"The gap is so huge?"
Itachi stood still, his mind reeling from what had just happened.
After only a brief exchange, he had completely lost the initiative. Yun's movement had been so fast, so clean, that even his Crow Clone had been rendered useless before it could activate.
He clenched his fists in frustration. His heart throbbed—not with physical pain, but from the gnawing feeling of inadequacy.
'I've been called a genius since I was a child. I graduated from the Academy in a single year. Yet… I couldn't even withstand one technique from him.'
"No." Itachi muttered aloud, his brows furrowed in disbelief. "Even Shisui's Body Flicker Technique isn't this fast! My Sharingan… my eyes clearly saw you predict my movement before I even made it!"
His sharp gaze landed on Yun again, full of a simmering, humbled determination.
Yun gave a small smile, one that wasn't mocking, but firm. "Exactly. That's why I said you're not at my level yet, or Shisui's. You may be a Genin in rank, but you're still walking on the threshold of power. It's better for you to learn slowly. Shisui and I will handle the weight of the Uchiha for now. After all…"
Yun looked up toward the blue sky, the rising sun casting light through the trees.
"…I like this village very much."
Itachi's eyes widened. That simple admission struck a chord.
'I see… so that's his reason.'
"I understand." Itachi replied quietly, his voice resolute. "I'll keep moving forward. I'll catch up to your strength. That path—my father's path—I'll walk it in his place."
*Swish!*
The sudden rustling of leaves in the nearby trees broke their exchange. It was light, but clearly deliberate.
Yun didn't even turn toward the sound. Instead, he casually commented, "A Chunin instructor from the Academy? If that's who they sent… they're underestimating Tokuma."
Itachi nodded slowly. "He's not someone ordinary students can handle. But it's strange. Choosing to appear now… It's probably because they thought I wasn't nearby."
"Come to think of it." Yun glanced at Itachi. "Why are you still a Genin after two years? Didn't you attend the last Chunin Exams?"
Itachi shook his head, expression tightening. "Shinko and Tenma were injured during a mission. That's also when my Sharingan awakened its third-tomoe."
He paused, eyes narrowing toward the direction of their tent. "Aren't you worried about Tokuma and Izumi?"
Yun folded his arms. "Tokuma may be from the Hyuga branch family, but he uses the Byakugan effectively. Izumi might not have awakened her Sharingan yet, but she's not weak either."
Itachi exhaled. "That mission—where I awakened my third-tomoe—there was something strange about it."
"Oh?"
"It was a simple C-rank escort mission. But halfway through, we were ambushed. A large group of missing-nin. Minazuki-sensei was restrained early on. At that time, I only had the two-tomoe Sharingan."
Itachi's fingers clenched at the memory.
"The enemy felt… prepared. Over-prepared. And when I finally retaliated… everything went too smoothly. As if they were guiding me to that moment."
"Did that 'smooth' counterattack begin after your Sharingan evolved?"
"Yes." Itachi's tone darkened. "The timing felt too perfect. Like it wasn't real battle—it was manipulation."
Yun's eyes narrowed. "So Danzo's already making moves on you…"
It made sense. A boy who awakened two-tomoe at the age of five and hit three by seven? Danzo would see that kind of Uchiha prodigy as a ticking time bomb.
"Why didn't you use the crow Shisui gave you?" Yun asked.
"I… wanted to handle it myself at first," Itachi admitted. "But then things escalated before I could react."
'A common issue with geniuses.' Yun thought. 'Pride. Responsibility. The burden of being ahead.'
…
They soon arrived at their campsite.
Outside the tent, two masked figures had Tokuma and Izumi bound with kunai to their necks.
One of the masked intruders sneered, "Surrender quietly, or your comrades bleed."
Yun raised an eyebrow. "Really? That's your line? Tokuma would be insulted."
He turned to Itachi. "Want to try some cooperation?"
Itachi didn't hesitate. "Sure."
*Thud*
Itachi dropped his kunai to the ground. Both raised their hands in mock surrender.
The masked figures laughed. "So this is the pride of the Uchiha Clan? Surrendering so easily?"
As one of them stepped forward to bind them, the image shattered.
Yun was no longer in front of them—he was behind them, kunai pressed to both their necks.
*Thunk!*
Two simultaneous hits. Itachi had struck both Tokuma and Izumi—their transformed clones—in the abdomen with pinpoint kunai strikes.
"Your Transformation Jutsu was sloppy." Itachi said, retrieving his blade. "Tokuma never breathes that shallowly."
Yun grinned. "Also, your surrender lines? Trash. Raising your hands doesn't even mean surrender anymore."
The four "kidnappers" took off their masks, revealing themselves as Academy instructors.
One of them scratched the back of his head. "Yeah… we knew you guys would be hard to deal with. This was the only tactic we had."
Yun looked past them as the real Tokuma and Izumi arrived, dragging two bound Chunin instructors between them.
Izumi smiled and called out, "Sensei, you really tried to trick us with clones? You underestimated my onii-chan!"
One of the defeated teachers sighed. "We should've known better. The two of them… they're on a completely different level."
Tokuma chuckled, nudging Yun's shoulder. "They sent Chunin-level instructors just to test you and Itachi. Even they were surprised at how badly it went."
…
By the third day morning, their field exercise concluded. After the ranking ceremony, Itachi's team returned to the Academy.
As they walked along the path, Izumi clutched Yun's arm and looked up at him.
"Onii-chan, I want to awaken my Sharingan too! Itachi's eyes are so pretty…"
Yun froze for half a step.
In this life, her gentle nature had grown even warmer. The icy edge she once carried, the one sharpened by tragedy, hadn't formed.
The girl who awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan on the night of the massacre… what had she gone through to get there?
Yun placed his hand gently on her head. "Those eyes… come at a cost."
He smiled softly, voice firm.
"If I can help it, I hope you'll never awaken them. If danger ever comes… I'll be there. Always. Believe me."
…
The sun was dipping when Yun and Izumi began walking home toward the Uchiha district.
But halfway there, Yun's eyes narrowed. He stopped abruptly and turned his head slightly.
*Swish!*
Two figures landed in front of them, masks over their faces—not the ones used by the regular Anbu. Their black flak jackets and curved swords immediately stood out.
Konoha's Root.
"Uchiha Yun." one of them said, voice mechanical behind the mask. "You will come with us. Now."
*****
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