The sunlight was just right, and the breeze was warm and gentle.
Uchiha Itachi gazed at the azure sky with a blade of grass between his lips, yawning out of boredom.
As Itachi yawned, the girls around him stared at him with stars in their eyes, making no attempt to hide their admiration. In contrast, the boys' eyes burned with anger.
To the boys, the effortlessly cool Uchiha Itachi had undoubtedly stolen the attention of the girls they liked.
Uchiha Itachi ignored their stares. When the Chunin instructor called his name, he stepped forward to begin the kunai-throwing test.
As someone born into the Uchiha clan, he scored full marks in throwing without question, drawing everyone's attention.
Even the Chunin homeroom teacher had to admit that his skills fell short of his student Itachi's.
Sighing softly to himself, Itachi returned to the line under everyone's gaze. He paid no mind to the little antics of the others his age, merely reflecting on how childish they were.
His strength had been enough to graduate from the Ninja Academy several years ago, and even the Chunin in his clan were worthy opponents for him.
Uchiha Itachi had only remained at the Ninja Academy because Shisui and Oto insisted on it. After the Night of the Nine-Tails and a series of other incidents, he had become disappointed in his father Fugaku's actions.
He could not understand why his father had not immediately led his men out and put the Military Police Force to use.
Despite being the clan head, his father had even failed to rein in the radical clansmen, causing conflict between the clan and the village.
In the end, Oto Uchiha had stepped forward and brought those radical clansmen under control, preventing the conflict from escalating further.
From then on, he