Starting From Being Adopted by the Second Hokage!

Hearing this, Renya and Nara Motoha exchanged a glance, then stepped out.

The Byakugan of the Hyūga clan possessed x-ray vision and a nearly 360° field of view.

So, the moment Hyūga Muki activated his Byakugan, he naturally discovered the two hiding in the shadows.

"Hello there, Hyūga Muki," Renya greeted casually.

"What a coincidence, running into you here," Nara Motoha chimed in.

Hyūga Muki swept his Byakugan over the two of them.

"You trying to block my way too?"

Hearing this, Nara Motoha hurriedly shook his head.

"No, no, not at all..."

He had just witnessed Hyūga Muki effortlessly defeat Uchiha Gen and Uchiha Rin.

This guy was terrifyingly strong—practically a monster!

If it really came down to a fight, his own end would be absolutely miserable.

Renya, on the other hand, was somewhat tempted, his fighting spirit stirred.

He genuinely wanted to spar with Hyūga Muki, to see who was stronger.

Hyūga Muki's power was undeniable, but without actually exchanging blows, there was no way to tell who would come out on top...

In the end, Renya abandoned the idea.

There was still plenty of time ahead—they'd have the chance to spar someday.

He wasn't a battle maniac, after all. No need to go looking for trouble.

"You misunderstood. We were just passing by," Renya explained.

Seeing that the two meant no harm, Hyūga Muki deactivated his Byakugan.

Renya stared curiously at his eyes and asked, "Muki-kun, how old are Hyūga kids when they usually awaken the Byakugan?"

He didn't know much about these kinds of things, which was why he asked.

Nara Motoha also looked over, clearly curious about the same question.

Hyūga Muki looked at them, puzzled, not understanding why they were asking.

Though confused, he still answered, "It varies from person to person, but it's usually between ten and twelve years old."

Renya nodded in understanding. That's about the same as the Uchiha. Except for a few rare cases, most awaken their dojutsu in their early teens.

Wait a minute—Renya suddenly realized something and looked at Hyūga Muki in shock.

This guy... he seemed like one of those exceptions...

"Muki-kun, how old are you?" Renya asked.

"Six."

Renya: "..."

Holy crap. He's a year younger than me.

"Muki-kun, you're really incredible. You awakened the Byakugan at six!" Nara Motoha was visibly shaken.

So this is the world of true geniuses?

Hyūga Muki didn't respond. He'd heard this kind of praise far too often.

Besides, Nara Motoha was wrong—he hadn't awakened the Byakugan at six, but at five!

Renya kept staring at Hyūga Muki, puzzled.

With talent like this, why had he never heard of him before?

He knew about Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Uchiha Kagami... but not Hyūga Muki.

And yet, Hyūga Muki's talent was no weaker than any of theirs.

He quickly understood. There could only be one reason for this.

Hyūga Muki had never lived long enough to fully grow...

He must've died early.

This thought filled Renya with emotion. In the end, only those who fully mature can be called geniuses.

The ones who get killed early or fade into mediocrity don't count.

Renya clenched his fists, making a firm decision to train harder than ever.

His goal had never changed—to have the power to protect himself in the shinobi world.

Hyūga Muki noticed Renya's odd expression and asked, "Uchiha Renya... are you okay?"

Renya waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.

Hyūga Muki thought Renya was just discouraged by his own talent and offered some comfort.

"Don't be jealous. If you train hard, you can do it too."

Renya: "???"

Now he finally understood why Uchiha Rin and Uchiha Gen had tried to block this guy...

This bastard was a god-tier show-off!

Hyūga Muki walked up to Renya and stopped.

"I'll be waiting for you to catch up to me."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Renya stood frozen in place, staring blankly at Hyūga Muki's retreating figure until it disappeared into the distance. He couldn't come back to his senses.

That line kept echoing in his head:

[I'll be waiting for you to catch up to me... catch up... up...]

A while later, the more Renya thought about it, the more furious he became.

He'd hit his breaking point.

That bastard—he was the ultimate king of smug!

If Hyūga Muki were still here, Renya would've launched an attack on the spot, just to beat the crap out of him!

"Renya-kun, are you okay?" Nara Motoha asked carefully.

It was the first time he'd seen Renya so pissed off.

"I'm fine. Really. I'm fine!"

But looking at the way Renya seemed ready to murder someone, Nara Motoha stayed silent.

[You call that fine...?]

Still, he was smart enough not to probe further. Deep down, he was even a little gleeful.

[Looks like I'm not the only one crushed by that monster...]

He was one of the top geniuses of the Nara clan, already at genin level at just six years old.

He had thought his talent would make him stand out at the Academy.

But on the second day of school, Hyūga Muki defeated him in two moves.

And there were plenty of classmates even stronger than him.

Nara Motoha was completely demoralized.

That was when he realized the difference between a normal genius and an absolute monster...

Renya's furious roar snapped him out of his thoughts.

"I'm gonna lose my mind! That guy's smugness is off the charts! Seriously—off the charts!!"

Nara Motoha: "..."

Didn't you just say you were fine?

Why are you mad again?

Renya was boiling with rage. Even he hadn't expected that just two lines from Hyūga Muki could completely break him.

Renya swore to himself—he would get his dignity back.

So what if the guy showed off?

He could do it too!

Even years later, every time Renya remembered those two lines, he still couldn't get over it...

...

Senju Tobirama's Residence

"What's up with this brat?"

Senju Tobirama leaned silently against the kitchen doorway, mumbling to himself.

The moment Renya returned home, he noticed something was off.

The kid was cooking with a dark expression clouding his face.

He was genuinely curious—what could've happened to make the brat this angry?

After all, on a normal day, this kid was more likely to irritate others than be upset himself...

Just then, Renya came out with a plate of food.

"Hey, kid, what happened?" Senju Tobirama asked.

"Nothing. Just ran into a King of Smug," Renya replied.

"King of... what?" Senju Tobirama didn't understand the term.

Renya had no intention of explaining. After eating, he went straight to the training ground.

He needed to get stronger. One day, when he finally defeated Hyūga Muki, he'd throw back a few flashy lines of his own.

As he watched Renya train, Senju Tobirama kept trying to figure out what "King of Smug" meant.

But after thinking long and hard, he still couldn't get it.

"What the hell is going on with this brat?"

Since he couldn't figure it out, he gave up.

Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since he last researched the Uchiha.

With that thought, Senju Tobirama stood up and walked to the kitchen. He added a generous amount of knockout drugs to the milk and smiled in satisfaction.

He brought the milk to the training field and handed it to Renya.

"Kid, it's about time."

Hearing this, Renya stopped training, drank the milk, and returned to his room to shower and sleep.

That night, he dreamed of the lab again...

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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