Uchiha Itachi Graduates

"Itachi, although I didn't really want you to become a ninja so soon, I still want to congratulate you on graduating from the Ninja Academy in just one year."

"Hmm?"

Uchiha Itachi looked at Hyuga Gen with a puzzled expression.

"Ninja is, all things considered, a high-risk profession. As a friend, I just didn't want you to face danger so early."

Hyuga Gen offered his explanation.

Being a ninja was undoubtedly dangerous; one careless mistake could lead to death during a mission. Although he didn't know the exact statistics, he imagined the mortality rate was quite high.

Uchiha Itachi graduating early was partly due to his exceptional ability, but from Hyuga Gen's perspective, Konoha was also in dire need of ninjas—at least at this stage.

Uchiha Itachi was a recognized genius, and his strength was beyond question; there was hardly anyone at the Ninja Academy who didn't know him.

"Since you're so amazing, are you as good as Uchiha Itachi?"

Whenever someone bragged, using that line to shut them down would leave them absolutely speechless. Hyuga Gen had heard such exchanges many times at school.

It could be said that Uchiha Itachi had become the idol of their generation; whether in terms of strength or appearance, he was truly top-tier.

In this world, becoming a ninja to protect the village was undoubtedly a supreme honor. In Konoha, almost everyone aspired to be a ninja.

Although being a ninja was a high-risk profession, danger and opportunity went hand in hand. You could earn a lot of money through missions, and completing them brilliantly could earn you a good reputation, boosting your popularity and prestige.

With both fame and fortune, wasn't that what the vast majority of people spent their whole lives chasing?

When your strength was sufficient, your reputation widespread, and your prestige high enough to earn people's recognition and respect, you might eventually become a Kage.

The Kage was the ceiling for any ninja. Once you became a Kage, you had everything, and the entire village answered to you.

"Thank you, Dongyi. I will be careful."

Uchiha Itachi expressed his gratitude for Hyuga Gen's concern.

"Come, come! Let's use tea instead of wine and have a toast together. Congratulations to Itachi for becoming a ninja, and to our gathering today—cheers!"

As he spoke, Hyuga Gen stood up first and raised his teacup. Seeing this, the others followed suit.

Looking at Hyuga Natsu's puffed-out cheeks and mouth covered in grease, making her look like a little tabby cat, Hyuga Gen couldn't help but smile—or rather, three little tabby cats.

This world had alcohol, but only sake. Hyuga Gen had secretly tried it a few times; the alcohol content wasn't high, and some even had a hint of sweetness.

Of course, at their age, they weren't allowed to drink, so they had to use tea instead. Although barbecue with tea felt a bit incongruous, it was actually quite good, as the tea helped cut through the grease.

Looking at Uchiha Itachi's slightly youthful face, he realized that although Itachi seemed very mature among his peers, he was, after all, only a seven-year-old child.

Perhaps seven should be called a youth in this world? Hyuga Gen thought of Kakashi, who had graduated from the Ninja Academy and become a genin at five.

Sending a five-year-old child to the battlefield was unimaginable in his previous world. What could a five-year-old do? Probably just play in the mud.

Even graduating from the Ninja Academy at twelve meant that at twelve, one became a genin and had to go fight others, completing missions where they could lose their lives at any moment. It was undoubtedly a tragic story.

Yet, this was how the world was. It wasn't just Konoha; other places were much the same, because the entire Ninja World was like this.

"Come on, cheers!"

Everyone clinked their teacups together and downed the tea in one gulp.

Originally, Hyuga Gen had only invited Uchiha Itachi and Izumi, as the three of them were classmates, and he hadn't called anyone else.

Later, when Xia came to find Hyuga Gen, he wasn't surprised, but he hadn't expected Zhihui to be playing at her house, so naturally, he invited her along as well.

Hyuga Gen introduced Yu Zhihui. As for Hyuga Natsu, both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Izumi already knew her, so no introduction was needed.

After all, Hyuga Natsu and Hyuga Gen always went to school together, and they had run into Uchiha Itachi and Izumi at the school gate before, so they were already acquainted.

Hyuga Gen knew that it would be harder to get together with Uchiha Itachi in the future; after all, now that Itachi was a ninja, countless missions awaited him.

According to the story in Shippuden, about a year after Itachi became a genin, his two teammates would be killed by the masked man, Obito, during a mission, which would cause Itachi to awaken his Sharingan.

Based on Hyuga Gen's understanding of Itachi, he would surely be consumed by guilt over his teammates' deaths, leading him to work even harder to improve his strength and stop wasting time on other things.

"Brother Dongyi, is this what you were talking about earlier?"

Hyuga Natsu looked at Hyuga with admiration, though her mouth didn't stop moving as she ate the grilled meat.

"Mm-hmm, that's right, this is it. What do you all think? It should be profitable, right?"

Hyuga Natsu and Zhihui nodded vigorously without hesitation. Aside from ice cream, they felt this was the best thing they had ever eaten.

"Profitable?"

Uchiha Izumi asked, looking puzzled.

Hyuga Gen then explained everything to Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Izumi one by one.

"So, you were the one who made the ice cream? I've had it before, it's quite delicious."

Uchiha Izumi looked at Hyuga Gen with curiosity, as if she wanted to get to know him all over again.

"Dongyi, do you plan to go into business in the future?"

Although they were attending the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Itachi knew that not everyone became a ninja; if they didn't want to, they could do other things.

"I haven't decided yet. It's possible, but I'll probably still be a ninja."

Hyuga Gen gave an ambiguous answer. He truly hadn't made up his mind, but it was highly likely he would still choose to become a ninja.

"I think it wouldn't be bad to go into business instead of becoming a ninja."

Hyuga Natsu voiced her opinion. Perhaps influenced by Hyuga Gen, she didn't feel that being a ninja was all that great.

In truth, her mother didn't want Hyuga Natsu to become a ninja either; she only hoped for her to live happily as an ordinary person. When Hyuga Natsu first said she wanted to go to the Ninja Academy, her mother had refused.

Hyuga Natsu had gone to great lengths to persuade her mother, though as to how she did it or what she said, that remained unknown.

The sun set, night fell, and all good things must come to an end.

"Itachi, I'll leave it to you to see Izumi home. It's on your way, and I'll be taking Zhihui back in a moment."

Hyuga Gen patted Uchiha Itachi on the shoulder as he spoke.

Watching the figures of Uchiha Itachi and Izumi depart, Hyuga Gen stood dazed for a moment, lost in thought.

"Zhihui, let's go. I'll see you home."

"Zhihui is sleeping at my place tonight. Come on, Zhihui, let's ignore this person who doesn't even think to call us when he has something delicious."

Hyuga Natsu seemed somewhat dissatisfied, pulling Zhihui along and leaving without looking back.

Hyuga Gen was stunned. It seemed he hadn't proactively called Xia over, but if she hadn't come looking for him to play, he wouldn't have thought to host a barbecue in the first place.

It was only because they arrived that he remembered the pepper and other seasonings he had acquired yesterday, and on a whim, he started the grill. There was no explaining that!

Still, it wasn't a big problem; he could just coax her tomorrow.