Is This Really Who He's Supposed to Be?

Night had fallen.

Kazan was roasting an entire cow over a fire.

After a while, Uchiha Itachi returned, covered in wounds.

"Teacher Kazan, I'm back!"

"I can see that. Come eat."

"Yes, Teacher Kazan!"

"Just call me Kazan. I'm not that strict."

"Yes, Teacher Kazan!"

Itachi said it again, more naturally and more loudly this time.

He felt he had passed Kazan's test. Only now could he truly call himself Kazan's student.

He was a little excited.

What an imaginative little brat.

Kazan didn't need a reason for everything he did. He went with whatever struck his fancy.

He had originally planned to take Itachi to dinner and test his current strength along the way.

But they had run into a wolf pack, and on a whim, Kazan had kicked him into it.

As for a test...

There was no test.

With this, he had repaid the Uchiha Clan's favor.

Ultimately, Uchiha Fugaku had sent his son to Kazan to strengthen the ties between them.

That thought made Kazan want to quiz Itachi.

"Itachi, do you know why your father sent you to me?"

"To learn how to become an excellent ninja."

"And?"

"And... to build a deeper bond with you, Teacher Kazan. Everyone in the clan hopes you'll become the village's Hokage."

He was too clever for his own good.

So clever that he lacked the liveliness a child his age ought to have.

"At this rate, you won't get along with the other kids."

Uchiha Itachi shook his head.

He didn't care what the other children thought of him.

Deep down, he even thought they were too childish. Rather than waste time playing, he would be better off—

Thud!

Before Itachi could finish the thought, Kazan punched him into the ground.

"Teacher Kazan, why did you hit me?"