"Nani?"
"How is this possible?!"
"Did he really succeed?"
"The Great Fireball Technique is notoriously difficult for genin to master. How could an idiot like Fenghuo..."
"Idiot, why are you still standing there? Run!"
The moment they saw the approaching fireball, the Uchiha children snapped out of their stupor. Panic-stricken, they shrieked and jumped aside, tumbling clumsily to the ground, their movements a complete mess.
BOOM!
The fireball struck, and a surging heatwave blasted outward, carrying faint embers that singed the nearby Uchiha children, making them cry out in pain.
On the ground, Uchiha Obito lay stunned, staring at Fenghuo as if he had just witnessed an alien invasion, his face full of disbelief, suspicion, and shock — layer upon layer of confusion!
The jutsu had cost Fenghuo roughly a third of his chakra reserves, and his face had gone pale. At the same time, the boiling anger inside him seemed to cool, and the violent surge in his pupils — the side effects of his emerging Sharingan — faded.
Opening his eyes coldly, Fenghuo looked at the Uchiha children sprawled on the ground, their bodies marked by burns and their faces twisted in pain.
"Just now... who hit the ground first?" Fenghuo stepped forward, his voice low and cold. After releasing such a powerful Fire Style jutsu, even at his young age, he now carried an undeniable aura of intimidation.
"Fenghuo, you—how could you possibly learn the Great Fireball Technique?!"
"He must have cheated! There's no way he could have done it for real!"
"Damn it! How can I lose to someone like him—ah!"
Before the boy could finish, Fenghuo gave him a vicious kick, sending him flying and landing painfully like a stray dog.
"Fenghuo, that's enough." Obito struggled to sit up, not wanting Fenghuo to cause even bigger trouble for himself.
"Enough? Are you kidding?" sneered a proud Uchiha boy, getting to his feet and glaring coldly. "Uchiha Fenghuo, don't think you're something special just because you used the Great Fireball! Hmph! My father is the vice-captain of the Konoha Military Police Force. Just wait! Attacking clan members on the street with Fire Style... you're finished!"
At these words, Fenghuo frowned slightly, but he showed no fear. He had already made his move—there was no point in backing down now.
"Relying on your father's position... that's what real trash looks like," Fenghuo said lightly, and without another word, kicked the boy flat onto his back again.
"Uchiha Fenghuo, you bastard!" The boy—whose name was Uchiha Rakuna—scrambled up, his body covered in dust. Clenching his fists tightly, veins bulged on his arms as he shouted, "Remember this! My name is Uchiha Rakuna! One day, I will defeat you completely!"
"Let's go!" Rakuna barked at the other children.
The Uchiha brats who had been rolling on the ground, still whimpering from their burns, quickly staggered to their feet. Casting fearful glances at Fenghuo, they followed Rakuna, leaving in a miserable retreat.
Fenghuo narrowed his eyes. More and more adults were starting to gather, and if he continued causing a scene, it might escalate into serious trouble. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind beating those brats until they cried for their mothers.
Still... Uchiha Rakuna, huh? Heh. When we meet again at the Academy next term, you'd better pray you've grown up a little.
"Obito, are you alright?"
Fenghuo bent down to help Uchiha Obito to his feet. After a quick inspection, he found that while Obito looked battered and pathetic, his most serious injury was just a missing tooth. The rest were just scrapes and bruises—not even worth a hospital trip.
That's right — they were just a bunch of kids. Even if they ganged up, the real damage they could do was limited.
Fenghuo sighed in relief.
"Damn it, I lost a tooth," grumbled Obito. He shoved the pack of meat he was carrying into Fenghuo's hands and crouched to look for the missing tooth, picking it up carefully as if it were some kind of treasure.
"Don't worry. You're only six — your adult teeth will grow in soon," Fenghuo consoled him.
"I hope so... but—Fenghuo, are you hiding something from me? That Fire Style just now... what the heck was that?" Obito's eyes practically sparkled green with envy.
He yearned for strength—he craved recognition.
Until now, Fenghuo's grades had only been slightly better than Obito's at the Academy. There was no way someone at that level could use the Great Fireball Technique!
"Cough!" Fenghuo faked a cough, then pointed at the growing crowd of onlookers and said, "Let's talk at home."
"Fine, but you have to tell me everything!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Fenghuo waved him off.
At the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters, the report about the incident sped through the chain of command and quickly reached the top brass.
"Uchiha Fenghuo? That name sounds familiar," mused Uchiha Yamano, the Police Force captain, rubbing his chin as he read the report. "A six-year-old successfully performing the Great Fireball Technique... Could it be another genius? Hah, I didn't master it until I was nine."
"Fugaku!" Yamano barked toward the door.
"Yes, sir!"
Uchiha Fugaku quickly entered, bowing respectfully. He had briefly encountered Fenghuo at Konoha Hospital earlier that day.
"Investigate this kid," Yamano ordered, handing him the note.
Fugaku took it. When he saw the name, his eyes widened slightly. "It's him?"
"You know this boy?" Yamano asked curiously.
"I met him this morning at the hospital," Fugaku replied honestly. "He's a motivated child... but that's all I know."
"Fine. Still, investigate further. If he's truly a genius, we must protect him. The war just ended, and the village is still unstable."
Yamano's smile was as sly as a fox's.
"Genius?" Fugaku blinked, then glanced at the rest of the report. His jaw nearly dropped.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique at six years old?!
Seeing Fugaku's shock, Yamano chuckled. "Keep this quiet for now. If confirmed, we'll have to protect him carefully."
Meanwhile, word of Fenghuo's feat quietly spread to several major clans within Konoha.
At the Senju compound, Tsunade scoffed at the news and dismissed it outright. The remaining Senju elders, with their dwindling influence, could do little but grumble privately.
At the Hyuga compound, the information was received but not prioritized. During this era, with the Senju still lingering on the political stage, the Uchiha-Hyuga rivalry hadn't yet reached the vicious levels of later years. The Hyuga elders simply shelved the information without much thought.