What Izumi didn't know was that all of his actions had just been observed by an old man with a habit of peeking into other people's business.
Through his crystal ball, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had been watching Izumi. In truth, Hiruzen had originally been checking in on Hinata Hyuga, who had slipped away from home. After all, she had once been kidnapped, and her uncle Hizashi had died because of it. If anything like that happened again, the Hyuga clan would stop at nothing, even turning against him.
But Hiruzen hadn't expected to witness Izumi's appearance during his scrying.
The next morning, Izumi returned to Training Ground Seven to continue his practice. Though he could now produce the Fireball Jutsu, its power was far from sufficient. With no other option, he pushed himself to train harder. By the time he finally paused, it was already midday.
"Izumi, where are Itachi and Shisui?"
Uchiha Izumi looked up to see Izumi Uemura carrying lunch in her hands.
"Big Sister Uemura, Itachi went on a mission. Shisui seems to be busy too. I heard they won't be back until the day after tomorrow."
Hearing that, Izumi felt a little puzzled. Even he knew about their absence—shouldn't she already know this too?
"Oh…" Uemura's voice fell flat, her expression dimming slightly.
"Big Sister Uemura… you like Itachi, don't you?" Izumi asked suddenly.
"W-what are you—?!" Her cheeks flushed instantly.
"If you didn't like him, why would you come here every day? You must have met Itachi at the Academy, right? If you really like him, why not say it out loud? Itachi and Shisui are both a bit dense. If you don't speak up, they'll never know."
Having his secret feelings pointed out by a child made Uemura panic. She looked around quickly, relieved that no one else was nearby, before sighing with relief.
"Who else have you told about this?" she demanded nervously.
"No one—just Shisui. Otherwise, every time you come to see Itachi, he'd just stick around being a lightbulb in the way." Izumi grinned mischievously. "Oh, and by the way—Itachi doesn't actually like grilled meat that much. He prefers dango and natto."
As someone who had adored Naruto in his previous life, Izumi knew these little details about Itachi all too well.
Uemura stared at him, utterly speechless. For someone so young, he acted far older than his years. Deciding she didn't know how to reply, she simply set out the food she'd brought and sat down beside him.
"Well, since Itachi isn't here, you get lucky. Tell me—what are you doing here?"
"Practicing ninjutsu!" Izumi declared proudly. "Shisui taught me the Fireball Jutsu and said he'll test me in three days. I can make one now, but it's still too small. Look."
Forming seals quickly, he spat out a Fireball. This time, it was bigger than before—about the size of his own head.
"Eh…" Uemura was taken aback. At the Academy, children only learned the Three Basic Techniques. The Fireball Jutsu was a C-rank technique, and even many genin struggled to master it. What Izumi had produced was only a rough version, but for a four-year-old to achieve this at all was nothing short of astonishing.
"Izumi, the problem is probably that your chakra reserves aren't large enough… or you're not using enough chakra when you cast the jutsu. You—"
She had intended to reassure him, to say that for someone his age, his chakra was naturally limited and his progress was already remarkable. But before she could finish, Izumi's eyes lit up at the mention of chakra.
"So it's just a matter of chakra output?"
At once, he increased the flow of chakra coursing through his body. His hands blurred into seals once more.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
This time, as he expelled the technique, a fully formed, roaring Fireball surged outward, blazing with power at last.