The Uchiha Prodigy

The next day, at the Ninja Academy, the atmosphere around the two Uchiha brothers was rather tense.

"Have you heard? The Uchiha were wiped out overnight a few days ago. Only those two survived."

"And the one who did it was their older brother. Otherwise, how could they have survived?"

Mufeng Uchiha didn't care in the slightest. He sat at his desk, fast asleep, while Sasuke Uchiha quietly practiced Water Breathing in his chair.

Bam—

Iruka walked into the classroom and slammed the lesson plan in his hand onto the podium, cutting off their whispers. The Uchiha Clan had been wiped out overnight, and the one responsible was the brothers' own older sibling. They had to be devastated. As their teacher, he had to help them move past the trauma.

"Sasuke, pfft—did you stick your face in a beehive and get stung? Want Lord Naruto to teach you? Your brother Mufeng taught me this, and I guarantee you won't get stung by a single bee."

Naruto had come over to comfort the brothers because of the rumors. After all, Mufeng was the first child in the village who hadn't looked down on him and had been willing to spend time with him. He often treated Naruto to meals and gave him clothes and other basic necessities. For a child starved of affection, that was already precious beyond words.

He had been about to speak, but when he saw Sasuke Uchiha's still-swollen face, he couldn't help feeling smug. He patted Sasuke on the shoulder like an adult lecturing a child.

"Dead last, I told you I'm Mufeng's older brother. And mind your own business. Come back when you can perform the Three Body Technique properly, dead last."

"Th-that's only because I wasn't using my full strength. I was going easy on you! Just wait. You'll see how Lord Naruto performs the Three Body Technique even better than you!"

Sasuke Uchiha shot him a scornful look. The disbelief in his eyes instantly set Naruto Uzumaki off, and he was about to challenge Sasuke to a contest. Meanwhile, Mufeng Uchiha sat sleeping in his chair.

"Naruto, get back to your seat!"

"But, Iruka-sensei, that jerk Sasuke—"

"Get back to your seat."

Under Iruka-sensei's stern gaze, Naruto Uzumaki could only resign himself to returning to his seat. But he wasn't going to let this go.

In his dream, Mufeng Uchiha returned to that meeting room once more.

As before, only the three of them were in the meeting room.

"Hey, how have things been? Any gains over the past few days?"

JoJo Mufeng spoke first, and the three immediately shared their memories and abilities.

"I spent the night getting familiar with the Breathing Style. Hokage Mufeng, you should focus on learning more ninjutsu."

"Demon Slayer Mufeng, didn't you also spend a whole day getting used to your Substitute and Chakra?"

"Enough. We're one and the same. We should be discussing how to improve our strength from here on, not arguing over nothing."

At JoJo Mufeng's mediation, Demon Slayer Mufeng spoke first.

"I'm still practicing Water Breathing. I'll have to wait until after the Final Selection before I can learn a Breathing Style from another cultivator."

"As for me, I've mostly just been getting used to my Substitute. Until Yoshikage Kira slips up, there's no point thinking about the Stand Arrow."

"If we want to get stronger in the short term, then it's up to me."

Demon Slayer Mufeng made the first suggestion.

"Kakashi Hatake. The best way to get stronger quickly is to find a teacher. Just look at Uchiha Sasuke. He learned Chidori from Kakashi, and later developed Chidori Current from it. It's definitely the best choice."

"Exactly. The Copy Ninja, who's mastered over a thousand ninjutsu, would surely be able to teach you well. Besides, he's keeping an eye on you right now, isn't he? Just find an excuse to approach him. It'll be easy."

After discussing it, the three readily agreed. In the coming days, Hokage Mufeng would have to get close to Kakashi as soon as possible. The way in was Obito Uchiha and Might Guy. Surely Kakashi would be tempted.

After their usual discussion, Mufeng Uchiha opened his eyes and returned to reality. It was already time to go home.

"Uchiha Sasuke, go on ahead today. Don't wait for me."

"Call me big brother."

Once he mastered Water Breathing, he'd make sure Mufeng called him big brother willingly!

Watching Mufeng Uchiha walk away, Sasuke Uchiha still couldn't help feeling curious. His steps gradually veered away from the path home, though he didn't notice the pair of deep-blue eyes watching him from behind.

After walking for a long while, Mufeng Uchiha arrived at Konoha's memorial cemetery, holding a bouquet he'd bought along the way. He went straight to Obito Uchiha's gravestone and laid the flowers there.

Kakashi, watching from the shadows, tensed up. That was a painful past he didn't want to remember.

What puzzled him even more was Mufeng Uchiha's visit to Obito's grave. The two were only distantly connected by blood. Why had Mufeng Uchiha come to pay his respects?

"None of my clan members have been buried yet. The clan grounds are sealed off, and the only trace of the Uchiha left in Konoha is you, Obito-senpai."

Mufeng Uchiha had tried to find the bodies of his clansmen, or any other traces of them.

But he hadn't found a single body. They'd all been taken into Konoha's care.

Kakashi immediately imagined the boy, whose whole clan had been denied burial, coming here at last to pour out his grief to the senior who had been laid to rest long ago. What a tragic kid.

"Come out. Stop skulking around in the shadows."

Had he been discovered? The Uchiha really were never short on prodigies.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I came to pay my respects too."

Kakashi Hatake shook the bouquet in his hand. Mufeng Uchiha turned around and asked in confusion:

"Kakashi-senpai, what are you doing here?"

What was he doing here?

When he turned around, he saw Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, who had been secretly following him. He'd misunderstood.

"Hmph. I was just passing by. It's not like I was worried about you."

The tsundere brat was as tsundere as ever. Since Naruto had already been spotted, he came over too and bowed before Obito Uchiha's gravestone.

He didn't know what it was like to lose a loved one, but he knew it had to be painful. This time, he wouldn't hold it against Sasuke.

"Kakashi-senpai, can you teach me ninjutsu?"

"I'm just an ordinary ninja. I can't teach anyone. You should ask Iruka-sensei."

"Son of the White Fang of the Leaf. Graduated from the Ninja Academy at five, became a Chunin at six, and a Jonin at twelve. You even developed the A-rank ninjutsu Chidori. If you're an ordinary ninja, then most of the ninja in Konoha are useless."

After Mufeng Uchiha said that, the two boys stared at the listless white-haired man.

Kakashi Hatake's expression darkened when Mufeng Uchiha laid bare his past. He asked pointedly:

"Why do you think I can teach you?"

"Because you were Obito-senpai's teammate. I trust you."

Memories of the dead attacked him once more. Even after all these years, he still couldn't forget.

Obito, I failed to protect Rin. The Uchiha Clan was wiped out. I couldn't do anything. Teaching the Uchiha orphans and helping them grow might be my chance to atone.

"Becoming my student won't be so easy. You'll have to pass my test first. Only then will you qualify. Both of you, come along."

The two eager boys naturally followed Mufeng Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake.

They went to the riverbank. The test was tree climbing and Water Walking. If the boys could manage both, Kakashi would take them on as students.

"Hah! I, Naruto Uzumaki, will definitely do it! Believe it!"

"For an Uchiha, it'll be a piece of cake."

After demonstrating, Kakashi Hatake leaned against a nearby tree and idly started reading Icha Icha Paradise. This was going to take a while.

"I've already done it. Can you teach me the real stuff now?"

Kakashi had barely picked up his book when Mufeng Uchiha announced that he'd already finished. He even demonstrated right in front of Kakashi, making a stark contrast with the other two, who were still tumbling over and over.

"Damn it, I'm the older brother. How could Mufeng outdo me?"

"If I can't climb it today, I'm not going to sleep!"

Kakashi Hatake rubbed his forehead helplessly and pulled out a Chakra paper. He'd teach the kid a few ninjutsu to keep him occupied.

"Let's test your Chakra nature first."

Mufeng took the Chakra paper. It crumpled, then one side grew damp while another burst into flames.

"Three natures: Fire, Water, and Lightning. I'll start by teaching you a C-rank ninjutsu, Lightning Release: Earth Flash."

Kakashi Hatake demonstrated several ninjutsu in a row. Mufeng Uchiha learned each one on the first try. Then Kakashi noticed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes.

"You little monster. Ordinary training is too easy for a prodigy like you. Which Chakra nature's transformation do you want to learn?"

"Water-type nature transformation."

As the Copy Ninja, Kakashi found Water-type nature transformation a breeze to teach.

Kakashi Hatake gave a simple demonstration in the river. Mufeng Uchiha put his hand into the water.

Centered on his hand, a whirlpool slowly rose from the surface. The changes were so subtle they were almost invisible to the naked eye.

"Have you already grasped the basics of Water-type nature transformation?"

Nature transformation was generally the domain of Jonin. Mufeng Uchiha was only six, yet he'd already begun learning it. His talent was beyond that of an ordinary prodigy. He was a monster.

With Water Breathing to help him, Water-type nature transformation was much easier for him.

The whirlpool in the water grew increasingly fierce, and Mufeng Uchiha's progress in Water-type nature transformation was visibly improving.

Kakashi Hatake couldn't help marveling. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before Mufeng surpassed him.

Could he really teach such a prodigy well?

Should he report this to Lord Hokage?