Hideki, look at those two... Don't they look like you and me?"

"What?" Hideki looked over as well, and his eyes instantly widened!

The people sitting in their seats were none other than themselves!

"What's going on!?" Hideki was dumbfounded too. He had clearly sensed that his clone had vanished, and everything the clone had experienced had returned to his mind.

He knew exactly what the teacher had taught!

At that moment, Hideki noticed a gaze from the front of the classroom, secretly but directly staring in their direction.

It was Kakashi.

Hideki seemed to understand something, but he was even more puzzled.

Those two clones had probably been made by Kakashi.

But there was a problem. He and Kakashi did not get along very well. Kakashi had even "warned" him last time.

There was even less need to mention Obito. The two of them had fought all the way to the end.

Kakashi actually helped cover for us?

Hideki was a little bewildered.

Today had truly been a strange day.