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***
"Yeah."
Itachi nodded gently.
"Brother must have gotten first place again!"
Sasuke blurted out without hesitationâhe was already accustomed to his brother always being first.
"Ah."
Itachi replied lightly, and at that moment Naruto also landed on the roof.
"Brother Itachi," Naruto called out.
"Why are you here?"
Sasuke asked, his face immediately drooping in disgust as he noticed Naruto.
"What's with that look? You want to fight again, huh?" Naruto snapped, clearly annoyed.
The two of them only needed a few words before an argument broke out.
Neither was trying to pick a fightâthis was simply how they interacted.
Since childhood, the two had fought constantly.
Their strengths were nearly equal.
Neither could fully defeat the other, and neither would admit defeat.
"Fight me if you want! I'll sew that mouth of yours shut!" Sasuke shouted, leaping down into the backyard.
Seeing this, Naruto jumped down after him.
Itachi didn't try to stop themâthis was their way of connecting.
Swish, swish, swish!
Without hesitation, Sasuke grabbed a handful of stones from the ground and hurled them like shuriken.
He knew Naruto well enough to understand that he wouldn't win in close combat.
Itachi had never formally taught Sasuke shuriken techniques, but Sasuke had already mastered the Uchiha clan's basic throwing style.
Naruto dodged instantly, as if by instinct, the moment the stones left Sasuke's hand.
Both boys were too familiar with each other's moves.
Dodging, Naruto closed the distance quickly. When he was just a few steps away, he suddenly raised his hands.
Sasuke tensed, watching closelyâbut Itachi, observing from above, had already seen through his intentions.
"Hand seals!?"
Naruto's fingers formed a cross seal.
Itachi instantly recognized it.
Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Before his rebirth, Itachi had seen Naruto use this countless times.
It was his signature technique, butâNaruto wasn't even a student at the Academy yet!
To already know this jutsuâŠ
After all, Shadow Clone was a B-rank ninjutsu.
Bang!
With a burst of white smoke, two clones identical to Naruto appeared at his sides, charging straight at Sasuke.
"Hehe! You're finished this time!" Naruto said triumphantly.
Alone, he could barely fight Sasuke to a drawâbut with three of him, Sasuke surely couldn't win!
"You've actually learned ninjutsu!?"
Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as three Narutos rushed toward him.
Naruto and his two clones attacked together with punches and kicks.
Although startled, Sasuke's taijutsu trainingâtaught by Itachi himselfâkicked in.
He dodged swiftly, slipping past all three strikes without panic.
"âŠNaruto's movements."
Itachi, standing nearby, noticed immediately.
The reason Sasuke could evade so easily was because Naruto had slowed down after forming clones.
The explanation was simpleâtwo shadow clones had drained nearly all his chakra.
Chi!
Activating his Sharingan, the three black tomoe spun in Itachi's eyes.
As expected, Naruto had split his chakra evenly, leaving his true body nearly depleted.
For someone of the Uzumaki clan, with naturally vast chakra reserves, this could only happen if Naruto had never been properly taught the technique.
Shadow Clones required evenly distributing chakra into physical bodies.
That Naruto could use them at all at this ageâbesides his bloodlineâproved his natural talent for ninjutsu.
Ninjutsu talent, combined with a strong bodyâthese were the strengths of his parents.
But the Shadow Clone Technique was meant for deception and information-gathering.
Used recklessly in battle, it only weakened the user.
Bang!
As expected, after only a few exchanges, Naruto's clones dispersed in puffs of smoke.
His real body, too drained to react, was floored by Sasuke's punch.
The quick reversal shocked both boys.
Sasuke paused, surprise giving way to joy.
"Why did it turn out like this!?"
Naruto groaned, frowning deeply.
He had used ninjutsu, but it had only weakened himâleaving him defeated even faster.
Swish!
Itachi appeared at Naruto's side, helping him up.
"Did you learn the Shadow Clone Technique from Aunt Kushina?" he asked.
Knowing Minato's cautious nature, Itachi was certain the Fourth Hokage wouldn't have taught this to Naruto so young.
"I guess soâŠ" Naruto muttered, his tone evasive.
Seeing Naruto's expression, Itachi patted his shoulder with a smile.
"Even if Aunt Kushina didn't teach you directly, you've already mastered her most famous jutsu. But right now, learning it won't help you much."
Naruto lowered his head slightly, not answering.
Itachi smiled again, glanced at Naruto, then turned to Sasuke.
"One day, both of you will be Academy students. There's something I want you to remember."
"Whether it's ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, or shurikenâthey are all weapons of a shinobi. Used recklessly, not only will they fail to make you stronger, they might even harm you."
"I got it!" Naruto said quickly.
But though he inherited his parents' strengths, he seemed to have kept some of their weaknessesâhe struggled to grasp Itachi's deeper meaning.
Sasuke, however, nodded slightly, thoughtful.
Even so, Itachi couldn't help but look at Naruto with some disbelief.
Because no matter how you looked at it, secretly learning the Shadow Clone Technique at his age was still an incredible feat.
The day after the graduation exam came the graduation ceremony.
This was Itachi and Izumi's last day at the Ninja Academy.
...
In the classroom, students lined up one by one, receiving from Kanhara Junpei a forehead protector engraved with the leaf symbol, representing the Konoha Ninja.
"Here."
Kanhara Junpei personally handed the forehead protector to Itachi, a pleased smile on his face.
Itachi was undoubtedly the most outstanding student he had ever taught.
"Thank you, teacher."
Itachi accepted the forehead protector with both hands, bowing respectfully to Kanhara Junpei.
Although he had no need for the guidance of the Ninja Academy teachers, over the past few years, Kanhara Junpei had poured all his heart and soul into the students before him.
Although the teachers of the Konoha Ninja Academy were not particularly powerful ninjas, their contributions to the village were no less than those of other ninjas in any position.
They trained generations of ninjas for the village, imparting the Will of Fire to them.
Staring at the forehead protector in his hand, Itachi's eyes flickered slightly.
Once, out of desperation, he had been forced to leave a mark on Konoha.
But this time, he would never do that again.
The hand gripping the forehead protector slowly tightened.
He would carry the pride of the Konoha ninja, pursue light, and dispel darkness.
After the forehead protectors were distributed, all students returned to their seats.
Unlike usual, they sat upright, their eyes fixed on the podium at the front of the classroom.
Kanhara Junpei stood there, looking at the still-young faces before him, and bowed deeply.
"Thank you for your support of my work over the years. You are all excellent students. I believe you will become outstanding ninjas!" he said excitedly.
Whoa!
Suddenly, every student in the classroom stood up from their seats, their expressions fluctuating as they shouted in unison.
"Teacher, thank you!"
As the words fell, everyone bowed deeply to Kanhara Junpei at the podium.
Only when they were about to leave school did they truly realize the profound gratitude for a teacher.
Stepping out of the school, they were true ninjas.
But none of them would forget that their ninja careers began here, and it was a Konoha teacher named Kanhara Junpei who guided them on this path.
The students slowly raised their heads, their expressions filled with excitement.
"Teacher, I'm sorry. I didn't respect you when I first started school," a boy in the front row scratched his head sheepishly.
He was the boy who, on the first day of school, had refused to stand up when Kanhara Junpei called on him to introduce himself.
His name was Mashimo Hideaki.
"It's okay, it's okay,"
Kanhara Junpei waved his hand.
He naturally didn't care, but as he mentioned the incident, his gaze lingered on Izumi.
If Izumi hadn't come to his rescue, the situation would have been truly embarrassing.
Seeing the teacher's gaze, Izumi smiled and nodded.
Ten-year-old Izumi's baby fat had vanished, and her features were delicate.
Her most striking feature was her clear, bright eyes, which conveyed a sense of inner purity.
The solemn atmosphere in the classroom gradually became lively again.
Everyone chatted and laughed, some with tears in their eyes, others filled with anticipation for becoming ninjas.
Of course, there were still others with a hint of fear and panic about the future.
After all, being a ninja is the most dangerous profession in the village, often associated with death.
This is a truth all students at the Ninja Academy learn upon entering.
After the graduation ceremony, Kanhara Junpei began announcing the divisions for the ninja teams.
Many students donned the forehead protectors they had just received.
Izumi, her long, straight black hair simply tied up, tied the forehead protector to her forehead.
"How is it? Does it look good?" Izumi asked, glancing at Itachi beside her.
Itachi nodded gently.
"After the divisions are done, we won't be able to see each other every day like we do now."
Izumi said, lowering her eyes, a hint of disappointment.
She and Itachi both graduated with perfect scores, and according to the divisions at the Ninja Academy, Izumi knew she couldn't be in the same group as Itachi.
Furthermore, they were both from the Uchiha clan.
Two Uchiha members wouldn't be assigned to the same ninja team.
"Our first priority is to fulfill our duties as ninjas. Of course, we can't do things the same way as before," Itachi said.
"Yeah!"
Izumi nodded.
She was not the kind of pretentious girl.
Although she had long realized in her heart that she had special feelings for Itachi, as Itachi said, they were ninjas.
"This division of the ninja team is only temporary. We'll definitely have the opportunity to carry out missions together in the future."
Itachi then smiled gently at Izumi.
"Team six: Uchiha Izumi, Inoue Mitsume, Ishida Ken."
Kanhara Junpei quickly called out the names of Izumi and her teammates.
"They've put two girls together."
Many students were surprised by this grouping.
Although the ninja teams were divided according to academic performance, the boy and girl in Izumi's group were both of lower caliber, making this an unbalanced approach.
"It seems their teacher will be..."
Itachi chuckled softly as he looked at Izumi beside him.
He could only think of one reason why the Fourth Hokage would group Izumi and these two.
Soon, the class divisions were about to conclude.
"The final group: Uchiha Itachi, Hattori Shinichi, Kido Daisuke."
Even without Kanhara Junpei reading the names, every student in the class already knew the final group's composition.
Immediately, many students' eyes were fixed on a boy with short hair and glasses sitting in the back row of the class.
He was Hattori Shinichi, one of Itachi's classmates.
This boy was supposed to be a year older than Itachi and the others.
Among last year's graduating class, he was the only one whose grades didn't meet the passing standard.
It wasn't until this year's second exam that he barely passed.
Even on this second exam, the boy's grades were at the bottom of the class.
As a result, many students in the class often teased this student, who was a year older than them and ranked last.
However, this grouping was understandable to many.
Itachi was first, while Hattori Shinichi was last.
That was what balance of power meant.
However, Itachi didn't look down on the boy at all, as it was simply that no one else in the class could see his talent.
Facing the somewhat playful glances from the surrounding students, Hattori Shinichi remained remarkably calm.
He noticed Itachi looking at him and gave him a slight nod.
The class division was complete, and next, Kanhara Junpei began announcing the leading jĆnin for each class.
"Team one, Kazama Toto."
"Team two, Shiota Daiki."
"..."
"Team six, Shinku YĆ«hi."
"As expected,"
Itachi muttered when the name of the leading jĆnin for Izumi's class was called.
....
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