The Uchiha Clan's "Genius"

Ten years ago, Konoha training grounds.

The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves of the old locust trees lining the training grounds, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Kakashi stared with his dead fish eyes at Obito, who stood before him with an embarrassed expression. His silver hair shimmered slightly in the sunlight.

The corners of his mouth turned down beneath his mask, his young face etched with impatience. His tone was blunt:

"Why can't you understand such a simple question?

Obito, you truly are a hopeless dead last."

Obito instinctively glanced at Rin, who was smiling and encouraging him from beside him. His cheeks flushed, and his dark eyes were filled with unwillingness.

He clenched his fists, his voice rising a few decibels:

"Hmph... It's just that, it's just that Kakashi, you explain things too complicatedly!

Jumping from one point to another, I can't keep up at all!!"

Kakashi replied lazily, his tone filled with undisguised disdain:

"Huh? Such a simple point doesn't require so much effort to explain, does it? Idiot."

"You!!"

Obito's face grew redder. He took a deep breath, then retorted with a mocking expression:

"Hmph! But if it were Kou, he'd definitely explain everything in detail! And his explanations are much easier to understand than yours!"

"...Is that how you should address someone who's showing you great mercy by teaching you, a dead last?"

Kakashi's gaze returned to Obito's face. There was finally a flicker of emotion in his dead fish eyes:

"If it weren't for Rin, I wouldn't waste my time on you."

"Hmph..."

Obito seemed to realize he had said something inappropriate. His lips moved, wanting to apologize.

But before he could speak, he heard Kakashi's next words.

"Well, in the end, I'm just not suited to teaching an idiot like you.

When it comes to teaching idiots like you, Kou, who may not have much talent but is diligent enough, is indeed more suitable than me."

Kakashi's tone was flat, as if stating a fact.

"Kakashi, you bastard! Don't you dare speak ill of Kou!!"

Obito's voice suddenly rose, and the anger ignited in his previously determined eyes:

"What do you mean 'Kou doesn't have much talent'? Take back what you just said! Kou is a genius of the Uchiha clan!!

He's a hundred times, ten thousand times more of a genius than you annoying guy!!"

"...I was just stating the facts, why are you so anxious?"

Kakashi replied indifferently, his dead fish eyes showing no ripple.

"You!!"

"Alright, alright, why are you arguing again?"

Rin stepped between the two who were locked in a verbal spar, her gentle eyes darting between them.

Her voice was soft and gentle, like a breeze trying to blow away the gunpowder between them.

She spread her arms like an invisible barrier, separating the two boys who were about to fight.

"To be clear, it's just that Obito the idiot has been making unreasonable demands. I have no intention of arguing with him."

Kakashi's gaze shifted from Obito to Rin's face, explaining in a flat tone.

"Rin!! You heard what that guy just said, right! Kakashi, that big idiot, looks down on Kou!!"

Obito's voice was filled with indignation.

"Hey, hey, where did I say I look down on him? Obito, don't twist the facts!!"

Kakashi's brow finally furrowed, a flicker of impatience in his dead fish eyes:

"I said 'not much talent,' not 'useless.' There's a fundamental difference between the two, don't you understand?"

"You absolutely mean that!!"

Seeing the two arguing again, Rin sighed helplessly.

In the distance, Minato stood under the shade of the trees by the training grounds, his bag on his back.

He watched the three boys making a fuss on the training grounds, a hint of helplessness on his gentle face.

"Heh heh, you must be feeling helpless seeing this scene right after returning from a mission, Minato."

A rough voice sounded from behind him.

Jiraiya's youthful, unrestrained face peeked out from behind Minato's shoulder, extending a large palm to grip Minato's shoulder from behind.

He chuckled, full of teasing, and said:

"What did I tell you? The job of a guiding Jonin must be very tough, right?"

Minato smiled and shook his head, his blue eyes filled with gentleness.

His voice was soft, carrying a genuine sense of calm:

"Seeing them so energetic after completing their mission makes me quite happy."

He paused, looking at the three young boys and girls in the training ground, his gaze full of affection.

Jiraiya looked at Minato and shook his head helplessly:

"Only you would think that. When the old man was training us, it was truly..."

Recalling the past, Jiraiya couldn't help but shiver.

"Uh, hahaha..."

Minato listened to Jiraiya's words about their teacher, the Third Hokage, and smiled awkwardly.

Seeing his expression, Jiraiya also wisely shut his mouth.

He removed his hand from Minato's shoulder, a hint of confusion appearing on his unrestrained face:

"Speaking of which, where is that kid Kou? Doesn't he often come here to train with those three brats?

Why don't I see him today? This immortal has finally returned."

Hearing Jiraiya mention Kou, the smile on Minato's face slightly faded.

His gaze shifted from the training ground to the direction of the Uchiha clan compound in the distance.

A complex emotion flashed in his blue eyes, a mix of heartache and worry.

"Kou... he's probably still training in the Uchiha clan's library right now."

"Is that so... That kid is as diligent as ever."

Jiraiya nodded, muttering with some emotion.

Minato looked at Jiraiya, his lips moving.

He ultimately did not speak of the incident where Kou's entire team was wiped out on their last mission.

As if sensing Minato's current mood, Jiraiya's eyes flashed with understanding.

He didn't press further, but tacitly changed the subject, his unrestrained face becoming a bit more serious:

"But speaking of which, that kid is so young, yet he's already decided on his path so early. That's truly surprising.

You know, even Orochimaru and you back then couldn't do that at the same age."

Minato murmured softly, a hint of thought flashing in his blue eyes:

"The Uchiha clan's... 'genius'?"

Jiraiya tilted his head slightly, looking at Minato, who was clearly deep in thought, and asked in confusion:

"Hmm? What's wrong? Minato."

Minato was silent for a moment.

His gaze fell on Obito's face, flushed red with anger because of Kou, and he said softly:

"Jiraiya-sensei, I... I've actually always had this worry.

Is the title of 'genius' perhaps a bit too cruel for that child Kou?"

Jiraiya's brow twitched slightly.

"Both we and the Uchiha understand very well that Kou's talent actually cannot bear so many expectations."

Minato muttered to himself:

Although it's not apparent now, in a few more years, that child will fall into a bottleneck called 'talent'.

At that time, Kou..."

"Minato."

Jiraiya interrupted Minato's words:

"Kou is not as weak as you think."

Minato's body stiffened slightly.

"He probably realized all those things you're talking about very early on."

Jiraiya's voice was calm and steady, as if stating a fact he had observed for a long time and finally confirmed.

Minato nodded in silence, the complex light in his blue eyes still lingering.

Jiraiya looked at Minato, and a smile couldn't help but curve his lips:

"Minato, do you know why that kid Kou is called the 'genius' of the Uchiha clan?"

"Huh...?"

Minato's eyes widened slightly, a flicker of confusion crossing his blue irises.

"While it is true that the Uchiha clan propped up Kou with the intention of ensuring Kakashi wouldn't hog all the spotlight in the village, they are by no means fools."

Jiraiya looked at Minato, explaining earnestly:

"The reason they value Kou so highly—even breaking precedent to allow him into the archives containing thousands of years of Uchiha knowledge—is precisely because they have acknowledged him."

Jiraiya's voice grew deeper, carrying the conviction of someone who had thought this through:

"They acknowledged Kou, and they acknowledged his willingness to shoulder the identity of an Uchiha 'genius' despite his mediocre talent."

Listening to Jiraiya, a flash of realization crossed Minato's eyes.

He was a genius—a true, universally recognized prodigy with innate, extraordinary talent.

Yet, precisely because of that, there were times he couldn't step into the shoes of an "ordinary person" to understand Kou's perspective.

Unlike himself, Jiraiya-sensei, who had also experienced life as an "ordinary person," was sometimes better able to understand Kou than he was.

Jiraiya nodded, his tone tinged with a touch of emotion:

"That child is very clear about his own standing.

He knows he isn't a born prodigy, and he is well aware that the only things he has over others are his Sharingan Kekkei Genkai and his status as an Uchiha.

So, he decided to push that 'foundation' to its absolute limit."

Jiraiya paused, then continued:

"He poured almost all of his energy into studying the lore of the Uchiha clan.

With their thousands of years of history, the Uchiha have enough knowledge and case studies for him to sift through and find the 'wisdom' best suited to help him grow rapidly."

His gaze landed on Minato's face as he smiled:

"The end result is what we see now: Kou, a 'perfectly ordinary' Uchiha clansman, has relied on his own hard work to successfully absorb the 'nutrients' best suited to him from the clan's ancient heritage, becoming one of the top geniuses among his peers."

Jiraiya praised him sincerely:

"For the Uchiha, who have always taken such pride in their name and history, a Kou like this is a far more shocking existence than a traditional genius."

His gaze traveled past the shadows of the trees, across the training ground, and through time, landing on the boy currently within the Uchiha compound:

"Without a doubt, Kou is the 'genius' of the Uchiha clan.

A 'genius' who grew from the very foundation of the Uchiha!"

On the hillside, the battle between Kou and Jiraiya continued.

The wind swept across the mountains, fluttering their robes.

On the clearing at the summit, the grass was flattened, dust swirled, and charred marks from flames were scattered everywhere.

"Uchiha Style—Sword of Blazing Leap!!"

A flash of lightning, and Kou's figure appeared instantly at Jiraiya's side.

The speed was so fast it was as if he had traversed space; only the scorched trail left by the lightning on the ground proved that someone had been standing there a moment ago.

The three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly in his eye sockets, chasing and capturing every subtle change in Jiraiya.

The shift in Jiraiya's center of gravity, the tension in his muscles, the rhythm of his breathing—everything was laid bare before those eyes in that single instant.

He raised the longsword wreathed in flames high, striking at Jiraiya's right side!

The Fire Release chakra clinging to the blade dragged a crimson tail of fire through the air, the temperature so high that the very air began to warp.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, a sharp glint flashing in his murky pupils.

He knew he couldn't dodge at this distance; Kou was too fast, too fast for him to even complete a hand seal.

Yet, his fingers still flew in that split second.

"Ninja Art—Needle Jizo!!"

His low voice echoed across the summit.

His long white hair grew wildly in an instant, surging from his shoulders, his back, and every direction.

Bolstered by chakra, the hair became incredibly tough, blocking the path of the flaming sword and colliding head-on with the crimson blade.

The blade was stopped.

But the hair did not cease; it continued to spread, attempting to coil around Kou's sword, his wrists, and his body.

Watching the white hair attack him, completely unfazed by the intense heat, Kou couldn't help but mutter to himself:

"Tch, this chakra stuff is truly unreasonable. Hair that doesn't fear fire? That's just plain underhanded."

Yet, there was no fear in his eyes.

Under the powerful insight of the three-tomoe Sharingan, the trajectory of the hair's attack formed in his mind instantly.

The path of every strand, the angle of every coil, every potential trap—he saw it all with perfect clarity.

Every opening had nowhere to hide.