I'm a Genius Too!!

Those matters could be set aside for now. Height was important, but it had no direct relation to combat strength.

Coming back to his senses, he grabbed a clansman and asked where the Training Ground was. After turning left and right a few times, he arrived at the so-called Training Ground.

It was called a Training Ground, yet there was not a single person there right now. As far as the eye could see, there was not even the slightest bit of cover.

"There aren't even any targets here. Just a few lonely saplings."

Uchiha Gen scratched his head, unable to make sense of it. In any case, he did not have any kunai or anything else on him, so he decided to test his Chakra first.

"I remember there are twelve hand signs, corresponding to the twelve zodiac animals? Hmph! Those people living the good life really only know how to plagiarize."

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Boar.

The twelve hand signs were the foundation for ninja to release ninjutsu. In Uchiha Gen's memories, he currently knew one B-rank ninjutsu, six C-rank ones, as well as skills like the Three-Body Technique and kunai and senbon throwing.

"Then I'll try the Great Fireball Technique first. It's an entry-level Uchiha ninjutsu."

As he recalled the sequence, his hands slowly began to move.

"Snake—Goat—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger."

Hmm? This feeling...!

Uchiha Gen did not dramatically shout out the skill's name. He puffed out his cheeks as if blowing air, and a fist-sized fireball slowly took shape before him.

After he cut off his Chakra output, the fireball swelled to the size of a basketball, flew three meters away, and exploded with a bang, leaving a black line of ash across the ground.

"It worked on the first try? Looks like this body's innate talent isn't bad either!"

Uchiha Gen suddenly understood. Becoming Madara's younger brother was no easy feat in itself. It was not strange for him to possess such talent.

It was just a pity that all his efforts had been wasted. So what if he was a genius? In the end, he still could not compete with someone using cheats. A genius who had not matured was no genius at all.

Afterward, Uchiha Gen continued trying out the rest of his ninjutsu. The only B-rank technique among them was one called Majestic Destroyer Flame.

In his memories, this technique had shone brilliantly in Madara's hands during the later stages of the anime. The enemy had needed an entire platoon casting Water Release just to block it.

"But then again, that's Madara. When he uses a B-rank technique, it has S-rank power."

In the world of Hokage, the lowest ninjutsu rank was C-rank. Generally, only ninjutsu with killing power could be ranked, with special ninjutsu being exceptions.

C, B, A, S. Four ranks.

Though the classification looked simple, each rank's effects and training difficulty increased exponentially. Even a Jōnin often knew only one or two A-rank ninjutsu, while those able to learn and master S-rank ninjutsu were few and far between.

"Hmm, there's still some left. This amount of Chakra should put me at Elite Chunin level."

Uchiha Gen was already quite satisfied with such a starting level. Compared with those geniuses from Hokage, he might not even rank among them, but that was precisely what suited him.

Take Kakashi, who became a Chunin at six, or Itachi Uchiha, who wiped out his clan at thirteen. They were geniuses, but their lives had been nothing but hardships.

Once he had familiarized himself with his ninjutsu, it was time to restore his Chakra. Uchiha Gen's Chakra extraction method had been passed down through the clan. Everyone used the same version, but the results differed from person to person.

The speed at which it was refined varied. Hokage said this was influenced by talent, but in Uchiha Gen's view, talent accounted for only a small part of it.

As everyone knew, Chakra was extracted from physical energy and spiritual energy, then formed by combining the two.

Physical fitness could be altered through training. Though one's genes were fixed, they were not completely locked in place. Spiritual energy, on the other hand, was considered immutable by most people, but in truth, it too could be changed and strengthened later in life.

"In that case, technical knowledge is the real problem. Do I have to become a scientist of the Shinobi World ahead of time? Orochimaru probably doesn't even know which man's balls he's in right now."

By the time he had replenished his Chakra, it was nearly evening. He returned to his hospital room under the last lingering rays of the setting sun.

"Someone came by?"

Living in the world of Hokage, he could never let down his guard. Uchiha Gen remembered deliberately leaving a small gap in the door when he went out, but it was gone now.

"Forget it. There's no way to figure it out anyway. Besides, this is within the clan. There probably won't be any danger."

He then lay down to rest. He had spent an entire afternoon practicing ninjutsu without breaking a sweat, but refining Chakra had left him somewhat tired.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. The night passed without a single dream.

"I'm starving to death!"

"So our little brother didn't suffer any lasting aftereffects?"

"That's right, big brother! Anyway, I think aside from Gen being in a bad mood, there's nothing else wrong with him. It's probably because that damn Tobirama defeated him."

"...Let's go visit him together later."

"Okay."

Beside a waterfall outside the Uchiha clan grounds, two spiky-haired youths were grilling fish. They were none other than the brothers Madara and Izuna.

Izuna had loved training with Madara since childhood and was often inseparable from him. But what he did not know was that Madara had secretly developed secrets of his own behind his back.

After the two finished their fish, they chatted for a while longer, mostly about training. The rest was spent cursing the Senju Clan, with Izuna placing special emphasis on the fact that Senju Tobirama was a damned bastard.

They then took the remaining grilled fish as a gift and headed off to visit their third younger brother, Uchiha Gen.

Uchiha Madara was four or five years older than Izuna. He turned eighteen today, and by the standards of the Warring States era, he should have long since married and had children. Yet Madara had no interest in such things whatsoever.

Because in his eyes, marrying, having children, and reproducing the next generation were the acts of the weak. As for the strong—his generation alone was enough!

The two walked together to the central area of the clan, only to find Uchiha Gen's door slightly ajar.

"He went out this early?"

Hearing his elder brother's question, Izuna scratched his head and replied:

"I dunno?"

The two tilted their heads and peered inside. They saw Uchiha Gen sitting cross-legged on the bed, his hands formed into a strange gesture, his eyes closed and his body utterly still.

His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, like an old monk deep in meditation.

The two exchanged a glance. Izuna set the grilled fish at the door, then slowly backed away. Once they had gone some distance, Izuna sighed.

"Looks like that defeat hit our third brother hard. He got up this early to refine Chakra."

Then he encouraged himself, his eyes practically shining.

"As his older brother, I can't fall behind either! Big brother, let's keep training!"

"..."

Madara said nothing. His mind was still replaying his younger brother's strange posture. Refining Chakra had nothing to do with how one positioned the body, and he had not sensed any Chakra flowing over Uchiha Gen's body just now.

"Let's go. Our little brother has secrets of his own now too."

"What secrets?"

"If I told you, they wouldn't be secrets anymore."

"Then why do you get to know if I don't?"

"Hmph! With that mouth of yours, do you think you could keep a secret?"