At the Konoha Hospital.
Several days had passed since the incident at the academy.
"Itachi, are you really okay?" Mikoto asked worriedly.
"Yes, Mother. I'll be healed in a month, so don't worry." Itachi told her so as not to worry her too much.
"..."
Fugaku, who had been silent until then, finally spoke up. "Itachi, I want to make sure those rumors aren't true."
Itachi frowned. "Rumors?"
Fugaku told Itachi the rumors he had heard from others. The other clan members, especially the hawk faction, were uneasy.
Fugaku wanted to confirm the rumors before taking action.
"..."
"All of that is not true. What I experienced was just an accident." Itachi said.
"..."
"So, the injured Anbu was you?" Fugaku asked.
"Yes." Itachi replied.
"And you were injured because of the Hokage's student? Didn't you receive compensation?" Fugaku asked flatly.
"He apologized to me, and that was enough, especially since it was just an accident." Itachi replied sincerely.
"..."
"Itachi, don't forget that you're an Uchiha. You won't betray the clan just because of the Hokage, will you?" Fugaku asked coldly.
"Dear, Itachi wouldn't do that." Mikoto said to stop Fugaku from doubting Itachi.
"Father, I have never betrayed the clan. I am a Konohagakure ninja." Itachi said.
"..."
Fugaku just nodded, then got up and left.
"..."
"Mother, you didn't tell Sasuke about my condition, did you?" Itachi asked.
"Do you want me to tell him?"
Itachi shook his head. "No need. Just tell him that I'm on a mission outside the village."
Mikoto nodded, hearing that. "Don't think about what your father said earlier. He's just too worried about you."
Itachi nodded. In truth, Itachi wanted to tell his mother that his father was right.
He didn't like his clan from the beginning.
How could his father want the Uchiha clan to receive good treatment from the village?
If he was just only hoping for himself and Shisui to do it?
They're not gods.
Even when people called them geniuses, they couldn't change the situation in their clan.
Moreover, the other Uchiha members worsened their reputation in the village.
If this were a competitive game, then Itachi and Shisui would be the ones trying to carry a team filled with noob teammates.
"..."
Knock Knock Knock
"Hm... Come in." Itachi replied.
The door opened to reveal Souji carrying something.
Mikoto was surprised to see Souji.
Souji was also surprised to see Mikoto, he hadn't expected to meet her here.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
"..."
On his way back from visiting Itachi, Fugaku thought again about what one of his clan members had said.
According to him, it all started with sparring practice. Sasuke was intentionally paired with Souji, a student of the Third Hokage.
According to reports from clan members who had overheard an Anbu's plan, Souji intended to kill Sasuke.
The reason for his death was an accident during sparring.
"..."
Fugaku wasn't stupid enough to believe that report.
Moreover, an Anbu "accidentally" leaked the information, it's impossible for him to believe it.
They could have gotten that information if they had caught and interrogated him, but just because of carelessness?
Carelessness is death.
That is impossible for an Anbu.
Someone was planning something against the Uchiha clan. That's why he had to be careful.
Who was it?
Even Fugaku didn't need to guess who it was.
"..."
What made all this strange was that, if Itachi hadn't saved Sasuke, his fate would have been sealed.
Even if Sasuke didn't die, he would definitely be seriously injured.
That's evident from the injuries Itachi sustained.
The question is, why did Souji use so much force during sparring practice?
Is it possible that he thought Sasuke was strong enough to withstand his attack?
"..."
The fact is, Souji didn't know how strong Sasuke was. He thought Sasuke was much stronger than he was, and he underestimated himself.
"..."
Did Souji do it on purpose? Or was this all a plan by the village elders?
Fugaku was also doubtful. How could an academy student injure Itachi like that?
Was Itachi hiding something?
"..."
"Itachi, don't disappoint me." Fugaku thought.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
"Souji-kun? What are you doing here?" Mikoto asked.
She herself didn't know that Souji was the reason her son needed treatment.
"Mikoto-san?" Souji raised his eyebrows. "I came here to give Itachi-san the cake I made."
"And what is your relationship with Itachi-san? Is he your younger sibling?" Of course, Souji knew that Itachi was Mikoto's son.
"Eh?" Mikoto's cheeks blushed slightly.
She waved her hand while covering her mouth. "No, no. Itachi is my son."
"Huh? Really?" Souji said, then looked at Itachi, who nodded in confirmation.
"..."
"Oh, sorry. I was wrong. It's just that Mikoto-san still looks very beautiful and young." Souji said to Mikoto in front of Itachi.
Twitch
Itachi's face twitched. For some reason, he had a bad premonition again, but this time he couldn't feel it clearly.
"Geez... Praising me like that won't get you anything from me, Souji-kun." Mikoto responded with a smile, hiding her embarrassment.
[Thoughts: Do I still look beautiful and...young?]
"If I didn't know that Mikoto-san already had a child, I might have declared my feelings for her by now." Souji said again.
"Oh my, Souji-kun! You're still too young. Stop joking around." Mikoto said, annoyed at Souji for always teasing her, though she was clearly happy about it.
Ahem
Itachi cleared his throat to let the two of them know he was there.
For some reason, Itachi felt annoyed and helpless when Souji spoke to his mother.
It was the first time Itachi had seen his mother make that expression.
"..."
"Oh, Itachi-san? You're still here?" Souji asked, knowing full well that he was still there.
Twitch
Itachi's face twitched again at Souji's question.
'This is my room.' Itachi thought.
"Mou... Souji-kun, of course he's here. This is Itachi's room." Mikoto said, laughing.
"Ah, sorry, sorry." Souji said, not sounding the least bit apologetic.
"..."
"So, Souji-kun. Did you make this cake?" Mikoto asked.
"Yes, and once again, I apologize, Itachi-san. I'm sorry for making you like this."
"Eh? Souji-kun? What do you mean by that?" Mikoto asked.
"So..."
"..."
"That's how it is." Souji explained.
"Oh my! How can you be so strong?" Mikoto was amazed.
"I'm just built different." Souji said.
Ahem
"It's okay, Souji-san. I don't blame you." Itachi said.
"All right then, I'll go first." Mikoto and Itachi nodded when they heard him.
"..."
After Souji left, Mikoto continued to stare at the door through, which he had just exited.
"..."
"So, Mother has met him before?" Itachi asked, breaking Mikoto's reverie.
"Hm...yes, Mother just met him a few days ago." Mikoto answered, taking a piece of cake Souji had given her.
"Eat this." Mikoto said, directing the cake to Itachi's mouth.
"Mother... I can eat it myself."
"Uchiha Itachi." Mikoto said softly, making Itachi shiver strangely.
He opened his mouth and let Mikoto feed him.
Mikoto smiled at that.
"..."
"..."
———————————————————
As it turned out, Souji's physique was quite strong, though he didn't know that. This was true even though his [Body] attribute was still at the Rare level.
He wondered what would happen if he upgraded it to the Ultimate level. 'Damn. And I even upgraded my Charm, which I don't even know if it works or not.' Souji thought, feeling a little regretful.
(Charm: I thought what we had was special...!)
In fact, without Souji realizing it, his Charm really helped him. This is an example of someone who is ungrateful for what he has received.
(Souji: ...)
"..."
Putting that aside, Souji gained valuable experience from Hiruzen.
He may not have learned ninjutsu and the like, but his fighting intuition and control of his power increased significantly. He even dared to spar with Naruto without fear of killing him.
Naruto also improved his taijutsu, even though his chakra control remained poor.
Now, Souji has free time to practice on his own. Of course, Naruto is with him. Naruto is just practicing with his shadow clones.
Souji's goal this time is to upgrade all his existing extra skills.
'System, display my Extra skill status.'
"..."
[Ding.]
[Extra skill :
Chakra control LV 10 (Max)
Rasengan LV1 (2/100)
Mystical Palm LV1 (1/100)
Shadow Clone LV1 (30/100)
Body Flicker LV1 (40/100)
Clone Jutsu LV1 (1/100)
Transformation Jutsu LV1 (1/100) ]
"..."
Souji felt quite satisfied because he now had the basic jutsu of a ninja. Even though he didn't have elemental ninjutsu, that was enough for now because he wanted to maximize all his extra skills.
If he could see chakra or its flow in someone's body, he could imitate any jutsu that person had. Unfortunately, Souji couldn't do that.
He could still imitate jutsu easily, but some complex jutsu would certainly be different.
His chakra control and perception of the chakra spectrum alone weren't enough. He wanted a skill like sensory jutsu because it would be useful, but he wanted to improve his skills first.
'What should I improve first?' he thought.
He had tried using his shadow clone to improve his other skills, but he couldn't.
Did his shadow clone have to reach level 10 first?
Or was it really impossible?
"..."
Souji decided to improve his Body Flicker first.
'Body Flicker.'
Swish
[+1]
Swish
[+1]
"..."
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
"..."
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Body Flicker LV10 (MAX)]
"..."
Phew
Souji finally stopped and sighed with relief.
"..."
It was mentally exhausting, but fortunately, perhaps because of his chakra control, he didn't feel his chakra significantly decrease.
But what about Body Flicker LV10?
"..."
Swish Swish Swish Swish Swish
He was so fast that he could leave a mirage of himself, it wasn't an addition from any genjutsu.
Because he was so fast, Souji could be in five different places at the same time.
"..."
And that wasn't his limit.
Swish Swish Swish
"..."
He could leave thirty of his mirages at the same time.
"..."
However, Souji was still curious. Could his Body Flicker at least match the speed of the Flying Thunder God?
What about Lightning Release: Chakra Mode?
"..."
'I have a way to escape now. What's next?' Souji thought. 'Rasengan?'
'Hm... I really want to level it up, but first, I want to try something.' Souji thought to himself.
"..."
Souji closed his eyes and tried to feel the chakra around him.
"..."
He felt that he needed to go deeper to sense the chakra around him.
"..."
He felt very calm and comfortable. He didn't hear any sounds or feel anything, he didn't even feel his own body.
"..."
When Souji opened his eyes, he saw himself sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
'Am I a cultivator?' He thought to himself, gently pulling his imaginary beard.
Souji looked at his current state.
"..."
[Ding.]
[Extra skill obtained.]
[Soul Sense.]
[Ding.]
[Extra skill obtained.]
[Astral Projection.]
"..."
'Motherfather.' Souji thought to himself.
He had wanted to try for Sensory Jutsu, but it turned out that he had obtained another extra skill.
He didn't mind it, but unfortunately, the skills he got were related to the soul and weren't offensive.
"... "
After that, Souji tried to return to his body.
"..."
Then, he opened his eyes again.
"..."
'Soul sense.'
[+1]
"..."
'Okay, improving Soul Sense is simple. I just need to activate the skill repeatedly.' Souji thought, 'Then what about astral projection?'
'Astral projection.'
"..."
His soul then left his body.
[+1]
'Ah?'
He returned to his body and reactivated his astral projection skill.
"..."
'To be counted by the system, the soul must first leave the body.'
Souji sighed. It seemed he would need more time to improve his astral projection skill.
"..."
"..."
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
"..."
[Ding.]
[Level up.]
[Soul Sense LV10 (MAX)]
"..."
Now, Souji has three extra skills at MAX level.
He was also very happy with his Soul Sense skill.
He couldn't detect chakra, but he could sense living creatures.
He could feel them.
He could feel a squirrel in a tree, birds flying high in the sky, and even insects, like hundreds or thousands of ants on the ground.
He could also feel Naruto and his shadow clones.
Interestingly, while the life he felt from Naruto was like a bright, shining ball, the life he felt from his shadow clones was like a small, shining mist.
'Very interesting.' Souji thought to himself.
He could also feel someone nearby, not far from him and Naruto.
'Anbu, huh?'
Maybe he could use his astral projection skill to see who the Anbu was watching them.
"..."
"..."