Renya stepped forward and dispelled the genjutsu affecting the two of them.
It was only then that Danzō and Koharu realized they had been under a genjutsu.
"Damn it, when the hell did it happen?" Danzō clenched his fists.
He hadn't even noticed he'd been caught in a genjutsu.
If it hadn't been for Renya, he'd already be dead...
"Renya-kun, who was that person just now?" Koharu asked.
She still remembered seeing a pair of Sharingan... and then everything went black.
Renya thought of Uchiha Tanaka and curled his lip in disdain.
"Not important."
Seeing that Renya didn't want to talk about it, Koharu didn't press further.
After this small interlude, the mission still had to continue.
The three of them resumed their journey to the mission site.
...
"Clan head, what did that boy say?"
Uchiha Tanaka had just returned to the clan grounds when a group of elders immediately swarmed around him. Clearly, they had been waiting there for quite some time.
Among them, a one-eyed elder seemed the most anxious, but when he saw Tanaka's grim expression, he immediately understood.
It seemed that Renya wouldn't be returning to the Uchiha clan...
He knew there were many factors involved—reasons from the Senju clan, reasons from the Uchiha clan, and reasons concerning Renya himself.
Even if Renya wanted to return to the Uchiha, they weren't confident they could persuade Senju Tobirama to let Renya come back.
After all, the Uchiha and the Senju were far from equal in status now.
Not to mention, Senju Tobirama was the acting Hokage of Konoha.
Even if it was only "acting" for now, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before it became official.
Just as the one-eyed elder was feeling helpless, Uchiha Tanaka finally spoke.
"Uchiha Renya refused to return to the clan. He even looked down on me, the clan head. I've already driven him out of the Uchiha."
He turned to the one-eyed elder at the front and sneered.
"From now on, he is no longer a member of the Uchiha. I forbid anyone in the clan from having contact with him."
He didn't mention that he had tried to attack Renya.
After saying that, Uchiha Tanaka vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
He still had to think about how to eliminate Renya without a trace—there was no time to waste arguing with these old fossils.
"Hahaha! Well done, Clan Head!"
"That traitor should've been kicked out of the Uchiha long ago!"
The few elders who had originally advocated for Renya's removal were visibly pleased as they left.
In their eyes, an Uchiha raised by the Senju was a disgrace to the clan and should have been expelled ages ago.
Only three old men, including the one-eyed elder, remained standing in silence.
After a long pause, the one-eyed elder let out a helpless sigh.
"Those old fools... how can they blame that boy for this?"
"Exactly," another elder agreed. "If I'd known things would turn out this way, I would've followed Madara-sama when he left."
"Hah! You old bag of bones—if you'd followed Madara-sama, you'd have just held him back."
"I'm still strong for my age!"
"Strong for your age? You can barely walk straight anymore."
"That's nonsense. I think you're the one whose eyesight's gone bad."
"Forget it. We old folks should've retired long ago. No point meddling in clan affairs anymore."
"Exactly. No need to be called indecisive by the younger generation."
As they spoke, the three elders hobbled away, leaning on their canes.
They were among the oldest living members of the Uchiha.
In the Warring States era, where the average life expectancy barely reached thirty, surviving to their age was already something of a miracle.
...
Senju Hashirama's residence.
Hashirama was playing dice in the yard with Tsunade when Tobirama came storming in, clearly in a rush.
"Grand uncle!" Tsunade called out in her sweet, childish voice.
Tobirama rubbed her head and then noticed the dice on the table. He shot an annoyed glance at Hashirama.
"Big Brother, how could you be teaching Tsunade to gamble?"
It was bad enough that Hashirama himself was a hopeless gambler.
Now he was trying to corrupt Tsunade too—Tobirama absolutely couldn't allow that.
With that thought, he grabbed the dice on the table and crushed them into powder with one hand.
Both Hashirama and Tsunade watched the powder scatter in the wind with pained expressions.
But seeing Tobirama's dark face, neither of them dared to complain.
"Tobirama, what brings you here?" Hashirama asked with a sheepish smile.
Normally, Tobirama wouldn't come unless there was something serious—typically only for matters like village planning or major policy decisions.
Hearing that, Tobirama remembered the purpose of his visit.
He didn't bother with small talk and got straight to the point.
"Big Brother, Renya has been driven out of the Uchiha clan."
Hashirama was stunned, his expression turning a little strange.
"Does that... really change anything?"
Renya had always lived with the Senju. He'd long had no contact with the Uchiha.
So the Uchiha's decision really had no effect on him at all.
The only thing it affected was that Renya still carried the Uchiha surname...
Hashirama couldn't understand what the Uchiha elders were thinking.
What was the point of doing something like this?
While Hashirama was still confused, Tobirama's next words left him completely dumbfounded.
"After Renya was expelled from the Uchiha, I invited him to join the Senju."
"Did little Renya agree?" Hashirama instinctively swallowed and asked with anticipation.
"Do you even need to ask?" Tobirama's lips curled into a smirk. "With my invitation, that kid gratefully accepted."
"Haha, that's great!" Hashirama couldn't help but laugh.
He'd always liked that child—especially his cooking. Once you tasted it, you couldn't stop thinking about it.
He was genuinely happy that Renya was willing to join the Senju.
It showed that Renya truly acknowledged and accepted the Senju clan.
Hashirama suddenly remembered the original reason he'd agreed to adopt Renya.
Wasn't it to help Tobirama change his views on the Uchiha through their time together?
He looked at Tobirama, who was beaming with pride, and nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed Tobirama and Renya had finally formed a real bond.
But now that Renya had joined the Senju, would Tobirama still harbor resentment toward the Uchiha?
"Big Brother, lately the Uchiha have been showing less and less respect for me as Hokage," Tobirama said.
"Especially Uchiha Tanaka—he even tried to make a move on Renya. If I hadn't arrived in time, who knows what would've happened!"
Hashirama frowned upon hearing that.
He had originally thought the Uchiha had simply expelled Renya, but he hadn't expected them to go so far.
Now he finally understood why Tobirama had always remained so wary of the Uchiha.
These people acted without thinking of consequences. They really did need to be closely watched.
Back when Madara was still around, no one dared disobey his orders.
But now that Madara was gone, troublemakers like Uchiha Tanaka were popping up.
If this went on, it would be bad for the village's development...
With that in mind, Hashirama said, "Tobirama, increase surveillance on the Uchiha for now."
Tobirama froze in place, his expression as if he'd just seen a ghost.
Had he heard that right?
Big Brother actually wanted to strengthen surveillance on the Uchiha?!
Was this really the Big Brother he knew?