Those Damn Uchiha Elders Are So Idle

"Clan Head Fugaku, have you heard? That kid Uchiha Chuan learns any ninjutsu the moment he sees it. He's practically a monster!" Elder Uchiha Aoki hobbled hurriedly into the clan head's office on his cane, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out with excitement.

"I heard, I heard!" Fugaku Uchiha set down the scroll in his hand, a glint of excitement flashing through his eyes. "Elder Tekka already reported it to me. I was just about to inspect him personally and see just how monstrous that kid really is!"

"An inspection? Perfect. Then us old fellows will come along too!" Second Elder Uchiha En pushed open the door and strode in, followed by Third Elder Uchiha Gen. Both wore expressions of expectation and doubt.

"You heard too?" Fugaku Uchiha raised an eyebrow.

"With something this big, how could we not?" Uchiha En snorted. "They say that kid Uchiha Chuan can even perform the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu successfully on his first try, and it's quite powerful too. I want to see whether he's really that incredible!"

"Let's go. Enough nonsense," Uchiha Gen said coldly. "Whether he's the real deal or not, we'll know once we put him to the test."

Thus, Fugaku Uchiha led the three elders to the training ground in grand fashion. Uchiha Chuan was sitting beneath a tree, idly flipping through a scroll.

"Chuan, come here!" Fugaku Uchiha beckoned, his tone carrying a trace of authority.

Uchiha Chuan raised his head and saw the four bigwigs standing before him in a neat row. He was instantly speechless. Again? Are you people from the Uchiha Clan really that bored?

"Clan Head, Elders, is something the matter?" Uchiha Chuan rose to his feet and asked with feigned respect.

"We heard that you master ninjutsu as soon as you learn it, so we came specifically to inspect you." Fugaku Uchiha got straight to the point. "Come, show us."

"Show you?" Uchiha Chuan rolled his eyes inwardly, though he put on a troubled expression. "Clan Head, I only learned them casually. There's nothing special about it..."

"Enough nonsense!" Uchiha En impatiently cut him off. "If we tell you to demonstrate, then demonstrate! Why are you talking so much?"

"Fine..." Uchiha Chuan sighed helplessly, grumbling inwardly. Damn it, every last one of you is treating me like a monkey. Whatever, I've already exposed myself anyway. There's no hiding it now. If you want to watch, then watch!

He walked to the center of the training ground, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Fire Release: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Boom! A massive fireball burst from his mouth, instantly turning the open ground ahead into scorched earth.

"Not bad, not bad!" Fugaku Uchiha nodded, a hint of approval flashing through his eyes.

"One more!" Uchiha Aoki said with a smile, leaning on his cane.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Uchiha Chuan waved a hand, and an enormous water dragon soared into the sky, smashing a distant boulder to pieces.

"Genjutsu: Hell Viewing Technique!" With merely a casual glance from Uchiha Chuan, Uchiha Aoki felt as if he had fallen into an endless abyss.

"Uchiha Style: Swordsmanship!" Uchiha Chuan casually picked up a wooden sword. His blade flashed like lightning, instantly cleaving the surrounding wooden posts in half.

"This... this is simply monstrous!" Uchiha Aoki's voice trembled with excitement. "Chuan, you are truly the hope of the Uchiha!"

"He has the potential to surpass Madara Uchiha!" Uchiha Gen said coldly, though a trace of fanaticism flashed through his eyes.

"The Uchiha's rise is just around the corner!" Uchiha En clenched his fists, his face full of excitement.

Uchiha Chuan looked at the fanatical elders and felt speechless. He could not help reminding them, "Clan Head, Elders, what if... what if I fail to grow strong?"

"Fail to grow strong?" Fugaku Uchiha's expression instantly turned cold. "Then that only proves you are nothing special!"

"That's right!" Uchiha En snorted. "The glory of the Uchiha has no need for trash!"

"If you cannot become a pillar of the Uchiha, then you can only be eliminated." Uchiha Gen's voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.

Uchiha Chuan was stunned. He had not expected these elders to be so cold and ruthless. He had originally planned to work a little harder and meet their expectations, but now it seemed these people were not worth any effort from him at all.

"Fine, I understand." Uchiha Chuan lowered his head, a cold smile curling at his lips. "In that case, I'll stay far away from you."

Over the next few days, Uchiha Chuan's life became a true "trial by fire."

Within the Uchiha Clan, news that he was a "super genius of the new generation" spread through the clan like wildfire. Even the other clans and shinobi of Konoha heard Uchiha Chuan's name. After all, geniuses of the Uchiha Clan had always been the focus of the Shinobi World.

After clan elders such as Uchiha Setsuna and Uchiha Tekka came calling one after another, other Uchiha shinobi also began visiting to see him for themselves. They circled around Uchiha Chuan as though he were some rare animal, occasionally throwing out tricky questions to test him.

"Uchiha Chuan, I heard you began teaching yourself ninjutsu at the age of three? Come, show me your Fire Release: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." A certain Uchiha Jonin narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a hint of scrutiny.

Uchiha Chuan cursed inwardly. Every last one of you is really treating me like a monkey! Yet outwardly, he could only grit his teeth and form hand seals, putting on a show as he spat out a tiny flame and barely muddled through. There was no helping it; his dead, worthless parents had owed too many favors, and he had to repay them.

"Mm, not bad. Though the flames are a little small, your chakra control is very precise." The Uchiha Jonin nodded, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Uchiha Chuan sighed in relief, but before he could recover, some Uchiha captain crowded over. "I heard you get up at three in the morning to train? It's good for young people to have perseverance, but you must take care of your health too. Come, let me see how good your taijutsu is."

"Taijutsu?!" Uchiha Chuan nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. How did he know any taijutsu? But under the blazing gaze of that Uchiha captain, he could only grit his teeth, assume a stance, and throw a few random punches.

"Mm, the movements are a little clumsy, but your bearing is good. You have potential." The Uchiha captain patted Uchiha Chuan on the shoulder, his tone full of encouragement.

Clearly, their purpose was the opposite of the clan elders'. They did not want Uchiha Chuan to truly excel, so once they saw that he was only a little better than an ordinary student, they were immediately satisfied.

Uchiha Chuan was speechless. Are you old guys really that bored? Running over one by one to torment a young comrade like me—no martial virtue at all. You'd better behave yourselves!

However, this was only the "testing" within the Uchiha Clan. What gave Uchiha Chuan an even bigger headache was that the old schemer Shimura Danzō had actually set his sights on him. Of course, Uchiha Chuan did not know that yet.

Indeed, the day after Uchiha Chuan completed the clan head's test, Shimura Danzō went straight to the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi's office and bluntly said, "Hiruzen, I want that brat Uchiha Chuan."

Hiruzen Sarutobi was smoking his pipe and nearly choked when he heard that. He looked up at Danzo with a speechless expression. "You want Uchiha Chuan? On what grounds? He belongs to the Uchiha Clan. Do you think Fugaku Uchiha would agree?"

Danzo snorted, his tone carrying a trace of disdain. "A genius of the Uchiha Clan would only be wasted in their hands. Give him to me, and I will certainly train him into Konoha's sharpest weapon."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and sighed. "Danzo, give it up. We cannot interfere in the Uchiha Clan's affairs. You want someone? Dream on!"

Danzo's face turned livid after being choked by Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, but in the end, he said nothing more. He merely coldly left behind, "Hiruzen, you will regret this," before turning and leaving the Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Danzo's departing back and helplessly shook his head. "I'm the Hokage."

Meanwhile, Uchiha Chuan's days became harder and harder. He felt as though he were being roasted over a fire, liable to be burned into charcoal at any moment.

"Damn it, now I'm really being watched like a hawk..." Uchiha Chuan sat in his courtyard and sighed toward the sky. He had only wanted to quietly take it easy and secretly grow stronger with the system, but now the Uchiha Clan had placed great expectations on him, and even an old schemer like Shimura Danzō had his eyes on him.

"No, I need to think of something. I can't keep going like this." Uchiha Chuan gritted his teeth and began calculating in secret.

Just then, Obito Uchiha suddenly popped up over the wall and shouted excitedly, "Uchiha Chuan! I came to train with you! Didn't you say hard work can defeat genius? I'll prove to you that I can do it too!"

Uchiha Chuan looked at Obito's face filled with fighting spirit and felt utterly powerless. Obito, Obito... do you know that all I want to do right now is take it easy...?

Yet faced with Obito's enthusiasm, Uchiha Chuan could only agree through gritted teeth. "Fine, then let's train together."

"Great!" Obito excitedly jumped down, grabbed Uchiha Chuan, and dragged him toward the training ground.

As Obito pulled him along, Uchiha Chuan wept silently inside. When will this miserable life of mine ever end...?