On the assessment grounds, Uchiha Itachi stood with the hallmark black short hair and dark eyes of the Uchiha clan.
His eyelashes were long at both the upper and lower corners, and his refined features resembled his mother, though he had also inherited his father's distinct tear troughs.
As the son of Uchiha Fugaku, Itachi was inherently a focal point of attention—all the more so given he was only four years old.
Born into the Uchiha, Itachi was an undisputed genius. He was wise, rational, and prone to deep reflection.
By the age of seven, he would be capable of thinking with the perspective of a Hokage; in fact, even at this younger age, he was not bound by the narrow prejudices of the Uchiha clan or the village.
The young Itachi had always been somewhat taciturn and withdrawn. Among his peers, and even among those slightly older, his depth of thought and maturity made him appear somewhat isolated.
Under his gaze on the field, many clansmen kept their distance, as Itachi's cold composure gave them a sense of being out of place.
The sheer brutality of the Third Shinobi World War had filled Itachi's heart with a deep loathing for conflict. Because of this, he harbored a profound desire to understand the world, constantly thirsting for power and knowledge.
The years of grinding conflict between the Sand and the Leaf had brought suffering to many nations. Seeing the now-fractured Land of Rivers gave Itachi an even deeper realization of the state of the world.
Finding a way to change this era of chaos was a problem he constantly pondered, but limited by his own experiences, he had struggled to find the right answer. However, there was one person who might provide a different kind of inspiration.
With this in mind, Itachi turned his gaze toward Uchiha Kaede in the distance. Though it was but a brief glance, it was enough to show that Itachi had taken note of this senior clansman.
Despite Itachi's small stature, his opponent did not dare to be careless. Activating his Sharingan, the clansman quickly drew several kunai.
As the kunai were hurled, the man flickered forward at high speed. Itachi, however, remained motionless. He evaded the strike with a subtle shift of his body and caught the clansman's wrist with a single hand.
Such incredible strength!
The pinned clansman spun for a flying kick, but as Itachi retreated, the surrounding environment began to warp and distort. Suddenly, the man found Itachi's kunai already pressed against his throat.
"It is over."
There were no wasted movements. From the very first exchange, the clansman had fallen into Itachi's Genjutsu and was immediately suppressed. The atmosphere on the field turned cold and silent; it seemed no one had reacted in time to what they had just witnessed.
Clean and efficient—while there were no flashy maneuvers, every action highlighted Itachi's extraordinary nature. As he returned to the clan ranks alone, Uchiha Fugaku watched his son, a trace of worry flickering in his eyes for reasons unknown.
While those around him congratulated him on having a rare genius for a son, Fugaku did not care if Itachi was a genius; he wanted more to understand his son's heart.
As Itachi's father, he was a stern man who kept his emotions hidden, holding extremely high expectations for his sons.
Within the Police Force, Fugaku held absolute leadership, and under his management, the force had made immense contributions to the village.
Unfortunately, the marginalization of the Uchiha by the Leaf's high command had placed Fugaku in an awkward position.
Though he wished to resolve the friction, the rise of certain radical ideologies within the clan made it increasingly difficult for him to control the situation.
However, the burgeoning talent shown by Kaede, Shisui, and now his son, Itachi, gave Fugaku confidence that the long-standing rift between the Uchiha and the Leaf could eventually be mended.
The first stage of the small clan assessment concluded. Five members, including Kaede and Itachi, received high praise. The rewards were scrolls for several Uchiha Fire Style jutsus.
Kaede received three B-Rank Fire Style scrolls. After recording them, he noted their impressive power, but he intended only to memorize them for now, eventually integrating them with his existing Fire Style knowledge to achieve a personal breakthrough.
After all, Shiraishi's Lens System already contained a vast array of Fire Style techniques; Kaede wasn't lacking for jutsus. He was more concerned with further evolving the power of his Sharingan.
"Um..."
Just as Kaede was preparing to leave, Itachi suddenly stepped forward and bowed politely. "I have a question I would like to ask Kaede-senpai."
Itachi's appearance caught Kaede by surprise. Logically, the young master of the Uchiha and himself had very little overlap. Why seek him out?
"Ask, then," Kaede said, his voice cool and distant.
"In Kaede-senpai's eyes, what is the meaning of a 'ninja'?"
This question had troubled Itachi for a long time. Although he knew Shisui, their relationship was not yet intimately close.
He decided to bring his internal confusion to Kaede first. Kaede was Itachi's first choice because, while Shisui was an excellent mentor, he had not experienced the pain of losing a father.
Kaede represented the lineage of Uchiha Kagami, a group that was highly isolated within the clan. At the same time, the Leaf's leadership treated Kaede with total indifference. Itachi was curious to see how Kaede viewed the world, given such unfavorable circumstances.
Kaede remained silent for a long while. He looked at Itachi with a complex gaze before slowly speaking.
"To me, a ninja is one who endures shame and carries a heavy burden to achieve a goal. No matter how many difficulties lie in the way of that goal, one must endure and overcome everything to reach it."
Though it was a somewhat abstract answer, Kaede replied to Itachi with total sincerity. This answer hit Itachi like a heavy blow, leaving him standing rooted to the spot.
Kaede—or rather, Shiraishi—aimed to unify the shinobi world. Surprisingly, this resonated with Itachi's own ideals, sending him into a state of deep reflection.
"Thank you for the guidance!" Itachi said, his tone touched by the insight.
Looking at the polite and well-behaved Itachi, Kaede felt a momentary sense of trance. No matter how he looked at the child, it was hard to imagine him being capable of slaughtering his own kin.
The intelligence from Yamato's world was incomplete; it only mentioned that Itachi massacred the Uchiha.
In Shiraishi's past understanding, such a person would have to be a mad scientist like Orochimaru or a total zealot.
Yet, he saw no trace of zealotry in Itachi. Instead, the boy seemed merely overly mature for his age. What could possibly drive him to disregard his parents and kin and slaughter his own clan?
"Life is always difficult. Sometimes it catches you off guard; sometimes it follows you like a shadow. One does not live to grip onto pain and torture those who cherish them, but for the sake of those you love—to pursue that rare but worthwhile happiness."
Kaede's words were a veiled hint. Although Itachi didn't grasp the underlying warning, he etched the words into his memory. He nodded softly and said, "Regardless, I am deeply grateful for your teachings."
The two figures walked away in different directions at the fork in the road. However, Kaede soon felt a surge of annoyance at himself.
Damn it, why did I blurt that out? Are Uchiha Kaede's memories starting to influence me?
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