I Really Want to Lie Low and Stay Steady

"Chuan! Get up! The sun's already shining on your ass!" Before dawn had even broken, Elder Uchiha Tenchi from Mengxue barged into Uchiha Chuan's room in a whirlwind, carrying a large bag of steaming-hot breakfast. His booming voice sounded as though it might blow the roof off.

Uchiha Chuan groggily poked his head out from under the covers, rubbed his eyes, and looked helplessly at Uchiha Tenchi standing beside the bed. "Elder, what time is it? Why are you up so early...?"

"Early? It's not early! Have you forgotten Hokage Rock at four in the morning? How can you be so slack? That's right, all the geniuses of the Uchiha Clan are like this. Once they achieve something, they become arrogant. That's why they've only gotten worse over the years. I absolutely won't let you learn from them. Get up immediately." Uchiha Tenchi yanked away Uchiha Chuan's blanket, urgency in his voice. "You're the future star of the Uchiha Clan. How can you waste your time sleeping? Get up, and after breakfast, we'll begin training!"

"Training?" Uchiha Chuan sat up with a dead-eyed expression, silently grumbling, I just want to lie low... I was fine lying low for five years, so how did Mengxue expose me? Great, now I can't lie low at all...

"Stop spacing out and eat!" Uchiha Tenchi stuffed the breakfast into Uchiha Chuan's hands and said expectantly, "In the three months before the Ninja Academy starts, I'll teach you as many Uchiha ninjutsu as possible! You have Jonin-level chakra reserves. Not learning some advanced ninjutsu would be a complete waste of talent!"

"Elder, can I really do it?" Uchiha Chuan asked with feigned hesitation, though he was already figuring out how to deal with this fanatical elder without revealing too much of his strength.

"Of course you can!" Uchiha Tenchi patted his chest and declared confidently, "With me here, you'll definitely become the pride of the Uchiha Clan!"

Uchiha Chuan sighed helplessly and could only steel himself and follow Uchiha Tenchi to the training grounds. He knew this elder genuinely cared about him, perhaps even wholeheartedly. But the problem was, he only wanted to lie low! He could grow stronger just by lying low, so why work so hard?

"Come, we'll start with Fire Release!" Uchiha Tenchi formed hand seals with both hands and shouted, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Boom! A massive fireball burst from his mouth, instantly scorching the open ground ahead into a field of blackened earth.

"See that? This is the Uchiha Clan's signature ninjutsu!" Uchiha Tenchi said proudly. "You give it a try!"

"Okay, Elder." Uchiha Chuan nodded, formed a few seals for show, then took a deep breath. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Just as Uchiha Chuan was preparing to casually spit out a little fiery smoke so Uchiha Tenchi would realize he was no good at it—

At the instant he exhaled, Uchiha Chuan suddenly felt an itch in his throat and immediately sneezed. "Achoo!"

Then, boom! A fireball even larger than Uchiha Tenchi's blasted from Uchiha Chuan's mouth, turning the distant trees directly into ash.

"H-How is that possible?" Uchiha Tenchi's eyes went wide, his face filled with disbelief. "Y-You used the Fireball Jutsu for the first time, and it already has that kind of power?"

"Maybe I just got lucky..." Uchiha Chuan said darkly, his face full of helplessness.

"Lucky? No, this definitely isn't luck!" Uchiha Tenchi's voice trembled with excitement. "Chuan, you're a genius among geniuses! Come, let's try some other ninjutsu!"

Over the next several hours, Uchiha Tenchi demonstrated nearly all of the Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu, taijutsu, and Genjutsu. Uchiha Chuan's performance left him stunned again and again.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" As Uchiha Chuan formed the seals, the top of his left foot suddenly itched. He raised his right foot to scratch it, and the little splash of water he had intended to make instantly became a massive water dragon soaring into the sky, smashing the distant rocks to pieces.

"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!" Uchiha Chuan merely glanced over, intending to roll his eyes. Who would have thought that a strange chakra would suddenly form inside his brain? The next moment, Uchiha Tenchi felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss, and he actually had to activate his Sharingan to break free.

"Uchiha Style: Swordsmanship!" Uchiha Chuan casually picked up a wooden sword and gave it a casual swing, yet in an instant, man and sword became one. The sword light flashed like lightning, splitting the wooden posts around him cleanly in two.

"This... this is simply monstrous!" Uchiha Tenchi was utterly shaken. He had never seen such a heaven-defying genius. Every ninjutsu came naturally to him after one lesson, and once he learned it, he mastered it. He was even stronger than Chunin who had trained for years!

Damn it, what the hell is going on? Why does something unexpected happen every time? It's not like I have the Nine-Tails' chakra interfering with me, so why does everything I don't want to do well end up becoming even more outrageous? Uchiha Chuan wore a bitter expression, his heart filled with misery.

For the Water Dragon Bullet, Uchiha Chuan had originally intended to put in only the tiniest bit of chakra. Who knew that after he farted, his chakra output instantly increased, creating that mighty and imposing result?

The Hell Viewing Technique was the same. Uchiha Chuan had intended for it to fail, but then his eyes suddenly hurt, and his Hell Viewing Technique successfully activated.

As for Uchiha Style: Swordsmanship, Uchiha Chuan had performed normally. He thought that if he performed normally and something unexpected happened, he should make a mistake, right? Yet the unexpected event never came.

Uchiha Chuan was simply speechless. It wasn't as if he had entered some comedy scenario.

"Good? Chuan, you did far too well!" Uchiha Tenchi was so excited he nearly jumped. "Chuan, wait here! I'm going to tell the clan head right away! The Uchiha Clan's future depends on you!"

"Elder, wait!" Uchiha Chuan hurriedly called out to him, though he could not help grumbling inwardly, Again? Does your Uchiha Clan have some kind of illness? The moment a genius appears, you make a huge spectacle of it, like you're afraid nobody will find out?

"What is it?" Uchiha Tenchi stopped and turned back to ask.

"Well... I think it would be better to keep a low profile." Uchiha Chuan spoke with feigned caution. "After all, Konoha has other clans too. If they become jealous of the Uchiha Clan, that wouldn't be good."

"Jealous? Hmph, it wouldn't matter even if they were!" Uchiha Tenchi said dismissively. "How could they possibly compare to the glory of the Uchiha Clan?"

"But..." Uchiha Chuan wanted to persuade him further, but Uchiha Tenchi had already run off in a whirlwind.

"It's over. Danzo is definitely going to have his eye on me now..." Uchiha Chuan sighed helplessly, silently calculating, Looks like I'll have to work a little harder. I can't keep lying low like this. At the very least, I need to make sure that old scheming bastard Danzo doesn't target me.

He looked up at the sky and silently swore, Uchiha Chuan, you're a man who wants to lie low and guard treasure chests! You absolutely can't ruin the plan over such a trivial matter! Starting today, work just a tiny bit harder, then go back to lying low!

"No, that won't do. I've guarded treasure chests for five whole years already. In another five years, it'll be a ten-year Emerald Chest. I absolutely can't stop," Uchiha Chuan said firmly.