The Strong of Uchiha

After all the Uchiha combat personnel returned, Izumi was among those ordered to rest, while Itachi, being a key figure in this incident, had been dragged off to a meeting.

She had originally planned to wait for Itachi, but Uchiha Yusuke specifically came out to pass along a message: Itachi still had other matters to attend to.

He told Izumi to go back and rest first.

Izumi could only return home. After assuring Hazuki that she was safe, she went to rest.

Although she was exhausted after being busy all night, once she fell asleep, she began having one nightmare after another.

First, she dreamed that Tiger Mask Man cut her down with a single slash. Then she dreamed that Itachi killed her.

"Izumi..."

"Izumi...!"

Izumi abruptly sat up in bed. Her mother, Hazuki, looked at her worriedly.

"What's wrong, child? Why are you covered in cold sweat?"

"Huff... huff..."

Izumi panted heavily and gave her mother an apologetic look.

"Sorry to worry you, Mother. I just had a nightmare."

"What time is it now?"

Hazuki said, "It's already ten. Itachi has been waiting for you for a while."

"Itachi is here!?" Izumi threw back the covers and jumped up.

"Mother, why didn't you tell me?"

Hazuki merely smiled without saying anything. Itachi and Izumi had known each other for many years, yet this was the first time Itachi had come to visit.

She had not seen Itachi for a long time. The Itachi of today had changed a great deal.

When Izumi hurriedly changed and rushed into the living room, Itachi was sitting properly on a stool.

"Itachi... um..."

Izumi ran up to Itachi, panting, but suddenly froze, unsure of what to say.

"Are you alright?"

Hazuki was not a combatant, so she did not know what had happened the night before.

Izumi was now worried that Itachi would be punished. After all, betraying one's clan could be either a minor or major offense.

Itachi gazed deeply at the girl whose heart and eyes were filled entirely with him.

Then he slowly said, "Izumi, I'm leaving for a while. This time, it may be quite a long time."

This was the first time Itachi had informed Izumi of his whereabouts. That was something only people in a relatively intimate relationship did.

Izumi stared blankly at Itachi, her expression complicated—part surprise, part joy, and part worry.

Once Itachi made up his mind to do something, he would not waver.

He opened the bag beside him. Inside were several skewers of three-color dango.

"Next time... it will probably be after quite a long while."

"You..."

Seeing that Itachi had actually brought her three-color dango, Izumi was overjoyed. From this gesture, she already understood Itachi's feelings.

Izumi was so happy that her eyes even reddened slightly.

"I'll wait for you!"

"No matter how long it takes, I'll wait!"

Itachi looked at Izumi gently and handed her a skewer of dango.

Izumi took it and bit into one.

It was very sweet.

Hyuga Branch Family Compound.

As Mitsunobu passed by the training ground, he heard the expected sound of wind whistling from within.

Only eight years old, Neji was seriously striking a wooden post.

Due to the chaos last night, Konoha School had been suspended.

Hiashi was busy handling various matters and had not paid attention to Neji.

That was why Neji was here.

At this point in his life, he hated the main family more than ever.

But he had seen his father punished by the Caged Bird merely for showing an unfriendly look.

So, in front of the main family, Neji had always remained expressionless and endured everything without complaint.

Of course, Elder Mitsunobu had spent a great deal of time with him and taught Neji quite a lot.

Above all, he had taught him that before he was certain of victory, he had to keep his emotions under control.

"Neji, don't push yourself too hard."

Seeing the ring of sweat around Neji's feet, Mitsunobu knew that Neji had been training for quite some time again.

Neji struck the wooden post's acupoints three times in succession, then slowly withdrew his hand.

"Elder Mitsunobu, what exactly happened in Konoha?"

A child like him, still attending the Ninja Academy, had no idea what had happened last night.

However, from the personnel movements, Neji could tell that something major must have happened in Konoha.

After all, Elder Mitsunobu normally would not go over to the main family's side.

Mitsunobu finally dropped his robotic demeanor and revealed a gloating expression.

"Konoha has always been weakening the Uchiha Clan. This time, Danzo directly wanted to wipe out the Uchiha."

"It was just that something went wrong with the plan, and the Uchiha Clan turned the tables on them."

"They killed more than seventy of Danzo's men."

"Konoha and the Uchiha Clan nearly came to blows last night."

Mitsunobu's words left Neji somewhat stunned. "How would the Uchiha dare?"

Neji still had no clear understanding of the sheer enormity that was Konoha.

At his age, he only knew that Konoha could not be opposed. Even his own clan could only yield and retreat.

With his hands tucked into his sleeves, Mitsunobu looked in the direction of the Uchiha Clan Compound, envy showing in his eyes.

"The Uchiha have three powerful figures capable of deciding a battlefield. Naturally, they dare to resist."

"While Konoha has only one Third Hokage, old and frail."

Neji was a little dazed. "Powerful figures...?"

Mitsunobu sighed. "Yes, powerful figures with the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"The Mangekyō Sharingan?"

Neji turned the unfamiliar term over in his mind.

He had never seen it, never heard of it, and had no idea what it represented.

Mitsunobu came back to himself. "You'll find out someday."

Neji nodded slightly. "Then... who are these three powerful figures?"

Mitsunobu chuckled. "Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Itachi, and Uchiha Senyo."

He did not mind explaining a little more to Neji.

Neji was mature for his age, after all. Knowing more intelligence would not be a bad thing.

Neji knew the first two. One was the Uchiha Clan's head, while the other was Sasuke's older brother.

At this point, Sasuke was still a child who talked about Nii-san all day long.

Even though Neji was a grade above Sasuke and the others, he had still heard Sasuke bragging about his brother during breaks.

As for Senyo, he did not know him.

Seeing Neji process his words, Mitsunobu's face showed anticipation.

"Grow into a powerful figure soon. Only then can you control your own fate."

Uchiha Clan Compound.

It was already afternoon when the hungry Sasuke woke up.

Senyo had been worried that Sasuke would run around after waking up, so he had used a little more force. Sasuke ended up sleeping for an entire day.

After waking up, Sasuke found that his whole body was sore, as if someone had thrown a sack over him and beaten him senseless.

He felt himself over.

"Hiss... it hurts."

He discovered bruises and scrapes on his body.

Did someone beat me after I passed out?

Why did I pass out?

That's right! Senyo-senpai used genjutsu on me!

Sasuke threw on his clothes and shoes and ran outside, only to find that neither Fugaku nor Mikoto was there.

Confused, he headed out the door. Along the way, the looks some clan members gave Sasuke were strange.

Sasuke felt a little uneasy. Turning a street corner, he happened to see Itachi leading several clan members, apparently preparing to leave.

"Nii-san!" Little Sasuke immediately relaxed and ran over.

Itachi gestured behind him. "You go on ahead. We'll meet up at the black market."

The dozen or so clan members said nothing. After nodding, they passed Sasuke and headed out of Konoha.

"Nii-san, are you going out on a mission?"

Seeing Itachi's outfit, Sasuke unconsciously tightened his grip on Itachi's hand.

"Yeah."

Itachi simply stared fixedly at Sasuke, as though he wanted to carve his beloved little brother into his mind.

"Nii-san, you promised you'd train with me."

Sasuke still remembered what Itachi had promised him before.

A smile appeared on Itachi's face. Then he tapped Sasuke's forehead. "Forgive me, Sasuke. Maybe next time."

"That hurt."

Rubbing his forehead, Sasuke watched Itachi's retreating back and complained, "Nii-san! When is next time!?"

Itachi's steps paused for a moment. "Grow up well. Wait for me to come back, Sasuke."

Sasuke froze, instinctively sensing that something had happened.

"Nii-san!"

This time, Itachi did not look back. His figure vanished in a flash.