"Pfft—!"
Uchiha Kokomi burst into laughter as she watched her son's adorably smug expression.
She reached out and pinched Ren's still slightly baby-fat cheeks, teasing him:
"It's just... your changes have been too dramatic!"
"Not just your mental strength—even your body, vitality, everything's increased tenfold."
"And just over an hour ago, none of that was there."
"Tell me honestly—did you awaken your Sharingan?"
Although she hadn't sensed any ocular power in Ren's eyes…
Still, you never knew.
If he had awakened his Sharingan, then the massive boost to his mental and physical state would make perfect sense.
Every Uchiha who awakened their Sharingan experienced such a transformation—though usually the spiritual leap was much more significant than the physical one.
But Ren's case was clearly different.
"Nope!"
Ren immediately shook his head, understanding why his mother had asked.
"No Sharingan here. Not even close."
"Really?" Kokomi frowned slightly in thought.
"Then… could it be that you've awakened some kind of taijutsu-based kekkei genkai after refining chakra?"
"Did you feel anything… special?"
Technically, Uchiha bloodlines almost never produced kekkei genkai outside of the Sharingan.
But still—what if?
"My brain feels sharper than ever, and I think I can learn pretty much anything with ease… does that count?"
Ren tilted his head and gave a mock-puzzled look.
"Uhhh…"
Kokomi paused, dragging the sound out as she considered it.
"Maybe… it does?"
"Oh, forget it. I won't pry any further."
"As long as you understand your own situation, that's enough."
"But listen closely—don't tell anyone about this besides me and your father. Got it?"
"Starting today, we're going to publicly present you as a genius. Understand?"
The label of "genius" was much safer than revealing a secret bloodline awakening.
It wouldn't attract as many unwanted eyes.
As for hiding his genius altogether? That wasn't necessary.
The Uchiha didn't need to downplay something like that.
"Mm! Got it."
Ren nodded seriously, a warm feeling welling up in his chest.
This was the kind of parental support he hadn't realized he'd missed.
"Good. Come with me. I'll take you to the family archive."
Kokomi seemed satisfied. She led Ren to the household's private study.
She gestured to several bookshelves along the wall:
"These are all yours to read."
"Most are general texts—history of the ninja world, the Leaf Village, the Uchiha clan. They won't directly boost your power, but they're essential knowledge for a shinobi."
"As for the chakra refinement scrolls, I'll go fetch them now."
Without waiting for a reply, she walked to a sealed inner room, formed a hand seal, and placed her hand on the door.
A sealing jutsu disengaged with a faint hum.
Then she pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
Ren didn't follow her. Instead, he grabbed one of the general books and started flipping through it rapidly.
A few minutes later—
Kokomi returned with an armful of scrolls, only to see Ren already finishing his book.
His fingers were a blur, pages turning so fast they almost left afterimages.
Amused and confused, she asked:
"Flipping that fast—are you even reading it?"
"Of course."
Ren snapped the book shut and slid it back onto the shelf.
"Didn't I say it earlier? My comprehension and mental capacity have skyrocketed."
"I've gained photographic memory and rapid learning capabilities."
"This kind of material—I only need to glance at it once to fully understand it."
He then turned his gaze to the scrolls in Kokomi's arms, eyes lighting up:
"Mom—are those the chakra scrolls?"
"Uhh… yeah."
Kokomi nodded distractedly, placing the scrolls onto the large desk nearby. She was clearly still processing what she just heard.
Photographic memory. Rapid learning.
She looked at her son with awe, then let out a deep breath:
"It seems I've still underestimated your current comprehension and talent."
"You might even surpass your brother Fugaku one day."
"Maybe… even become a second Uchiha Madara."
To her knowledge, not even Madara had possessed such terrifying insight at such a young age.
"Maybe." Ren replied calmly.
"Who can say what the future holds?"
"For now, I just want to focus on steady growth."
"You go take care of your own business, Mom. I'm going to dive into these scrolls now."
With that, he walked to the desk, pulled over a scroll, and began reading in earnest.
"You little rascal—are you brushing me off already?"
Kokomi looked mock-offended, half-hiding her face as if wiping away fake tears.
She peeked at him between her fingers.
Ren glanced up just in time to catch her drama queen performance.
"Mom… please. Drop the act—it's too fake."
"You know I'd never brush you off. I just don't want to waste your time."
Kokomi grinned and pinched his cheek.
"Our Ren is just too cute."
"Alright, I won't bother you anymore. Study hard! I'm off."
Humming to herself, she turned and left the archive room with a spring in her step.
Only then did Ren finally relax.
He settled in and began rapidly flipping through the scrolls.
In less than three hours, he had read through over a hundred scrolls.
His understanding of Uchiha chakra refinement had grown exponentially—he had nearly mastered it completely.
He'd even absorbed techniques from other clans, gaining a qualitative leap in both theoretical and practical knowledge.
But instead of going to ask his father for the clan archive pass right away, he first informed his mother of his progress.
Then he returned to his room to continue refining chakra—pushing himself to draw out even more reserves and construct new energy channels in his cells.
While doing so, he began testing the techniques he had just learned—verifying, internalizing, and integrating them.
With his comprehension, insight, and spiritual strength at their current peak, he was able to rapidly build and connect energy channels throughout different regions of his body.
His chakra reserves began to soar.
Hours passed.
Outside, the sky gradually darkened.
And Ren finally completed constructing energy pathways in one percent of his body's cells, fully tapping into that portion of his chakra potential.
His chakra reserves had increased—not by a small margin—but dozens of times over.