"Ah! It's Yuzuru!!!"
When Hyuga Yuzuru appeared at Izumi's doorstep, before he could even greet her, the girl who answered the door called out joyfully.
Hyuga Yuzuru blinked, and the girl's face instantly flushed red as she covered her face. "I haven't even combed my hair... Mom!"
She turned and dashed inside. In the living room, the ninja couple exchanged glances before standing up together.
"Please, come in..."
Before the elegant woman could ask anything, Hyuga Yuzuru bowed politely. "I'm Hyuga Yuzuru, Izumi's friend. I came to ask if she could come out for a bit today, if that's alright."
"Of course," the couple replied, recognizing his Byakugan immediately and understanding who he was.
"My name is Kawai Hazuki. I'm glad you could visit. She talks about you all the time. Please, have a seat. Would you like some snacks?"
Mrs. Kawai smiled warmly. Though she had once been an Uchiha, she had taken her husband's name when she married this village chūnin and enjoyed the peaceful life away from the clan.
"Mrs. Kawai, Mr. Kawai, it's alright. I'll wait for Izumi outside. Forgive the intrusion," Yuzuru said with a slight bow, showing no intention of entering.
If he stepped in, they would feel obliged to entertain him—it would only be a burden.
The couple exchanged a look again. Then Hazuki quickly helped fix Izumi's hair and sent her, still blushing but delighted, to Yuzuru's side.
"Izumi, don't cause trouble for little Yuzuru!"
Izumi grinned. "I know! Bye, Mom! We're off!"
She tugged on Yuzuru's sleeve.
Still polite, Yuzuru bowed again. "Pardon the sudden visit."
"No need for all that," Mr. Kawai chuckled awkwardly. As a civilian ninja, he wasn't quite sure how to react to such refined manners.
Were all Hyuga this well-mannered?
Yuzuru smiled. "Understood. Then we'll be going."
"Take care."
As they walked down the stairs, Izumi excitedly grabbed Yuzuru's arm. "So what are we doing? Playing house in the park? Or ninja games?"
Aren't those basically the same?
Yuzuru offered an apologetic smile. "Izumi, I actually wanted to ask a favor."
"A favor? Anything, as long as I can help!" she beamed.
"Your mom… she's from the Uchiha, right?" Yuzuru asked.
Izumi froze, biting her lip. "Yeah."
She had always thought it was a secret and never told anyone. After all, the Uchiha didn't have the best reputation in the village.
"Could you go to the Uchiha district and help me call someone out? Uchiha Itachi."
Izumi hesitated for a long moment before nodding. "I don't know if I can... I've never been to the Uchiha district."
"That's fine. Just pass on the message. Tell him I'll be waiting at the usual spot. That's the park. Come back afterward. I'll take you to... a ninja game."
Yuzuru paused. On second thought, training is technically a kind of ninja game, right?
Maybe he should teach her how to refine chakra first. After all, this girl was the one who awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan in certain stories—her potential had to be decent.
Completely unaware her beloved ninja game was about to change drastically, Izumi cheerfully accepted. "Leave it to me!"
So she bravely walked alone to the Uchiha gates. Predictably, she was stopped at the entrance. But being a child, no one gave her trouble. After saying she wanted to see Uchiha Itachi, someone went to get him.
Before long, a confused-looking Itachi appeared. After Izumi whispered to him, he nodded silently and politely asked her to wait. He informed his family, then followed Izumi to find Yuzuru.
At the park, Hyuga Yuzuru was standing still, his Byakugan active, seemingly lost in thought.
Izumi ran up happily, but Yuzuru waved her off. She pouted and stood off to the side.
When Itachi appeared, Yuzuru's eyes calmed. "Long time no see, Itachi."
"Mm," Itachi responded calmly. "What do you need?"
"Morning training."
The moment the words left Yuzuru's mouth, Itachi didn't respond immediately. Instead, he shook his head. "I don't want to..."
The whistling of wind came just as the words left his lips.
Itachi instinctively twisted to the side, drawing a kunai and striking back.
Crap! Itachi's eyes widened.
Yuzuru's sudden attack forced him into a reflexive counterattack. But for someone like Itachi, that meant striking to kill!
His kunai sliced toward Yuzuru's neck—but the boy vanished in a puff of smoke and a wooden stump took his place.
Substitution Jutsu.
For Yuzuru, who had maxed out this skill, it was nearly effortless. Even compared to the Fourth Hokage, his mastery of this technique might be superior.
The kunai embedded in the stump. The next instant, a chakra-infused fist slammed into Itachi's shoulder, knocking him forward.
"You!" Itachi scowled.
But Yuzuru didn't stop.
Even before Itachi could recover, Yuzuru, veins bulging around his eyes, had already closed the gap.
The Byakugan locked onto the faintly glowing tenketsu in Itachi's body.
His Gentle Fist struck like a storm.
Though baffled by his friend's sudden aggression, Itachi's own emotions ignited. He leapt back, hurling a kunai, and in the same instant, pulled out several more.
Itachi's greatest skill at his current age was, without a doubt, his mastery of projectile weapons.
Despite being only four, he could target multiple vital points at once, each following a unique trajectory and sealing off all escape routes.
But just as he worried he might have gone too far—
Yuzuru calmly lowered his stance, assumed a strange starting form, and began to spin.
Itachi's pupils shrank.
"Rotation!"
With a roar, a pale blue vortex erupted around Yuzuru, scattering all the kunai.
Then, in a single dash, he crossed several meters. Itachi had no time to counter.
Gentle Fist rained down, striking pressure points all over his body.
Chakra—frozen.
Limbs—numb.
Breathing—stalled.
The unique damage caused by Gentle Fist ignited a familiar, terrifying feeling within Itachi.
Death.
Yuzuru's white fist halted just before Itachi's face. The wind from his strike made Itachi blink, his bangs tousled.
"You're already dead," Yuzuru said softly, rising.
Itachi lay in silence.
From the sidelines, Izumi burst into tears. "Stop fighting already!"
Seeing the battle was over, she sniffled and squatted down, hugging her knees.
Yuzuru blinked at Itachi. "Go comfort her."
"It wasn't even my fault..." Itachi stared at the sky in defeat.
Yuzuru smirked, then offered a hand.
Itachi hesitated, then took it.
"So, does life and death really require that much thought?"
The question hit Itachi hard.
He looked away. "You don't understand..."
You didn't see the piles of corpses, he thought. You never took a life yourself. How can you know the weight of it all?
Yuzuru chuckled faintly and ruffled his hair. "I just know standing still won't get you any answers."
Itachi fell silent.
Yuzuru didn't bother lecturing more. If someone wasn't ready to listen, words were useless.
And besides, talking didn't grant experience points.
He preferred another method.
"From today on, every morning, we train here."
He left no room for refusal. "Otherwise, I'll come to the Uchiha compound and drag you out. Right in front of the clan head."
The smirk on Yuzuru's face made Itachi twitch.
Why am I even friends with this guy? Itachi wondered.
"Go cheer her up!"
Yuzuru kicked him lightly. Itachi glared, but sighed and approached Izumi, softly offering comfort.
Izumi ignored him, her big teary eyes fixed on Yuzuru.
Itachi gave Yuzuru a dead-fish stare—a classic Kakashi glare.
Yuzuru walked over, muttering, "You can't even cheer up a kid, and you're thinking about life and death?"
Itachi puffed his cheeks in frustration.
Yuzuru crouched and, with a few gentle words, had Izumi wiping her tears and hugging his arm happily again.
He shot Itachi a smug look.
I want to go home, Itachi thought.
"Ninja games! Ninja games! Itachi, come too!"
Izumi giggled and grabbed his sleeve.
Itachi looked at Yuzuru, wanting to refuse, but didn't know how.
Then, remembering something, he asked, "Was that Rotation just now?"
"Yes," Yuzuru replied.
"But that's..."
After parting last time, Itachi had looked into the Hyuga clan and learned about the Branch and Main Families.
He had felt deeply troubled for Yuzuru but never dared ask, fearing it would hurt him.
But... Rotation was a secret technique of the Main Family.
How did a Branch member learn it?
Yuzuru just blinked. "I figured out the principle, gave it a try, and it worked."
"Honestly, I woke up this morning thinking I wanted to beat you up. I figured Gentle Fist alone might not be flashy enough, so I worked through Rotation and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Haven't figured out the Sixty-Four Palms yet, but Rotation turned out easier than I thought, as long as your chakra control is good enough."
Itachi twitched. "I see..."
"Ninja games!" Izumi interrupted.
"Act One of Ninja Games: Ninja Academy."
"Uchiha Itachi, as the Fifth Hokage, I appoint you as the academy teacher. Your mission: teach Izumi chakra refining."
"Mission rank: E. Reward: dango. Penalty for failure: twenty combat drills."
"Begin now!"
"Yay! Itachi! I want dango!"
Watching Izumi's eyes sparkle, Itachi facepalmed.
All she wanted was dango. And he'd have to do the drills.
Staring at Yuzuru's wicked grin, Itachi made up his mind.
When he got home, he would go find Shisui.
And have him beat the hell out of this guy!
Meanwhile, Yuzuru left Izumi in Itachi's care and sighed in relief, stepping aside and opening his system panel.
Looking at the newly added line, he couldn't help but smile.
Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation (A): Level 1 (79/1600)
But what truly delighted him wasn't that A-rank secret technique he had grasped in a flash.
It was this:
Chakra Refinement: Life Return – Level 1 (21/1600)
************************
Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!