Shisui's POV
The clearing was quiet except for the faint hum of cicadas. The golden rays of sunset filtered through the trees, cutting across the dirt in uneven lines. Itachi stood across from me, a tanto in one hand, a shuriken held loosely in the other. His posture was calm, measured, his Sharingan glowing faintly as he locked eyes with mine.
"Are you ready?" I asked.
He nodded. The moment his eyes blinked, I moved. My kunai cut through the air, but he reacted instantly, ducking low and sending one back at me with incredible speed. I tilted my body, letting the blade whistle past my shoulder. We both paused, studying each other carefully.
"You learned from before," I said.
Itachi gave a faint smile. "I have a good teacher."
I chuckled, then flickered forward. His Sharingan started to catch up to my movement as he swung his tanto where he predicted I would appear. I pushed chakra into my legs, launching myself upward just above his low strike, and sent a flying kick his way. He spun with the momentum of his own strike, raising his guard just in time. My leg crashed against his forearm, driving him back a few steps through the dirt.
"Good prediction of my trajectory," I said, landing smoothly. "But you still need to plan for what comes after."
Itachi grunted. "You're too fast."
I smirked. "I'm sure if you tell your opponents that during a fight, they'll go easy on you."
He rolled his shoulder once, eyes sharp and unblinking as he began to circle. I turned with him, matching his pace, both of us waiting for the other to break the silence. Then, without warning, he accelerated to the opposite side, catching me off guard for a heartbeat. His hand flicked, sending a kunai my way.
I raised my kunai, predicting the first one's path, but before it reached me, another came flying in, faster and masked by the sound of his steps. The second struck the first midair, the impact redirecting the second toward my flank. I cursed quietly and dropped low, my body nearly brushing the ground, just in time to see Itachi closing in with a powerful kick.
I pressed my palm against the dirt and raised my arm to block. His heel struck hard enough to send a dull shock up my forearm. Strong for his age. I caught his leg and twisted, trying to take him down into a grapple, but he spun with the motion instead of resisting, using the momentum to throw a backhanded kunai toward me.
My eyes widened. Bad position.
I released his leg and channeled chakra into my feet, flickering backward in a low, sliding motion. The kunai passed close enough to cut a strand of my hair before embedding into the bark Infront of me. I stumbled slightly and let my stance falter just enough to bait him.
He didn't fall for it. His expression didn't even change. "Do you think I would fall for you pretending to stumble?"
I grinned. "Well done. That attack was excellent, Itachi. You're getting too good. But you still have much to learn."
I flickered again, controlling my speed to stay within his range rather than overwhelming him completely. I closed the gap and struck. He tilted his head, slipping under my swipe, and countered with a fast uppercut. I caught his arm mid-motion and forced it downward, folding it tight against his chest. He reacted instantly, sending a kick toward my side, but my leg was already moving, deflecting his strike slightly off balance.
I used that brief opening, driving my knee forward. He blocked with his free arm, but I twisted my grip, pushing down to break his guard. Before my kick could connect fully, I flickered back, forcing him forward instead. He stumbled toward me, off balance, just as I pressed my advantage and pushed him lower with a sharp shoulder drive.
He managed to brace himself, stabilizing his stance before I could throw him off completely. We were locked for a moment, strength against strength, his eyes sharp with focus. Then he drew a kunai with his free hand and slashed toward me.
I released his folded arm and stepped back, narrowly avoiding the blade. The force of my push sent him sliding a few steps back through the dust. Before he could regain balance, I had already sent a kunai his way.
He caught it mid-motion with his main hand and tried to parry, but I saw the hesitation in his arm. The blood flow there was weaker from my earlier hold. The moment he blocked, pain shot up his arm, and his grip trembled.
I used that instant.
Another kunai followed, cutting close enough to graze his cheek, and a third came right after, aimed at his weakened arm. He blocked with his other hand, but before he could reset his stance, I was already beside him, the cold edge of my kunai resting just below his neck.
Itachi exhaled softly. "I didn't notice the blood flow in time."
I smiled and stepped back, slipping my kunai into my pocket. "Don't be too hard on yourself. You did great for someone your age."
"Actually, you remind me a bit of Noa," I said, lowering myself onto a nearby rock as the air cooled around us. "He's also something different. Honestly, I think he'd beat you if you didn't have the genjutsu advantage. Though I'm planning to teach him how to counter that soon."
Itachi nodded. "You've mentioned him before. I got curious, so I asked around. He's making waves. A lot of people think he's on a trajectory to become a very powerful shinobi."
I nodded, a faint smile tugging at my lips. "More than that."
His eyes widened slightly. "Is he on that level already?"
"Maybe not yet," I said, remembering the sight of Stormdrive crackling around Noa. "But you have no idea. If he went all out from the start, he might actually catch you off guard."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I've heard of your team's achievements. They're impressive. Because of that, more people have started approaching me lately, asking about you and your students."
I chuckled, pleased. "Wow. They must be really intrigued to approach you, of all people, with your famously warm and friendly demeanor."
He grumbled under his breath, which made me laugh harder before I continued. "In our last mission, Noa did something amusing."
Itachi asked curiously, "What was it?"
I exhaled, remembering the scene. "I fought a jonin during that mission. I used a layered genjutsu trap so he wouldn't feel the shift in his chakra flow when it took hold. It worked perfectly. But when I dispelled it, Noa looked at him, glared, and said in this gruff, old-man voice, 'WAKE UP TO REALITY.'"
Itachi blinked, and then he laughed. Not a polite, quiet laugh, but a real one. I looked at him immediately, surprised. He was serious even as a child, rarely showing more than a faint smile.
"He really said that?" he asked between breaths.
I nodded, amused. "Yeah. I thought it was strange."
Itachi chuckled again, still clearly entertained. "That's actually not a bad thing to say to someone being released from a genjutsu. I might use that."
My eyes widened. "Wait, is that some kind of young people's phrase now? Is that what you all say?"
He gave me a deadpan look. "You're not that much older than me. Stop talking like you are an old man."
I laughed, unable to help myself, and he shook his head, still faintly smiling. The sun dipped lower, painting the clearing in gold.
It was a rare, quiet moment, one of those times where Itachi could just be a boy instead of a prodigy. I was glad to be there for it. He didn't have many people he could talk to. Between his talent and his growing distance from the clan, he was becoming more isolated. If I could help relieve that weight even a little, then it was worth it.
After all, he shared my goal and my hope for a better future for the Uchiha clan.