Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!

Day after day passed as I traveled between the academy, the training grounds, and the Clan Head Mansion. My body grew more exhausted with each passing day, but my spirits soared higher and higher. My mood kept improving, and when I ran with Might Guy, I gradually managed to keep pace with him.

Guy was honestly a great friend. Whenever I was with him, I felt more vividly alive.

After we grew closer, we sometimes went for breakfast together after our morning runs. We also ran into more of our seniors, like Yuhi Kurenai, Asuma, and Mitaraishi Anko. I fit in with them, going from awkward outsider to feeling right at home.

Sincerity was always the best approach. When it came to a group of teenagers, I could still find a way to befriend them. They treated me like a junior and were very kind to me.

Sometimes, though, I inevitably ran into Hatake Kakashi. I would stiffen from head to toe, while Guy eagerly went over to greet him. Thanks to Guy's help, I finally managed to introduce myself properly to Kakashi—

"Hello, senior. I'm Uchiha Akatsuki. We've met before."

My heart pounded as I forced out those words, and I couldn't stop my face from flushing! He only glanced at me, nodded indifferently, and walked away.

Damn it! That couldn't have been more awkward!

Guy later comforted me, saying that was just how Kakashi was and that I shouldn't take it personally—

As if I cared. ╭(╯^╰)╮

Lately, things had started changing at the academy, too. The amount of practical combat training kept increasing, and the teachers began changing frequently. Classes became more intensive, homework piled up, and the students' burden grew heavier by the day. Lots of people started complaining...

But I didn't.

Because I could tell that all these changes meant the situation outside the village was becoming more severe.

Things had changed at home, too. Itachi was growing fast. I guessed all children grew quickly before they turned one. He rarely cried, but he was very attached to me. When I wasn't around, Mother sometimes struggled to manage. Ah, by "Mother," I meant Uchiha Mikoto. So I did my best to spend more time with Itachi, as long as it didn't interfere with my training.

In my spare time, I was still doing combat training with Obito. He had finally stopped ruining my wire traps. Obito wasn't stupid—in fact, he was quite clever. He'd simply had too little guidance and spent most of his time figuring things out on his own, which was how he'd gradually ended up at the bottom of the class.

Compared to him, I was more than a little lucky.

Besides that, every week I brought food, medicine, and other necessities to visit Obito's grandmother. Unfortunately, Shisui had been getting busier lately. It seemed he'd been specially allowed to graduate early, and he was always going out on missions. Otherwise, I would definitely have asked him to come along.

—Life without little Shisui pestering me felt like something was missing!

On a rare day off, I stayed home, but I couldn't sit still for even a moment.

"Akatsuki, go wash Itachi's diapers."

"Okay."

"Akatsuki, turn off the fire! The milk's about to burn!"

"Right!"

"Akatsuki, come here for a moment!"

"Coming!"

With diapers, a milk bottle, and toys filling my arms, I walked into Mikoto's bedroom, flustered but composed. I carefully knelt down, handed things over one by one, and followed Mother's instructions.

"Akatsuki, something came up, so I have to go out for a while. Take good care of Itachi." She smiled, placed Itachi in my arms, and patted my head before turning to put on her green chain mail.

A few months had passed, and Mikoto had recovered quickly. As an elite jonin, she had recently started going out frequently again, leaving most of the responsibility for caring for Itachi on my shoulders.

"Okay, Mother. Have a safe trip."

Having a five-year-old look after a baby seemed absurd at first glance. But during the Warring States period, when the average life expectancy didn't exceed thirty, it was common for children as young as five or six to die on the battlefield.

Itachi had learned to crawl and roll over, and every now and then he'd babble a few incomprehensible words. In just a few short months, his sense of self had grown rapidly. He truly was a genius.

After seeing Mikoto off, I closed the door and returned to the bedroom. Itachi was still wriggling around on the floor, crawling toward me and making drooly noises like "ah-da, ah-ba." I put my finger against his forehead, easily stopping him from getting any closer, then flicked him with my index finger, leaving a red mark on his forehead.

"My foolish little brother... Hate me. Despise me. Then cling to life..." I imitated Itachi's voice, looking solemn and wide-eyed as I waved my arms around to scare the baby.

Once I got carried away with my melodrama, even Uchiha Itachi would have to give me a wide berth.

But Itachi wasn't afraid of me. He knew I was playing with him and giggled twice before reaching out to grab my finger. His hand was so tiny, and his grip so weak, that I could easily have pulled free. But I didn't move, letting him hug my forearm and chew on it.

Watching him play happily, I sighed.

I wouldn't claim to understand the Itachi from the original story, but having seen the story of his life, I couldn't help but feel for him. Not as his older brother, but as an outsider... I felt an especially deep pity and affection for him.

His life had been far too painful.

So I wanted to be a little kinder to him, and kinder still... I didn't want him to wander alone in the darkness as he had in the story, bearing everything by himself, taking it all upon his shoulders, and eventually dying as a criminal.

That would be too tragic.

The warm, damp sensation on my hand brought me back to my senses. I looked at Itachi, feeling both exasperated and happy.

Today was a rare day off. I'd planned to train on the cliff face, but I just couldn't bring myself to leave this little guy alone.

What was I supposed to do when my little brother was so cute?!

"Akatsuki!!!"

The pounding at the door could only be Obito. Keeping up his usual volume, loud enough to bring down the roof, he'd already smashed through the wooden door by the time I counted to three. He walked in like he owned the place.

He plopped down beside me, holding a rattle in one hand and a milk bottle in the other, and started entertaining little Uchiha Itachi.

"Akatsuki, come train with me!"

As he spoke, his finger wandered over to poke Itachi in the face. Itachi promptly bit him, making him yelp in pain.

"I can't. Itachi's here." I shook my head.

"Ah, so now that you've got a little brother, you don't need your friends anymore." Obito spread his hands and sighed, using the sarcastic tone he'd picked up from Shisui. I replied helplessly, "If you can get him to sleep, I'll go out."

Obito eagerly took me up on it!

I had no choice but to hand Itachi over. The moment he left my arms, the baby burst into tears, resisting Uchiha Obito with all his might. Obito endured Itachi's punches and kicks with a bewildered expression, his mouth getting twisted by the blows, until he finally fled in disarray amid the crying.

The amazing thing was that as soon as he left, Itachi stopped crying.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The kid was clever from the start!

"Fine, I'll practice Hand Seals." Even if I couldn't go out, I could still train.

I picked Itachi up with one arm and rummaged through the boxes until I found a Fire Release scroll. The Uchiha clan head's private collection was far more extensive than the Ninja Academy's.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique, Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique, Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson..." I read as I formed Hand Seals one-handed. Itachi rested securely against my chest in one arm, holding the brush for me with one hand and obediently clutching my lapel with the other. Every so often, he blew a little milk bubble.

He rarely cried, and he was used to being held by me. Whenever he was close to me, he settled down.

"Pig—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram... Hm?" I unrolled a scroll. The Hand Seals on it were unusual, and they caught my attention.

"What's this...?" I blew the dust off it and immediately froze in surprise.

"A Summoning Technique scroll?" I furrowed my brow. The dust made Itachi sneeze twice. He babbled unhappily and grabbed my hair, then bit down on it.

My eyes were already shining. I'd forgotten all about him.

As far as I remembered, the Uchiha clan didn't have any summoning beasts! Shisui and Itachi had pet crows, but they were probably ones they'd raised themselves. Sasuke had Manda, but he belonged to Orochimaru.

I stared at the "Seal" character in the middle of the scroll and gently rubbed it, feeling the ink and its texture. My heart raced!

"So the Uchiha clan has summoning beasts, too?"

As if under a spell, I formed the Hand Seals in the order shown. The more I formed, the more familiar they felt, as if I'd done them thousands upon thousands of times!

As soon as I finished, the chakra throughout my body suddenly began to churn! A tremendous force of suction came from my fingertips, and my chakra poured uncontrollably into the "Seal" character. In just a few breaths, it was almost completely drained!

By the time I tried to pull my hand away, it was already too late.

In the next instant, the "Seal" character split open! An immense force burst from the scroll, almost distorting space!

I cried out inwardly, clutched Itachi tight, and was abruptly sucked into the scroll!

After a bout of darkness and dizziness, I slowly got to my feet and realized I was in a brightly lit room. Itachi had come with me and was staring blankly at everything around us.

"Don't be scared. Your big brother's here." I hugged him close, drew a Kunai from behind my waist, and cautiously surveyed the area.

This looked like an armory.

The blood-red slanting sunlight shone through the gaps in the windows, dividing the floor into patches.

Some of the towering racks were packed with Kunai, darts, and Shuriken. Others were covered in puppet strings and steel wire. There were also long swords, chains, daggers, clubs, and even human-shaped wooden puppets... In short, every weapon you could think of—and even those you couldn't—could be found here.

What kind of place was this?

I took a barefoot step forward. The dark-red wooden floor felt cool beneath my feet and creaked softly. Nothing seemed out of place, so I cautiously moved forward, one step at a time.

The silence and my unease affected Itachi, and he was quiet for a baby.

The weapons standing all around us gleamed coldly in the slanting sunlight, looking as good as new and giving off the scents of metal and oil.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with that exhilarating scent.

No ninja could resist it. Itachi didn't seem to like it, though. His little brows furrowed, and he gripped my sleeve as if urging me to hurry up and leave.

When I reached the far end of the room, I stopped.

A streak of red sunlight cut across the floor there. In the darkness just ahead, something seemed to be waiting.

My hair stood on end, and Itachi cowered in my arms.

"So you've finally come. This time, it's... a child?" A hoarse voice came from the darkness. I tightened my grip on the Kunai and stared as a figure approached, one step at a time.

A woman slowly emerged from the darkness. She was heavyset and wrinkled, with a black cat in her arms. She didn't seem hostile.

"You're from the Uchiha clan, aren't you?" She took a scroll from her clothes and unrolled it without haste, reading from it. Somehow, she called me by name!

"Uchiha Akatsuki, child of Uchiha Fugaku. Correct?"

That was true... and not true. I had no idea who my biological father was, but calling me Fugaku's child wasn't wrong.

"May I ask who you are? What is this place?" I watched her rummage around without pause. I'd barely begun to ask when she brusquely cut me off.

"Quiet!"

Itachi shuddered in fright, and I hurriedly lowered my head to comfort him.

"Hmm... According to the rules, you may take one clan treasure." She muttered to herself, then suddenly looked up at me. "What are your chakra natures?"

I swallowed. The whole situation felt stranger and stranger, but I didn't answer.

"If I remember correctly, they should be lightning, fire, and wind."

She was exactly right!

"Good. This one is meant for you." Without even looking at my shocked expression, she snapped her fingers twice.

The next moment, a mysterious, profound aura rose from her. I heard a soft click from somewhere in the room, then the floor began to tremble. The slanting rays of sunlight shifted and crossed, as if they had awakened an ancient age.

Then a long sword silently slid out of the darkness.

"It's yours." The old woman pointed at the sword and motioned for me to come forward.

"A weapon passed down through your bloodline—Demon Blade Murasame."