Itachi's Graduation Ceremony

The Hokage's lounge.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

"No! The Root is the best place for him! The only place for him!"

Even Danzo, who was usually calm, grew agitated. He wasn't even intimidated by the Third Hokage's pressure.

"But six years ago, when he was surrounded by tens of thousands of enemy ninja, he chose to stay behind and protect the younger ninja! Isn't that enough to prove his character?"

Faced with the Third Hokage's question, Danzo only grew angrier. He jabbed his cane toward the Third Hokage and shouted, "And isn't all of this your fault? You kept filling his head with that so-called Will of Fire! Hiruzen, your weakness led him to make the wrong decision! It was only a few Genin. If not for them, even tens of thousands of Stone ninja couldn't have stopped him!"

He roared, "Hiruzen! You're responsible for all of it! If he were still alive, he'd have my position by now!"

The Third Hokage scoffed and snorted. "He would've accomplished even greater things! Remember, the Third Raikage also chose to stay behind. That proves that even after spending his life in the darkness, he still had the qualities of a Kage!"

"No! Hiruzen, you're wrong!"

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

"Danzo, I'm the Hokage!"

Bam!

"Kid, how can you eat so much? Aren't we going to have lunch at the Uchiha Compound in a bit?"

On the bustling street, Nawaki opened his nearly empty wallet and looked at Qing Xuan with a pained expression. He sighed, lamenting that he was running short on this month's living expenses...

Meanwhile, Qing Xuan stood at the intersection with bags of snacks in his arms, waiting for his uncle, who had fallen into a state of utter dejection. "What's with young people these days? You sigh and moan just because you have to buy your nephew a few snacks. Have you already squandered a century of the Senju Clan's fortune?"

At those words, Nawaki looked even more dejected. A century of fortune? That was long gone! Last month, someone had even come to Konoha to demand repayment...

As for the culprit behind all this, Nawaki didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want Qing Xuan to bear burdens that weren't his at such a young age.

All he could do was remind Qing Xuan as much as possible. "If a woman comes looking for you after a while and says she wants to take you away to live with her, whatever you do, don't agree."

Qing Xuan paused and asked, "Why?"

"Because if you agree, you'll end up leading a nomadic life. Your whole life will be ruined!"

Looking at Nawaki's pained expression, Qing Xuan swallowed nervously, then suddenly realized something was wrong.

He looked at the enormous building in front of them, with its huge "Fire" symbol, then turned to his uncle in confusion. "Huh? How did we end up back here?"

After walking around the streets, they had ended up back in front of the Hokage Building.

Nawaki gave him a lazy, Kakashi-style dead-fish stare. Sunlight filtering through the leaves made him look even more listless.

He pointed at a building less than a hundred meters from the Hokage Building. Special tiles covered its roof, gleaming faintly in the sunlight.

"The Uchiha Compound is so far away. How would I have time to take you there? Come on! It should be about time."

Qing Xuan hurried after him, arms full of snacks, and grumbled, "You really are irresponsible. You're just going to leave me with someone else without a second thought?"

Nawaki laughed as he walked ahead. "They're not exactly strangers to you."

He seemed very happy—perhaps because he was finally about to get rid of the kid.

Meanwhile.

"Although the war is over, the world is still far from peaceful. The tragic events of two years ago continue to make many people suffer! Today, we will take our first step as ninja. Our resolve is firm, and even when the road ahead is treacherous, ninja will press bravely onward..."

After finishing his speech in a loud voice, Itachi slowly rolled up the scroll.

From today on, his student life had come to an end.

His taking the stage as the representative of the graduating class had apparently stirred up quite a bit of controversy among the teachers. The group mainly consisted of teachers with ties to the Senju Clan, and they opposed the decision.

Their reason was that he was only seven years old. Standing in front of the other graduates would make him look far too young.

But the Uchiha scoffed at that. They thought it was simply discrimination against their clan. Given Itachi's overwhelming strength and grades, those factors shouldn't have mattered at all.

Neither side would yield over the matter, and it even led to a minor clash.

Fortunately, everything was resolved yesterday afternoon. Itachi had heard his father mention it. Apparently, someone with great influence in the Senju Clan had stepped forward to mediate.

Cherry blossoms danced across the school grounds as Itachi walked straight ahead.

Just then, two figures appeared in front of him.

His mother had come to greet him with a gentle smile, along with his younger brother, who had recently taken a great liking to walking.

He didn't see his father there. According to yesterday's promise, he was supposed to come today too. Perhaps some urgent matter had held him up.

That was what he thought.

Amid the throngs of people coming and going, little Sasuke spotted his big brother and widened his round eyes.

"Guh!"

Sasuke called out clearly. Itachi saw his younger brother joyfully calling to him and tottering over.

Uchiha Mikoto followed behind, gently supporting his back with her hand.

"That's dangerous, Sasuke."

Itachi spoke to Sasuke in a gentle voice.

Just then, Sasuke suddenly vanished from Itachi's view.

Someone was standing in front of Itachi, blocking his line of sight.

It was a man...

A gloomy man. It was hard to say exactly what made him gloomy. In any case, everything about him seemed gloomy.

"Are you Uchiha Itachi?"

The man looked down at Itachi and asked. There was a hint of irritation in his voice, as if he had just finished an argument.

His right face was wrapped in bandages. He wore black from head to toe, but his left shoulder and arm were exposed, revealing the white clothing underneath.

He stared intently at Itachi with his left eye.

"I see..."

The man, surrounded by an ominous aura, looked at Itachi, who met his gaze head-on. Behind the man, Itachi's mother held Sasuke by the shoulders, stopping him from tottering over.

"You have a fierce look about you."

"A fierce look?"

"It's the look of someone who brings trouble wherever he goes. Those creases of yours are just like that."

After saying this, the man pointed at the two tear-trough lines running from the corners of Itachi's eyes to his cheeks.

"Your life will be accompanied by trouble."

It was as if a speck of dirt had fallen from the clear sky...

Just who was this man?

"You're the academy's most brilliant student since its founding. There's something I'd like to ask you."

Itachi said nothing, waiting for the man to continue.

"On a sinking ship, there are ten of your compatriots. One of them has a deadly contagious disease. If he's allowed to live, the other nine will eventually catch it and die. If you were the captain of this ship, what would you do?"

"If it were me, I'd tell my first mate everything first, explain the pros and cons, and make it clear that I wouldn't abandon that crew member!"

Itachi had just been about to give his answer when another voice beat him to it.

At some point, another figure had appeared beside the man. With his back to Itachi, he rummaged through the pile of snacks in his arms, then picked out a skewer of dango and handed it to little Sasuke, who was giggling.

"Lord Danzo."

The man spoke, then turned around. "Is my answer satisfactory?"

Itachi was astonished to discover that this man was none other than himself!