Jie Uchiha almost laughed out loud as he watched Itachi—the future legend of the ninja world—clumsily practicing Wind Release hand seals, one by one, in front of him.
As for why he didn't teach the Uchiha clan's signature Fire Release? Jie felt he didn't even need to bother. Wasn't Fire Release something an Uchiha could learn just by watching it once?
However, it was exactly because of this that Jie finally understood what a true genius of this world looked like.
Born with Fire, Wind, Water, Yin, and Yang chakra natures, Itachi's learning speed for any jutsu outside of Earth and Lightning Release was simply explosive. Jie clearly remembered that when he first demonstrated Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere, it took Itachi a mere three minutes to successfully master it.
Jie marveled at such terrifying talent. He had learned his jutsu through the System's direct infusion, bypassing the need to study entirely. Itachi, however, didn't have a cheat ability; mastering these techniques relied purely on his own monstrous aptitude.
-March, Year 49 of Konoha.
In the dense forest of the Hidden Leaf's back mountain, two figures flashed past each other.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
One of them rapidly formed hand seals. With a low shout, an air cannon blasted outward.
"Your hand seal speed isn't bad, but it's still too slow." The other figure easily sidestepped the Vacuum Sphere. The attack vanished into the forest, piercing through several thick tree trunks.
"Let your big brother teach you what true hand sealing looks like!" Jie taunted. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A massive water dragon instantly materialized, hurtling forward with a silent, ferocious roar.
"Oh no!"
Seeing the sun-blotting water dragon, Itachi's pupils shrank, but it was too late to dodge. This was the tactical advantage of Water Release jutsu. While its single-target lethality might not always be the highest, its massive area of effect made it nearly impossible to evade—unless you were the Second Hokage, of course.
Itachi instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself. Yet, after waiting for a long moment, the devastating impact never came.
He cautiously opened his eyes to see what had happened, only for a tiny stream of water to splash directly onto his face. From a distance, the massive water dragon hovered suspended in the air. Its gaping maw acted like a showerhead, dispensing a pathetic little spout of water that thoroughly soaked the young boy beneath it.
"Brother, that's enough!"
"Hahaha!"
With a burst of laughter, the giant water dragon dissipated into the air, leaving the two brothers standing in the clearing.
"Alright Jie, ....Itachi, stop playing around and come take a break," a soft voice called out.
"Coming!"
Stepping out of the treeline into the golden sunlight, they saw a young girl cradling a baby, smiling warmly at them.
"Thanks for your hard work, Izumi," Jie Uchiha said with a grin.
With his recent plans successfully executed, Jie finally had some rare free time. Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, he had planned to take Izumi Uchiha on a pleasant date to the back mountain. Unfortunately, just as they were stepping out the door, they bumped into Itachi and baby Sasuke. At Itachi's insistence, Jie had no choice but to drag the two third wheels along.
The skirmish just now was nothing more than Jie and Itachi's routine daily spar.
Little Sasuke, safely tucked in Izumi's arms, excitedly clapped his chubby hands upon seeing Jie and Itachi approach, babbling happy, meaningless syllables.
Itachi, who had been sulking about the water dragon prank a moment ago, immediately had his doting brother instincts triggered by the adorable sight. Tossing his annoyance out the window, he bounded over to Sasuke in three quick steps.
"Little brother, it's your big brother!"
After eagerly taking Sasuke from Izumi, Itachi was entirely distracted. Taking the cue, Jie led Izumi away for a quiet stroll.
"Days like this are so nice," Izumi sighed softly as they walked side by side. "It would be great if things could always be like this in the future."
"They can. They definitely will," Jie promised with a reassuring smile. "With me around, life for the Uchiha clan is only going to get better."
"Yeah, it's so good to have you here!" she beamed.
Following the completion of the new clan compound, Jie had taken the Sarutobi clan's secret medicinal formula—a reward generated by the System—and handed it over to the Uchiha elders for mass production. Historically, this lucrative formula had been strictly monopolized by the Sarutobi for over a century. Now, manufactured under the Uchiha banner, it had instantly captured half of the Hidden Leaf's medical market, raking in a massive profit.
Armed with this extra income, Jie enacted sweeping, bold reforms to drastically elevate the welfare of the Uchiha clan members. Because of these new policies, the expensive medical treatments and herbs required for Izumi's grandmother were now entirely subsidized by the clan. This lifted a crushing financial burden off Izumi's shoulders.
There were many others in the clan who benefited just like Izumi. Jie's tactical generosity not only greatly strengthened the internal cohesion of the Uchiha clan, but also triggered a prompt in his vision:
[Ding! Reward Received: +20 Prestige Points. Sharingan Visual Prowess Enhanced.]
After enjoying a leisurely walk around the area, Jie and Izumi slowly made their way back to their original spot.
As Itachi played with little Sasuke, he glanced up to see Jie and Izumi strolling toward him, bathed in the warm sunlight. For some reason, looking at the two of them together made a strange sensation settle over his heart.
Specifically, he felt a sudden, inexplicable heaviness pressing down on his head—as if he had just realized he was the world's biggest third wheel.