On the training grounds, the sharp rhythm of fists and the dull thud of impacts echoed in rapid succession.
The expressions of the Uchiha boys gathered to watch were complicated—surprise, doubt, and even unease.
Didn't Uchiha Eiji awaken his Sharingan? they thought. Why does he look no stronger than yesterday?
Uchiha Daishi and the others stared as Eiji launched attack after attack, only for the same scene as yesterday to repeat itself.
Uchiha Gen remained rooted in place, his feet never shifting, casually deflecting every strike without effort.
On the opposite side of the field, Uchiha Hayabusa and Uchiha Torataro looked stunned.
"The Sharingan is supposed to be invincible," Hayabusa muttered under his breath. "So why can't Big Brother Eiji defeat him?"
Their disbelief deepened. Eiji was an Uchiha with a newly awakened Sharingan, while Gen—an outsider to the main line—was not even known to possess one.
"Bang!"
A heavy punch crashed into Eiji's chest, sending him flying backward like a cannonball. His body felt suddenly limp, his chakra flow disrupted. Yet Gen's control was so precise that, despite the crushing impact, not a single bone was broken.
After being flung nearly ten meters, Eiji twisted midair, flipped, and landed in a crouch, one hand pressed against his chest as he gasped for breath.
His lone tomoe Sharingan flickered before fading away, reverting his eyes back to black.
"Why?" he demanded hoarsely. "Even with the Sharingan… even though I saw your every move… I still couldn't block you."
Gen gave only a faint smile. "Because you're too weak. Your eyes can perceive my movements, but your body isn't fast enough to follow through. That's the limit of your Sharingan right now."
Eiji froze, Gen's words sinking in. He thought back to that last punch—he had clearly tracked the incoming strike. He knew where the fist was coming from. But the instant he moved to the counter, it had already connected.
After a long silence, Eiji exhaled. "…What do you want to see this time?"
He was admitting defeat again.
Gen tilted his head thoughtfully. "If possible, a C-rank ninjutsu scroll."
The young boy's parents had been ordinary shinobi. His father had died in service; his mother had long retired. Their home contained only a handful of basic academy-level jutsu scrolls, which Gen had already mastered. What he craved now was to study a true intermediate technique, to broaden his foundation.
Eiji considered this, then smirked. "Just a C-rank? I could also get you B-rank or even A-rank scrolls. The Fireball Jutsu is standard, but what about the Phoenix Sage Fire, or even the Great Fireball Dragon Technique? I can bring them next time, if you like."
At the mention of such techniques, Daishi and the others around them couldn't hide their excitement. Those were advanced Uchiha fire-style jutsu, legends in their eyes—far beyond the basic techniques they were struggling with.
But Gen's expression remained calm. He shook his head. "No need. A C-rank scroll will suffice."
Eiji's smirk faltered.
After the spar ended and Eiji left with his companions, Daishi scratched his head. "Big Brother, why didn't you accept? Those were A-rank clan techniques. My dad says the Great Fireball Dragon Technique is so powerful it once wiped out a Mist-nin squad during the war!"
Another boy chimed in eagerly, "Yeah, why turn it down?"
Gen's gaze sharpened slightly as he glanced at them, and immediately the group fell silent.
"That was his test," Gen said flatly.
"Test?" Daishi echoed, confused.
But Gen didn't elaborate. Instead, his eyes drifted to the distance, toward the Hokage Rock looming above the village walls.
---
Meanwhile, Eiji walked home with Hayabusa and Torataro in tow, their footsteps heavy with silence. Suddenly, he halted.
"…Hayabusa. Torataro. Do you think I should strengthen my taijutsu?"
Hayabusa scoffed. "Taijutsu is for lowly ninja. Chakra and ninjutsu are what matter most to the Uchiha."
Torataro nodded in agreement. "Big Brother Eiji, you only awakened your Sharingan yesterday. Of course you're not proficient yet. Once you master it, you'll crush someone like Gen easily."
Eiji stayed quiet. Yet in his mind, his battle replayed again and again—the helpless feeling of seeing but being unable to act. His eyes glimmered faintly red.
After a pause, Hayabusa frowned. "But Big Brother… what if Gen had accepted? The clan doesn't let us access advanced ninjutsu without permission. How could you even give him something like the Great Fireball Dragon?"
Torataro chuckled. "Don't worry. Eiji-sama was bluffing. Right?"
But Eiji shook his head. "…No. I would have given them to him."
Both boys stared at him. "What?! Why?"
Eiji's gaze turned distant. "What do you think of his strength?"
Hayabusa and Torataro exchanged glances before admitting, "His taijutsu… is strong."
"Not just strong," Eiji said quietly. "It's on another level. I don't know how far his ninja talent goes, but in taijutsu alone, he could rival even my older brother Taichi, and he's already a jōnin."
The other two boys fell silent, unease creeping into their expressions.
"In the future," Eiji continued, "I may need him. He could become a powerful ally… a weapon in my hands. But he refused me today."
Hayabusa frowned. "You're overestimating him. We're still young. As our chakra grows and our Sharingan evolves, his fists will mean nothing."
"No," Eiji muttered. "It's you who underestimate him."
For reasons he couldn't explain, Uchiha Gen felt like a figure shrouded in mist, impossible to read completely.
---
Three days later, in the quiet depths of the forest.
Uchiha Gen sat cross-legged atop a rock, eyes closed, chakra circulating through his body with unusual clarity. A small bird landed on his shoulder, insect in its beak, unfazed by his presence.
Inside, Gen's consciousness guided his chakra flow like flame guided by kindling.
Boom!
It surged, ignited, refined—each cycle smoother than the last.
The chakra cultivation methods he had glimpsed in the scroll Eiji provided answered questions that had long plagued him. Now, his control felt sharper, his flow more natural.
Step by step, he was growing stronger.
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