The Uchiha Clan

"Ramen tastes so good!"

Little Naruto came out of the ramen shop rubbing his round, full belly, utterly delighted. This was his first time eating ramen that wasn't instant, and it was delicious.

The man who made the ramen was nice, too. He hadn't given Naruto a hard time for not having enough money, nor had he refused to sell to him like the other shops... He would definitely come back when he had the chance.

With that thought, Naruto turned to look at the shop's sign and commit it to memory.

"Ichiraku Ramen."

Just as little Naruto left the ramen shop, two figures approached him, one tall and one short.

They were chatting and laughing. The shorter one was about Naruto's height, and both wore dark clothing.

"Big brother, can you practice throwing shuriken with me today?"

"Sure."

Were they brothers?

As they passed Naruto, their mention of Training piqued his curiosity. He instinctively turned to look them over and saw a conspicuous fan emblem on the backs of their clothes.

"Hmm?"

As though sensing Naruto's scrutiny, Uchiha Itachi glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Was that him?

As the eldest son of the Uchiha Clan's leader and a gifted Ninja whose father had taken him onto the battlefield from an early age, Uchiha Itachi knew more of the truth than most people in the village.

For instance, he knew that Naruto was a tailed beast's jinchūriki.

But that had little to do with him today. He withdrew his gaze and turned back to his younger brother. "But only for a little while. I have something else to do afterward."

"Aww..." His younger brother was clearly disappointed.

Before his brother could plead with him, however, Uchiha Itachi was already looking at him with a silent smile. Sasuke Uchiha was clearly used to his brother's tactics and could only reluctantly say, "Fine, but you have to... Hmm?"

As though sensing something, Sasuke Uchiha also turned toward Naruto, who was still looking at the brothers, and politely asked, "Hello? Did you need something?"

"Ah, no..." Naruto hadn't expected him to strike up a conversation and was momentarily at a loss. But he soon displayed his own particular gift for treating strangers like old friends. "Um, I heard you say you were going to practice throwing shuriken. Could I... come along... and watch?"

"Ha, of course not. Our clan's shurikenjutsu..." Sasuke Uchiha didn't want anyone interrupting his rare chance to spend time with his brother. Besides, the clan's shurikenjutsu certainly wasn't something they could show just anyone. Why was this person so strange? Didn't he even know such basic things?

Uchiha Itachi had also intended to refuse politely, but before he could speak, he suddenly noticed Naruto's stance.

Although they were merely strolling and chatting in the street, when Uchiha Itachi took a proper look at Naruto, he realized that the boy's posture gave him the impression of a Ninja concealing his openings, ready to strike at any moment.

That sort of bearing was very common among battle-hardened Ninja, but this child should never have left the village...

Uchiha Itachi was a true genius. Since the Third Shinobi World War had broken out the year after his birth, he had followed his father onto the battlefield from an early age, developing a way of thinking about everything that was completely different from that of the villagers. Having become a genin at just seven, he now felt a flicker of curiosity about Naruto.

"I'm sorry, but not this time. If you're interested, perhaps we can do it together another time." Uchiha Itachi picked up where his younger brother Sasuke had left off, exchanged a few polite words with Naruto, then led Sasuke away.

"Ah..." Naruto wasn't too dejected by the rejection. He was used to it, after all. Yet for some reason, he couldn't help feeling drawn to them.

As for the shuriken they had just mentioned, Naruto really was quite interested.

It was that same feeling again. He truly had never heard of or seen shuriken, yet hearing the word just now had stirred an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He had seen them in his dreams more than once.

"The place they were heading... Was it by the river?" Naruto thought back.

The Hokage's office in Konoha.

"Hmm..." The list on Third's desk was giving him a slight headache. The identical surnames filling the name column made him frown.

The Uchiha Clan truly produced one genius after another.

"This time, the advisers recommend continuing to deny the Uchiha Clan places in the Anbu, while also reducing their quota for promotions to chunin and jonin," analyzed Shikaku Nara, the Hokage's strategist, as he stood before Third. "They're still advocating further suppression of the Uchiha Clan!"

"What do you think?" Third exhaled a puff of smoke and looked up.

"After the Fourth Hokage's sacrifice and the Nine-Tails' Attack, the villagers' wariness toward the Uchiha Clan has become all too obvious. If we continue to put pressure on them through our decisions, I'm afraid... it will be hard to win people over." Shikaku answered almost without needing to think. Clearly, he had long understood the situation surrounding the Uchiha Clan.

"So you think we should promote this group of their clansmen?" Third's hat shaded his eyes, making it impossible to discern his thoughts from his expression.

Shikaku glanced at Third's reaction and, unlike before, did not answer immediately.

He knew that Third hadn't been satisfied with his answer.

"This group of Uchiha clansmen has already fully met the requirements for promotion. We can't simply deny people advancement without giving any reason, can we?" Receiving no answer, Third did not press him further. His shriveled fingers tapped the lists. "The Uchiha are part of Konoha, too. Such behavior is indefensible, but... Never mind. Send word for Shisui to come here."

"Yes." An Anbu member who had been standing by emerged from the shadows, then vanished.

The afternoon sun remained merciless. Amid the sweltering heat, two figures raced through the trees, one following the other.

Then the figure in front stopped abruptly, turned, and called to the one behind him, "Itachi, that's enough for today."

Uchiha Itachi, close on his heels, hurriedly stopped as well. He looked in puzzlement at the handsome figure standing on a branch ahead, a sword strapped to his back. "What is it, Shisui?"

"Something urgent has come up. I need to leave." Shisui Uchiha turned toward Itachi with a gentle smile. "Looks like the timing wasn't right today. I was planning to teach you a trick so you could show off in front of your little brother."

"All right." Hearing that Shisui had important business to attend to, Uchiha Itachi naturally wouldn't stop him. "Then I'll go back and see how Sasuke's practice is coming along. Come find me when you have time."

With that, Shisui Uchiha vanished from the branch. After watching his friend leave, Itachi turned back to find Sasuke.

But just as he returned to the riverbank, he heard a startled cry: "Watch out!"

A dark blur tore through the air toward Uchiha Itachi!