Kazuki released a large ball of fire and walked toward what he had seen. On the ground, there were several burned insects. Kazuki closed his eyes, focused his chakra, and sensed someone running away.
He used the Body Flicker technique to immediately follow him, but the person had already escaped.
'Damn it, that bastard Danzo has been spying on me. For how long?' Kazuki thought in panic.
Sitting in an underground facility of Konoha was Danzo. He was reading a scroll presented by a masked ninja kneeling before him.
"So, he has awakened the Sharingan. Spying on him will be difficult from now on, so be careful," Danzo said.
He thought, 'Judging by what we have learned so far, he is also like Itachi, someone who wants to prevent the coup. If he gets a choice between the clan and the village, he will definitely choose the village.'
Danzo smirked as he thought, 'What a great pawn.'
A few days later, Kazuki was looking for a mission to do. Searching through the logs, he saw something interesting.
"Well, that will be interesting," Kazuki said and looked at the receptionist. "I'll take this mission."
The receptionist typed something into the computer and said, "Alright, a D-rank mission, Kazuki Uchiha. Please head to the Ninja Academy tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM."
"Alright, thanks," Kazuki said and left.
The next day, Kazuki wore his Chunin vest and headed for the Academy. When the building came into view, he was hit with a feeling of nostalgia.
Kazuki thought as he entered the Academy, 'This brings back memories. This was the place I first met Yuki.'
He found the classroom he was instructed to go to and opened the door. There were many familiar faces in the room, and standing in front of them was Iruka.
'Wow, Iruka looks young. He doesn't look all that much older than Shisui,' Kazuki thought.
Iruka looked up from the attendance scroll and said, "Oh, you must be Kazuki Uchiha. I was expecting you. Please, come inside."
Kazuki entered the classroom, immediately becoming the center of attention.
Iruka put down the scroll and announced, "Listen up, everyone. This is Kazuki. He is a fully-fledged Chunin, and today he's going to demonstrate several ninjutsu for you. I expect you all to pay close attention."
"Chunin? But he's just a kid! I bet I could beat him," a blond kid said with a laugh.
"In your dreams, Naruto!" a pink-haired girl shouted. "If there's anyone who can beat him, it's Sasuke-kun."
Kazuki smiled softly at their high energy.
"Naruto, Sakura!" Iruka slammed his hand on the desk. "Don't be rude to your superior. Kazuki here is an incredibly talented ninja. He became a Chunin at the age of just eleven."
Iruka sighed and turned toward Kazuki. "Sorry about that. They've got a lot of spirit, but not nearly enough discipline."
Kazuki waved his hand dismissively. "I don't mind at all. It's good seeing these kids with a lot of energy. Now, should we put this energy to some good use?"
"Right," Iruka said and clapped his hands. "Everyone, form a line and follow me. Sakura, make sure no one breaks the line."
They all headed toward an Academy training ground.
'Some of my old classmates should also be in the Academy right now. They would probably be in their last year,' Kazuki thought along the way.
After leading them to the training ground, Iruka left them alone and went back inside.
Kazuki stood in front of the students. He was feeling a little nervous seeing so many familiar faces.
"Now listen, everyone. I'm going to show you some ninjutsu. I'll start with a basic one," Kazuki said, making a single hand sign.
'Shadow Clone Jutsu.'
A shadow clone formed beside Kazuki. There was no excitement from the students; in fact, they all looked pretty disappointed.
Sakura raised her hand and said, "Sensei, are you really a Chunin? That's just a basic Clone Jutsu. Even Sasuke-kun can do that."
"Well, it's not just a basic Clone Jutsu," Kazuki said as he raised his left hand, clapping hands with the shadow clone. "It's a real Shadow Clone."
The smack of their hands was loud enough for everyone to hear, which made the class flinch before they erupted into cheers.
They all surrounded the clone, poking it with their fingers and checking if it was real.
"Wow, that's so cool!" Naruto cheered, jumping with excitement. "Does he fight? Does he think like you do? Teach it to me, Sensei!"
Everyone but Sasuke was looking very excited to see the clone. Kazuki walked up to Sasuke and said, "So, you don't find that interesting?"
Sasuke puffed out his chest and said, "It's alright, I guess, but my big brother can do way better jutsu than this."
"Itachi, huh? You're really proud of your big brother, aren't you?" Kazuki said, gently placing his hand on top of Sasuke's head.
"You know my big brother?" Sasuke's eyes shone. "Oh, right, you're also an Uchiha."
"Yeah, Itachi and I are friends. We were also in the same class at the Academy."
'Look at him, so obsessed with his brother. It kinda makes me sad thinking about what he becomes after the massacre,' Kazuki thought, and his smile faded.
An idea suddenly came into Kazuki's mind.
'Oh, wait, what an idea,' Kazuki thought as he looked at Shino. 'I can train my Mind's Eye of the Kagura to passively sense insects. It's a great opportunity.'