Gu Yue Fang Itachi

He looked down at the red-haired child he was carrying, who had also been Danzo's target.

He wondered why Danzo had set his sights on this child.

"Big brother!" In the distance, Sasuke Uchiha ran excitedly toward Uchiha Itachi.

"Is this your classmate?"

"Yes, big brother. This is my new friend, Akimichi Denji. I told you about him yesterday!"

Uchiha Itachi looked at Akimichi Denji in surprise.

He remembered the classmate who had talked about the Will of Fire with his younger brother yesterday. He hadn't expected to meet him today.

Akimichi Denji greeted him at the right moment. "Hello, Itachi. Thank you for saving my life."

Akimichi Denji naturally recognized Uchiha Itachi, the infamous Konoha rogue ninja. He hadn't yet put on that famous black cloak with red clouds, but his face looked much the same as it did when he was in Akatsuki. The Night of the Clan Massacre hadn't happened yet, though, so he seemed less troubled, with fewer worry lines.

Uchiha Itachi smiled kindly. "Just call me Itachi."

But Akimichi Denji couldn't bring himself to see the young man before him as some great philanthropist.

After all, this was the man who had personally killed his own parents and slaughtered his entire clan. Even in Great Love Immortal Venerable's world, he'd have ranked among the most notorious.

Calling him "Gu Yue Fang Itachi" wouldn't have been out of place.

"Do you know why Lord Danzo wanted to attack you?"

Akimichi Denji shook his head. He knew, of course, that Danzo wanted to recruit him into the Root Organization, but there was no need to tell Uchiha Itachi the truth. As far as anyone else knew, he was supposed to be completely unaware of Konoha's situation. Otherwise, he'd all but confirm that he was a spy.

"It's all right. When you get home, tell your father. I'll report this to Lord Hokage, too."

"Thank you, Itachi."

"Are you friends with Sasuke now?"

Sasuke seemed reluctant to admit it. "We're not!" he said awkwardly.

Akimichi Denji nodded. "Yes, Sasuke-kun has taught me a lot. We're friends now."

Hearing that, Uchiha Itachi broke into a happy smile. "That's good."

Akimichi Denji froze.

After all, in the original story, this S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha was usually all grim-faced. The only time he smiled was at Sasuke, just before he died.

During the Night of the Clan Massacre, he had spared only Sasuke's life. In the end, he'd even sacrificed himself to make Sasuke see the truth.

Uchiha Itachi had spent his entire life protecting Sasuke. He was a little brother-obsessed in the truest sense.

Though his way of protecting him was a little insane: he killed their parents.

But that kind of insanity ran in the Uchiha family.

Ever since Uchiha Madara, there hadn't been many normal people in that family.

"Ding! Congratulations! You've completed Uchiha Itachi's wish: [I can't let my younger brother be alone]!"

"Wish Point +1."

Akimichi Denji looked at his system panel.

[Wish Points: 4]

He had reached a new all-time high.

His gaze toward Uchiha Itachi turned kind in an instant.

"Being a little brother-obsessed is great! I have no problem with that."

Worried that something else might happen on the way, Uchiha Itachi escorted Sasuke home, then walked Denji back to the Akimichi Clan's home.

On the way, Uchiha Itachi asked as if casually, "Denji, you're new to Konoha, right? What do you think of it?"

Akimichi Denji understood that Uchiha Itachi was testing him, so he answered smoothly. "It's pretty nice. Everyone's been very kind to me. I get to eat my fill every day, and I've made lots of new friends."

"Does that include Sasuke?"

"Of course. Sasuke may look very cold on the outside, but he's actually very kind."

Uchiha Itachi sighed inwardly, both pleased and worried. He was pleased that Sasuke had finally made friends with people outside the Uchiha Clan, unlike the rest of the clan, who always shut themselves off, sinking into gloom and living in their own little world.

But he was worried because he couldn't change the Uchiha Clan's current situation. Too many clan members took pride in being Uchiha and in their status as a ninja clan. They were arrogant and unwilling to interact with other people in Konoha. That would only make the village resent them.

"Please look after Sasuke from now on, too. He's still young."

"I will."

Knowing that the young man before him was seriously little brother-obsessed, Akimichi Denji nodded.

That evening at the Akimichi home, during dinner, Akimichi Choji and Akimichi Choza gave a detailed account of what had happened that afternoon.

Akimichi Choza's eyes narrowed. Though he had a physique like Arnold's, he wasn't an idiot. He was, after all, the head of a clan.

He knew what Danzo did in the village. Danzo had previously abducted a prodigy from the Yamanaka Clan and one from the Aburame Clan. Now it seemed he had set his sights on Akimichi Denji, too.

"I'll handle this. Don't worry."

"I was scared. I want to become stronger."

Akimichi Denji took the opportunity to voice his intentions.

The Akimichi Clan was best known for its secret techniques, especially the Multi-Size Technique.

Each of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans had its own secret technique, such as the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Transfer Jutsu and the Nara Clan's Shadow Secret Technique.

They specialized in [mind reading] and [control], respectively.

Compared with the other two clans' techniques, which both focused on control, the Akimichi Clan's secret technique seemed distinctly Western: it directly enlarged the user's body.

It had earned the top spot on the list of jutsu every man in the world most wanted to learn.

Akimichi Choza looked at his son, who still wore a fearful expression. He pondered for a long while, then nodded. After all, he was his son. Sooner or later, he would have to train in the clan's secret technique. It was only a matter of when.

Akimichi Denji had a Kekkei Genkai and plenty of talent, so there was no harm in starting his training early. The reason they usually waited was that most children didn't fully develop their ninja potential until they were older.

Geniuses always had privileges.

"Very well. I'll teach you the Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique today."

But training in the secret technique wasn't so easy.

Akimichi Denji was stuck at the very first step.

The Akimichi family courtyard was windless that night.

Father and son stood in place, while Akimichi Choji watched nearby.

"Our clan's Multi-Size Technique works by burning fat to produce chakra. But Denji, you don't have any fat to spare," Akimichi Choza said slowly.

Akimichi Denji gave an awkward smile.

The first step in burning fat to gain energy was to have fat to burn.

Yet apart from the energy his body needed to grow, Akimichi Denji had given all his other energy to the system.

"You don't need to worry."

Akimichi Choza seemed to notice Denji's unease and spoke gently to reassure him.

"This may actually mean that you have exceptional talent."

"You eat more than twice as much as that boy Choji, but you haven't gained any extra fat. That just goes to show that every bit of energy you consume is being used to build your body. A ninja's chakra comes mainly from their physical energy, so you have great potential as a ninja."