"Is there anything you want to say to me?"
"It's incredible. Really incredible. It doesn't hurt at all anymore!"
"Big Brother Yoru, can I teach this to other people?"
"No."
"…Why?"
"If it's something this good, why can't we teach it to the clan?"
"Because they're not geniuses."
"And you are."
"…Huh?"
"I won't hide it from you. I came up with this whole set of techniques myself. Shisui, I'm only eighteen. Do you really think I can guarantee this set of techniques is flawless?"
"…Probably not."
"What do you mean 'probably'? It's absolutely impossible for it to be perfect. There are definitely a lot of flaws in it. A genius can rely on talent to skip over the dangerous parts, avoid the harm, and still enjoy the benefits."
"But can ordinary shinobi do that?"
Stunned, Shisui shook his head.
I'm a genius… and that's actually a problem?
"Think about it again. If I taught this to others right now, and parents heard it was a cultivation method invented by an eighteen-year-old chunin, which father or mother would trust me enough to let their child practice it?"
Shisui went completely blank.
So I'm the test subject?
"That's why, if this set of techniques is ever going to spread, it needs a genius like you. You can find the flaws during training and improve them. You can make a name for yourself in the future and prove to everyone that these chakra techniques work. Only then can they truly spread."
"…Alright. I'll work hard."
Shisui looked like he wanted to cry.
No matter how he thought about it, somehow he was the one carrying everything in the end.
He was only four years old.
But what Uchiha Yoru had taught him was the real thing.
Shisui had only practiced it for three days, yet even this young genius could already feel the benefits clearly.
No pain.
Comfortable.
Rapid improvement.
Perfect.
And yet—
He had been convinced by Yoru.
There had to be flaws.
There had to be problems.
He just had to find them, fix them, and then one day spread the technique so that both the Uchiha clan and Konoha's shinobi could become stronger.
Burdened with a sense of mission, Uchiha Shisui was now full of energy.
He trained with even greater enthusiasm.
On the river, Shinichi ran back and forth while rapidly swinging a short blade in his hand, simulating combat on water and strengthening his water-walking.
Rin, meanwhile, held a thick medical textbook in her arms. While reading and memorizing, she walked slowly across the churning surface of the river. This was her enhanced training mode.
An hour and a half later—
Uchiha Obito came running back, drenched in sweat.
Though "running" was generous.
He was moving slower than walking.
But—
He was moving.
Having just finished one stage of training and currently resting, Shisui was the first to notice him. He hurriedly stood, intending to go help support him—
Then suddenly remembered Yoru's words.
"When Obito comes back, you'll be able to see his talent."
Shisui focused.
Opened his eyes wide.
And within seconds—
He saw it.
He remembered clearly that when Obito had left, despite being full of stamina, the weight had thrown off his posture. His running had been crooked and unstable.
But now—
Though his stamina was nearly exhausted and every step looked difficult—
His torso was upright like a pine tree.
Straight.
But not stiff.
No matter what his legs were doing, his body stayed perfectly stable, rising and falling without wasted motion.
This was the ideal posture for weighted shinobi running.
Shisui knew it well.
But he had only mastered it after direct guidance from Fugaku, spending more than an hour learning the basics, then practicing in private for a long time until it became habit.
Obito, on the other hand, had received no instruction at all.
And yet after only an hour and a half—
He had already turned it into instinct.
No thinking.
No conscious control.
Just natural execution.
This talent—
Really was even greater than his own.
Then how had someone like this ended up with a reputation in the clan as a fool?
"Surprised by Obito's reputation?"
"Yes. A talent like this…"
"No."
"He really is an idiot."
"In all the factors needed to bring out talent, personality is more decisive than talent itself. You should already understand Obito's personality by now. Too many thoughts, no firmness, no persistence. Someone like that can never truly achieve anything."
When saying this, Uchiha Yoru had to use every ounce of self-control he had to stop himself from turning his head toward Rin's direction.
Shisui acknowledged the importance of personality.
But he had a different opinion on the conclusion.
After all, he had personally watched Yoru skillfully manipulate Obito, forcing him through effective training with all kinds of methods and producing astonishing progress.
"I think Big Brother Yoru has done very well. Big Brother Obito is being trained very well by you…"
Uchiha Yoru smiled smugly.
Then shook his head with certainty.
"Shisui, remember this: no matter how large a mountain is, it can still be moved. But a person's character doesn't change."
"My control over Obito has limits. He's almost at the point where he'll explode and completely give up."
"Getting stronger is something you always rely on your own persistence for. How can it ever be forced out by someone else?"
Of course, the real problem was that Obito's nature was too selfish.
And he was an ungrateful white-eyed wolf.
How could Uchiha Yoru waste time and effort trying to change someone like that?
Even using Rin as leverage—
Did Obito really love Rin?
There was an old saying: love the house and its crow.
And yet Obito, who kept insisting he loved Rin, could destroy the village Rin gave her life for without blinking.
Maybe he believed Konoha was guilty in her death, and in his rage destroyed it, while also creating conditions for some imagined future where he and Rin could be together.
It was a strained explanation.
But at least it barely made sense.
What Uchiha Yoru truly could not understand was this:
After gaining so many absurd abilities—
Especially after obtaining the Rinnegan and becoming Six Paths Obito—
Why had he never once attempted to revive Rin?
Why had he instead thrown himself entirely into that ridiculous plan to be with her in an illusion?
What Obito wanted—
Was it really Rin?
Or just a puppet called Rin, existing only inside his fantasy and loving only him?
The more one thought about it—
The more terrifying it became.
But none of that could be said to Shisui.
So Yoru only explained:
"Obito is lazy and stubborn. Unless something truly catastrophic happens—something bad enough to flip his personality upside down—there's no hope for him."
"And how tragic would that kind of suffering have to be?"
"Honestly… he's better off staying like this."
With that, Yoru walked over, shooed away the nervous Rin, and personally checked Obito's condition.
He discovered that the brat still had plenty of strength left.
So he pointed at the equipment that had already been prepared and said:
"If you're a man, get up. One hundred weighted squats."
In front of the girl he secretly loved, Obito didn't back down.
Cursing Uchiha Yoru in his heart, he followed the instructions and completed one set after another of equipment training, squeezing out every last trace of strength until he finally collapsed on the ground and could no longer get up.
Only then was Uchiha Yoru satisfied.
He grabbed Obito by the collar and dragged him to the riverbank.
Amid everyone's startled cries—
He threw him out over the river.
Yoru's strength was great. Obito's small body flew far.
Far enough that the water beneath him was absolutely deep enough to drown him.
"Murder—! Ah—ah? Ah!"
"I did it! I can stand on the river!"
"I can really stand! I'm amazing!"
"Hahaha! Uchiha Yoru, I finished the training! I'm ending training right now! You can't torture me anymore! Hahaha!"
Uchiha Yoru spread his hands toward Shisui.
"See?"
"Didn't he explode?"
"Didn't he immediately start slacking off?"
Shisui had nothing to say.
All he could do was sigh inwardly at the waste of such talent—
And warn himself that he absolutely must not make the same mistake.
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