Outside the gates of the Ninja Academy.
Itachi Uchiha, dressed in his standard clan attire, stood quietly beneath the shade of a large tree, waiting. Around him, some parents who were also waiting to pick up their children occasionally cast curious glances his way.
Uchiha Itachi, the genius ninja of Konoha Village. The name was familiar to many. Furthermore, with the recent buzz surrounding the Military Police Reform Plan being the hottest topic in the village, the sight of this renowned Uchiha genius naturally prompted a few extra looks from the onlookers.
Itachi remained completely unfazed by the surrounding whispers and pointing, his expression calm and composed as he waited patiently.
"Itachi, you're here today too!" a familiar voice suddenly called out.
Itachi turned to see Mitarashi Anko approaching him.
"Anko-san," Itachi greeted with a slight smile.
Anko walked over, her demeanor as casual and bold as ever. "Here to pick up your little brother Sasuke?"
"Mn," Itachi confirmed with a nod. "Anko-san, are you here to pick someone up as well?" he asked curiously.
"Waiting for Kyoko," Anko replied with a grin. "She's Sasuke's teacher now, you know."
"Oh?" Itachi's eyes flickered with a thoughtful expression. "Is that so? This is actually the first time I've come to pick Sasuke up from the Academy." He nodded slowly.
"Heh! You ANBU guys are always busy," Anko remarked lightly, looking him over. This harmless-looking kid, she thought inwardly, recalling Tatsuya's words, that man gave him extremely high praise. A competitive gleam sparked in her eyes. I wonder if I could take him now… She felt a sudden urge to test Itachi's strength.
Sensing the shift in Anko's demeanor, the palpable fighting spirit radiating from her, Itachi subtly shifted his stance, putting a little more distance between them.
Seeing his slight withdrawal, Anko pouted, feeling a little annoyed. Did he just slight me? She let out an audible "Hmph!", turned her back on Itachi, and walked straight towards the Academy entrance without another word.
Watching Anko depart in a huff, a faint, wry smile touched Itachi's lips. Fighting women… he mused, always gives me the worst headaches.
After Anko left, Itachi resumed his quiet wait by the tree. About half an hour later, students began trickling out of the Academy gates.
"Sasuke," Itachi called out, easily spotting his younger brother amidst the crowd, trailed, as usual, by a small group of adoring female classmates.
"Brother!" Hearing the voice, Sasuke, who had been walking with his hands nonchalantly stuffed in his pockets, immediately looked up. His face lit up with pure joy as he broke away from the group and ran towards Itachi.
"Who's that?" "Did you hear? Sasuke called him 'Brother'!" "Sasuke's brother is so handsome too! Just what you'd expect from an Uchiha…"
The gaggle of girls, accustomed to Sasuke's usual cool and aloof demeanor, watched in fascination as he showed such open happiness. Their curious gazes all shifted towards Itachi.
"Ino, who is that?" Sakura Haruno asked her friend, Yamanaka Ino, who stood beside her near the front of the group.
"That's Sasuke's older brother, Uchiha Itachi," Ino explained knowledgeably. "He's a famous genius in the Uchiha clan too." At this point in time, the two girls were still very good friends, and Sakura, coming from a civilian family, often learned about the intricacies of the shinobi world from Ino.
"Sasuke's brother?" A faint blush crept onto Sakura's cheeks. "Is he… is he really strong?" she whispered, leaning closer to Ino's ear. Wow, she thought excitedly, I met Sasuke's family already!
"Very strong!" Ino confirmed, then noticed Sakura's suddenly bashful behavior. "Sakura, what's wrong with you? Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?" Ino couldn't figure her out.
Sakura quickly composed herself, shaking her head dismissively. Ino gave her friend a final puzzled look but didn't press the matter.
Sasuke ran up excitedly. Itachi reached out with his right index and middle fingers and gently poked Sasuke's forehead in their familiar gesture.
"Ow!" Sasuke yelped, stopping short. He puffed out his cheeks, looking up at Itachi with mock dissatisfaction.
"Sasuke," Itachi said with a gentle smile, "this is the Ninja Academy. Acting like that might be embarrassing in front of your classmates, you know."
Reminded of his audience, Sasuke quickly glanced back at the large group of classmates trailing behind him. Seeing most of them staring directly at him and his brother, Sasuke's face flushed slightly. "Brother, let's go!" he urged, quickly grabbing Itachi's hand and pulling him away from the school gates.
Once they were a short distance away, Sasuke looked up at his older brother walking beside him. "Brother, how come you had time to pick me up today?"
Itachi smiled. "I didn't have a mission assigned today, so naturally I had time to come get you."
Sasuke pouted slightly. "It's rare for you to have free time, Brother. Is this really the first time you've ever picked me up after school?"
"I'll have more time from now on," Itachi said softly.
Sasuke's face lit up, barely suppressed excitement shining in his eyes. "Really? But Brother, don't you have missions to do?"
"I've already left ANBU," Itachi explained. "I won't have as many missions in the future."
"Left ANBU?" Sasuke was stunned. "Then… where are you going next, Brother?" He couldn't understand why Itachi would suddenly leave the prestigious ANBU Black Ops.
"To the Military Police," Itachi replied simply.
"The Military Police?" Sasuke's face fell slightly, and his voice became subdued. "Then… will you be assigned under Big Brother Tatsuya?"
"Yes," Itachi confirmed, noticing his brother's sudden dejection. "Is something wrong? Do you have some issue with Big Brother Tatsuya?" he asked, slightly puzzled.
"No!" Sasuke said quietly, looking down. "It's just… I always thought the Military Police was the pride of our Uchiha clan. Now, letting so many outsiders join all of a sudden… I just feel a bit resentful about it, that's all."
As Sasuke finished speaking, Itachi abruptly stopped walking. Sasuke turned back in confusion and saw Itachi looking down at him with a stern gaze he rarely used.
"Brother, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked hesitantly, looking slightly flustered.
"Sasuke," Itachi said seriously, his tone firm, "you must remember that the Uchiha clan is, and always will be, a part of this village. The Military Police is not the clan's private army. Implementing necessary reforms at the right time is essential for the clan's future within Konoha. Furthermore," Itachi added, his voice softening slightly, "given everything, this current situation is already the best possible outcome for the Uchiha clan."
"Yes… I understand," Sasuke answered in a muffled voice, looking down at his feet.
Of course, at his young age, Sasuke couldn't truly grasp the complex political reasoning behind Itachi's words. To him, it simply felt like something that belonged to his clan was being unfairly taken away by others. And worse, he'd already endured whispers and pointing fingers from some classmates at the Academy because of the reforms.
Itachi frowned deeply. Sasuke's reaction, his quiet resentment, was somewhat unexpected and concerning. It seems, Itachi thought, I'll need to pay closer attention to what's going on in Sasuke's mind from now on. He paused, a new thought occurring to him. Perhaps… perhaps it's time to make that request.
"Sasuke," Itachi said, looking down at his brother, "how would you feel about me finding a teacher for you?"
"A teacher?" Sasuke looked up, his expression puzzled.
"You'll find out in a few days," Itachi replied with a slight, enigmatic smile. Ignoring Sasuke's immediate barrage of questions, he gently took his brother's hand and led him towards home.