Hyūga Hizashi took his leave, and for a moment Fugaku turned his gaze back to the boy standing before him.
"Shisui, you have rendered another great service to the Uchiha clan this time."
Fugaku had heard the full report. Shisui had charged in alone, stalling an entire squad of Kirigakure's elite shinobi and cutting down several of them in the process.
Had it not been for his still-youthful height, the enemy commander might easily have mistaken the boy for "Shunshin Shimizu" himself.
Shisui's speed had been simply too overwhelming—an impossible blur that left even veteran jōnin struggling to keep up. His mastery of the Body Flicker Technique had already reached perfection.
And so, ever since the raid on Kirigakure, the name "Shunshin no Shisui" had begun to spread quietly across the ninja world.
It was an absolute honor, and an unequivocal acknowledgment of his strength. His speed was now ranked just below that of Konoha's own "Shunshin Shimizu" and the "Yellow Flash."
"The situation at the time was extremely dangerous. I was the only one still able to fight… I never expected I would actually manage to disrupt their advance."
Fugaku's eyes drifted to the tachi at Shisui's hip. "That sword you're carrying…"
"It was a gift from my sensei. A fire-natured chakra weapon."
Fugaku blinked, momentarily stunned. He had not expected Shimizu Uzuki to be quite so… wealthy. Or so generous.
"So it was Shimizu…" he murmured. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in quite some time." Fugaku sighed softly. The successful assassination of the Third Mizukage owed much to Shimizu's efforts in pinning down the enemy. He had yet to thank the man properly. "I don't recall seeing him at the funeral today, either."
"I haven't seen my sensei for a long while myself," Shisui replied. "He may already be at the Kikyō Pass front."
It wasn't simply that Shisui hadn't seen Shimizu in person; there had been no word from him at all. Shisui had even asked both Megumi and Kakashi. The former had looked utterly bewildered, while the latter had simply fallen silent.
Clearly, Kakashi knew something.
"Shisui," Fugaku continued, "for the upcoming battle at Kikyō Pass, I intend to bring Itachi to the front lines with me."
He had voiced the same intention several times before, only to be blocked each time by Shisui's teacher. But now…
"You won't object, will you?"
"But Itachi is still so young…"
"Itachi is already a shinobi," Fugaku said calmly. "And the fate of every shinobi is to walk through blood and death."
"I want to use this war to help Itachi awaken his Sharingan as soon as possible. His talent truly surprises even me."
"As his older brother, you must want to see him grow strong quickly, don't you?"
Shisui fell silent.
Indeed. Once a child bore the Uchiha name, that weight would descend upon them sooner or later. Better to let Itachi grow through real experience than to keep him sheltered like a hothouse flower.
His chest tightened. After a long moment, he answered hoarsely, "…All right."
"Excellent. I will assign dedicated guards to protect Itachi's safety, and I'll request an ANBU operative from the Hokage to watch over him from the shadows."
"I believe Itachi will become a shinobi who can stand shoulder to shoulder with you."
Fugaku said a few more words after that, but Shisui barely registered them.
The moment the memorial service ended, he left the Memorial Stone and headed straight for Shimizu's house. The boy was desperate for his teacher's guidance.
Yet the thin layer of dust on the door handle told him the teacher had still not returned.
Sensei… where have you gone?
Why is there still no news at all?
The image of Kakashi's earlier silence flashed through his mind again, and Shisui turned on his heel and hurried to the Hatake residence.
The gates were tightly shut.
After making a few careful inquiries, he finally learned that several days earlier Kakashi had left for the Kikyō Pass front line together with his own teacher, the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato.
Would Hyūga Satomi know anything?
She was the person closest to his teacher… perhaps she had heard something?
Shisui quickly made his way to the Hyūga clan's main estate.
But once again he was disappointed. Hyūga Satomi and her younger brother, Hyūga Hyakumo, had departed for Kikyō Pass just yesterday.
Everyone… had already gone to the front.
According to Clan Head Fugaku, he and Itachi would likely be heading there soon as well.
His teacher must be at the front lines too, right?
Carrying a faint thread of unease, Shisui returned to the Uchiha clan compound. Without realizing it, his feet carried him to the lakeside where Itachi always practiced his Great Fireball Technique.
This time, however, Itachi was not training.
Beside the boy sat a girl of the same age. She had long, tea-brown hair and large, bright eyes. Most striking was the small beauty mark beneath her right eye, shaped like a teardrop.
The two of them were sitting at the edge of the pier, talking quietly, each holding a skewer of three-color dango.
This was exactly the kind of childhood Itachi should be enjoying.
"Ah, Brother Shisui," Itachi exclaimed in a low voice, the guilty tone of someone caught red-handed.
"It's fine. I was just passing by."
"In that case, Itachi, I won't keep you from your training. Bye-bye, Itachi." The girl flashed a sweet smile, stood up lightly, and walked away with quick, cheerful steps. "Bye-bye, Brother Shisui."
"Mm. Bye-bye," Shisui replied with a smile.
He watched her retreating figure for a moment.
"Her name is Izumi," Itachi offered quietly.
"Mm."
"She still hasn't learned how to refine chakra yet."
"Do you already know that Clan Head Fugaku plans to take you to the front lines?"
"Mm!" Itachi nodded firmly. "It was my own request to Father."
"I see… You really didn't have to…"
"No… Brother Shisui, I want to become a powerful shinobi like you." Though Itachi's small frame still looked so young, a resolute will burned within it. "Only after I become strong will I be able to bring peace to everyone."
"Mm. As long as you hold on to that determination, you will definitely grow strong." Shisui suddenly pointed at the last dango still in Itachi's hand. "How does that taste, anyway?"
"Pretty good."
Itachi had always liked sweet things, and this particular skewer had come from the girl—Uchiha Izumi—so he was eating it with obvious relish.
"Really that good?" Shisui asked, a little skeptical.
He had actually wanted to try one himself, but Itachi had already taken a bite.
Shisui could only watch as the boy swallowed the final piece, a contented expression spreading across his face.
Did he like it that much?
"Never mind. I still prefer my crows."
"Then… can they be eaten?" Itachi suddenly looked up, eyes wide with curiosity.
Eat… crows?!
Was he serious?!
Did Itachi have some kind of innate gluttonous streak?!
For a second Shisui actually considered the possibility before answering uncertainly, "…You'd probably have to pluck the feathers first."
"Then can we try it sometime?" The small boy's face lit up with excitement. "It would be the perfect chance for you to test how well I've mastered the Great Fireball Technique, Brother Shisui."
With the power of Itachi's Great Fireball, the poor crow would probably be reduced to nothing but ashes…
Besides, Shisui raised crows for the sake of developing new genjutsu, not for eating!
"But I keep crows to help me create new illusion techniques."
"Ah? That's too bad…" The little boy's shoulders slumped in disappointment.
Once it was connected to ninjutsu, it obviously couldn't be eaten.
And so, Shisui's crows were spared—for now.
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