At Uchiha Fugaku's home, Uzumaki Kuming talked with him about his plans for the coming days.
Uzumaki Kuming had no intention of getting involved in Konoha's affairs. For one thing, Minato Namikaze was doing an excellent job as Hokage, and Konoha's affairs had been running smoothly over the past few years. Another important reason was that Konoha had now settled into a stable political structure. If Uzumaki Kuming suddenly intervened, it would throw the village's politics into turmoil.
That was something no one wanted to see happen, including Uzumaki Kuming himself.
The two sat in the courtyard, watching Naruto and Sasuke play as they drank tea and chatted. Before long, the conversation turned to Uchiha Itachi. Itachi was Uzumaki Kuming's student and the genius son Uchiha Fugaku was so proud of. Fugaku had plenty of thoughts to share about the young prodigy—or, rather, plenty to brag about...
"Fugaku, I didn't see Itachi when I came back this time. Where is he?"
Uzumaki Kuming leaned against one of the veranda's pillars, relaxing into a casual posture.
"Oh, Itachi!"
"He's leading a team on a mission this time. Nothing too dangerous, just a simple escort mission."
At the mention of his son, Uchiha Fugaku's face immediately broke into a radiant smile. He was extremely pleased with his eldest son. Itachi picked up every Fire Release Ninjutsu Fugaku taught him in no time, and his reputation as a genius had long since spread throughout Konoha. When Fugaku walked down the street, he could practically feel other parents his age looking at him with envy.
Wasn't every parent's greatest hope for their child to excel?
"An escort mission? The lowest rank would still be C-rank, wouldn't it? Itachi's only five years older than Sasuke, right? At nine, isn't he a little too young?"
Talking