For the time being, no one knew that Uchiha Itachi was using a shadow clone to attend school. The Uchiha Clan's affairs were increasing, and Fugaku as clan head was extremely busy. Mikoto had to juggle housework while caring for Sasuke, and in her eyes, Uchiha Itachi was very sensible, needing almost no worry from his parents.
Having learned to keep a low profile and endure, Uchiha Itachi's performance in class was simply a normal first place. After the Ninja Academy strengthened its education, every generation of students would have a top-ranked student in their grade. Some people's performances were no worse than Uchiha Itachi's, and at any rate Itachi was also the Uchiha Clan Head's son, so being first in his grade was not exactly astonishing.
During the Ninja Academy's class hours, Uchiha Itachi would come to a remote forest outside the village. The consequence of Konoha's increased missions was a shortage of manpower; well over half of the Hokage's direct ANBU had been sent out by Nawaki, executing missions on the borders or in enemy countries.
Those remaining in the village were also garrisoned at various vital departments, making them much more lax in other aspects. However, Nawaki generally did not leave the village, and he had also mastered Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu and Sensory Ninjutsu, so safety was still guaranteed.
After Uchiha Itachi arrived, someone soon jumped down from a tree and said to Uchiha Itachi, "Itachi-kun, for this coming period of time you should just focus on your training. The ninjutsu you currently control far surpass those of people in this age group, and it is no exaggeration to call you the Uchiha's most outstanding genius.
"But next you need to find your own combat style, which means you will need a large amount of actual combat,