The Cheat Has Arrived?

When the Senju Clan was mentioned,

Hideki instinctively thought of Big Pillar's Wood Release, and Tsunade's...

The Senju Clan had once been immensely glorious. Together with the Uchiha, they founded Konoha, and the entire Shinobi World rushed to imitate them.

Big Pillar's Wood Release and Tobirama's Sea Release had once kept the Shinobi World suppressed for who knew how many years.

Tobirama might not have possessed such overwhelming dominance, but he had still allowed Konoha to develop peacefully for over a decade.

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

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

Hideki had heard many speculations in his previous life as well.

Some said they had changed their names and retreated into seclusion in 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 vanish from the Shinobi World.

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

The old man before him looked considerably older than even Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi at the start of Shippuden had looked no older than this.

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

Hideki was secretly shocked.

Although there was no clear evidence proving that this old man was a Senju clansman.

There was no clan crest, and no one to testify for him.

Still, Hideki was utterly convinced.

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

"Kid, you've got some nerve, huh? Lying straight-faced to an old man... You do this sort of thing a lot, don't you?"

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

"..." Hideki remained silent.

The child's halo was useless against an old man, and he couldn't win in a direct fight. He couldn't think of any way to get away unscathed.

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

Seeing no reaction from Hideki, the old man became even more interested.

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

"Hideki. Hideki as in handsome tree. I have no surname. My parents are dead," Hideki answered bluntly.

"Hideki... A crafty little brat. You'd make quite a suitable ninja."

The old man pondered for a moment, put away his flask, walked over to Hideki, and crouched down.

"Want to leave?" the old man asked, a strong smell of alcohol washing over Hideki's face.

Hideki frowned. Before he could answer, Obito beside him started yelling.

"You stinking old man, let your Uncle Obito out already! If you've got a problem, come at me! Watch your Uncle Obito beat you down in minutes—mmph!!!"

Earth mixed with turf plugged Obito's mouth, leaving only his nose free to breathe.

Obito's roar turned into muffled grunts, the very picture of impotent rage.

The old man had merely lifted a finger. Clearly, his chakra was still spread throughout the ground.

Hideki secretly envied that move.

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

The old man before him had yet to display his chakra reserves, but as far as chakra control went, Hideki knew he was far inferior.

"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, saw malicious delight. The man clearly had no good intentions.

But Hideki still nodded. "I do."

"Then that's easy." The old man immediately pointed at a broken tree some distance away—the very "Love Tree" Hideki had blasted down with his Rasengan.

"You broke my tree, so I won't make you pay. Come over every day to trim its branches, water it, and fertilize it. Consider that your compensation."

"This old man won't stop you from skipping class. Just come here after school every day and work until sunset. Complete the tasks I give you. How about it?"

Hideki froze at once. This plot... he knew it!

A reclusive master used "part-time work" as an excuse while secretly offering guidance and passing on divine techniques.

This was a bona fide fortuitous encounter!

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

Hideki's thoughts ran wild, while Obito beside him had already entered full roaring mode. "Mmph mmph mmph mmph mmph!"

"Fine! I accept, Grandpa!"

Hideki hurriedly agreed to the old man's terms. Obito instantly stopped roaring and stared at Hideki with bloodshot eyes, filled with utter disbelief!

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

Just as Hideki agreed, the old man snapped his fingers, and the grass binding the two of them suddenly parted on its own.

Hideki and Obito exchanged a glance before hurriedly jumping free.

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

"You have 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 funny ideas. Be here on time tomorrow, or I'll bury you together with my tree and leave you there for seven days and seven nights!"

The old man did not forget to issue an arrogant threat before leaving.

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

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

But after being thoroughly manhandled by the old man, especially after seeing Hideki swallow his pride just to secure a chance for them both to leave...

Obito could no longer worry 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 work too!"

"..."

Hideki shot Obito an annoyed glance.

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

One lousy tree, and that terrible acting...

"Hm?"

Hideki paused. He suddenly felt as though he had fallen into a trap.

The question returned to its original starting point.

If it was just one tree, this was excessive...

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

He felt that this old man had been targeting him from the very start.

Could he have taken a liking to Hideki's formidable talent as a ninja?

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

Compared to that strange old man, a 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 froze, then thought back for a moment. "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."

"Why?"

"Nothing..." Hideki sighed again. "I was just thinking, if we told the teacher that the clones knocked us out and went to class by themselves... how long would we have to stand as punishment?"

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

The two of them secretly peered into the classroom through the window.

Teacher Guangtai was teaching while the students dozed off. Everything looked normal.

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

"It's over, Hideki. What do we do now... Oh no, they won't call our guardians, will 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 weak spot.

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

Who could have known that sneaking out to train would lead to some strange old man who was likely a Senju?

Well, this was great. Standing as punishment did not matter, 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 too, and his eyes immediately widened!

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

"What's going on!?" Hideki was bewildered too. He could clearly sense that his clone had disappeared, and everything the clone had experienced had returned to his mind.

He clearly understood everything the teacher had taught!

At that moment, Hideki noticed a gaze. It came from the front of the classroom, discreet yet fixed directly on the two of them.

Wasn't that Kakashi?

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

Those two clones had most likely been created by Kakashi.

But here was the problem: he and Kakashi did not get along very well. Kakashi had even "warned" him last time.

As for Obito, there was no need to mention it. The two of them had fought all the way to the end.

Kakashi actually helped cover for us?

Hideki was a little dumbfounded.

Today really had been a strange day.