More than a month slipped by.
In those days, Amane often went in and out of Fugaku's study, which stirred no small curiosity in Itachi.
Even so, a brother was a brother. He did not pry into what Amane and their father discussed.
Today was Academy admissions day.
For ordinary families, enrollment was something to look forward to.
The Ninja Academy.
Since the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, founded it, Konoha had gained an endless stream of talent.
From the Three Sannin who graduated early as Sarutobi Hiruzen's students, to the Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato and his student Hatake Kakashi, they were Konoha's unquestioned pillars.
Children who came to the Academy naturally dreamed of becoming figures like them.
Dreaming was not wrong.
They were mistaken about the world.
This world runs on pedigree.
It is not as simple as work hard and you will be rewarded. Hard work surpasses genius is a fairy tale. In Amane's eyes, if you can be surpassed that easily, you never were a genius.
Take the simplest example, Rock Lee.
He trained taijutsu several times harder than anyone else.
He debuted near his peak, opened one Gate in three years, then, in the Fourth War, flung a kunai and faded from the stage.
Talent sets your ceiling, and effort only gets you to that ceiling faster.
That is how this world works.
Even Uzumaki Naruto, poster child of never giving up, would never have reached his father's height without the Nine Tails, without being Asura's reincarnation, without Uzumaki blood.
Strip away the halos and he was just an ordinary kid who wanted to be Hokage.
A dream would remain a dream.
Of course.
Amane would never sneer at those who grind and fight.
A will that refuses to bend deserves respect.
"Still, my little brother is Indra reborn, and my big brother is the legendary Uchiha Itachi who slew his clan."
Smiling, Amane nudged his yellow frames, then nodded kindly to Rock Lee, who was crab-walking upside down around the school.
"Effort will not betray you."
"But if you are born Uchiha, once you open the Mangekyo, even the worst of us is an elite jonin."
"In the end it is a world of fathers and sons."
He sounded faintly wistful.
Amane lit a Hua-zi and drew in with a hint of melancholy.
"Too bad I was born nearsighted."
What is wrong with Second Brother?
Beside him, Sasuke tugged Itachi's sleeve and stared at Amane in confusion.
"Nii-san, Second Brother is acting weird."
What is weird?
Itachi had been thinking of other things. He blinked and glanced at Amane.
Was he not always like this?
He shook his head and did not explain.
Sasuke, though, eyed the cigarette between Amane's lips and felt a sudden itch.
"Second Brother, give me one."
"If you dare smoke, I dare beat you to death."
Amane blew a smoke ring into Sasuke's face as calmly as reading a book.
"My foolish little brother, smoking depends on the person."
"When a girl walks past you and smells that choking reek on your clothes, she will gag."
Then why do you smoke?
Sasuke's mouth twitched.
"I am different."
Amane adjusted his glasses with a gentle smile. In front of Sasuke and Itachi, he walked straight toward Ino in the distance. A breath later, Sasuke froze.
His Second Brother took the girl's hand with easy flair, gave it a soft squeeze, then drew her into a friendly hug.
Instead of getting mad, the girl shyly offered him the yellow flower from her hat.
Strong play, Second Brother.
As expected of you.
Sasuke raised a thumb, full of envy.
He was not yet the boy with nothing but revenge after a massacre.
At six, a child naturally longed for special attention.
Luckily, Second Brother's move drew plenty of eyes, and Sasuke soaked up the spillover.
The three Uchiha brothers.
Their faces shared a family line yet were each distinct.
Three different auras, and the crowd could not help but watch them.
Uchiha Itachi, the eldest, stood steady as a tower. The glints that flashed in his eyes betrayed a mind that never stopped turning.
Uchiha Amane, elegant as a young gentleman, put people at ease with his scholarly air.
In that instant, even some who held prejudice against the Uchiha felt their view shift.
It was a different kind of pull.
As for Uchiha Sasuke, well.
He had a good face shape.
Still, the final reason they drew attention was the name they shared.
Uchiha.
Many parents of new students shook their heads, tugged their children aside, and stopped them from trying to befriend the three.
Yes.
No matter how striking their presence, they were Uchiha.
Anyone with eyes knew how bad things had gotten between the clan and the village.
No one wanted trouble.
Even so, not every parent cared about such things.
Take Yamanaka Inoichi.
Watching his daughter cozy up to the Uchiha's second young master left him feeling complicated as a father.
Yet the child did not repel him.
His manners alone said he was a good kid.
"Yes, my harem, my broad affections, but I am a good man."
A mild voice drifted over.
Ino burst into giggles.
Inoichi's good impression evaporated at once. He almost coughed blood on the spot.
He could only watch as his daughter let that good man lead her into the school. It seemed he had lost his chance to save her.
"Um..."
Something Amane did not expect happened. As the children headed for the Academy, a hesitant voice sounded at his side.
He turned and smiled.
Perhaps because he looked approachable, the child of prophecy who loved making friends, but found no one willing to be his friend, drifted over of his own accord.
"I... I am Uzumaki Naruto, nice to..."
Before he finished, Amane reached out, brushed the dust from the shoulder of his old orange jacket, smiled like a kindly father, and borrowed the goggles from Naruto's forehead to perch them on his own.
"Come on, Naruto-kun."
"The teacher has arrived."