"Uchiha Itachi, come and face me in a duel!"
That overly dramatic voice echoed across the training grounds. Itachi continued practicing his shuriken techniques, not sparing the speaker even a glance.
The boy who shouted, Kageno, looked ridiculous, as if a flock of crows had flown past right over his head.
"Did you hear me, Uchiha Itachi?"
Seeing Kageno rushing up with two lackeys at his side, Itachi sighed and set down his shuriken."If this is just about losing in our spar earlier and you want a rematch, then I think there's no need. It's meaningless."
Kageno jabbed a finger at him. "What's the matter? Are you scared? Coward!"
Itachi turned his back, voice calm and detached."Fighting you has no meaning for me. In other words, I have no interest in you."
Behind him, Kageno burst out laughing, puffing himself up as he bragged to his followers about how "afraid" Itachi was.
Not far away, Uchiha Shion twirled a leaf between his fingers and smirked."Itachi hasn't changed at all—same deadpan face every day, like everyone owes him a fortune."
Beside him, Hyūga Tokuma chuckled. "Honestly, I've always wanted to know—between you and Itachi, who's stronger?"
Shion noticed Inuzuka Hana also glancing his way. He yawned and shrugged."What does it matter who's stronger? This is just the Academy. Being 'number one' just brings endless trouble."
No sooner had he spoken than Kageno and his two flunkies came parading back, Itachi caught in the middle of their commotion.
"Make way, Lord Itachi is coming through!""Our Lord Itachi just defeated Fat Tiger from the upper grades—out of the way!""Step aside, Lord Itachi is here…"
Shion could clearly see Itachi's fists clenched tight as he was surrounded and "escorted." The poor guy was on the verge of a social death.
"See? Didn't I call it?" Shion said lightly.
Tokuma and Hana exchanged looks and nodded furiously.If this kept happening every day, Itachi really would die of embarrassment.
Shion stuffed the torn leaf halves into his pocket and pulled out another.
Training wind-nature chakra wasn't nearly as easy as Naruto's story made it sound. From his own experience, Shion had to admit: both Naruto and Konohamaru truly deserved to be called geniuses.
Gathering chakra into a spinning sphere was already difficult. Adding wind-nature transformation created the Rasengan: Wind Release variant, and combining that with advanced form manipulation resulted in the Rasenshuriken.
A whole progression of ninjutsu, from low to high, all performed without hand seals—perfectly suited for Flying Thunder God techniques.
Until he unlocked Wood Release by fusing water and earth chakra, his clone "Sora" would continue developing in Minato's combat style.
While Shion practiced wind-nature transformation, his shadow clone was pushing water and earth chakra to the limit. This way, the progress toward Wood Release would be maximized.
Someday, when he could clap his hands and summon Deep Forest Emergence or the True Thousand Hands, Rasengan would be obsolete.
Still, the clone had to be careful. Who knew when Danzō or Uchiha Shisui might be isolated? If he only managed to take down Aburame Ryōma after all that effort, it would hardly be worth it.
At the dango shop, Shion frowned at the skewer in his hand."Shisui, you've been a jōnin for years, and you're treating us to… dango? Is that really appropriate?"
He glanced at Itachi, who seemed to be savoring every bite. The kid only smiled when eating sweets.
"Who would've thought the so-called genius of the Uchiha clan actually loves sweets? If the girls at school find out, can your cool image survive?"
The moment Shion said that, Itachi froze mid-bite, stiff with embarrassment.
Shisui quickly jumped in to rescue him."Itachi's only seven. Isn't it normal for him to like sweets? Honestly, Shion—you've already eaten three skewers. Is it really your place to talk?"
Shion shot back, "That's only because there's nothing else! Grilled meat suits me better. I could eat a mountain of it."
At that moment, Itachi put down his dango and turned to Shisui."I want to apply for early graduation."
"…Early graduation?"
Shisui blinked in surprise. Shion, however, laughed, as if he'd been expecting it."If I were him, I'd graduate early too. If he stays, he'll socially die a few hundred times every day."
Shisui frowned. "Did something happen?"
Itachi stayed quiet, but Shion happily explained everything."Every day, his little fanboys clear the way, chanting 'Lord Itachi, Itachi-sama'… ha! If it were me, I'd earth-style burrow into the ground on the spot."
Finally, Itachi said calmly, "The Academy has nothing more to teach me. Graduating is the best choice."
The table went silent. Shisui seemed deep in thought.
Shion's mind flickered to his lovestruck little sister waiting at home. He sighed."The Academy doesn't just teach ninjutsu. Becoming a shinobi means your free time disappears. These few years at the Academy are the most peaceful you'll ever have."
"Your bonds with your peers are formed here too. The Uchiha feel so out of place partly because our geniuses stand out too much."
"Your nerves are always tight. Maybe the only time you relax is when you go home and see your little brother. What you need is to breathe—not to spend every day thinking about life and death, vengeance, the clan, and the village. You're only seven—you can't possibly carry all that."
"Itachi… if the day ever comes when you snap and lose your mind, I'll be the first one to kill you."
The words dropped like a hammer, chilling the air around them.
But both Shisui and Itachi could see the conviction in Shion's eyes. He meant it, utterly serious.
Itachi didn't doubt him. Instead, after a pause, he asked,"You haven't awakened your Sharingan yet, but every time we spar, I feel how easily you handle me. Why is that?"
Shisui also leaned in, curious.
Shion avoided the question, answering Shisui instead:"If it's overwhelming power you need, then give me more time."
Shisui's eyes narrowed. Overwhelming power? If it could bridge the gap between clan and village, then maybe it was worth waiting…
Itachi too fell into thought. The vague, evasive words from Shion and Shisui made him wary. Clearly, they had been keeping something from him.
That night, Shion returned home to find his sister Izumi pouting at the door, cheeks puffed out.
"Waiting for me? Since when are you this well-behaved?"
He poked her puffed cheek until she broke character and whined,"Big brother, the moment class ended you ran off with Itachi and didn't wait for me. I wanted to come too."
Shion waved it off. "Shisui called us for something, so we went to the dango shop. Here—I brought you some."
Izumi's eyes lit up as soon as she saw the skewers. Her complaints evaporated instantly as she dug in.
"Don't forget to save some for Mom," Shion reminded.