Starting From Being Adopted by the Second Hokage!

Nighttime, at Senju Tobirama's residence.

After a long day working in the lab, Senju Tobirama returned home.

As he stepped into the living room, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

He saw Renya sitting in the living room, holding a book and engrossed in reading.

The layer of dust on the book's cover suggested that its owner hadn't opened it in a very long time.

Seeing this, Senju Tobirama instinctively disrupted his own chakra flow.

He'd rather believe he'd fallen under a genjutsu than believe Renya was reading a book.

In the end, Senju Tobirama was astonished to discover that he hadn't been caught in a genjutsu—this brat was actually reading!

For a moment, it felt surreal.

Seeing Renya reading gave him just as much of a shock as learning about Izuna's death...

"You brat, are you... reading a book?" Tobirama asked, suspicion and surprise in his voice.

Renya rolled his eyes.

Was this old guy seriously trying to start something out of nothing?

He held up the book's cover and replied irritably,

"What else do you think I'm doing?"

Tobirama fell silent as he looked at the cover—[History of the Shinobi World].

This kid really was reading a book, and it just so happened to be one he had written.

"Not bad," Tobirama nodded in approval. "Reading more books is indeed beneficial."

He had tried persuading Renya to study in the past, but the brat had no interest in theoretical knowledge and simply couldn't absorb it.

Now, seeing Renya studying on his own initiative, Tobirama felt rather satisfied.

"If it weren't for the written portion of the Chūnin Exams, I wouldn't be reading at all," Renya said, curling his lip and tossing the book onto the table.

He couldn't stand reading any longer...

Damn it. He'd spent the whole afternoon reading, yet retained nothing. The moment he looked away, all the key points vanished from his mind.

Hearing this, Tobirama finally understood why this kid was doing something so uncharacteristic—turns out he was taking the Chūnin Exams.

The moment he thought about Renya's written scores, Tobirama got a headache.

He truly couldn't understand why this brat's academic scores were so terrible.

He'd even studied Renya's brain specifically to find a cause but found nothing wrong.

That only made it more baffling.

In the end, Tobirama had come to a single conclusion—Renya was just naturally bad at studying...

"Since you've registered for the Chūnin Exams, study properly. Failing the written test would be a disgrace," Tobirama said.

Renya suddenly thought of something and looked at Tobirama.

"Hey, old man, I think the Chūnin Exams really don't need a written portion. I suggest we cancel it."

Tobirama calmly stared at Renya without saying a word.

"...Fine, whatever, I'm going to cook." Renya quickly got up and headed for the kitchen.

Worst case, he could just cheat during the test like Sasuke in the original story—use his Sharingan to copy someone else's answers.

There was no way he was going to study.

After spending the afternoon reading, Renya realized one thing very clearly—he was not cut out for studying.

...

Five days later, at the Chūnin Exam venue.

Just as Renya's team arrived at the testing site, a familiar voice came from behind.

"Renya-kun, you're participating in the exam too?"

Renya turned around to see Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Kagami, and Mitokado Homura walking toward them.

"Long time no see," Renya greeted them.

The group began exchanging pleasantries and chatting about their experiences since graduation.

In the span of a year, it seemed all of them had matured significantly.

Danzō looked toward his best friend, a complicated expression on his face.

Hiruzen had grown stronger again...

He had thought that through hard training, he could catch up with Hiruzen's pace.

But the reality was, the gap between them only kept widening...

This left him feeling rather dejected.

"Haha, Danzō! Long time no see!" Sarutobi Hiruzen walked up and gave Danzō a big bear hug.

It had been a long time since he'd seen his best friend, and he'd missed him.

Shimura Danzō forced a smile.

Even though they were close friends, he couldn't stand the thought of being outdone by Hiruzen—it was only human nature.

Renya walked over to Kagami and sized him up.

Uchiha Kagami felt a little uncomfortable.

"Renya-kun, is something wrong?"

"You awakened it, didn't you?" Renya suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Kagami was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood.

"Y-Yes, I did awaken it."

Renya gave a knowing look.

The moment he saw Kagami, he'd sensed a change in his chakra.

That was a clear sign of the Sharingan being awakened.

At that moment, the proctor walked onto the stage, his hawk-like gaze sweeping across the gathered shinobi. When his eyes fell on Renya's group, a flicker of surprise appeared.

Typically, the candidates for the Chūnin Exams were around fifteen or sixteen. Seeing kids only eleven or twelve participate was quite rare.

"This Chūnin Exam will test your strength, intelligence, and teamwork."

With that single command, the first exam officially began.

Renya sighed helplessly.

He hadn't expected the first test to be a written exam.

Luckily, he could use the Sharingan to copy others' movements.

As soon as the exam began, he copied Koharu's movements and bluffed his way through the test without any issues.

The format of this year's Chūnin Exam was the same as the one in Naruto's generation.

After the written test came the brutal elimination round.

The candidates were taken into the forests of Konoha. The rules: collect a specified number of scrolls within three days and reach the goal.

Renya's team and Hiruzen's team split up to act separately.

After three days of searching and fighting, they finally secured enough scrolls by the evening of the third day and made it to the finish point.

The final test was a one-on-one match.

Renya's opponent was a young man in his twenties.

When the young man saw that his opponent was just a kid, he immediately felt that passing the exam and getting promoted to Chūnin was guaranteed!

The young man specialized in Water Release. As the fight began, he created a thick mist that enveloped the entire battlefield.

Renya activated his Sharingan and moved cautiously through the mist.

He knew the opponent would definitely launch a surprise attack in these conditions.

Sure enough, a water blade flew through the fog. Renya dodged to the side and quickly formed hand signs to unleash Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu.

Countless fireballs pierced through the mist, forcing the young man to reveal himself.

The two engaged in intense close-quarters combat.

Using the advantage of his Sharingan, Renya took control of the battle and ultimately defeated the young man with genjutsu.

Shimura Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Koharu, Uchiha Kagami, and Mitokado Homura were fortunate not to be grouped together and each displayed formidable strength in their respective battles.

In the end, all six successfully advanced to Chūnin.

Renya received the green vest exclusive to Chūnin.

As Genin, they were given forehead protectors. After becoming Chūnin, they could receive the green vest.

Renya hadn't expected to be promoted to Chūnin at just eleven years old. He was quite satisfied with how quickly his strength had grown.

The only thing bothering him was that his Sharingan still hadn't evolved—it was still a single tomoe.

If he could awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan, his strength would improve dramatically.

"Intense emotional stimulation... just how intense does it have to be?"

----------------

Pls Drop some Power Stones

+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo