Bonus Chapters at 100 power stones.
"I didn't expect Hokage-sama to approve this," Kakashi said, eyeing the boy walking beside him.
"Hokage-sama has his own reasons." Yami's tone was calm as he followed.
He had heard of Hatake Kakashi long before leaving on his mission, especially because of Kakashi's use of the Sharingan despite not being an Uchiha. Shisui had mentioned Kakashi more than once, calling him "a rare outsider who understands our eye."
"I know what you're worried about," Yami said suddenly. "The Hokage told me what happened five years ago. I'm not here to harass a child."
Kakashi blinked. 'Child? He's barely older than Sasuke…'
But Yami's direct reassurance eased his nerves slightly.
"So," Kakashi asked, "will you meet him at the bridge, or do you want me to arrange something else?"
"I'll watch him for a moment first. Don't worry. Like I said, I'm not going to hurt him." A small smile tugged at Yami's lips.
Kakashi stiffened all over. That smile was not reassuring. "Don't do anything reckless. They're my team."
"He's your subordinate, yes. A Konoha ninja." Yami's eyes narrowed. "But his name is still Uchiha."
Kakashi stopped walking. His voice hardened. "What exactly are you planning?"
"Relax," Yami said quietly. "My attitude depends entirely on his attitude… toward Itachi."
Kakashi felt his stomach drop.
This was going to be messy.
. . . . . . . . . .
Under the midday sun, Team 7 waited on their usual bridge.
Sakura groaned. "Why does Kakashi-sensei always call us out and then show up late?!"
"That's right!" Naruto added, pacing back and forth. "He's doing this on purpose!"
Sasuke ignored them both, staring off toward the village as if he expected something to happen.
"Yo. Good morning. Today, I lost my way on the road of life…" Kakashi finally appeared.
"You liar! You weren't lost!" Naruto and Sakura shouted.
Kakashi ignored the accusations with practiced ease and held out three forms. "I've recommended you all for the Chūnin Exams. These are your applications."
"Chūnin exam?" Sakura blinked.
"It's voluntary," Kakashi added. "You choose whether you participate."
Naruto grabbed his form immediately. "I'm DEFINITELY taking it!"
While they talked, Kakashi subtly glanced past them. "Sasuke. Someone wants to see you."
"…What?" Sasuke turned… and a hand dropped onto his shoulder.
Before he could react, a wave of murderous intent crashed down on him like a physical blow.
Naruto's knees buckled. Sakura collapsed outright.
Sasuke froze in place as a cold chill climbed his spine.
"Uchiha Sasuke," a voice said from behind him, steady and suffocating, "what is Uchiha Itachi to you?"
Yami's chakra poured out unrestrained. Dark, heavy, and impossibly vast. Far beyond what a fifteen-year-old should possess.
Sasuke's eyes widened. 'Itachi…?'
The name alone snapped something inside him. His pupils constricted; rage surged forward, drowning out reason.
"Kakashi-sensei… what is happening?" Naruto stammered, trembling uncontrollably.
Kakashi's expression turned serious. Even he struggled a little to move under the pressure. 'So this is the level he reached… at fifteen?'
Even Zabuza's killing intent hadn't been this overwhelming.
"Speak," Yami demanded. "What is Itachi to you?"
Yami watched Sasuke carefully. And quietly, he felt… disappointed. Sasuke was twelve. A Genin still waiting to mature.
'Shisui at this age already had three tomoe. Itachi too. Even I myself.'
Sasuke was far behind.
"I… forb- I forbid you to say that name!" Sasuke grit his teeth, grabbed a kunai, and lunged backward blindly.
Yami caught Sasuke's wrist easily. With that, he pulled back all his killing intent, the air immediately lightened.
Sasuke gasped for breath but didn't back away.
"I can see what's in your heart," Yami said calmly. "But if a name alone makes you lose control… you'll never defeat Itachi."
He released Sasuke.
Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but stopped the moment Yami's eyes shifted. Three tomoe swirling clearly in each pupil.
"Wh—who are you?" Naruto shouted, finally standing. "You can't just attack us! I'll teach you a lesson!"
"Stop, Naruto." Kakashi grabbed Naruto by the collar before he could rush in.
Naruto and Sakura stared in confusion.
"That person," Kakashi said slowly, "is an Uchiha."
"…Yami?" Sasuke whispered.
He remembered this face. The older boy who always trained with Shisui. The one who teased him for being carried by Itachi. The one who left on an S-Rank mission and never returned.
A ghost that shouldn't exist.
"It seems you remember me." Yami's expression didn't change. "Kakashi, I'll take Sasuke to the clan compound."
He turned and motioned for Sasuke to follow.
Naruto comically shouted in protest. "What?! Even if he's an Uchiha, that was way too rude!"
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asked, "I never heard of any surviving Uchiha other than Itachi. What's going on?"
"Yami left on a long mission years ago. He's only just returned… and today he happened to find us." Kakashi explained.
Sakura frowned. 'Sasuke didn't just react to Yami's appearance… it was the name he mentioned. Itachi.'
Who was this man to Sasuke?
Kakashi clapped his hands lightly. "Alright, that's enough for today. Think about the exam yourselves."
"I'm definitely taking it!" Naruto declared. "I'll become a Chūnin for sure!"
Sakura sighed. "Naruto… you haven't even signed the form yet."
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called as Kakashi started to leave. "What about Sasuke? He's doing it too, right?"
"Don't worry," Kakashi said. "Yami will make sure he participates. And…" He paused, glancing back. "…Yami is also your examiner for the second stage. Consider that an early warning."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "That guy with the deadpan face is the examiner?! He looks barely older than me!"
"Sasuke is twelve," Kakashi replied. "Yami is fifteen… and already a Special Jōnin. And from that display earlier, his strength is likely far above Zabuza."
"WHAT?!" Naruto reeled. The man who froze them in place like insects was only fifteen?
The gap in strength burned itself into Naruto's mind.
"I definitely… I DEFINITELY have to get stronger," Naruto muttered, fists clenched.
Sakura, meanwhile, watched Yami and Sasuke disappear down the bridge.
'Fifteen years old… Maybe he knows something about the Uchiha…'
- End of Chapter 5 -
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