Geniuses All Look Alike

Madara Uchiha opened his mouth, too stunned to say a word.

Seriously, was this big brother out of his mind?!

Sure, he had brushed off his father's words, but he had never actually intended to rebel against him.

Why was this guy even responding to that?!

If their faces hadn't looked so much alike, he would have wondered whether his father had mistaken someone else for his son.

"Big Brother looks so much like Madara." Uchiha Izuna had kept his attention fixed on their big brother who had appeared out of nowhere and his own older brother. He found that the two were alike in both personality and looks, but neither resembled their father. "They look even more alike than my brother and I do."

He had already asked around. Their big brother had a different mother, yet he still looked so much like Madara.

What did that mean?

It meant they were brothers by blood.

Whether they shared a mother didn't matter.

"Izuna, focus on your book." Madara Uchiha cut Izuna off before he could continue and patted his head reassuringly, then said apologetically, "Sorry. Izuna didn't mean anything by it."

Indra stared at Madara Uchiha. This lump of chakra did seem to resemble him more, but the third generation of chakra had looked more like Izuna.

No, that definitely wasn't a reincarnation of my chakra. It was impurities expelled by the second generation of chakra.

He would never acknowledge that as his chakra.

"Perhaps all geniuses look somewhat alike!"

Indra readily accepted the label of genius. People had called him that since he was little.

The corner of Madara Uchiha's mouth twitched. He just... didn't know what to say.

Still, being recognized as a genius made him happy. Somehow, it felt different from when his father praised him as one.

"So... are we rebelling? With Big Brother's strength, we could do it anytime. And with Madara winning over the clansmen of our generation, there'd be no problem at all."

Uchiha Xing's eyes sparkled. Take their father down and put their brother in charge, and their lives would be much more comfortable.

Indra: ... There was a reason those two died young.

Madara Uchiha: ... Father must have scolded those two again.

Uchiha Izuna: ... My two older brothers' brains are broken.

Uchiha Tajima, spying from the shadows: ... Those two little brats need a beating.

Setting aside the fact that Black Zetsu had deceived him, Indra considered himself reasonably intelligent. Why were so many of his descendants idiots?

"Xing, if we rebel now, the elders will punish us." Izuna felt that something was wrong with his two brothers' heads, but he didn't dare say so.

"We can kidnap their sons and make them submit first." Uchiha Yue already had an idea. Whoever rebelled against their father, he would join in the fun. Mostly, he just enjoyed the thrill of the challenge.

Madara Uchiha couldn't bear to watch anymore. He was a little embarrassed, too. On their big brother's very first day here, he had discovered that their brothers weren't normal. That put Madara in an awkward position.

He hid his face behind the old book in his hands, then noticed a jutsu inside. After reading it twice without understanding it, he moved over to Indra to change the subject. "This one."

Indra glanced at it. Yes, it was a draft he had written while creating ninjutsu. He held out his hand and gathered chakra, forming a flame in his palm. Different hand seals produced different jutsu: lightning, water, wind...

"You gather chakra to unleash power, using different hand positions. These positions are called seals, and the phenomena they produce are called jutsu. Today's jutsu require too many hand seals, which greatly limits their effectiveness."

Indra explained everything to Madara Uchiha in detail, from the invention of jutsu to the principles behind seals, then how to create different jutsu using those seals. He also pointed out the advantages and shortcomings of existing jutsu, and how to replace several seals with a single one.

Not only did Madara Uchiha listen intently, but the other younger brothers did as well. Izuna even took out a little notebook to write it all down, eager to create ninjutsu himself.

Even Uchiha Tajima, who was spying from hiding, listened closely.

It was basic, but very practical.

Rather than simply having them extract chakra, handing them a ninjutsu, and telling them to perform it by following the listed seals, he explained why each jutsu required each seal, and how to replace complex seal sequences with fewer seals to perform the same jutsu.

By the end of the explanation, Madara Uchiha had gained a deeper understanding of his big brother. His understanding of jutsu had already surpassed their father's.

"Big Brother, Big Brother! I created a jutsu while listening to your lesson. Can you check whether it'll work?" Izuna held his little notebook out to Indra.

Madara Uchiha also watched Indra expectantly, inwardly praising Izuna for being clever.

Indra glanced at it. The idea was good, but it was too complicated. He altered a few seals, reducing several dozen to five, then handed it back to Izuna. "This will save chakra. You should just barely be able to perform this jutsu. Go try it."

He now had a little more patience for Izuna. The boy could be taught, and he had a touch of Indra's own flair.

Indra disappeared from the room with the Body Flicker Technique. Madara Uchiha grabbed Izuna and followed close behind. As for the other two, they disliked training. He could simply protect them himself.

When they reached the estate's training ground, Indra was already waiting. Once they had all arrived, he formed hand seals slowly enough for them to see, and a tornado of fire swept across the training ground.

Madara Uchiha followed right after him, successfully performing the ninjutsu as well.

"It's suited to large-scale battlefields. Otherwise, it's just a waste of chakra." Indra gave the fire tornado a fair assessment.

Seeing that the fire tornadoes were about to burn the trees, he unleashed a Water Release jutsu and extinguished both techniques.

"As expected of my son. Your talent amazes me." Uchiha Tajima couldn't help applauding. With talent like this, how could the Uchiha fail to defeat the Senju? "Xia, the Senju stationed in the Land of Lightning have been constantly harassing the Uchiha lately. I intend to send you to deal with it. Madara has been to our outpost there, so he'll go with you."

"The Senju have an outpost in the Land of Lightning? Hah. You've opened my eyes to just how utterly useless you are."

He was disappointed that an unfilial descendant like Uchiha Tajima had become clan head, and not merely because of his children.

Back then, no matter how fiercely he and Asura fought, he had never allowed Asura's line to set foot in his territory. Yet this man had let the Senju openly establish an outpost on Uchiha land.

"Bastard! Don't think I won't dare kill you just because I'm your son!"

Uchiha Tajima was enraged by that mocking tone, though much of it came from losing face in front of his sons.

His younger sons at least knew better. They knew to rush over and hold him back at a moment like this, keeping him from losing face completely.

"Hmph. I'm ashamed to have a descendant like you. If you have the ability, you're welcome to try anytime. Have someone deliver the intelligence to my room."

Indra thought the man was quite self-aware, knowing he was an unfilial son. He didn't hold his rudeness against him. After all, beating him to death would be pointless. Better to put him to good use and have him kill a few more useless members of Asura's line.

Only then did Uchiha Tajima realize that anger had made him misspeak.

Seeing Indra leave at an unhurried pace, Madara Uchiha let go of his father. He had a feeling that going on a mission with this big brother would be anything but peaceful.