Konoha: Starting by giving Hinata the Tenseigan!

Uchiha Compound, Fugaku's Residence;

"Sasuke has been very down since he came back from school. He's been holed up in his room all afternoon.

"Maybe I should go check on him."

In the living room, Mikoto spoke to Fugaku.

"Hmph, he's an Uchiha, yet he's letting one setback get to him like this. Let him be."

Fugaku said with an impassive face.

"But you have to consider who he was up against. I heard that in the exam, his opponent's jutsu flattened the school and the mountain in the back. You saw that huge explosion in the sky, how could Sasuke possibly win against that?

"Sasuke did very well. His overall grades in class are consistently second. And in this exam, I heard he performed the Great Fireball Jutsu."

Mikoto tirelessly recounted Sasuke's strengths.

"Don't spread rumors like those commoners. It wasn't that exaggerated. That Yuhi kid just collapsed the Academy's lab building, that's all."

"That's still impressive! He's a monster. Could you do that at his age? You were just a blockhead back then, not even as skilled as our Sasuke."

"Enough, you should go check on the child."

HEY!, dredging up the past is going too far. 

He was indeed quite dull when he was young, but thankfully his strength grew explosively later on.

Fugaku blushed, waving his hand to interrupt Mikoto's nagging.

Sigh, after women have children, most of their love goes to them.

Mikoto happily agreed and went to knock on Sasuke's door.

"What are you doing, Sasuke? I heard you successfully performed the Great Fireball Jutsu this morning. Well done!"

Creak~~

"Mother, can we not talk about this morning?"

Sasuke opened the door listlessly.

"What's wrong? You look so down in the dumps? This isn't like you."

Although she knew what was going on, Mikoto wouldn't say it directly.

Letting the child speak for himself would help him relieve the pressure he felt.

"This morning, I had a match, and..."

"Forget it, don't mention it. Mother, are some geniuses truly insurmountable?"

Sasuke was exhausted. 

It was like this with his brother, and now with Natsuki too.

He had always looked up to his brother as a role model, but he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up.

He finally found an interesting peer. 

He couldn't compare to his brother, but surpassing Natsuki should be a piece of cake, right?

The result? the Great Fireball Jutsu he had worked so hard to learn was just a joke in front of Natsuki's.

Can anyone understand what this kind of blow would do to a child's psyche?

"No, as long as you work hard, you can catch up to anyone one day. Actually, Sasuke, you are a genius yourself."

Mikoto stroked her son's head and encouraged him with a smile.

"Mother, don't comfort me. How can a true genius lose to others? Like my brother, like Father, they were both the strongest among their peers from the very beginning."

Mikoto curled her lips.

"You're wrong. Your father was very clumsy when he was little. Let alone his peers, even Hiashi, who is a few years younger than him, and Minato were much stronger than him.

"But now, not to mention Minato, Hiashi is definitely not as strong as your father."

Mikoto seemed to recall some childhood memories, a reminiscent gleam in her eyes.

The more she spoke, the happier she became, constantly revealing embarrassing stories from Fugaku's childhood.

"Really? Don't lie to me."

Sasuke's eyes lit up.

Every child loves to hear stories about their parents, and Sasuke was no exception.

Only a certain outwardly cold but inwardly warm father, hiding outside the door, was covered in black lines.

Why are you dragging me through the mud for comforting our child?

"Our village actually has many geniuses who were exceptionally outstanding when they were young but gradually faded into obscurity as they grew up."

"Some even graduated from the Academy at 5, became Chunin at 6, and Jonin at 12. But later on, their strength stagnated for a long time, and they never had any outstanding achievements.

"So, some people may take the lead for a while because of their good foundation, but they may not be able to lead the whole way. There are too many geniuses who come from behind.

"Only those who persevere and strive to catch up can better complete the entire journey. By then, when you look back, many people who used to run ahead of you will have been left far behind without you even realizing it..."

Mikoto gently persuaded, her eyes filled with maternal warmth.

"Thank you, Mother! I understand."

Sasuke nodded, the flame of fighting spirit rekindled in his eyes.

"I'll go practice now. I definitely won't let him stay ahead of me forever."

Sasuke kept his word and immediately bid farewell to his mother.

Full of passion, he ran towards the lake dedicated to training the Uchiha's Great Fireball technique.

He had completely mastered the Great Fireball Jutsu.

But compared to Natsuki's Super Invincible Thunderbolt Fireball, it was still far behind.

Moreover, Sasuke looked at the reflection of his one-tomoe Sharingan in the lake.

He clearly remembered that scene; Natsuki didn't even need hand seals for that jutsu.

He just had to shout.

If he can do it, I can definitely do it too.

And the Uchiha were experts at fire style. 

As long as he mastered this jutsu, he was confident that he could surpass Natsuki in its use.

So~~ let's begin!

First!

"Hey~~ Ha!"

Sasuke clapped his hands together, his expression solemn:

"Ninjutsu: Super Invincible Thunderbolt Fireball!"

A moment later.

"Aaah~~"

Apart from a few startled crows flying away, there was no movement at all.

Sure enough, such a powerful jutsu wouldn't be easy to master.

Even Natsuki, who developed this jutsu, shouted twice.

And...

When he successfully used it, his shout was exceptionally loud.

Very energetic!

Just like that.

Sasuke felt that he had grasped the essentials.

This time, he took a moment to prepare himself.

"Hey~~ Ha!!!!!!!"

Sasuke slammed his hands together, his mouth opened to its limit, drawing out the "Ha~~~" sound.

"Ninjutsu: Super Invincible Thunderbolt Fireball!!!!!!!"

He was very energetic!

The sound traveled far, from the lakeside to the entire Uchiha compound.

In the woods by the lake, two parents who were secretly watching Sasuke's movements had their faces covered in black lines.

Fugaku glanced at his wife: "This is the result of your guidance?"

"Hmph! Isn't he at the very least, energetic? Much better than before."

Mikoto retorted, her slender fingers gently pinching the soft flesh on her husband's waist:

"It must be because you put too much pressure on the child. You're not allowed to do this anymore..."