Soft

Danzo's identity, along with Hiruzen's tacit approval, might force common families to accept the recruitment offer, but high-ranking clans like the Uchiha and the Hyūga had enough authority to refuse.

Even when it came to ordinary members of their clan, the Uchiha were unwilling to send them to the ruthless Root group, let alone allow Gen Uchiha to be part of it.

"You're too soft, Hiruzen. Don't forget that you're the Hokage. As long as you support me, how could the Uchiha clan oppose?" Danzo frowned with evident annoyance.

He was well aware that both the Uchiha and the Hyūga were highly cautious and rejected Root, but even so, he was unwilling to give up on Gen Uchiha.

Without showing any emotion, Hiruzen responded,

"Forget it, Danzo. A Hokage's duty is to govern the village in the best way possible, not to impose his authority. In conclusion, Gen Uchiha will not join Root."

In reality, he hadn't even considered allowing Gen Uchiha to enter Root.

Root was Danzo's power base, and he knew very well that his very good friend had always coveted his position.

While, due to his personal relationship with him and the usefulness of Root as a tool, he usually stayed out of its development, that only applied as long as Danzo didn't cross certain limits.

But the extraordinary talent that Gen Uchiha had demonstrated clearly exceeded those limits. Just as he had once denied Danzo the opportunity to recruit Kakashi, now he stood firm in his decision.

True exceptional talents had to be under his control. That was an essential skill for any leader.

With Hiruzen's clear stance, the conversation ended in an unresolved disagreement.

After Danzo left in anger, Hiruzen pondered for a few moments before summoning his disciple, Orochimaru.

Although he had thwarted Danzo's attempt to control Gen Uchiha, his attitude toward the young man remained cautious.

Gen was part of the Uchiha clan, an immutable fact.

In that situation, the best way to curb the Uchiha clan's growth was to draw Gen to his own side.

That was the main reason why, at the time, he had allowed Orochimaru to take him as his disciple.

…

Clang Clash

A kunai and a small katana clashed, sending sparks flying with each contact.

In a private training field, two young men fought intensely.

One of them was Gen Uchiha, the owner of the kunai and of the training field itself. His opponent, a young man with a relatively broad nose, seemed two or three years younger than him.

His name was Shisui Uchiha.

At first glance, the fight seemed evenly matched, but with closer observation, the difference in level became evident. More than a battle, it was practical training, and only one of them was truly being tested.

Gen was clearly aiding in the training.

He barely counterattacked. He remained in a defensive stance, effortlessly blocking Shisui's swift katana slashes without needing to move too much.

Noticing that he couldn't find an opening with his swordsmanship, Shisui jumped back after seeing, once again, his strike being easily stopped.

He landed five or six meters away, planted his small katana into the ground, and began performing hand seals at high speed.

Of course, that speed was only impressive for someone his age.

Gen watched as Shisui performed approximately one seal per second, which, for someone of his level, was an eternity. If he had wanted to, he could have interrupted the process at any moment.

But the purpose of this fight was not to win, but to evaluate Shisui's ability. So he simply waited for him to complete his Ninjutsu.

'Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique'

After completing the seals, Shisui took a deep breath and exhaled a blazing fireball several meters in diameter.

The massive incandescent sphere shot toward Gen at high speed, raising the air temperature in its wake and generating intense heat waves.

Shisui's mastery of the Great Fireball was outstanding for his age. His chakra was fire-natured, and executing a C-rank Ninjutsu with such skill at the age of six was clear proof of his talent.

But his opponent was Gen.

Faced with the rapidly advancing fireball, Gen didn't even attempt to dodge.

Instead, he raised his kunai and slashed in the direction of the fiery sphere.

At that moment, the kunai became enveloped in an intense concentration of fire-natured chakra, forming a blade of flames along its edge.

Shraaak

With a single slash, the flame-wrapped blade split the enormous fireball in two.

The separated halves passed by on either side of Gen, charring the ground in their wake.

"He… cut my Great Fireball?!"

On the other side, Shisui gasped, his face drenched in sweat, unable to hide his disbelief.

When the flames finally dissipated, Gen lowered his kunai and looked at Shisui, who could barely stay on his feet.

"What's wrong? Have you reached your limit?"

Shisui wiped his forehead with his arm, clearing away the sweat threatening to get into his eyes.

"Yeah… I can't go on," he admitted with a sigh. "Cousin, you're too strong. Right now, I have no strength or chakra left. If I keep fighting, I'll just end up completely exhausted…"

Resigned, he pulled his small katana from the ground and approached Gen with a bitter smile.

No matter how much of a genius someone was, the body's limits were inescapable.

The exhaustion of stamina and chakra was a reality that couldn't be ignored.

Unlike the Senju or the Uzumaki, the Uchiha clan did not possess immense vitality. Their physical capability only slightly surpassed that of an average person.

At his age, even with his talent and dedication, Shisui's stamina and chakra barely reached the level of a Genin.

________

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