With the system's help, Izumi quickly mastered shurikenjutsu. From a short distance away, both Itachi and Shisui widened their eyes in surprise at his progress.
The two of them were prodigies among the prodigies of the Uchiha clan, yet even they hadn't learned shuriken techniques this quickly.
"Shisui-nii, how long did it take you?"
"A week. I imagine you were about the same, right? But this kid… he's a monster. He only saw it once, and now he can already do it. Looks like our clan will have another powerhouse in the future."
Izumi had no idea he was being closely observed by both Itachi and Shisui. Even if he had known, he wouldn't have minded. They were both good people—so long as Izumi never posed a threat to Konoha's safety, he wouldn't be in danger from them.
He spent the entire morning getting used to the feel of shurikenjutsu. After all, it was the only real technique he knew. Near noon, Itachi and Shisui approached him.
"Well done, Izumi. Next, I'll teach you how to refine chakra.
Chakra is the energy produced by perfectly blending and controlling the body's various energies. It's the source of power for ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, or even forming threads to bind or cut through substances made of chakra.
Its composition is as follows:
1. The physical energy drawn from each of the 130 trillion cells in the body.
2. The spiritual energy trained and strengthened through study and experience.
Once extracted, chakra can be used for 'jutsu' by forming the appropriate hand seals."
Itachi gave a concise explanation of chakra. In truth, these details were in the Uchiha archives for anyone to study—they were basic knowledge. But to Itachi, Izumi was only a four-year-old child. He didn't expect him to already know this.
"Do you understand what I've said?"
"Yes. I've read about the theory of chakra in books at home before, but I don't know the specific method for refining it."
Itachi nodded, about to say more, when another figure approached.
"Itachi, I knew you'd be here. Huh? Who's this kid? I remember your little brother Sasuke doesn't look like this."
"This is Uchiha Izumi—well, you could say he's Itachi's 'opponent.' He's the one who ambushed Itachi yesterday," Shisui explained.
"Izumi?"
"Hello, Izumi-nee."
From the moment he saw Uchiha Izumi's first appearance, the boy recognized her instantly. This pretty little girl was Itachi's devoted admirer—though, tragically, she would die at his hands during the Uchiha massacre. For Izumi-nee, perhaps dying within Tsukuyomi would be a kind of mercy—at least she wouldn't have to face the reality of being killed by the one she loved.
> "Ding! System notification: Side mission detected—help Uchiha Izumi-nee fulfill her wish. Reward: unlock special system. Failure: no penalty."
Hearing the system's mechanical voice, Izumi froze. The system hadn't specified what her wish was, but as someone who knew the Naruto storyline, he knew full well—her wish was to be with Itachi.
"Hello. You're amazing, you know that? Having the courage to challenge Itachi at such a young age. But if you want to beat him, you'll have to work hard," Izumi-nee said warmly. She even felt a strange closeness to him, as if he were her younger brother—perhaps because their names were so similar.
"Mm, I know. I'm learning shurikenjutsu from Itachi-nii right now. He was just explaining chakra to me."
"I see. Then you—"
Izumi and Izumi-nee fell into easy conversation, while Itachi and Shisui found themselves sidelined.
"Ahem, Izumi-nee, did you come here today to see Itachi again?"
Seeing the two grow more engrossed in their talk, Shisui finally interrupted.
"Yes. I brought lunch for the two of you—eat before you get back to training." She placed the bundle she'd carried on the ground.
"Oh, Shisui-nii, I just remembered something I need your help with. Can you come with me?"
As he spoke, Izumi gave Shisui a meaningful look. Unfortunately, his "subtle" eye signal was far from subtle—Itachi and Shisui, both a little slow on this front, didn't pick up on it, but Izumi-nee did. She realized he was trying to create a chance for her to be alone with Itachi.
Part of her was surprised at his maturity; the other part was flustered at having her feelings so plainly read. Even kunoichi weren't immune to blushing when it came to such matters.
Half-dragged by Izumi, Shisui left the training ground, leaving only Itachi and Izumi-nee behind. Izumi had no interest in what would happen between them.
"Izumi, what did you want to talk about?" Shisui asked once they were outside, the two wandering the Uchiha district.
"Shisui-nii, didn't you see? Izumi-nee likes Itachi-nii. Why else would she skip class just to bring you and him lunch?"
Izumi spoke with a look of disdain, feeling slightly depressed on Izumi-nee's behalf—every time she came here, she ran into Shisui, the ultimate third wheel.
"I see… but you're quite the perceptive little guy. Since Itachi just told you about chakra's origin, I'll explain its nature. The basic chakra natures are Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and Lightning. They counter each other in a cycle: Earth beats Water, Water beats Fire, and so on."
"I see."
Of course Izumi already knew this, but he had to act like it was his first time hearing it.
"Most ninja are born with one chakra nature. Jōnin will usually train to gain another. You'll learn more in detail once you enter the academy. For now, I'll test your chakra nature. Most of us Uchiha are Fire, but there are exceptions."
Shisui produced a strip of chakra paper.
"This is for testing your nature. Just channel your chakra into it. Fire will make it burn, Wind will cut it, Lightning will make it wrinkle, Earth will make it crumble, and Water will make it damp."
Izumi took the paper and channeled his chakra into it—unaware that Shisui had deliberately omitted the refining instructions. Although Izumi had hidden his knowledge of chakra well, Shisui had caught a few hints and was using this test as a probe.
Since Izumi could already refine chakra but was keeping it a secret, Shisui was on guard. But in the next instant, that suspicion vanished.
The paper split cleanly in half. One half burst into flames, the other wrinkled tightly.
"Three natures?"
Shisui was stunned. At the same time, he dismissed any thought that Izumi might be a spy.
After all, even being born with two natures was rare. Shisui himself had Fire and Lightning, and while he was developing other natures now, his innate ones were only those two. The only ninja he knew of born with three was the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki—whose Dust Release was a kekkei tōta formed from Wind, Earth, and Fire.