After a week of practicing, Jin and his cousins completely mastered the fireball.
Satisfied, Goro felt like it wouldn't be a problem to learn Henge, Kawarimi, and Shunshin.[1]
To his surprise, learning these took them no more than two weeks in total. They had reached the level of a normal fresh Genin at this point, which only made Goro feel prouder.
Although Goro could teach them more, he felt like it was too soon. If he gave them time to assimilate everything he taught them so far, they could better incorporate it.
Although classes were over, they could still come and ask him questions anytime.
As Goro looked over some documents in his office, he heard a light knock on his door. Smiling, he dropped the scroll and allowed the person to come in.
This person was none other than Jin, who Goro had called over beforehand.
"Greetings, uncle."
"Good morning. By all means, sit down."
Jin abided and sat cross-legged on the tatami floor.
"Alright... Today I'm going to teach you about the Sharingan."
When Jin heard that he almost jumped in joy. The moment had finally come.
In the past two weeks, he had been probing his eyes, trying to figure out how to use them. Even so, he felt like they had so much more to offer.
"As you may know, the Sharingan is a special ocular ability passed down in our clan. Its usage falls under two categories: The eye of insight, and the eye of Hypnotism."
Jin replied with a firm nod, letting Goro continue. Although he knew all of this, he couldn't show it.
"The eye of insight allows the user to see chakra, giving it color in order to distinguish it by its composition and source. It also grants clarity, allowing you to read lips, mimic subtle movements and even predict your opponent's moves. You saw it happen back at the shrine when you dodged my attack."
Crossing his arms, Goro continued.
"The eye of hypnotism grants you the special Genjutsu of the Sharingan, which is normally used through eye contact when it is activated. It can unleash a powerful, immersive Genjutsu... But it's easier and more efficient in a battle to deploy a smaller scale version, in order to mess with your opponent's perception."
"The key is to make them feel changes so subtle, that they won't realize it. As you may know, the key to being a powerful ninja is not just about how strong your attack is, but how well you can use your chakra."
"Ninja should only mould as much chakra as they need to perform a given ability. If they mould more chakra than is needed, the excess chakra is wasted and they will tire out faster from its loss. If they don't mold enough chakra, a technique will not be performed effectively, if at all, likely creating problems in a combat situation."
"From now on, I will personally oversee your Sharingan training until you enroll in the academy. I'll teach you everything you need to know."
Hearing this, Jin couldn't contain his excitement, as a large grin appeared on his face.
"Thanks, Uncle!"
—————————————————————
A year passed slowly, and the academy's admission day had arrived. Young Konoha ninja made their way along with their parents to the doors of the academy.
This seemingly small period of time had brought about great changes in the village. The greatest being the election of the third Hokage.
After Tobirama's death, the only available candidates were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura and Uchiha Goro. Needless to say, Hiruzen became the third Hokage, winning by a landslide.
Although Goro was not as strong as Hiruzen, he was the closest one. Danzo, the weakest of the three, was backed by a few higher-ups, while Goro wasn't backed even once.
This was clear discrimination against their clan, and the Uchiha started believing their ancestor's warnings. Madara had predicted that they would be ostracized by the village, but no one believed him then.
Tension grew greater every day, and anger slowly brewed in the Uchiha's stomachs. They were quickly approaching a point of no return.
...
The three young Uchiha arrived at the academy's gate, accompanied by Ayaka[2] and Goro. Hanami was nowhere to be seen.
Jin's mother had somewhat recovered during the past year, but she still looked a bit emotionless. The loss of her husband had apparently taken a huge toll on her, and the clan decided to give her space and time to recover.
Sadly, Jin hadn't interacted much with his mother ever since that day. It left a hole in his heart, which only fueled his desire to get revenge.
Clearing his head, he tried to think of something else. This led him to remember all he did to reach this point.
Over the past twelve months, Jin trained harder than ever. Under Goro's tutelage, his skill rose drastically... at a frightening pace.
Goro had taught him to use his Sharingan, helping him get used to both the eye of insight and the eye of hypnotism.
For the eye of insight, amongst many other exercises, Jin practiced shuriken throwing the most. It wasn't any kind of Shuriken throwing though and became a hellish training session.
Not unlike what Itachi did in the anime, Jin learned to change the trajectory of shuriken mid-flight, how to curve them, how to use wires, etc. He had really become a master of shuriken.
He found that using the Sharingan, his actions became more precise, and the maneuvers he could pull off both in the air and on the ground were astonishing. It truly made him feel superhuman.
Even though he was exceptional with the eye of insight, his strength lied in the eye of hypnotism. Thanks to his Yin-affinity, his Genjutsu abilities were unparalleled for anyone at his level.
Compared to others Goro found that Jin's Genjutsu was cast more easily than others, and had more devastating effects. First, he had Jin use animals as his targets, which was easier said than done.
Essentially, Genjutsu messed with the chakra flow of a person. An animal's chakra pathway was different from a human's, therefore increasing the difficulty.
Once Jin ould consistently put animals under illusions, Goro moved on to himself as the opponent. It took Jin almost six months, but he finally succeeded in putting Goro under a minor Genjutsu.
Although Goro was going easy, it was quite a feat. That day, he had even awakened his second tomoe through extended use of his eyes.
The man had never heard of a five-year-old with a two-tomoe Sharingan. Jin might even be the first in the clan's history.
Smiling, Goro looked at the blooming Sakura trees surrounding the academy.
"This is a new beginning for you guys, and my expectations are, needless to say, very high. Now go and show the other clans what the Uchiha are made of."
"Hai Sensei!"
The three of them answered at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed, having gotten closer over the past year.
After saying goodbye, they ran into the academy and next to the rest of the year's student batch. There was a podium, where a presentation would take place once everyone got there.
When the seats were filled, the current Hokage, a young Hiruzen Sarutobi, came out and gave the kids a speech about the will of fire. He was very good at this, seeing as all the kids were more pumped than ever.
The only ones who weren't all that excited were the Uchiha trio. Even Jin wasn't all that happy, seeing the man who wasn't capable of managing a village... Leading to the extermination of the Uchiha.
...
Once Hiruzen was finished, a young man wearing the traditional Chunin outfit came out holding a sheet of paper.
"We will now announce which classes you'll all be in! Class A: Shiki Aburame, Inji Yamanaka...."
As the principal was calling out the names for class A, Jin and his cousins looked at each other, hoping they would be together. And as luck would have it, the Principal's next words made them high-five each other.
"Jin Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha, Hideki Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha..."
'That last name rings a bell...'
Just then, Jin realized that this 'Mikoto' was none other than Sasuke's mother!
He always wanted to know how Fugaku and he ended up falling for each other, so this was the perfect opportunity to find out.
"Hey Fugaku, I heard a girl from our clan will be joining our class. Since you're the young head of the clan, you probably already know her.. Who is she?"
Jin smirked and giggled as Hideki looked at Fugaku with eyes that were asking for his opinion. When Fugaku heard about Mikoto being in his class he was happy and let it show for on split second.
"Oh really, I hadn't noticed... Mikoto huh? I did meet her, she has a lot of talent, but she's not as good as me!"
"Ahem... Are you perhaps talking about me?"
Fugaku slowly turned his head around, noticing the last person he wanted to see at this moment. When he saw Mikoto's face and remembered what he said, he couldn't help but panic.
"I- No... err, I meant that you weren't yet as good as me, but that you had the potential! Haha..."
Mikoto frowned and huffed away, leaving Fugaku there, blood drained from his face. Hideki tried to comfort him as Jin burst out laughing, rolling on the ground even.
Really, seeing Fugaku like this was the best.
—————————————————————
The first few weeks at the academy went by swiftly.
Getting top marks in every test and decimating their opponents in sparring, Jin, Fugaku, and Hideki easily became the top three students in their year.
Especially Jin, whose name was known by every influential figure in Konoha. As a five year old that possessed the Sharingan, the higher-ups in the village were inevitably alerted.
They all feared the coming of a second Madara.
Danzo included.
---------------
[1] (Henge: Transformation, Kawarimi: Substitution, Shunshin: Body-Flicker.)
[2] (Ayaka is Hideki's mom, in case you don't remember.)