Itachi Uchiha

"The wind is rather noisy today."

Itachi Uchiha had only just arrived at the park, but upon hearing those words, he could not help wondering whether he should turn around and leave.

"Good morning, Itachi."

The gentle smile on Yuzuru Hyuga's face made Itachi Uchiha instinctively take a step back. His expression was as cold as ice, and his calm eyes stared straight at Yuzuru.

Keep this up and I'm leaving.

"Come on, morning training." The smile vanished from Yuzuru Hyuga's face. He removed his black-framed glasses, and his whole demeanor changed slightly.

He somewhat resembled the future-grown Neji, but compared to Neji's delicate features, his brows and eyes were noticeably sharper. That was before he had even fully grown into his looks. By the time he was seven or eight, the difference would probably be even more obvious and more eye-catching.

Well, he probably would not be like Itachi, though. Did that guy already have wrinkles at seven or eight?

Come to think of it, were those nasolabial folds or something else?

Only then did Itachi Uchiha stroll over at an unhurried pace. "I really can't understand why you think putting on glasses would make you look more approachable."

"Facts have proven that people's first impressions are often crucial. Take you, for example." Yuzuru Hyuga set his glasses aside.

Itachi Uchiha fell into thought. Thinking it over carefully, what Yuzuru said did not seem entirely unreasonable.

For example, ever since their first meeting, he had already decided deep down that the person before him was an extremely dangerous freak who did not resemble a four-year-old at all.

"So, if wearing glasses can make me seem a little more harmless, why not?"

Yuzuru Hyuga rolled his shoulders and neck, then walked toward Itachi Uchiha step by step.

Itachi Uchiha sighed, but he had grown accustomed to how they communicated. He took the initiative and charged forward.

Then, unsurprisingly, thirty seconds later, Yuzuru Hyuga precisely struck his acupuncture points with the Gentle Fist. The instant his chakra became chaotic, his taijutsu grew sluggish, and the barrage of strikes that followed left him helplessly beaten to the ground.

Yuzuru Hyuga's gaze paused in midair.

Taijutsu · Gentle Fist proficiency +32

Free experience points +17

"The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist really is impressive." Itachi Uchiha dusted off his backside, not looking the least bit disappointed.

Mostly because he was used to it.

Without activating his Sharingan, and with his abilities limited to the Three Basic Jutsu, taijutsu, and Kunai Throwing Technique, Itachi Uchiha was still far behind the current Yuzuru Hyuga.

Yuzuru Hyuga leisurely picked up his glasses and put them back on, smiling as he casually stabbed at Itachi Uchiha's heart with words that seemed almost offhand.

"Itachi, have you ever considered that maybe you're just too weak right now?"

Itachi Uchiha said nothing. Still, he did not yet possess the composure he would have in the future. Unable to hold back, he raised his head and glared. "Then I'll leave?"

"I'll treat you to dango." Yuzuru Hyuga stopped while he was ahead. Although he greatly enjoyed bullying Itachi—the childhood limited edition—he knew better than to overdo it.

Itachi Uchiha puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, unaware that Yuzuru Hyuga found this expression extremely amusing. Eight or nine times out of ten, he teased him just so he could enjoy seeing that adorable look.

"So cute."

Yuzuru Hyuga was an honest person. He could not hide what was on his mind.

Itachi Uchiha instantly returned to his icy expression—yes, he only tried to keep a straight face around Yuzuru Hyuga.

The way this guy said those four words was absolutely infuriating!

"Let's go. Materials have been scarce in the village lately, so dango are only easy to buy when the shop first opens. If we're late, there won't be any left."

As soon as Yuzuru Hyuga finished speaking, Itachi Uchiha snorted and pulled out a densely written sheet of paper from behind his back as though it were some precious treasure.

"The ninjutsu scroll was too long, so I copied it onto paper myself."

"My father said it was enough to just understand Sealing Technique. This kind of ninjutsu requires talent and time to master."

Yuzuru Hyuga received the densely written paper like a priceless treasure. He hungrily studied it word by word while casually saying, "More importantly, Itachi, you should practice your handwriting."

"I copied it in secret at night, in the dark!" He got flustered.

"Yes, yes."

Yuzuru Hyuga's eyes moved over the words on the page with focused speed.

You have mastered Sealing Technique: Finger Seal.

Finger Seal (C): Level 1 (0/400)

The smile on Yuzuru Hyuga's face became exceptionally brilliant. As soon as the system notification appeared, he handed the paper back to Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi Uchiha froze. "You don't need it? I suppose that makes sense. This Sealing Technique really doesn't seem very useful."

Finger Seal was an extremely obscure Sealing Technique with very little practical use. Its only appearance in the anime had been before Jiraiya's death, when he used it to write on Fukasaku's back.

In other words, it was simply a ninjutsu for carving words with one's fingers. It could leave writing or patterns on hard objects or skin, and that was all.

"No, I was just curious about what Sealing Technique actually was, so I only wanted to take a look." Yuzuru Hyuga wore an expression that said he had merely been teasing him.

"Huh?" Itachi Uchiha could no longer keep a straight face.

He glared at Yuzuru Hyuga indignantly. "You!"

"I'm from the Hyuga Clan's Branch House. Being exposed to Sealing Technique is something I'm not permitted to do." Yuzuru Hyuga explained, still wearing that calm, gentle smile.

Itachi Uchiha frowned slightly. "Why can't you be exposed to it?"

"Although it isn't explicitly forbidden, it still can't be done." Yuzuru Hyuga pointed at the Caged Bird mark on his forehead, then turned to look at him and spoke softly. "Just like how your father doesn't want us getting too close."

Itachi Uchiha fell silent.

He frowned, looking dejected. "I don't understand."

"Itachi." Yuzuru Hyuga reached out and placed a hand on his head. Though they were the same age, Yuzuru had developed a little faster than Itachi and was slightly taller.

Itachi Uchiha turned his head and looked at Yuzuru Hyuga, waiting for him to continue.

Yuzuru Hyuga looked back at him. Behind the lenses, no emotion could be read in his white eyes.

"All living things believe in the existence of someone superior to themselves."

"Humans are the same."

"When someone worthy of reliance appears, all those who yearn for someone to depend on will naturally follow them. That is how what we call a clan comes into being."

"Those who are trusted, seeking to escape that heavy burden, pursue those in higher positions."

"And so, villages came into existence."

"So a village is like a larger clan, and every clan within it should be like members of the same family—worthy of trust, worthy of being entrusted with things."

Yuzuru Hyuga looked at Itachi Uchiha. "What do you think?"

"I think it should be that way." Itachi Uchiha answered honestly.

Yuzuru Hyuga smiled faintly but gave no reply.

The topic ended there. Itachi Uchiha had clearly fallen into deep thought. As a precocious child, he was far more sensitive and thoughtful than others his age.

Before long, he realized that everything Yuzuru Hyuga had said seemed somewhat at odds with Konoha's current state.

The Senju Clan's reputation had gradually waned. According to the great vision of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, they had cast aside the Senju name and integrated into Konoha as a whole. There would be no clans, only the village.

The Hyuga Clan had a fine reputation, but internally it was divided into the Main House and Branch House. Although Itachi Uchiha did not yet know the true difference between them, he knew that Yuzuru Hyuga disliked the blue mark on his forehead that symbolized the Branch House.

And the Uchiha Clan was clearly part of Konoha, yet the adults in his family did not like him playing with anyone outside the Uchiha Clan, while those outside the Uchiha Clan did not like the Uchiha Clan either.

The other small clans did not get along harmoniously with one another, either.

So what exactly was the reason for all this?

"Four skewers of dango."

"Okay!"

It was not until Yuzuru Hyuga stuffed a skewer of colorful, pretty dango toward Itachi Uchiha's mouth that he finally snapped back to his senses.

Itachi Uchiha looked around furtively like a thief, as if eating something so sweet and cloying were somehow embarrassing.

Yuzuru Hyuga put one of the soft, sweet dumplings, strung together like candied hawthorn, into his mouth and chewed a few times. It felt a little too rich.

"Thanks," Itachi Uchiha mumbled around a mouthful of dango.

Perhaps the sweetness had gone to his head, because for the moment, he put aside the troubling question from before.

The two reached the end of the street. The Uchiha Clan's district lay to the left, while the Hyuga Clan's lay to the right.

"Um, I should head back."

Itachi Uchiha seemed somewhat hesitant.

Yuzuru Hyuga pushed up his glasses and casually tossed away the skewer.

"Did you run into some problem?"

He saw through Itachi's thoughts.

Seeing that, Itachi Uchiha stopped pretending. He looked around uneasily before lowering his voice. "Father said he wants to take me to the battlefield to broaden my horizons."

"Hah. Just what I'd expect from the Uchiha Clan." Itachi Uchiha could not tell what emotion lay behind Yuzuru Hyuga's words.

He lowered his head. "Should I refuse?"

"If you aren't afraid of disappointing your father." Yuzuru Hyuga paused, then spoke expressionlessly. "But I think it's fine to just take a look. The Uchiha Clan Head surely isn't incapable of protecting his own child."

"You seem to dislike him." At last, Itachi Uchiha caught the sarcasm in his words.

"The purpose of a clan is to protect its own family."

"The purpose of a village is to protect every person in the village."

"If even children have to step onto the battlefield, then what exactly are they protecting?"

Yuzuru Hyuga looked at Itachi Uchiha and, rarely, misspoke. "It isn't that I dislike your father. In fact, I think he is fairly competent as a clan head."

"I just feel that, at the root of it, some things..."

He fell silent for a moment. Finally, he pushed up his glasses again, raised his head, and said no more. He merely spoke gently, "In any case, go. Nothing will happen, and you don't need to think too much about it. None of this is something you should be thinking about, bearing, or solving right now."

Itachi Uchiha watched Yuzuru Hyuga walk away. Not only had the doubts in his heart gone unanswered, they had grown even deeper.

He decided.

He would go back and ask Shisui.

Meanwhile, after realizing he had misspoken, Yuzuru Hyuga felt that deep disgust toward everything before him once more.

Yuzuru Hyuga raised his head, narrowed his eyes, and looked at the dazzling sun.

I really want to destroy, escape, or rebuild all of this as soon as possible.

"Yuzuru!"

The sudden shout made Yuzuru Hyuga stop in his tracks.

He turned around. The sight of a girl running toward him with delight written all over her face made him sigh almost instinctively.

Izumi Uchiha—or rather, a beautiful girl who did not yet bear the Uchiha surname.

PS: Two updates every day during the new book period. I'm a beginner author, so please give me a follow and recommendation!