Anything Wrong?

Chapter 11: Something Up?

Kagami certainly wasn't going to explain to Sasuke why he thought Naruto was promising; he couldn't even if he wanted to.

What Kagami cared about now was the timing.

After defeating Naruto, Iruka had arranged for several more people to spar with Kagami. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have happened, as it was essentially a series of consecutive battles, which was unfair to the person fighting continuously. However, Kagami was an exception. He expended very little energy defeating his opponents, finishing each fight in a single round. Whether it was a series of battles or not was irrelevant; the outcome would be the same.

After winning a few more matches, Iruka signaled for Kagami to step down.

Kagami retreated to a deserted corner, head bowed, quietly contemplating.

Time was off, or rather, his predicted timeline was off.

When he first enrolled, Kagami had thought it would be half a year or even a year later. But after half a year of observation, he realized that while the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha was already extremely tense, it was still some distance from erupting.

Most importantly, Shisui hadn't mentioned anything about using Kotoamatsukami to change the minds within the Uchiha clan.

This meant that event hadn't happened yet, and the subsequent Uchiha clan extermination was even less likely to occur.

So, was my predicted timeline wrong? That's good. Let it be slower. Give me more time.

Kagami thought to himself.

As Kagami was pondering the timing of the Uchiha clan extermination, a voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah, Kagami, you're here! Why are you hiding in this corner? Is something wrong?"

A girl with blonde hair found Kagami and greeted him cheerfully.

Kagami recognized the girl.

"Yamanaka Ino, what do you need?"

Ino's face immediately flushed, and she stammered awkwardly.

"Well, uh, it's nothing, it's just..."

Kagami frowned. Being interrupted while deep in thought was an unpleasant feeling.

"Just what? If you could, please finish quickly."

Ino's face turned completely red. Mustering her courage, she blurted it out in one breath.

"It's just... I just wanted to see you."

With that, overcome with extreme shyness, Ino turned and ran off.

Ino had expected to chat with Kagami for a while longer, but she hadn't anticipated him directly asking her reason. She didn't want to lie to Kagami, but saying the truth was too embarrassing, so she could only cover her face and flee.

Kagami watched Ino's retreating figure with a puzzled expression, pondering.

"Just wanted to see me?" What kind of code is that? Or perhaps, did Brother Shisui have something for me and had her notify me this way? Hmm, that's possible. I should go take a look.

Saying this, Kagami prepared to skip class. This wasn't the first time he'd skipped class. With his exceptionally excellent grades, and the fact that the Konoha higher-ups knew Shisui was teaching him, Kagami wasn't learning much at the Ninja Academy. Under these circumstances, the school turned a blind eye to Kagami skipping class. As long as he didn't do it openly, as long as he still pretended to skip class sneakily, everything was fine.

Outside the Ninja Academy, on top of a tall building overlooking the academy's training grounds, two people stood on the roof, talking incessantly.

"Itachi, are you here to see Sasuke?"

"And you? Are you here to see Kagami?"

"Me? I suppose so. After all, I want to see how strong this kid can become under my tutelage. And you, aren't you planning to train Sasuke?"

Itachi shook his head.

"No, not for now. The relationship between the Uchiha and the village is as you know it. I need to dedicate all my attention to this. I'll put Sasuke aside for now and teach him after this is over."

Little did Itachi know, his words to Sasuke, "Next time, Sasuke," spoken out of necessity due to his preoccupation with Uchiha-village affairs, would become the words that left the deepest impression on Sasuke. He had thought that after the Uchiha-village matter was resolved, Itachi would fulfill that promise of "next time." However, Itachi didn't anticipate that after going through the Uchiha-village incident, he would never be able to properly teach Sasuke again.

He could only find ways to increase Sasuke's motivation to become stronger, making him stronger and stronger, until he no longer needed any protection and could live freely on his own.

Shisui said with a self-deprecating smile.

"I, on the other hand, can't not teach..."

"Shisui!!!"

Itachi suddenly shouted Shisui's name, then lowered his voice, shaking his head slightly.

"It won't happen. You'll be alright, and I'll be alright. We'll both get through this. Don't believe your faulty intuition. Don't forget, you're the renowned Shisui the Body Flicker. How could you not overcome such a small matter?"

Itachi understood Shisui's implication. "Can't not teach" – what did that mean? Was he preparing for the future? Preparing for his own premonition of "not being able to get through it"? Was he certain of his own death and intended to make Kagami his successor?! Itachi absolutely refused to believe such a faulty intuition!

Shisui pursed his lips.

"This is not a small matter, Itachi."

"And you are not a small figure, Shisui!"

Shisui looked at Itachi's face, silent for several seconds. Finally, Shisui didn't retort and nodded.

"Perhaps."

Shisui wasn't sure if his premonition was accurate, but he felt that the current Uchiha-village situation wouldn't end peacefully. Blood would inevitably be shed, and he, being at the forefront, would likely be the one to spill it.

However, it might be for the best. If his death could be exchanged for peace between the two sides, then Shisui would die content. Because that would make him a hero supporting peace from the darkness. Shisui hoped to be that kind of person.

"Did you ask him to come out?"

At this moment, Itachi suddenly pointed to a spot and spoke to Shisui.

Shisui followed Itachi's finger and looked. There, Kagami was using a very skilled technique to sneak out of the Ninja Academy without using the main entrance. His overly practiced movements made him virtually undetectable.

Only those in high positions like Itachi and Shisui, looking down from above, could spot him at a glance.

Shisui denied it with confusion.

"No, I didn't tell him to come out during school hours today."

Itachi analyzed calmly.

"So he came to find you proactively because he had something to discuss?"

Shisui shrugged.

"Perhaps. Let's go to his place first."

"Okay."

Using the Body Flicker Technique, Itachi and Shisui instantly vanished from the rooftop.

Meanwhile, on Kagami's end, he had just snuck out. Not long after he started moving, Shisui and Itachi appeared before him. This further solidified Kagami's guess: Shisui definitely had something he needed to discuss with him!

And Shisui, upon seeing Kagami, sensed the confident and determined look in his eyes, confirming that Kagami had something he wanted to discuss with him!

Thus, without any further ado, Shisui and Itachi took Kagami and quickly left the vicinity of the Ninja Academy. They found a deserted spot, preparing to ask their questions.

Arriving at a secluded dead-end alley, Kagami and Shisui looked at each other, and then

Kagami: "Shisui-bro, did you need something from me?"

Shisui: "Kagami, did you need something from me?"

Kagami: "???"

Shisui: "???"