After traveling outside for nearly two years, Itachi felt deeply moved upon returning to Konoha once again.
Not only had he grown during his travels, but Konoha had also become much more prosperous during the time he was away. It felt like it was almost catching up to the capital of the Land of Fire, except that there were fewer people.
"Let's go home first." Itachi withdrew his gaze and walked toward the Uchiha clan compound according to his memories.
This was the first time he had left the village alone, and he had even been gone for such a long time. Itachi missed his family as well.
Was his father still busy with Uchiha affairs? Would his mother worry about him in the middle of the night? Had Sasuke grown up healthy?
These were all things Itachi could not help thinking about when he was alone and lost in thought.
Itachi was a person with ideals and goals, but he also had feelings for his family. Sometimes, when walking alone through a dark forest, he would also wonder whether things would be better if someone were by his side.
He was simply not good at expressing his feelings. That did not mean he had no feelings.
As he walked through the Uchiha clan compound, Itachi also noticed some differences from before.
In the past, most Uchiha shinobi would directly enter the Police Force and become members of the Police Force.
Now, although there was still a group of veteran Uchiha working in the Police Force, most of the Uchiha, especially the younger generation, had already integrated into Konoha instead of remaining confined within the small Uchiha circle as before.
Perhaps because of this, the Uchiha clan compound seemed much more lively than before. From time to time, he could see many people who were not members of the Uchiha clan.
Because of Fugaku's teachings, combined with Itachi's own circumstances, he was extremely mature for his age.
Itachi still remembered the atmosphere in the Uchiha clan compound for some time after the Third Great Ninja War. It had been dull and oppressive.
Everyone had been quite dissatisfied, as if the Uchiha and Konoha were already two opposing individuals rather than one community.
Serious-looking middle-aged men would often come to his home to discuss matters with his father, and sometimes their voices would become quite loud.
Now, it was completely different. The Uchiha had been revitalized.
"Itachi?" Suddenly, a female voice called out to Itachi, causing him to stop just as he was about to take another step.
Itachi looked toward the source of the voice and discovered Uchiha Izumi looking at him with a pleasantly surprised expression.
After not seeing each other for more than a year, Uchiha Izumi had only grown a little taller and had not changed much otherwise. She had long, beautiful black hair, fair skin, and a pair of lively large eyes that occasionally flashed with a hint of mischief.
Seeing Itachi's familiar expressionless face, Uchiha Izumi happily waved at Itachi before jogging over to him. Perhaps because she was too eager and failed to stop in time, she was about to fall into Itachi's arms.
But Itachi was a man who was single for a reason. At a speed Uchiha Izumi could not perceive, he instantly steadied her, preventing the two of them from ending up on the ground playing a game of stacking on top of each other.
"Eh?" By the time Uchiha Izumi realized what had happened, she was already standing properly in front of Itachi.
"Is something wrong?" Itachi asked calmly.
"Nothing. I just wanted to call out to you when I saw you. After all, I haven't seen you for so long. When did you come back?" Izumi waved her hand and asked curiously.
"I just came back today. I was about to go home." Itachi answered.
"I see. You've been away for so long, so you must really miss your family. I won't bother you then. Go home first." Uchiha Izumi thought for a moment before smiling.
Although she really wanted to chat with Itachi right now, talk about what he had experienced during his long journey, and tell Itachi about the hardships of her training, Itachi had just returned. It would not be very appropriate to keep him there chatting.
Itachi nodded, said goodbye to Izumi, and then walked toward his home.
It happened to be noon. Itachi felt that Sasuke should be playing in the yard at this time, Fugaku would be sitting in the living room reading the newspaper, while Uchiha Mikoto would be preparing lunch.
When Itachi returned home, his parents were just as he had imagined. Fugaku was looking at something in the living room, while Uchiha Mikoto was preparing lunch. However, he did not see Sasuke and did not know where he had gone.
Seeing his eldest son, whom he was so proud of, return, Fugaku, who had always appeared extremely composed to others, revealed a pleasantly surprised smile.
Uchiha Mikoto was even more excited. She walked forward and personally checked Itachi's condition, carefully examining him because she was worried that Itachi might have been injured during his long journey.
Only after seeing that her precious son was completely unharmed did Uchiha Mikoto finally relax.
"You must have suffered quite a bit outside. Look at you, you've gotten so much thinner." Uchiha Mikoto pinched Itachi's cheek and said worriedly.
"You're worrying too much. Itachi isn't that fragile. Before he left, he had already won first place in the Chunin Exams jointly held by the Four Great Shinobi Villages. He wouldn't encounter danger just by traveling around the Land of Fire." Fugaku withdrew his surprised smile and said seriously.
"I wonder who was in such a hurry to ask Advisor Nagasawa about Itachi's situation before…" Uchiha Mikoto did not give Fugaku any face at all and happily exposed him.
Fugaku's expression suddenly changed, but he quickly composed himself and stubbornly said, "I had something to discuss with Advisor Nagasawa that day. Asking about Itachi was merely incidental."
What followed were difficult-to-understand words, such as "the Police Force reform affairs are very busy" and "the dignity of the clan leader," which made Uchiha Mikoto laugh. For a moment, the room was filled with a happy atmosphere.
"Where did Sasuke go?" Itachi suddenly remembered that his younger brother was not at home.
Fugaku looked at the time and then said, "He should be on his way back. Sasuke has also been training under Advisor Nagasawa now. It happened not long after you left."
"Training under Teacher Nagasawa? That's good." Itachi's eyes flickered slightly as he nodded, feeling that it was quite good.
Naturally, being able to train under Nagasawa was a good thing. He had only begun training under Nagasawa at the age of six, while Sasuke had started training under Nagasawa at the age of three, saving himself three years of taking the long way around.
It was not that Itachi looked down on his father or the people within the Uchiha clan. Compared to Nagasawa, they were truly not enough. The gap was simply too great.
Speaking of Sasuke, Sasuke arrived. Not long after Itachi and Fugaku mentioned him, Sasuke returned home.
When Sasuke saw the figure he often dreamed about, he instantly rushed forward and hugged Itachi.
Itachi smiled slightly and opened his arms to embrace Sasuke.
"Brother, why did you take so long to come back? I missed you so much. I even dreamed about you yesterday." Excited Sasuke did not even care about being embarrassed and directly said what was in his heart.
"It's fine now. Look, I'm back." Itachi smiled and rubbed Sasuke's head.
Only then did Sasuke realize that what he had just said was too direct, making him sound like a child who could not bear to be separated from his older brother. His fair face rapidly flushed red, soon becoming as red as an apple.
Afterward, the family had a harmonious lunch. After the meal, Sasuke excitedly dragged Itachi into the yard, saying that he wanted Itachi to see the results of his hard training over the past year or so.
Sasuke then used Moon Breathing in front of Itachi, furiously slashing at their yard. Even the tree in the yard, which was more than a meter thick, fell under Sasuke's blade.
"Brother, am I doing okay with my training?" Sasuke stared at Itachi expectantly, looking as if he were asking to be praised.
"Very good. At your age, my strength was inferior to yours now." Itachi smiled and praised him.
"Hehe." Having received praise from his beloved older brother, Sasuke revealed a satisfied smile with a slightly flushed face.
This was what he had continuously imagined and looked forward to during Itachi's absence.
Especially since Itachi had actually said that he had already surpassed the Itachi of the same age. This made Sasuke even more excited. It was the greatest recognition he could receive from Itachi.
Feeling delighted, Sasuke hurriedly told Itachi that he still had something he had not shown him. Sasuke raised his right hand, and a flame suddenly rose from it. Sasuke fiercely threw a punch, and a huge flaming fist instantly flew out. The fierce flames directly burned away the branches and leaves of the tree, leaving only black ashes scattered across the ground.
A trace of emotion appeared on Itachi's face because he actually found himself unable to understand this move. Sasuke did not seem to have used Chakra just now, so how had he achieved a change in nature, and without hand seals at that?
The temperature of the flames was not low either.
"Did Teacher Nagasawa teach you this?" Itachi asked.
Sasuke thought for a moment before saying, "I don't think so."
He thought that it was just using the power of the Flame-Flame Fruit to throw a punch. Why would he need Nagasawa to teach him that?
"Did you develop it yourself?" Itachi fell into thought. Could it be that Sasuke was actually an extremely rare Ninjutsu genius?
Sasuke nodded and said, "Isn't this very simple? How could Teacher Nagasawa teach me something like this?"
Hearing Sasuke's humblebrag, Itachi suddenly felt that this adorable younger brother was not quite as adorable anymore.
Even Itachi could not quite understand this hand-seal-less Ninjutsu, yet Sasuke described it as something too simple for Nagasawa to teach.
Itachi lightly flicked Sasuke's forehead with his finger. Sasuke, who had been completely unprepared, immediately cried out in pain.
"Brother, what are you doing?" Sasuke looked at Itachi with innocent, wide eyes.
"There was a mosquito just now." Itachi said expressionlessly.
"Oh, so that's what it was." Sasuke trusted Itachi immensely and immediately believed him, genuinely thinking that Itachi had been helping him swat a mosquito rather than simply wanting to flick him.
Itachi rubbed Sasuke's little head before leaving the house.
The first thing Itachi did after returning to Konoha was go home. After enjoying some family warmth, Itachi planned to find Nagasawa.
In Itachi's heart, Nagasawa held a unique position. During his travels, he had been eager to tell Nagasawa about what he had seen and experienced, confide his troubles to him, and hear Nagasawa's opinions.
As Itachi thought about what he would say and what questions he would ask when he saw Nagasawa later, he gradually arrived at Nagasawa's home.
However, Itachi did not expect Nagasawa to still be away. Instead, he ran into Kabuto, who had just returned home.
"You're back." Kabuto was slightly stunned when he saw the familiar figure he had not seen for a long time, then smiled.
"I just came back today." Itachi nodded.
"Teacher Nagasawa hasn't come back yet?"
"He should be back soon, I guess." Kabuto said somewhat uncertainly.
"Wrong. I'm already back." Nagasawa suddenly appeared and spoke leisurely.
"Teacher Nagasawa, long time no see." Itachi greeted Nagasawa.
Nagasawa nodded slightly and said with a smile, "How was your experience traveling around the Land of Fire this time? You gained a lot, didn't you?"
"Yeah, I gained a lot. The old me was still too presumptuous and too naive." Itachi said with a complicated expression.
In the past, Itachi's understanding of the world and of people had been too one-sided because he had only lived in Konoha. Because of Nagasawa, he had not even come into contact with Konoha's darkness.
Konoha occupied a large area and was on the level of a large city, but most of its land was used for various training grounds. There were actually few places where people lived, and there were not many people. It could be considered a "small place."
Itachi, who had always lived in such a "small place," was also a member of the reclusive Uchiha clan, so it was inevitable that there would be shortcomings in his understanding.
This journey around the Land of Fire filled the gap in this aspect for Itachi. He felt that he had truly grown tremendously. Although it was not an increase in strength, its significance was no less than a huge increase in strength.
"It's good that you gained something." Nagasawa said with a smile.
"Understanding is important, but strength is also important. You didn't neglect your training, did you?"
"I didn't forget to train during my travels. Unless something unexpected happened, I still maintained my daily training, though I had less time than when I was in Konoha." Itachi answered.
In this world of shinobi, having knowledge alone was not enough. You also needed strength. Otherwise, no one would listen to you or act according to your arrangements.
However, because he had been outside, he naturally could not train as much as he did in Konoha. He also had to make observations. He had gone out to travel, not to train.
"While you were away from Konoha, I have been training hard the whole time. Itachi, I might have surpassed you now." Kabuto said.
"My training time was a little lacking, but this journey also allowed my Sharingan to reach the limit of the Three-Tomoe. It's uncertain who has surpassed whom." Itachi's eyes suddenly turned blood-red, with three black tomoe rotating within them.
Itachi's main gain this time was the growth of his mind. With all the stimulation he had received during his travels, if not for his insufficient Chakra, perhaps his Mangekyo Sharingan would have already awakened.
"You both look full of energy. Then let's have a battle filled with youthful passion." Nagasawa clapped and laughed, then brought the two of them to an uninhabited forest.
Kabuto's current strength was truly not to be underestimated. After eating the Ice-Ice Fruit, he had developed his own Breathing Style, Ice Breathing, based on Water Breathing.
If Kabuto could maintain himself in battle for a longer period, Nagasawa felt that Kabuto would possess the strength to defeat an ordinary Kage-level shinobi. He was still too young at his current age. Although he had trained hard, his stamina was still relatively low.
Facing such a Kabuto, if Itachi only had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and had not made much progress in his other training, he might lose this battle to Kabuto.
A Breathing Style personally developed to perfectly suit himself, combined with the powerful Ice-Ice Fruit and Kabuto's profound Ninjutsu arsenal inherited through three generations, made him extremely difficult to deal with.