Starting From Being Adopted by the Second Hokage!

Ninja Academy.

"I'm challenging you, King of Smug!"

Renya stood in front of Hyūga Muki and shouted loudly.

The surrounding students turned their eyes to the two of them, ready to enjoy the show.

"Renya-kun, what's going on?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked curiously.

He had no idea what had happened the day before.

As far as he knew, Renya and Hyūga Muki usually had no interactions at all…

One didn't talk during class, the other liked to sleep.

There was no overlap between the two, so seeing a conflict break out between them left him completely baffled.

Shimura Danzō looked on with a hint of schadenfreude.

"I hope they start fighting."

He had long been annoyed by these two and wished nothing more than to see them both suffer in a mutual beatdown.

The only one who knew the truth, Nara Motoha, stayed silent and watched quietly from the side.

He had already guessed that Renya would do something like this today.

In fact, he was also curious—who was actually stronger?

"What did you just call me?" Hyūga Muki looked confused.

He didn't understand what "King of Smug" was supposed to mean.

Renya had no intention of explaining and snapped in frustration:

"Come out and duel! I'll beat the crap out of you!"

Just thinking about that smug face made him angry!

You really think you're that strong, huh?

Ever since he closed his eyes last night, those irritating words kept ringing in his ears, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

So, early in the morning, Renya had come to find Hyūga Muki, wanting to challenge him and reclaim his pride.

"Sorry, I don't have time," Hyūga Muki replied, eyes still on his book.

Renya's face looked worse than if he'd eaten crap.

Damn it, dropping the act and running away?

Hyūga Muki's response felt like punching into a pile of cotton.

The guy didn't even want to fight him.

That kind of attitude was even more frustrating than actually losing…

After all, if Renya couldn't win, then he couldn't reclaim his pride.

And Hyūga Muki could just keep acting like the calm and mighty King of Smug.

"Bastard! How could you do this?!" Renya almost passed out from rage.

"Uchiha Renya, I'm trying to read. Please be quiet," Hyūga Muki said blandly.

"Fine, fine, fine!" Renya's face turned bright red. "One day, you'll regret this!"

There was still plenty of time. He didn't believe they'd never get the chance to fight!

Just then, someone with his face wrapped completely in bandages walked into the classroom.

The moment he saw Renya, he shouted, "Uchiha Renya, I challenge you!"

It was none other than Uchiha Retsufū, the one Renya had recently jumped and beaten with a sack.

His father had told him that it was most likely Uchiha Renya who'd attacked him, but without proof, nothing came of it.

This made him furious. That bastard Uchiha Renya—

Just because he'd bad-mouthed him a little?

He ambushed him without honor!

Uchiha Retsufū swore he would make him pay.

As soon as his injuries were mostly healed, he couldn't wait to come to school and take his revenge!

"Who the hell are you?" Renya looked completely baffled.

Who was this guy, and why was he challenging him?

Behind the bandages, Uchiha Retsufū's face was covered in black lines.

This bastard beat him half to death and now pretended not to know him?

To be fair, Renya couldn't be blamed for that—Retsufū was wrapped up like a rice dumpling. No one could recognize him like this.

"Bastard, I'm Uchiha Retsufū!" he roared. "Don't think I don't know it was you who beat me!"

Hearing that, Renya looked a little embarrassed.

So this guy was Uchiha Retsufū...

"Hey, hey, hey, Retsufū-kun. We have no grievances. Please don't throw dirt on my name. Everything must be based on evidence," Renya said righteously.

Uchiha Retsufū trembled with anger, his teeth grinding audibly. He wanted nothing more than to punch Renya in the face.

This bastard!!!

"Uchiha Renya, I challenge you!"

"Sorry, Retsufū-kun, I don't have time." Renya picked up the book on Hyūga Muki's desk and started reading.

A vein bulged on Retsufū's forehead.

"Bastard! You're holding the book upside down!"

He was furious.

His fists clenched.

He finally understood—Uchiha Renya was just too afraid to fight him, so he was making up excuses.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Retsufū sneered,

"Uchiha Renya, are you scared?"

As he spoke, he tried to see fear on Renya's face.

But Renya looked calm, as if he hadn't heard him at all.

Uchiha Retsufū sneered again.

He figured Renya was just pretending to be calm, but deep down was already scared out of his mind.

"If you kneel and apologize, I'll let this go."

Without even looking up, Renya said, "Retsufū-kun, please be quiet. I'm reading."

"Aaaaagh!" Uchiha Retsufū completely lost it.

How could this guy be so infuriating?!

If it weren't for the academy's no-dueling rule, he would've already taught Renya a lesson.

Watching Retsufū break down like that, Renya felt completely refreshed.

His previous frustration had vanished.

So this was how it felt to be the King of Smug—it felt amazing!

Hyūga Muki gave him a strange look. He had the odd feeling that Renya was using his lines.

"Muki-kun, thank you!" Renya said sincerely.

He suddenly realized that being a poser and annoying people… was actually pretty satisfying.

From that moment on, Renya walked further and further down the road of annoying people...

Hyūga Muki: "…"

...

In the blink of an eye, a whole year passed.

During that year, Renya finally got his wish and fought Hyūga Muki.

Thanks to the advantage of his Byakugan, Hyūga Muki narrowly won.

Uchiha Retsufū was gleeful about it.

Renya was already upset from losing, and being mocked by Retsufū made it worse.

So, in a fit of rage, he beat Retsufū to a pulp.

"I can't beat Hyūga Muki, but I sure as hell can beat you!"

It's worth mentioning that the academy eventually realized something important:

These kids would one day become real ninjas, heading to the battlefield.

So, the academy revised its rules.

Students were allowed to fight in private, as long as they didn't use lethal ninjutsu.

Teachers even began to turn a blind eye to certain bullying behaviors...

After all, the ninja world was a place where the strong ate the weak.

Better to be broken and quit school now than be killed on a mission later.

That way, they could still live a peaceful life as civilians.

Class A students disdained bullying the weak.

But then, something ironic started happening—

Students from other classes began coming to pick fights with Class A students.

Especially the top-ranked ones, like Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Kagami, and Hyūga Muki.

Almost every day, some clueless idiot came to provoke them.

Renya knew all about this kind of "failing-grade students bullying top students" scenario.

Uchiha Itachi, Hyūga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke…

None of them had escaped such treatment during school.

Maybe it was just jealousy from the weak?

But every single one of those bullying attempts ended the same way—

Not only did they fail, they got their butts handed to them.

So why didn't anyone pick on Renya?

Well, that had to do with his absolutely terrible academic performance...

The school's ranking was based on overall grades.

Renya was squarely in the middle of the class rankings.

And students from other classes only picked fights with either the top-ranked or bottom-ranked kids.

Almost no one bothered with someone ranked in the middle like Renya...

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Pls Drop some Power Stones

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