Senju Tobirama stood with his arms crossed, frowning as he looked at Uchiha Tanaka.
He had originally thought Tanaka was trying to poach Renya. Who would've expected the two to actually start fighting?
He had arrived late and hadn't heard their earlier conversation.
But even so, Tobirama firmly chose to stand on Renya's side.
If nothing else, just the fact that this kid dared to fight his own clan head made him quite pleased.
It meant Renya wasn't one of those blindly loyal Uchiha.
When the two saw Tobirama suddenly appear, they both stopped fighting.
Renya sheathed his blade and stood beside Tobirama.
Now that this old man was here, there was nothing more he needed to do.
Tobirama glanced at Renya. Seeing that he wasn't injured, he lost interest and turned his sharp gaze on Uchiha Tanaka.
"Senju... Hokage-sama, what is the meaning of this?" Uchiha Tanaka's expression turned grim.
Tobirama's appearance had clearly disrupted his plans.
Tanaka cursed inwardly, "Damn it, that bastard really has been watching me!"
He had barely left the village, and the guy had already caught up.
It didn't take a genius to realize the Uchiha had been under Tobirama's surveillance this whole time.
Even knowing that, there wasn't much he could do…
Right now, the Uchiha's standing in the village was awkward. They were already disliked, and after the incident with Uchiha Madara, even fewer people were willing to associate with them.
You could say the Uchiha were gradually becoming the pariahs of the village.
Everyone secretly agreed on their attitude toward the Uchiha—it just wasn't spoken out loud.
After all, the Uchiha were still a major clan of Konoha.
Saying certain things out loud could affect the village's unity…
"Clan Head Tanaka, as the captain of Konoha's Military Police Force, you left the village without permission..." Tobirama said coldly. "Don't you think you owe me an explanation?"
Uchiha Tanaka froze, clearly not expecting Tobirama to bring that up.
The implication was that he had abandoned his post…
If it were any other Uchiha, maybe it would be overlooked, but he was both the clan head and the head of the police force. There was no excuse.
Especially since the Uchiha were in a much more precarious position now—being caught by the Hokage like this could be serious.
A cold sweat formed on Tanaka's forehead as he quickly explained:
"Hokage-sama, you misunderstand. I just came to check on a clansman."
"Oh?" Tobirama raised an eyebrow and asked, "And Clan Head Tanaka checks on his clansmen with a drawn sword?"
At that, Tanaka quickly sheathed his blade and chuckled.
"Hokage-sama, what are you saying? We're shinobi—carrying a weapon is completely normal."
"Clan Head Tanaka, I ask that you refrain from bothering Uchiha Renya again," Tobirama said sternly.
"Hokage, do you even know what you're saying?" Uchiha Tanaka frowned. "Uchiha Renya is one of our Uchiha. Why shouldn't I be allowed to see him?"
Renya curled his lip in disdain and muttered under his breath, "Idiot."
Both Tobirama and Tanaka instinctively looked at Renya.
They didn't understand the word, but it was obvious it wasn't a compliment.
Tanaka's face turned dark. If Tobirama hadn't been standing right there, he would've killed this damn traitor on the spot!
Tobirama noticed the look on Tanaka's face and grew wary that he might lash out.
He instinctively stepped in front of Renya.
"Uchiha Tanaka, I'm warning you one last time—stay away from Renya. If anything happens, you'll bear the consequences."
"Hokage, this is an Uchiha clan matter. Aren't you overstepping a little?" Uchiha Tanaka clenched his fists.
That bastard dared to threaten him?
"I adopted this kid a long time ago." Tobirama looked over at Renya. "That was the decision of the former Uchiha Great Elder. If you have a problem, take it up with him."
Of course he knew the Great Elder had long since passed.
He was only bringing him up to shut Tanaka up.
"Fine, fine, fine!" Uchiha Tanaka let out a cold laugh. "In that case, starting today, Renya is no longer a member of the Uchiha clan. Let him take the Senju name if he wants!"
With that, he turned and left.
Since Tobirama was here, killing Renya was impossible.
All he could do now was cast out the traitor from the clan—then deal with him later.
Tobirama looked thoughtful. Tanaka's suggestion wasn't half bad.
If Renya took on the Senju name…
Senju Renya—it even sounded better.
Much better than Uchiha, honestly.
But of course, it would still need the kid's own consent.
At that moment, Renya—who had been silent all this time—finally spoke.
"Hey. Who gave you the right to kick me out of the Uchiha?"
Truth be told, he didn't care much about the Uchiha name.
He just couldn't stand Uchiha Tanaka's attitude.
That arrogant, self-important tone was seriously getting on his nerves.
If Tanaka had spoken respectfully, Renya wouldn't have minded at all.
Even when the Uchiha had deliberately distanced themselves from him before, he hadn't held a grudge.
But Renya refused to let someone stand over him and treat him like crap.
Back when he was weak, he could tolerate it. But now?
With his current strength, there was no way he'd put up with that garbage anymore.
Even if he wasn't as strong as Uchiha Tanaka, there were plenty of ways he could kill him.
Idiots like that were the easiest to take down.
Uchiha Tanaka stopped and turned back to look at Renya.
"I'm the Uchiha clan head—that's what gives me the right!"
"Heh. The Uchiha clan head?" Renya sneered. "Quite the authority you've got. You think you're the previous clan head or something?"
A pompous fool who still didn't understand the situation.
Renya didn't even feel like wasting words on him anymore. If not for Tobirama being here, he would've already killed this idiot.
Tanaka's face stiffened immediately.
Of course, the "previous clan head" in Renya's words referred to Uchiha Madara.
That line hit him hard, but he had no comeback.
He couldn't exactly claim he was stronger than Madara, could he?
Tobirama stared at Renya in disbelief. Was this kid really still an Uchiha?
That didn't sound like something any Uchiha would say.
Especially not one with a fully matured Sharingan...
Renya's words shocked him just as much as the alliance between the Uchiha and Senju to form the village back in the day.
Tanaka's face darkened with rage. He really wanted to ignore everything and kill this traitor!
But looking at Tobirama standing in front of Renya, he quickly calmed himself down.
If a fight broke out, he wouldn't stand a chance against Tobirama.
Everyone from Tanaka's generation knew full well how powerful Tobirama was.
Back in the Warring States period, there were easily eighty or more Uchiha who had died by Tobirama's hand.
Seeing Tanaka's furious expression, Renya suddenly laughed.
"It's just a surname. You really think I care?"
Renya took off his robe with the Uchiha fan crest and tossed it to the ground, then burned it to ash with a Fire Release technique.
After finishing, he looked straight at Uchiha Tanaka.
"Remember this. You didn't cast me out of the Uchiha—I walked away of my own accord."
Tanaka's face twisted with fury as he shot one last deep glare at the two of them.
When he saw the smirk on Tobirama's face, his lips nearly curled from anger.
Damn you, Senju Tobirama!
Uchiha Renya had clearly been brainwashed by him!
With a cold snort, Uchiha Tanaka turned without hesitation and left.
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