The Second Trade

"Bang!"

Sparks flashed where the kunai collided. Yun used the momentum to flip backward, then kicked at Itachi's chin.

"Clang!"

The sharp sound rang out. After blocking the kick, Itachi also took two steps back and lightly shook his arm. "You're quick to react, and your strength is decent."

Yun put away his kunai and smiled. "You haven't even used your Sharingan yet, have you? Otherwise, I wouldn't stand a chance."

Itachi shook his head slightly. "Shisui said I'm no match for you. I don't know why, but Shisui must have his reasons."

The two formed the Seal of Reconciliation, ending their training session, and their Chunin instructor finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Two Uchiha prodigies—one had reportedly awakened his Sharingan at five and a half, while the other could hold his own against him. Their sparring could easily end in an accident if you took your eyes off them for a moment.

Teaching prodigies wasn't easy.

"Here, big brother."

Yun took the cup Izumi handed him and drank a couple of sips. Then he noticed that she was holding a bento, her face flushed as she gazed at Itachi nearby.

It was lunchtime after their sparring class, time to eat bento. Was she trying to ask him on a date?

"Ding, ding, ding..."

The school bell rang right then. Yun reached out and took Izumi's bento. "Come on, let's eat together."

Izumi looked at Itachi, who was drinking water in the distance, then at her brother, who had already taken her bento. For a moment, she was too angry to speak.

"Tokuma, Hana, want to eat bento together?"

The two children from Konoha's prominent clans were taken aback by Yun's invitation. But thanks to the boost they'd gotten from earning reputations as prodigies alongside Itachi at the start of the school year, they soon agreed.

As it turned out, not every child was as precocious as Itachi, spending every day obsessing over lofty questions as if he'd lost his mind. After a few words, Yun and Izumi had made friends with the children from the Hyuga and Inuzuka clans.

Once the Uchiha set aside their pride, they weren't difficult to get along with.

Yun smiled at the two of them. After today, the way they acted at school would, to some extent, reflect the Hyuga and Inuzuka clans' attitudes toward the Uchiha's current predicament.

Everyone could see that the Fourth trusted Shisui Uchiha. But the old guard left behind by the Second, including the Third, had always been hostile toward the Uchiha.

The Hyuga Branch Family and the Inuzuka Clan's attitudes toward the Uchiha would, in part, become a question of where Konoha's prominent clans chose to stand: with the Third, growing old and decaying, or with the Fourth, young and full of promise?

"Yun, you're amazing at Taijutsu. You actually managed to draw with Itachi after he awakened his Sharingan." There was a hint of envy in Tokuma's voice, but when he glanced at the headband on his forehead, his mood sank.

The Caged Bird Seal of the Hyuga Branch Family—the Cursed Seal that had been placed on Neji at the age of four in the original story.

"Having enough strength and quick enough reflexes is all it takes. But Itachi didn't use his Sharingan, so the outcome could've gone either way."

As he spoke, Yun held out his bento. "Tempura. Want to try some? It's my favorite."

Since this was their first time meeting, both of them shook their heads.

Hana Inuzuka spoke up. "My mother told me a little about the Sharingan's abilities. Once it's awakened, it improves your dynamic vision, even when you're not using it. You're already really strong, Yun."

Yun smiled modestly. Beside him, Izumi stared curiously at Hana's face. "The markings on your cheeks look so pretty... Where did you get them?"

Hana smiled. "They aren't ordinary face paint. They're something unique to the Inuzuka Clan."

As laughter and conversation filled his ears, Yun looked over at Itachi.

Five or six girls were sneaking glances at him but didn't dare approach. The boys were grinding their teeth with envy. As a result, Itachi was all alone.

His presence was so cold that he practically had a sign saying "Keep Out" around him.

"Itachi!"

The call made Itachi, who'd been staring blankly at his bento, pause. When he looked up, Yun caught a flash of delight in his eyes.

"Come eat with us!"

Itachi glanced around, nodded, and slowly walked over.

Yun looked down at his sister with a helpless sigh. "Can you let go? You've pinched my arm purple. Are you really that excited?"

Caught in the act, Uchiha Izumi glanced at Itachi as he approached, her face turning bright red.

Hana Inuzuka and Tokuma laughed, too. It had to be said that Hana was the only girl in class who wasn't interested in Itachi.

"Humans are social animals. If you're alone for too long, you start overthinking. Do it long enough and you'll go crazy."

As he spoke, Yun patted the step beside him, signaling for Itachi to sit. "And once you've gone crazy, you'll go around killing everyone. If you get caught, they'll lock you up and tie you down. So, which do you want: to go on a killing spree or get locked up?"

Itachi was startled by that. After a long pause, he asked, "I know what killing is, but what does 'spree' mean?"

School was dull for both Yun and Itachi. A month later, they were already using Shadow Clone Technique to attend class.

Yun had to admit that he'd underestimated his own talent. When Itachi wiped out his clan at thirteen, Izumi was also thirteen.

Izumi had awakened her Three Tomoe at thirteen, which was proof enough of her talent. The notes said she was good at Taijutsu only because no one had taught her anything else. Otherwise, how could a Uchiha with the Three Tomoe be proficient in Taijutsu of all things?

Under the night sky, sometime after midnight on October 10, Yun reached into the secret compartment beneath his bed and pulled out a scroll, brushing away a year's worth of dust.

Space-time scrolls were so expensive. If he could learn the Sealing Jutsu inscribed on this one, he could store things in his wrist like Sasuke did.

"Release."

The smoke cleared, revealing a pale arm in the middle of the unrolled scroll.

It was the arm Obito had left behind a year ago, made using First Hashirama Body Material. In comparison, the one on Obito was much better than Danzo's.

After all, one could use Kamui freely, while the other's Chakra would go berserk at the drop of a hat, turning his arm into a tree.

[Information Exchange started successfully]

[Rule Replication function started successfully]

[Medium activated]

[Lockable targets: Hashirama Senju (Pure Land), Uchiha Obito]

The Exchange's notification in Yun's mind made him pause. There were two targets?

To be honest, locking onto Hashirama Senju in the first place had been a gamble. After all, it hadn't said he could only trade with living people, had it?

At this point in time, the First and Madara were both in the Pure Land. He couldn't find the Six Paths, but finding a medium for those two wasn't too hard.

But what about Obito?

Was it because this was Obito's arm?

He'd used it for years, so did it contain a lot of material belonging to Obito?

The thought made Yun shiver. He reined in his wandering thoughts.

Either choice was tempting: the Senju and Uchiha, the Sage Body and Mangekyou. Which should he choose?

Wait...

The Sage Body was Hashirama's, but the Mangekyou wasn't Madara's Rinnegan.

With Obito's frail body, he'd have gone blind eight hundred times over if not for the First Hashirama Body Material.

Yun looked again at the arm in the middle of the scroll. After thinking it over, he pulled out a kunai.

"Thwack!"

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