Not Uchiha Enough

In the secret chamber of the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui stared at Obito with faces full of resentment, remaining silent.

"Ahem, ahem."

Feeling guilty under their gaze and hearing the continuous explosions echoing one after another, Obito walked directly behind the Uchiha clansman who was blowing things up the most frequently and kicked him flying.

"Ah!"

Uchiha Kenichi clutched his backside and stood up with a face full of grievance, muttering, "As expected, the Clan Head is just making things difficult for me, Kenichi. He must be jealous of my handsome appearance."

"What did you say?"

Obito stood behind Uchiha Kenichi, a half-smile on his face.

Uchiha Kenichi's expression shifted; he turned around with a fawning look, "The Clan Head is wise and mighty. I, Kenichi, have failed to live up to the Clan Head's cultivation. I am deeply ashamed and am willing to go through fire and water for the Clan Head, never refusing even if it means death."

"Is that so?"

Obito nodded with a look of gratification, satisfied, "Since you are so loyal, I will grant you an opportunity to quickly master alchemy."

"Really?"

Uchiha Kenichi grinned like a fool and bowed, "Thank you for your cultivation, Clan Head!"

"I hope you can still thank me later."

Obito patted Uchiha Kenichi's shoulder with a playful smile. His Mangekyo Sharingan emerged in his eyes, the shuriken pattern spinning rapidly.

"Wait..."

Uchiha Kenichi had just felt that something was wrong and hadn't even had time to shout a protest when he felt the world spinning, only to reappear in the secret chamber.

Turning his head to look around, Uchiha Kenichi realized something was amiss. The dense crowd of clansmen and the constant explosions from moments ago had all vanished; in the blink of an eye, only he and an experimental table remained.

"Is anyone there?"

Uchiha Kenichi walked around and discovered that a ten-meter radius around the experimental table acted as a boundary. Separated by an invisible, incredibly tough membrane, he couldn't pass through it no matter what he tried.

Just then, Uchiha Obito's figure manifested out of thin air. Looking at Uchiha Kenichi, he said with a kind smile, "Kenichi, this is an illusion. A month passes here, but only a dozen minutes pass outside."

"If you practice your alchemy well here, you will learn it quickly."

"How about that? Your Clan Head treats you well, doesn't he?"

Uchiha Kenichi pinched himself hard, let out an "ouch," and said with a mournful face, "Clan Head, I don't think I have much potential. I'm not worth such heavy investment from you."

"Uchiha Mahiro, Uchiha Aoki, and the others are all stronger than me. You should focus your cultivation on them."

Obito smiled, patted Uchiha Kenichi's shoulder, and said with a mischievous glint in his eyes, "Kenichi, don't be so modest. You awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan before the age of twenty; your talent is quite good."

"Is that so?"

Hearing the new Clan Head's praise, Uchiha Kenichi tried to force a smile, but it ended up looking worse than a cry.

"Of course."

Obito's tone was full of certainty. His figure slowly faded, leaving only his final, smiling words hanging in the air.

"I almost forgot to mention: if you don't practice alchemy for an hour, you will be struck by lightning."

"If your alchemy explodes or fails, you will also be struck by lightning."

"Have fun!"

In the secret chamber outside, Uchiha Fugaku looked at the collapsed Uchiha Kenichi and asked in confusion, "Obito, what is wrong with him?"

Obito's face was full of smiles. He looked at the Uchiha clansmen who were all secretly peeking over and said loudly, "He has fallen under my genjutsu. A dozen minutes outside is a month inside. If he doesn't practice alchemy or makes a mistake, he will be struck by lightning."

The many Uchiha clansmen gaped, looking at Obito's smiling face with shock. Suddenly, they shivered and collectively took a few steps back.

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes lit up. He stepped forward and shouted, "Why aren't you all going to practice alchemy? Do you want to try it out too?"

"Yes!"

The crowd bowed respectfully to Obito and scattered like birds and beasts.

"Senior Fugaku, what do you think of this method?"

Obito acted as if he didn't see the looks of terror the clansmen were giving him, a pleased smile hanging on his lips.

Uchiha Fugaku nodded heavily and praised, "A good method, Obito. Can this method be popularized?"

Uchiha Shisui, standing to the side, watched the two with shock, his voice filled with worry.

"Obito, can Senior Kenichi handle this?"

Obito nodded affirmatively and guaranteed, "Don't worry, Kenichi has awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. His mental energy is not weak; a month will certainly be fine."

"No side effects?"

Uchiha Shisui stared at Obito with suspicious eyes. Having known Obito for half a year, he knew his mischievous nature all too well.

"Haha."

Obito wore a light, breezy smile and gestured with his fingertips, "Just a little bit. He'll just be dizzy for a few days; he'll be fine after some rest."

Uchiha Fugaku waved his hand dismissively, "What are such minor side effects? Obito, you still haven't answered whether this method can be popularized."

"It's not suitable for widespread promotion for the time being."

Obito shook his head, glancing at the Uchiha clansmen in the distance who were pricking up their ears, and sighed with regret.

"There are three major difficulties with this method."

"First, although the acceleration occurs within a mental world, the subject's own mental energy must be able to keep up, otherwise, they risk suffering severe mental trauma."

"Second, the caster must have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan to construct a realistic illusion with a different flow of time."

"Third, to ensure complete authenticity, one must have an exhaustive understanding of the medicinal properties of those herbs, or it will all be for nothing."

Uchiha Fugaku nodded regretfully, shooting a fierce glare at the Uchiha clansmen in the distance who looked as if they had just escaped death.

"However!"

Obito looked at the clansmen, who were still suffering constant explosions, a kind smile hanging on the corners of his lips: "If there are a few clansmen who truly can't handle it, I can help them out."

Sauntering over to them, Obito stared at the group with his Mangekyo Sharingan and smiled: "Speak up if you can't handle it. As your clan head, I've always been eager to help; I will certainly assist you."

The many Uchiha clansmen shivered in unison, chiming in one after another: "The Uchiha are never incapable! I can definitely do it!"

"That's right, being incapable isn't the Uchiha way. That brat Kenichi is just too useless."

"Clan head, you're so busy with official business, how could we trouble you?"

Obito nodded in satisfaction, gave a smug smile to Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui, and continued his intimidation: "Then I'll be off. I'll come by tomorrow to check; whoever has the most failures will get my personal help."

Watching Obito walk away, Uchiha Fugaku hurriedly pulled him aside to complain: "Obito, you can't just wash your hands of this. I'm handling all the clan affairs while keeping an eye on this side—I haven't been home in days."

Obito rubbed his nose, feeling a bit awkward, then had a flash of inspiration and said righteously: "Fugaku-senpai, look at what you're saying. Am I that kind of person?"

"Didn't you say last time that you hoped I would take Itachi as a disciple? I was planning to go and observe him."

"Since you have things to attend to back home, let's reschedule."

Obito shook his head with feigned regret, wearing the expression of someone whose good intentions had been treated like donkey lungs.

Uchiha Shisui looked at Obito suspiciously and was just about to speak when Obito quickly glared at him.

Better you than me, Fugaku-senpai. My apologies.

Uchiha Shisui shut his mouth, turning his head away in guilt.

Uchiha Fugaku, unaware of Obito's dark heart, looked apologetic and said hurriedly: "I'm fine. As the former clan head of the Uchiha, how could I lack even this much resolve? Go ahead and attend to your business, Obito; I'll watch over things here for you."

"Then I'll leave it to your hard work, Fugaku-senpai."

Obito suppressed the urge to laugh out loud, keeping a solemn face as he walked away.