Teaching Uchiha Itachi (Seeking collection, seeking follow-up!!)

Leaf Village.

The sun was exceptionally dazzling in the blue sky.

Rays of sunlight shone down upon a training ground located within a vast forest.

Uchiha Itachi's small hands were clenched tight, his eyes shining with excitement as he watched the scene before him.

Uchiha Chen nodded faintly, then bent his knees and leaped into mid-air. He did not weave any hand signs; he simply let out a soft shout.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball erupted from Uchiha Chen's mouth, rapidly expanding until, in the blink of an eye, it had grown into a behemoth over a hundred meters in diameter.

The massive fireball crashed into the ground like a falling meteorite. With a thunderous boom, the earth trembled violently.

A giant crater was gouged out of the ground, with several scattered, unextinguished flames still burning within it.

"Wow, Brother Chen, that's amazing!"

Although this wasn't his first time seeing it, Uchiha Itachi still clapped his hands excitedly.

It was no wonder Uchiha Itachi was so stirred; even if other members of the Uchiha clan were to see this, their jaws would hit the floor.

It wasn't for any other reason than the fact that the jutsu Uchiha Chen had just performed was merely a C-rank technique—the most basic fire jutsu in the Uchiha clan, one that almost every ninja of the clan knew how to use.

However, the power of the Great Fireball Technique Uchiha Chen had just displayed was a hundred times greater than that of anyone else, rivaling the power of a forbidden jutsu!

Most importantly, Uchiha Chen had released such a terrifying technique without weaving a single hand sign!

In the entire ninja world, how many could achieve such a feat?

"Little Itachi, I've demonstrated it again. You should have learned this improved version of the Great Fireball Technique by now, right?"

Uchiha Chen looked at the ecstatic Uchiha Itachi with a sense of helplessness.

Just a few days ago, while Uchiha Itachi was practicing Fire Style, Uchiha Chen had felt a sudden urge to practice his own Fire Style to improve his proficiency.

He had run through the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique in his mind, and his heaven-defying, max-level comprehension had kicked in once more.

Not only did he grasp an advanced version of the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, but he also deduced and mastered other advanced versions of standard Fire Style jutsu. Just like before, he could perform them all without hand signs.

Uchiha Chen even suspected that if he used jutsu from other elements, he might be able to deduce and master them just as he had with the Water and Fire styles.

However, those conjectures would have to wait for another time to be verified.

When Uchiha Chen performed the advanced Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Uchiha Itachi happened to see it. He was awestruck, and his admiration for Uchiha Chen skyrocketed.

Afterward, he pestered Uchiha Chen, wanting to learn the advanced Great Fireball Technique.

To build a closer relationship with Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Chen naturally agreed.

"Brother Chen, I... I didn't learn it."

Faced with Uchiha Chen's question, Uchiha Itachi's previously excited little face immediately fell, revealing a deep sense of frustration.

"What? You haven't learned it yet? But I've demonstrated it for you every day for the past few days!"

Uchiha Chen looked at Uchiha Itachi in surprise.

One had to remember that in the original story, Uchiha Itachi was a one-in-a-million genius who learned the Great Fireball Technique after seeing it just once.

Even though the difficulty of this advanced version was significantly higher, Uchiha Chen still believed Uchiha Itachi would be able to learn it in a short time, and he had even thoughtfully demonstrated it every day.

But the result was a complete shock to Uchiha Chen.

Although the gears of Uchiha Itachi's fate had begun to turn because of his own arrival, that shouldn't have turned a genius into a mediocre student, right?

"Brother Chen, you didn't use any hand signs when you demonstrated it, so I couldn't understand..."

Uchiha Itachi lowered his little head, muttering with a sense of grievance.

"Ah, this..."

Now it was Uchiha Chen's turn to be stunned. Good grief, after all this time, it turned out to be his own fault.

Of course, he couldn't possibly take the blame for this.

Uchiha Chen's expression shifted, becoming extremely serious and solemn.

"Of course I knew I wasn't using hand signs, and that you wouldn't be able to learn the technique that way. But do you know why I haven't mentioned it all these days?"

"I... I don't know."

Uchiha Itachi shook his head in a daze, his mind completely blank.

"Because I was waiting for you to speak up. Since you knew you couldn't learn it, why didn't you ask me?"

Uchiha Chen said with a straight face.

"Brother Chen, I was afraid of disturbing your training..."

"Don't make excuses! What about the times outside of my training? Didn't we have plenty of free time? Why couldn't you ask then? What is your mouth for?"

"Brother Chen, I know I was wrong. I will definitely change in the future!"

"Good. Acknowledging your mistakes and correcting them is excellent. If you don't understand something in the future, just ask, understand?"

Uchiha Chen looked at Uchiha Itachi with great satisfaction. He had handled this situation perfectly.

"Thank you, Brother Chen, I understand now!"

"Good, then what should you do now?"

"Please, Brother Chen, teach me the hand seals for the improved Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Uchiha Itachi's previous frustration vanished, his eyes bright and focused as he looked at Uchiha Chen.

"Very well, then you had better watch closely."

Half an hour later...

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Uchiha Itachi held his hands in front of him, rapidly cycling through hand seals. The sequence was largely the same as the standard Fireball Jutsu, differing only in a few subtle details.

As the final seal was cast, a massive fireball over ten meters in diameter erupted from Uchiha Itachi's mouth.

"Brother Chen, I finally learned this ninjutsu!"

Uchiha Itachi trotted over to where Uchiha Chen was resting in the shade of a large tree, a hint of excitement visible on his youthful face.

If Uchiha Fugaku were to see this scene, he would surely be astonished, for he had never witnessed such an expression on his son before.

After all, it was rare to see any emotional fluctuation on Uchiha Itachi's face; even when he first mastered the Fireball Jutsu, he had remained completely stoic.

Let alone being as excited as he was now.

However, just then, a gruff voice echoed from the direction of the woods.

"Good, good, good! Truly worthy of being the clan leader's son—even the power of a basic ninjutsu is different from the rest!"

Uchiha Chen and Uchiha Itachi looked up in surprise. During this period, nearly all of Konoha's active forces had been deployed to the front lines, and few people ever came to the training grounds.

Several individuals wearing Uchiha clan attire emerged from the woods, walking toward the pair at a leisurely pace.

Uchiha Chen frowned. Although they were all members of the Uchiha clan, he did not recognize any of these men.

Furthermore, they were clearly here with ill intent!