That glance of Itachi standing beneath the eaves did not become a topic of conversation the next day.
At least, not on the surface.
Kiyo had not seen it, much to his regret. Morita Yu had seen it, but only said, "He stood very straight." Saori said Itachi's shadow had been very long, then immediately felt that sounded like the beginning of something and hurriedly pressed her cloth doll tighter to her chest. Zhen Shu did not mention it, nor did Keisuke. Che naturally would not bring it up himself.
Some names, once placed on the table, made everyone sitting around it change the way they sat.
That morning, Takuya removed two of the water dishes, leaving only the cracked dish and the fifth one. The cracked dish was filled with water, while the fifth dish was empty. Then he took out a thin cotton thread, laying one end over the edge of the cracked dish and letting the other dangle beneath the table.
"Today, we'll practice Fire Line Object-Weaving," Takuya said.
Kiyo perked up. "Finally, we're practicing fire again."
"The fire must not burn through the thread."
Kiyo's enthusiasm immediately wilted.
Fire Line Object-Weaving was not considered a formal ninjutsu. It was more like a beginner's exercise before chakra control and Fire Release nature transformation. The students used an extremely fine trace of chakra heat to ignite a paper twist, then controlled the flame as it curved around the thread at the dish's edge. It could not touch or break the thread, nor could the flame go out. Real Fire Release would not be this gentle, but if one could not even get around a single cotton thread, then no matter how beautifully they formed hand signs in the future, they would only be throwing chakra around wildly.
Che