The gap between us was actually this huge?
After just one exchange, I'd lost the ability to fight back. In an instant, I hadn't even had time to use the Crow Substitution Technique.
Itura's state of mind was in shambles.
Ever since I was little, people had called me a genius. I'd graduated from the Ninja Academy after only a year, and yet I really hadn't even been able to withstand a single blow from Yun.
"No, even Shisui's Body Flicker Technique couldn't reach this level! My eyes clearly told me that you'd predicted my movements in advance."
Itachi turned around as he spoke and stared at Yun.
Yun smiled and replied, "That just means you haven't reached Shisui's and my level yet. So be a good Genin for now. No matter what, Shisui and I will lead the Uchiha down the right path. After all... I quite like this village."
Itachi furrowed his brow slightly, then nodded. "I understand. But I'll work hard to reach your level, too. I'll keep walking the path that cost Father his life."
"Whoosh!"
A faint sound rang out in the woods. Yun smiled and said, "A Chunin instructor from the academy? But that sound was so faint—isn't that underestimating Tokuma a little?"
Itachi thought for a moment. "Even if they're teaching Chunin, they're no ordinary opponents for students. But they chose this moment, so they probably wanted to take advantage of my being away."
Yun glanced at him. "By the way, why have you been a Genin for two years? Didn't you take the Chunin Ninja Exams before?"
Itachi shook his head. "Shinko and Tenma were both injured during a mission, and that was when my Three Tomoe Sharingan awakened."
As he spoke, Itachi looked toward the tents in the distance. "Aren't you worried about them?"
Yun replied calmly, "Tokuma may be from the Hyuga Branch Family, but he's quite skilled at using the Byakugan. And there's Izumi, too. She's not weak, even without her Sharingan."
"Tell me about the mission where you awakened your Three-Tomoe Sharingan..."
Itachi was taken aback. "Do you think something was wrong with it?"
After thinking for a moment, Itachi nodded. "That mission was strange. It was only a C-rank escort mission, but we ran into a large number of ninja along the way. At the time, I only had a Two-Tomoe Sharingan, and our teacher, Minazuki, was tied up."
"The mission rank was changed partway through, so we abandoned it. But it was obvious they'd come prepared. And when I turned the tables on them at the end, it went a little too smoothly."
"It was as if they'd done it on purpose!"
Yun asked, "Did things start going smoothly only after your Three Tomoe awakened?"
Itachi nodded. "My eyes evolving did make me stronger, but at the time, that alone shouldn't have been enough to decide the outcome."
"I see."
Uchiha Yun let out a breath. It seemed Danzo had set his sights on Itachi now. But that made sense: a Uchiha prodigy who'd awakened a Two-Tomoe Sharingan at the age of five.
As far as the Sharingan went, Danzo probably thought Yun was inferior to Itachi. A Uchiha without a Sharingan... was nothing in his eyes.
"I remember warning you before... Why didn't you use the crow Shisui gave you?"
Itachi looked a little embarrassed. "At first, I planned to handle it myself. Then..."
Yun didn't need him to finish. Then the Uchiha's characteristic Red Eye had flared up, and that had led to the Three Tomoe appearing.
A common affliction among geniuses?
By the time they'd finished talking, they'd reached the tents they'd set up earlier to rest. Beside Yun, Itachi had already drawn a Kunai and was on guard.
Outside the tents, two people wearing plain masks had forced Tokuma and Izumi out at Kunai-point.
"Do you want us to surrender?" Yun asked with a smile.
"You two, if you don't want your companions hurt, surrender at once!"
The two kidnappers' words made Yun's eye twitch. He looked at Itachi. Should they play along?
"Clatter."
Itachi tossed his Kunai onto the ground, and the two of them raised their hands in surrender.
The kidnappers across from them laughed smugly. "So the two of you, who are called Uchiha prodigies, are nothing special after all. You surrendered so easily."
One of the accomplices was just about to step forward and tie up Yun and Itachi when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Yun, who had just surrendered, was now standing behind the two of them, holding a Kunai to their throats.
The two kidnappers were about to call for their accomplices, but Tokuma and Izumi in front of them had Kunai pressed against their stomachs—two in Itachi's hands.
"Though we don't see each other often, your Transformation Technique wasn't the same as the one I saw Tokuma use just now." Itachi spoke as he lowered his Kunai.
Yun, standing behind them, let the two go and said awkwardly, "Who came up with the lines for this exercise? They're so embarrassing. You expect ninja to surrender just because they put their hands up?"
The four kidnappers took off their masks. As expected, they were instructors who taught at the Ninja Academy.
One of them gave a wry smile. "He and I weren't familiar with you, so we hardly dared to say a word. And you still saw through us right away."
Yun scratched his head. Izumi had his Flying Thunder God Formula on her, so it wouldn't matter how they transformed.
Just then, the real Tokuma and Izumi returned from the woods, bringing two prisoners with them. They were also Ninja Academy instructors.
The two took in the scene and immediately understood what had happened. Izumi ran over with a grin and said, "So you teachers were planning to use the Transformation Technique against Big Brother? I bet you didn't expect to get found out."
One of the so-called homeroom teachers gave a wry smile. "We all knew you'd be hard to deal with, so nobody else would come. We had no choice but to come up with this plan."
Tokuma looked at Yun and Itachi. A few Chunin to deal with those two? And teaching Chunin, no less? Weren't they just serving themselves up on a platter?
On the morning of the third day, after taking some random place, Itachi's team returned to the academy.
Uchiha Izumi looked at Itachi ahead of them and asked Yun, "Big Brother, I want to awaken my Sharingan, too. Itachi's eyes are so pretty."
Yun looked at his little sister. Compared to his memories, her personality had changed a lot because he was there.
He didn't know what the girl who'd awakened her Three-Tomoe Sharingan at thirteen had gone through on the night of the clan's destruction. But as things stood now, never awakening those eyes would be the best protection for her.
"Those eyes can only be awakened by going through pain."
As he spoke, Yun ruffled Izumi's hair. "If I could, I'd hope you never awaken those eyes in your whole life. If you're ever in danger, I'll protect you. Trust me."
After the exercise, the academy went on break, and Yun and Izumi prepared to head home together.
But before they reached the Uchiha Compound, Yun looked toward a corner in the distance.
"Whoosh!"
Two figures appeared in front of Yun and Izumi. Their masks were different from the Anbu's, but the swords at their backs and the armor on their upper bodies looked familiar.
"Uchiha Yun, come with us."
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