The Uchiha Clan's Weakness

"So he really is an Uchiha child..."

Looking at Sasuke before him, Iruka couldn't help thinking of a prodigy from a few years ago, a boy named Itachi.

He was from the Uchiha Clan too.

Heard that before the clan was wiped out, he'd been Fugaku's eldest son, and his talent had been downright monstrous!

At that moment, for some reason, the two figures slowly overlapped in Iruka's eyes.

What was even more ridiculous was that he'd done it unconsciously, yet it didn't feel strange at all.

"This clan is just too abnormal. Good thing... otherwise..."

Just as Iruka stammered, murmuring to himself with his head lowered,

Sasuke, standing nearby, came down from his excitement and regained his composure.

Then he looked at Iruka with a smile and asked:

"Iruka-sensei, does this mean I passed?..."

Iruka was taken aback by the question.

He turned around, came to his senses, tugged at the corner of his mouth, nodded, and said with a wry smile:

"P-Passed. It's just that the results won't be ready for a few days."

"Until then, just wait for the notice in the dormitory the school assigned you..."

That was what he said aloud.

But inside, he couldn't stop roasting Sasuke. He was just too outrageously humble!

A brat who wasn't even a Genin yet had pulled off such an impressive Clone Technique, and he still had the nerve to ask if he'd passed?...

Damn it, if the graduation exam didn't avoid ranking the students,

Iruka would've just declared outright:

[When it comes to talent, for someone your age, I, Iruka, would call you the strongest!...]

"Oh, then I'm relieved..."

Sasuke nodded and smiled.

With a wave of his hand, the dozen or so Shadow Clones on the platform burst one after another, turning into wisps of smoke before vanishing without a trace...

The more Iruka looked at Sasuke's confidence, the more he liked him.

Having a promising talent like this appear in Konoha was an incredible stroke of luck for the village!

After thinking it over, he felt that as a teacher, he ought to say something. After all, Sasuke was one of the promising students he'd taught over the years.

So,

When Sasuke dispelled his clones, Iruka hurried over, patted him on the shoulder, and encouraged him:

"Sasuke, you're the most talented child I've ever met!"

"After you graduate, train hard under the mentor you're assigned. You'll surely make a name for yourself in Konoha one day. Even competing for the Hokage Position isn't impossible for you!..."

Although Iruka's words were stirring and impassioned,

Sasuke only smiled faintly and replied as if he didn't care:

"Thank you for the praise, sensei, but I'm really not as exceptional as you say."

"As for becoming Hokage, I don't have that ambition either. There's still a long road ahead, and I don't want to make promises to myself and add unnecessary pressure. Keeping things simple is fine..."

Compete for the Hokage Position?

Heh...

You could try that line on someone else in this room. They might be young enough to actually believe it.

But trying to dangle that carrot in front of Sasuke?

You might as well save your breath!

Forget Iruka—even Hiruzen Sarutobi himself wouldn't get anywhere with that!

Hearing Sasuke's unusually mature answer, Iruka shook his head, a trace of disappointment crossing his face.

In his eyes, Sasuke was exceptional for his age.

But what good was that?

A boy without ambition couldn't make the most of even the greatest talent. In the end, he'd just fade into the crowd...

Ignoring Iruka, Sasuke prepared to return to his seat and wait for the exam to end.

But just then, Naruto, sitting not far away, suddenly jumped to his feet. He pointed at Sasuke and shouted angrily:

"Hey! You annoying jerk!"

"You've got such great talent! Why don't you want to compete for the Fifth Hokage's position?!"

"Uh..."

Naruto's sudden shout startled Sasuke.

But as soon as he heard Naruto's question, he was at a loss for words.

I'm indirectly making way for you in the future, you know.

And you're the first one to jump up and challenge me!

He gave a light cough to hide his awkwardness, then shook his head and replied:

"Everyone has their own ambitions. Actually, I..."

Before he could finish, Sasuke's vision suddenly went black!

Then his legs gave way, and he toppled backward!...

"Sasuke!..."

Iruka was alarmed!

He had no idea what had suddenly happened to Sasuke.

Seeing Sasuke collapse without warning, he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared behind him!

It took only a few seconds for Sasuke's consciousness to awaken from the haze.

He slowly opened his eyes. His vision wavered for a moment, then the scene around him came into focus again.

"I... what just happened to me?..."

"Did I skip breakfast and get low blood sugar?..."

The first half slipped out of Sasuke's mouth unconsciously.

The second half was his guess to himself.

Before Sasuke could figure out why he'd fainted without warning, Iruka, who was supporting him from behind, said:

"Sasuke, you're still too young..."

Sasuke immediately caught the implication behind Iruka's words.

He got to his feet and asked excitedly:

"Iruka-sensei, do you know why I fainted just now?..."

Iruka nodded, then furrowed his brow and said gravely:

"Sasuke, I know you're exceptionally talented."

"But your age is still a factor."

"If I'm not mistaken, judging by how solid your clones looked earlier,"

"what you just used wasn't the Clone Technique. It was the Multi Shadow Clone Technique, which creates physical clones, wasn't it?..."

At this point, Sasuke didn't try to hide it. He nodded and openly admitted it.

"The Multi Shadow Clone Technique was classified as a forbidden technique by the Second Hokage. Do you know why?..."

"Why?..."

Sasuke asked almost instinctively.

It's a forbidden technique, sure, but Naruto uses it constantly from beginning to end, doesn't he?

"If the user doesn't have enough chakra, the Multi Shadow Clone Technique can instantly drain all the chakra in their body!"

"At best, you'll fall unconscious like you did just now. At worst, you'll die!..."

Run out of chakra and die?...

Sasuke's expression changed.

He hadn't expected the culprit behind his sudden fainting to be the Multi Shadow Clone Technique!

"Ugh... Now that my Sharingan's awakened, the weakness of running out of chakra is already showing..."

Thinking about it, Sasuke couldn't help grumbling to himself.

For him, this was already a fatal weakness.

If he didn't find a way to fix the Uchiha Clan's problem of running out of chakra whenever they awakened their eyes,

then even if he eventually learned every powerful technique in the Shinobi World,

he wouldn't be able to use them without chakra!

Thinking of this, Sasuke furrowed his brow again.

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the graduation exam was over.

After getting away from Ino and Sakura, the two lovestruck girls who'd confessed to him, Sasuke returned to the dormitory the Ninja Academy had temporarily assigned him.

He sat on the bed and focused his thoughts. The next instant, the system panel appeared in the air before him!...