A Scene of Fate

A month later, at the Uchiha Compound training ground.

"Thwack, thwack, thwack..."

With just two throws, Yun sent six kunai flying, hitting six different targets one after another.

Yun smugly lifted his chin at Izumi, who played along beautifully, gasping in amazement and applauding nonstop.

"Big brother, you're amazing! Can you teach me?"

Yun scratched his head. He honestly had no idea what Itachi's simplified method was based on, but whatever—the world had already starved Sir Isaac Newton's coffin lid into submission.

So Yun immediately taught Izumi Itachi's closely guarded secret.

The little girl was thrilled, eagerly testing out her newly learned trick.

In truth, Yun's family situation was very different from Itachi's and Shisui's. Itachi was the previous clan head's son, while Shisui's ancestor had been a student of the Second, that infamous scapegoat for forbidden techniques.

Neither of them lacked ninjutsu. Whether it was the Shadow Clone Technique, the Uchiha's Fire Release, or the Body Flicker Technique, their families had scrolls for all of them.

But Yun was different. It could be said that, aside from a place to live, all the Uchiha had given him was the Sharingan he'd inherited through his bloodline.

That was also why, in his memories, even after Izumi awakened the Three Tomoe, the records of her ninja skills still listed Taijutsu as her specialty.

"Let's go, Izumi! We still need to buy some dango to take home. Mother specifically told us to this morning."

"I'm coming! I'm just picking up my ninja tools."

At Yun's call, Izumi hurried after him like a little shadow as they headed for the village's Commercial Street.

Now over seven years old, Izumi obediently followed behind Yun along the way, glancing from side to side every so often as if she were looking for someone.

When they reached the dango shop, Yun stopped at the door. His little sister nearly bumped into him.

After they bought Three-Color Dango to take away, they left the shop. Since the last serving had just been sold, the owner closed up in the middle of the day.

"You've been looking around the whole way. Here, are you trying to find that deadpan guy?"

Itachi stood nearby with his little brother, Uchiha Sasuke, on his back, looking disappointedly at the closed shop.

Izumi walked over with the bag and asked, "Did Itachi come to buy Three-Color Dango?"

That made Itachi a little awkward. Yun had promised to keep his sweet tooth a secret.

Izumi lifted the bag and said, "I bought the last serving. But if you want some, I can share, even though Mother asked me to bring it home."

Itachi grew even more awkward. He glanced at Sasuke on his back, then said, "It's not for me. My little brother, Sasuke, wanted some, so I brought him here."

Sasuke on his back played his part perfectly. "Eat, eat, eat!"

Izumi smiled. "Let's find somewhere to sit. Come to think of it, I haven't seen you in a long time, Itachi."

Watching the three of them walk away, Yun felt that he'd seen this scene before in his memories.

Itachi had graduated early and was already a Genin. After his team was formed, his Jonin Instructor was Minazuki, and his teammates were Tenma and Shinko.

In the memory, Fugaku had been the one to bring him here to buy dango. Now he was the one bringing Sasuke.

Come to think of it... It wouldn't be long before Itachi awakened the Two Tomoe, just as he had in his memories.

Wait!

Yun suddenly realized what had happened, and the corner of his eye twitched.

It was one thing for Izumi to give away her big brother's dango, but she'd actually left him behind and run off?!

At the wooden pier by the river, Izumi stood to one side, clutching the back of her head. Her eyes were watery, and she didn't dare say a word.

Yun sat between the two of them. He glanced at Itachi, who had Sasuke on his back, and said, "How's life as a Genin? I'm on vacation, while you have to chase cats and dogs all over the village. Sometimes you even have to pick up trash downstream."

Itachi looked at the dango Yun had snatched from him. There were still two pieces he hadn't gotten to eat.

He sighed and gave up resisting. Lowering his head, he said, "It's actually pretty interesting. My teammates are nice, and Minazuki-sensei is nice too."

Yun teased him with a smile. "Look at you, making new friends. Not bad—you're making progress."

After a moment of silence, Itachi adjusted the sleeping Sasuke on his back into a more comfortable position, still keeping his head lowered.

"Yun, why do you think they're so hostile toward us?"

Yun paused. "By 'they,' you mean civilian ninja, and by 'us,' you mean the Uchiha?"

Itachi nodded. Yun thought it over before replying, "Hostility is probably too strong a word. Maybe it's resentment? Your teammate, the one called Tenma?"

"Do you remember your graduation assessment? That Chunin was Tenma's older brother. If a Chunin fought a Genin, winning was only natural—but losing would make him a laughingstock."

Itachi raised his head and hurriedly protested, "But I didn't go all out..."

His voice trailed off. With Yun's gentle prompting, even he, clever as he was, understood.

What mattered wasn't whether he'd gone all out. What mattered was that a Chunin had lost to a seven-year-old child.

To civilian ninja, that was a display of superiority from a clan with power and privilege.

"Itachi! We've got a mission. What are you doing, playing around here?"

The voice came from Itachi's teammate, Tenma—the same Tenma Yun's Shadow Clone had beaten up.

Itachi hurried to his feet and replied, Sasuke on his back, "I have to take my little brother home first. I'll be there in a bit."

Tenma shot him a glance, grumbled, "What a pain," and left.

Yun smiled beside him. "Jealousy can sometimes make a person unrecognizable. You're already seeing the price of being called a genius. Take good care of your bonds, Itachi."

Itachi nodded in agreement and prepared to leave.

Yun thought for a moment, then added, "The crow Shisui gave you isn't just for substitution. You can also use the Summoning Technique to have it deliver messages. Remember that. It'll come in handy."

"Big brother, it really hurts when you knock me on the back of the head!"

"Maybe you should try remembering things, then."

"When you get a girlfriend someday, I'll be a third wheel too."

"A girlfriend would only slow down my sword arm."

"Big bro..."

"What?" →_→

"I'm telling Mother that the only man in our family wants to stay single for the rest of his life!"

"Thwack!"

Izumi clutched the back of her head again and lowered her proud chin. Why was there such a huge difference in their strength when they'd only been born a few minutes apart?

If only she could beat him...

Yun glanced at the distant Hokage Building, remembering the claim that Itachi had belonged to the most ill-fated team.

Itachi's team had been formed less than a year ago. Tenma and their Jonin Instructor, Minazuki, had been killed, while there were two versions of what happened to Shinko.

One was that she had lost confidence and quit being a ninja. The other was that Obito had killed her too.

Root Division.

Danzo, who was reading a document, asked, "Have Itachi's team arrangements been made?"

A figure in the darkness replied, "His Jonin Instructor is Minazuki. The team captain and both teammates are civilian ninja."

Danzo put down the document in his hand. "Then proceed. Wait until the bonds have formed first. Remember, there are no clan ninja on the team, but I don't want the Fourth to learn anything that could expose us."

The figure in the shadows bowed and withdrew.