He Really Was an Idiot

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"It's amazing, really amazing. It doesn't hurt at all anymore!"

"Brother Yu, can I teach it to other people?"

"No."

"Why? It's such a good thing. Why can't I teach it to the clansmen?"

"Because they aren't geniuses, but you are."

"Huh?"

"I won't hide it from you. I came up with this set of techniques myself. Shisui, I'm only eighteen. Do you think I can guarantee that these techniques are flawless?"

"Probably not..."

"What do you mean, probably? It's absolutely impossible for them to be perfect. There are definitely lots of flaws in them. Geniuses can use their talent to skip over them, avoid the harm, and enjoy the benefits."

"But do ordinary ninja have that kind of sharp talent?"

A stunned Shisui shook his head. I'm a genius. Is that somehow wrong?

"Think about it again. If I taught this to others now, and their parents heard that these were training techniques invented by an eighteen-year-old chūnin, which parent would trust me enough to let their child practice them?"

Shisui was dumbfounded. So I'm being used as a test subject.

"So, if these techniques are to spread, they need a genius like Shisui. You can find the flaws during training and optimize them away. In the future, you can make a name for yourself and convince everyone that these chakra techniques work. Only then can they truly spread."

"Okay, I'll work hard."

Shisui wanted to cry but had no tears. He had never imagined that, in the end, he would be the one shouldering everything.

He was only four years old.

But what Uchiha Yu taught was the real deal. Although Shisui had only practiced for three days, the young genius had already fully experienced the benefits of this new training method.

It did not hurt, it felt good, progress came quickly, and it was flawless.

Still, Shisui had been persuaded by Uchiha Yu. He believed there had to be flaws and problems hidden within it, ones he needed to spend time finding and solving. Then it could be spread, helping the ninja of the Uchiha clan and Konoha become stronger.

Filled with a sense of mission, Uchiha Shisui threw himself into comprehensive training with boundless drive.

On the river, Shinichi ran back and forth while rapidly swinging a short blade, simulating combat on the water as he strengthened his water-treading training.

Meanwhile, Rin held a thick medical tome, reading and memorizing as she slowly walked across the river's churning waves. This was her enhanced training routine.

An hour and a half later, Uchiha Obito came running back, drenched in sweat. Though he was still slower than walking, he really was running.

Shisui, who had completed a stage of training and was resting, spotted him first. He hurriedly got to his feet, intending to go help support him, but as soon as he stood up, he suddenly remembered Uchiha Yu's words.

"When Obito runs back, you'll be able to see his talent."

Uchiha Shisui focused, widening his eyes as he watched. Within seconds, he saw it.

He clearly remembered that when Obito had set off, despite having plenty of stamina, the pressure of the weights had left his running posture crooked and unsteady.

Now, Obito's stamina was nearly exhausted, and every movement of lifting his legs was arduous. Yet his torso was taut and straight like a pine tree, without losing its elasticity. No matter how his feet moved, Obito's body maintained a stable up-and-down rhythm, creating no unnecessary burden.

This was the ideal posture for a ninja's weighted run, and Shisui had mastered it as well. But under Clan Head Fugaku's guidance, it had taken him over an hour to use it proficiently. After that, he had practiced in private for a long time before it became a habit.

Yet Obito had received no guidance at all. In just an hour and a half, he had turned it into a bodily habit. Without needing to think or pay attention, he could use it naturally.

His talent really was stronger than Shisui's. How could such a super genius have a reputation as an "idiot" within the clan?

"Do you find Obito's reputation strange?"

"Yes. A genius like him..."

"No. He really is an idiot."

"Among all the factors that determine whether one can bring out their talent, personality is more decisive than talent itself. You should understand Obito's personality by now. He has too many thoughts, lacks resolve, and cannot persist. He will never amount to anything."

When Uchiha Yu said this, he had to use every ounce of willpower to keep himself from turning his head and looking toward Rin.

Uchiha Shisui acknowledged the importance of personality, but he had a different view of the conclusion. After all, he had watched Yu skillfully manipulate Obito, forcing him through effective training by various means and achieving astonishing progress.

"I think Brother Yu has done wonderfully. You've trained Brother Obito very well..."

Uchiha Yu smiled smugly, but firmly shook his head. "Shisui, remember this: even the largest mountain can be moved, but a person's nature cannot be changed."

"My control over Obito has its limits. He is almost at the limit where he'll explode and give up."

"Getting stronger always depends on one's own persistence. How can it ever rely on someone else forcing you?"

Of course, the real problem was that Obito was selfish by nature and an ungrateful, treacherous wretch. Why would Uchiha Yu invest time and effort into changing him?

Even if Rin was used as leverage, did Uchiha Obito truly love Rin?

They said that if you loved someone, you loved everything connected to them. Yet Obito, who constantly claimed to love Rin, could destroy Konoha without blinking—the village for which Rin had given her life.

Perhaps he believed Konoha bore guilt for Rin's death. Blinded by rage, he destroyed Konoha, and that might also have created the conditions for being with Rin in the future.

It was a very strained explanation, but it could barely make sense.

What Uchiha Yu truly could not understand was why, after gaining so many miraculous abilities—especially after obtaining the Rinnegan and becoming Six Paths Obito—he had never made any attempt to revive Rin. Instead, he had single-mindedly pursued that idiotic plan of being with Rin in an illusion.

Did Obito want the real Rin, or a doll named Rin from his fantasies who treated only him well?

The more one thought about it, the more terrifying it became.

But he could not say such things to Shisui. Uchiha Yu explained, "Obito is lazy and stubborn. Unless some major upheaval makes his personality take a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, there is no hope for him."

"But what kind of tragic suffering would it take to change Obito's personality?"

"It's fine for Obito to stay like this."

After saying that, he walked forward, shooed the nervous Rin aside, and personally examined Obito's condition. He found that the kid still had quite a bit of stamina left.

So he pointed at the equipment that had long been prepared and said, "If you're a man, stand up and do a hundred weighted squats."

In front of the girl he secretly loved, Uchiha Obito did not back down.

Cursing in his heart, he followed Uchiha Yu's demands and completed set after set of exercises, thoroughly draining every last bit of strength until he collapsed to the ground, unable to struggle back up.

Only then did Uchiha Yu satisfactorily haul him to the riverbank. Amid everyone's cries of alarm, he threw Obito toward the river's surface. He was very strong, and the skinny Obito flew far away. The water there was definitely deep enough to drown him.

"Murder! Ah—ah? Ah!"

"I did it! I can stand on the river now!"

"I really can stand. I'm amazing!"

"Hahaha, Uchiha Yu, I finished my training! I'm ending it right now! You can't torture me anymore! Hahaha!"

Uchiha Yu spread his hands at Shisui. "See? Didn't he explode? Didn't he immediately give up?"

Shisui had no response. Inwardly, he could only lament Obito's wasted talent and quietly warn himself not to make the same mistake.