Genius

"Nani?"

"How is that possible?!"

"He actually succeeded?"

"The Great Fireball Technique is hard for even an average genin to learn. How could an idiot like Houka..."

"You fools, what are you standing there for? Dodge!"

Seeing the fireball drawing closer, these Uchiha children finally snapped out of their daze, shrieking as they leaped to the side, falling face-first into the dirt in a pathetic display.

Boom!

The fireball exploded, and a surging wave of heat instantly spread in all directions. Faint sparks landed on the Uchiha children, causing them to howl in pain as they were scorched.

"..." On the ground, Uchiha Obito stared blankly at Houka, as if he were looking at an alien. His expression was a mix of twitching disbelief, suspicion, and pure, unadulterated shock!

Houka's chakra had been depleted by a third from that single ninjutsu, causing his face to pale. At the same time, the hostility in his heart had dissipated significantly, and the wild power in his pupils finally faded. Houka opened his eyes and looked coldly at the Uchiha children wailing on the ground.

"Just now, who hit Obito?" Houka stepped forward. His voice wasn't loud, but after the display of the Great Fireball, it carried an inherent sense of authority.

"Houka, how, how could you possibly have learned the Great Fireball Technique!"

"He cheated, he must have cheated."

"Damn it, how could I be defeated by an idiot like this? I... ah!!"

Before he could finish, the brat was sent flying by a kick from Houka, landing face-first in the dirt once more.

"Houka, let it go." Obito struggled to climb up, not wanting to cause trouble for Houka because of himself.

"Let it go? Are you kidding me!" An arrogant Uchiha child gritted his teeth and stood up, sneering, "Uchiha Houka, don't think you're something special just because you can use the Great Fireball Technique! Heh, my dad is a deputy squad leader in the Police Force. You just wait. You dared to use the Great Fireball Technique to attack clansmen in the middle of the street—you're dead!"

Hearing this, Houka frowned, but since he had already done it, he wasn't about to back down.

"Someone like you who only relies on his father and is useless himself is the real loser, isn't he?" Houka said calmly, then kicked him, knocking him flat.

"Uchiha Houka, you bastard!" The child climbed up, gritting his teeth, covered in dust. He clenched his fists, veins bulging, and roared, "You remember this! My name is Uchiha Ronai, and one day, I will completely defeat you!"

"Let's go!" Uchiha Ronai turned and walked away.

The Uchiha children wailing on the ground scrambled to their feet, cast a fearful glance at Houka, and then followed closely behind Uchiha Ronai as they left.

Houka narrowed his eyes. There were more and more adults watching now; if he kept making a scene, it might lead to bigger trouble. Otherwise, he would have loved to beat these brats until their backsides were blooming.

But, Uchiha Ronai? Heh, in the next year at the Ninja Academy, I hope you realize your mistake, otherwise...

"Obito, are you okay?"

Houka helped Uchiha Obito up. After a quick inspection, he found that while he looked a mess, the worst injury was a missing tooth; everything else was just superficial, not even requiring a trip to the hospital.

Well, they were just a bunch of brats; even with numbers, they couldn't cause much real damage.

Houka breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn it, my tooth fell out." Obito threw the meat he was holding to Houka, then bent down to find his lost tooth, tucking it away like a treasure.

"Don't worry, you're only six. You'll definitely grow another one." Houka comforted him.

"I hope so. It's just... Houka, are you hiding something from me? That Fire Release just now, how did you..." Uchiha Obito's eyes were practically glowing green. As someone ranked in the bottom three of his class at the Ninja Academy, he desperately craved powerful strength and the recognition of others.

And at this moment, Houka had undoubtedly given him immense hope.

In the previous year at the Ninja Academy, Houka's grades were only slightly better than Obito's, not by much. How could such a bottom-tier student use the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique?

"Cough!" Houka gave a light cough, then pointed at the adults nearby who were whispering and pointing, saying, "Let's talk when we get home."

"Fine, but you have to tell me the truth!"

"Hai, hai!"

At the headquarters of the Konoha Police Force, a piece of news was passed up from below with great speed, quickly reaching the eyes of the higher-ups.

"Uchiha Houka? This name sounds familiar." Uchiha Yamano, the captain of the Konoha Police Force, stroked his chin as he looked at the information. "Able to successfully use Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique at age six? Is he a genius? I remember I was nine when I could use that ninjutsu."

"Fugaku!" Uchiha Yamano called out toward the door.

"Hai!"

Soon, someone pushed the door open and entered—it was Uchiha Fugaku, who had crossed paths with Houka at the Konoha Hospital earlier.

"Go investigate this child." Uchiha Yamano handed him a slip of paper.

Uchiha Fugaku respectfully took it, and upon reading it, his eyes widened in surprise: "It's him?"

"What, you know this little guy?" Uchiha Yamano asked him.

"His name is Uchiha Houka. I just saw him at the Konoha Hospital this morning. He's a child with ambition. I apologize, that's all I know, Captain." Uchiha Fugaku didn't hide anything.

"Hmm, go check again. This child might be a genius of our Uchiha Clan, heh." Uchiha Yamano laughed like an old mountain fox.

"A genius?" Uchiha Fugaku was stunned, then looked at the intelligence on the back of the slip. "What? He just used the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique?! He's only six years old!"

Seeing the shock in Uchiha Fugaku's eyes, Uchiha Yamano smiled: "Keep this confidential. If it's confirmed he's a genius, then we must protect this little guy. After all, the war just ended, and even within the village, things are not peaceful."

Not long after, the same intelligence appeared in the hands of several major clans in Konoha.

The Senju Clan.

Tsunade looked at the report with disdain and paid it no mind. As for the other elders of the Senju Clan, due to their limited strength and vision, they had gradually withdrawn from the stage of Konoha, and even if they had any thoughts, it was to no avail.

The Hyuga Clan.

In the original story, the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan loved and hated each other while competing for the title of Konoha's number one clan. But at this time, the Senju Clan had not yet completely withdrawn from the stage. With the Senju Clan as a buffer, they were not as sensitive to the Uchiha Clan as they would be in later generations, so they simply shelved the report.