11th September, around 2:00 p.m. — Pondside Training Ground
As academy hours ended, most kids rushed home—lunch waiting, games planned, favorite shows lined up, a thousand small joys calling them back.
But the two Uchiha prodigies had a far simpler—yet far harsher—plan.
Train until one of them dropped.
Itachi stepped into the Pondside Training Ground, the same place where Kaen had endured his personal bootcamp under Uchiha Fugaku.
Right as he entered, he spotted Kaen lying flat on his back, staring up at the brilliant sky.
Kaen turned his head toward him and smiled.
In one smooth motion, he tucked his knees in, rolled, and flipped up to his feet.
Itachi—now thoroughly accustomed to Kaen's unconventional greetings—extended his hand.
They dapped.
No words.
No announcements.
They immediately took off, running laps in opposite directions around the pond.
To them, the world shrank to just this place.
Just breath, footfalls, and intent.
They believed they were alone.
Unbeknownst to them, a certain six-year-old Yamanaka girl watched quietly from behind a tree, eyes sharp, curiosity burning.
They ran for about fifteen minutes before Kaen finally called out,
"Yo, Itachi… I think we should start."
Itachi slowed to a stop and nodded.
"Yeah. Let's do it."
The two stood two meters apart and formed the Seal of Confrontation.
"We start on five," Kaen said.
One… two… three… four… five.
From behind the tree, the Yamanaka girl—Rinka—counted silently along with them.
The moment five ended, Itachi struck first.
A sharp jab.
Kaen weaved instinctively, eyebrow twitching in mild surprise. Itachi spun immediately into a spinning elbow. Kaen's Sharingan flared crimson on reflex, his lips curling into a grin as he skipped back cleanly.
"Oye—haha," Kaen laughed. "That's what Tenga did earlier."
Itachi smiled back. The two clearly shared their own private rhythm—inside jokes forged through fists.
"I was just curious," Itachi said lightly, "what you would've done if you were in Haruto's place."
Then, without hesitation, he attacked again.
A gut punch into a lightning-fast single-leg attempt—too fast for an ordinary eye.
But not for Kaen.
The Sharingan caught everything in brutal clarity. Kaen leapt, flipped clean over him, and landed right behind Itachi.
Itachi flinched and rolled forward instinctively to recover.
Kaen… didn't move.
Itachi rose, confused.
Kaen rubbed his forehead. The crimson in his eyes faded.
Itachi stared at him in disbelief.
"…Bro, what the hell are you doing?" he snapped.
"What?" Kaen frowned. "It's no fun sparring with the Sharingan on."
Itachi looked down, jaw clenched, shoulders tight—like he was holding something back.
"Do you think I'm that weak?" he growled.
"I—I didn't mean that," Kaen said quickly. "You're not weak, Itachi-kun. It's just… you're not on the level of Sharingan clarity."
Itachi's head snapped up.
"Then why the hell did you turn it on just now?!"
"Bro, I SWEAR on my parents—I didn't," Kaen blurted out. "It activates on its own. Half the time I try to turn it on, it doesn't even work. I swear I'm not in control of this shit."
He looked genuinely panicked now.
Itachi ripped off his kunai pouch and slammed it into the dirt.
"Forget it, Kaen," he said bitterly. "This is my fault. I'm just too weak to even argue with a genius like you."
From behind the tree, Rinka's jaw dropped.
The calm, composed Itachi—
the boy who never lost control—
had just cracked.
Kaen's head wobbled in disbelief.
This was probably the first time he'd ever seen Itachi like this.
His breathing turned uneven.
Okay… troubleshoot, Kaen whispered internally.
Do what Ka-chan taught. Observe. Analyze—through theory or experience. React.
"Alright… theory first—yeah, no, I don't know jack about this," his thoughts spiraled.
"Experience… wait… I've lashed out like this too. When was it…? Oh hell, too many times. I used to snap at Father all the time. Oh crap—wait… does he think I'm belittling him?"
Kaen froze mid-thought.
"But… I was never belittled. If anything, I was always overestimated. And that… that always messed me up."
His brain short-circuited.
"AAAHHH—"
Finally, he spoke.
"Oye oye… Itachi-sanyooo…" Kaen started, waving his hands awkwardly.
"Why is my Kyōdai suddenly a wimp—no, wait—sul—no—SAD like a depressed aunt who wasn't asked enough about her nephew's marriage?"
He delivered it like he was reading off a crumpled memory note.
The sentence was so painfully awkward that Itachi forgot what he was even mad about.
He stared at Kaen with what Rinka would later describe as deep, dejected aversion.
Did that work?
Please tell me that worked.
"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Itachi asked slowly. "Kaen… you sounded like you were cracking a—"
"…a dad joke."
He frowned.
Wait… is this kid actually just an adult trapped in a child's body?
"Umm… haah," Kaen sighed, surrendering. "Yeah. That's exactly how my father used to cheer me up. So… yeah. Dad joke."
Something in Itachi cracked.
Just a little.
Kaen started laughing—full, shameless laughter. The kind that was so contagious it could probably disrupt a funeral.
Itachi resisted for a second.
Then he broke.
He exhaled sharply and finally calmed down.
"…Bro," Itachi said quietly, "I just… want to see my father happy."
Kaen stopped laughing.
"He left on a mission two days ago," Itachi continued. "He said… he might not come back alive."
Kaen flinched.
"Yo—what?"
Behind the tree, Rinka leaned forward, stunned.
What's happening in the village…?
"He asked me for just one thing," Itachi said, voice steady but heavy.
"To be the strongest in my class."
"Ohhh," Kaen muttered.
"…now it clicks."
There was a brief silence after Itachi finished explaining his worries.
Then—
Itachi giggled again.
"But seriously… who even says that?"
Kaen burst out laughing once more. From behind the tree, Rinka couldn't help herself and quietly chuckled too.
"My father was just… that kind of man," Kaen said, shrugging.
Itachi looked genuinely impressed.
"I wish my father was a bit like that too."
Kaen's playful expression vanished instantly.
"BRO," he said flatly. "Think before wishing for something like that."
"What do you mean?" Itachi asked.
"People—even adults—sometimes ask me how I'm so calm all the time," Kaen said. "Well… it's all thanks to my father rage-baiting me almost all the time."
"But that helped you in the long run, didn't it?" Itachi argued calmly.
Kaen slowly shook his head no.
His eyes widened slightly, staring somewhere far away—into memory.
"…Yeah," he said anyway.
Itachi chuckled.
"Bro… you're insane. No one can stay mad around you."
Kaen looked back at him with those same wide eyes and giggled.
"I think… our fathers were equals in strength. Just… complete opposites in personality. Yours is a beast—but a gentle one. Mine was… well—gentle around my Ka-chan."
He paused, then continued casually.
"He'd tell my mother we were just going on a town trip… then bait me into training by promising elk ribs—apparently a delicacy there. Then he'd proceed to beat the shit out of me."
"Woah," Rinka whispered under her breath.
"So Enji-san really is as crazy as my father said…"
Itachi's eyes were wide now.
"So… did he at least treat you afterward? Or was that part a lie?"
"Nah, nah—he did," Kaen replied quickly. "Way more than just elk ribs. He hunted a whole elk for me. Sold half of it in town… and the rest?"
He smiled faintly.
"We feasted on it for a whole month."
Itachi stared at him for a moment, then smiled.
"…Wow."
Itachi exhaled softly and asked,
"But anyway… are you seriously going to help me push my limits, Kaen?"
Kaen stood up with exaggerated seriousness.
"Ahem, ahem… Kaen-sama has decided," he declared, striking a mock-authoritative pose.
"Let's do this. But don't whine if you get hurt later."
Rinka flinched slightly from behind the tree.
He really does get cocky sometimes, doesn't he…
Itachi smiled and got to his feet.
Kaen shut his eyes… opened them.
Closed them again—harder.
Opened.
His forehead twitched.
"See?" he muttered. "It doesn't turn on when I want it to…"
He tried again. And again.
On the sixth attempt—
Crimson flooded his vision. Hyper-clarity snapped into place.
"Ah. Finally."
Itachi stared.
"So you're saying… you can't activate it on demand?"
"Yeah," Kaen nodded. "Fugaku-san thinks it's probably because my Uzumaki traits are kind of suppressing the Uchiha ones."
They both stepped into their stances.
Itachi's voice steadied.
"We start on five."
---
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
And just like that, the most stressful minutes Itachi had ever faced began.
Kaen didn't give him even a heartbeat.
He lunged straight in with a gut punch.
Itachi anticipated a feint and braced for a side kick—
—but Kaen slipped behind him.
Before Itachi could react, Kaen wrapped him up, lifted him clean off the ground, and slammed him down in a skull-rattling suplex.
Pain exploded through Itachi's back.
Still, he twisted and rolled back onto his feet.
Kaen was already there.
Single-leg attempt.
Itachi went defensive—
—Kaen feinted.
Slipped behind.
Another suplex.
Before Itachi could fully rise, his balance wavered—just for a second.
That was enough.
Kaen dove in, grabbed Itachi's left leg, slammed him down again, planted a knee into his back, trapped his arm, and pressed two fingers to the back of his neck—kunai position.
Rinka's jaw dropped.
Seven seconds.
That's all it took.
Kaen immediately released him and offered a hand.
Itachi accepted, pulling himself up—
—and then he saw it.
The two-tomoe Sharingan, still burning crimson in Kaen's eyes.
For most kids their age, this would've crushed their spirit.
For Itachi?
Those seven seconds only fueled him.
"On the count of ten," Kaen said calmly.
Ten seconds passed.
Kaen lunged again.
Low sweeping kick.
Itachi jumped back cleanly.
Kaen tried to chain into a double-leg kick—
—but Itachi had already repositioned.
As Kaen turned, Itachi surged forward.
Kaen pivoted—
—Itachi slipped behind him, arms reaching for a rear choke.
Kaen ducked.
Itachi skipped back.
Both reset.
Then Itachi closed the distance again.
His right back foot snapped like a whip, smashing into Kaen's right arm.
The Sharingan had warned Kaen—
—but it still hurt.
Midair, Itachi spun and slammed the back of his right ankle toward Kaen's head.
Rinka froze.
Kaen let out a sharp "—aah!"
He staggered back, wobbling.
Itachi smelled blood and went in for the finish.
Kaen smiled—just for a split second—and kept retreating, deliberately unsteady.
On the fifth step—
Kaen dropped low and shot his leg upward toward Itachi's chin.
The transition was just slow enough.
Itachi caught it.
He evaded.
But Kaen was already moving.
He reset instantly and drove his right foot into Itachi's gut.
Itachi nearly folded.
Kaen shot for the takedown—
armbar.
Clean.
Controlled.
And just as quickly—
Kaen let go.
"BROOOO!" Kaen shouted, grinning wide.
"You almost had me there!"
Itachi chuckled, breathing hard.
"Yeah…" he said, shaking his head.
"…but you're built like bricks."
Kaen rubbed his left forearm—the one he'd used to cushion his head from the kick.
"And bro… if I'm built like a brick," he added with a grin, "you're starting to hit like a hammer."
"Tch. Come on," Itachi said flatly. "I don't want false praise."
"No, no," Kaen shook his head immediately. "I'm not someone who does false praise. Ka-chan taught me never to indulge in that kind of thing," he justified the compliment.
Itachi tilted his head. "Why though?"
Kaen thought for a moment.
"She said… first, it's not good for your own self. Second… it can make the other person arrogant."
Itachi processed that in silence.
"But why would someone become arrogant from praise?"
"Umm…" Kaen scratched his cheek, searching for words.
"I don't know the exact mechanics of it, but—think about it. If you keep praising me all the time… even for things I can't really do… then not only would I start thinking too highly of myself, but I'd also become—uh—what's the word…"
"Habitual?" Itachi offered.
"YEAH. Habitual," Kaen snapped his fingers.
"Habitual to praise. So half the time, I wouldn't be working to get better… I'd be working just to get—uh—validation."
Itachi nodded slowly.
"Oh… yeah. That actually makes sense."
He straightened.
"Anyways… on the count of ten."
Kaen giggled, stood up, and stretched his shoulders and spine.
"YOSH."
Itachi rose as well, rotating the arm that had been caught in the earlier exchange, testing it once before settling back into stance.
From behind the tree, Rinka swallowed hard.
And once again, the two went in for a third round.
---
This time, Itachi had a concise plan, carefully engineered from the lessons of the first two rounds. Right on the count of ten, Itachi leapt forward—but not straight in. He cut sharply to Kaen's left.
Kaen jumped to intercept.
But Itachi slipped underneath, caught Kaen's right foot, yanked hard, and slammed him to the ground. Just as Itachi was about to position himself on top—
POOF
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Itachi felt it—Kaen coming from behind. He rolled forward instantly and snapped back into stance.
Kaen went on the offensive.
A straight right kick.
A spinning left high kick.
A sweeping low kick.
Itachi braced for each one. He absorbed them cleanly—too cleanly, as Rinka and even Kaen briefly thought.
POOF
A wooden stump stood where Itachi had been.
"Substitution Jutsu."
Itachi appeared behind Kaen, fingers already rising toward his neck.
Kaen whipped low and launched the chin kick.
Itachi evaded.
Kaen shot for another takedown—but Itachi was ready.
Without hesitation, Itachi swept low and fired a jab. Kaen barely slipped it. Itachi spun into an elbow—Kaen ducked, cornered—and with no options left in the clinch, snapped upward again with the chin kick.
It connected.
Itachi was sent flying backward.
But then—
POOF
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Kaen smiled.
He front-flipped away to maintain distance. Itachi, without wasting even a heartbeat, charged—determination blazing across his face.
Kaen raised his knee for a high kick.
Itachi braced.
A feint.
Kaen slammed his leg down, closed the distance, and drove a bone-crushing elbow straight into Itachi's head—the same one he'd used against Tenga.
It hurt. Badly.
Itachi staggered back. Kaen hesitated, instinct screaming at him to stop.
"KAAEENNN—DON'T YOU STOP ON ME!"
Blood streamed down Itachi's forehead as he shouted.
Kaen's morals screamed stop.
His values screamed stop.
But something else ignited in his chest at Itachi's roar—
P R I D E.
Kaen shot for a single leg. Itachi skipped away. Kaen rose again. Itachi leapt forward and drove a knee into Kaen's chest, sending him stumbling back.
Kaen charged again.
A jab—Itachi was grazed.
A spinning feint—
Then a sharp side kick.
And then—
Something clicked.
For Kaen, it felt like kicking solid rock.
For Itachi—
CLARITY.
The world slowed.
Everything sharpened.
With abnormal speed, Itachi slipped into Kaen's blind spot, wrapped his arms around him, lifted—
And executed a clean, perfect suplex.
Rinka nearly screamed.
It was that insane.
Kaen rolled out of the hold and forced himself upright almost immediately, bones rattling from the impact.
Itachi closed in.
Kaen threw a heavy right.
Itachi weaved and jabbed.
Kaen slipped it.
Itachi hooked—Kaen evaded—
—or so he thought.
A blinding left cracked across Kaen's head.
He was caught.
Kaen tried to retreat. Itachi kicked him in the gut, surged forward, grabbed his wrist and shirt, crouched low—
—and drove Kaen upside down into the ground with a crushing slam.
Kaen tried to rise.
Too late.
Itachi was already on him, fingers poised at his neck, breathing heavy—but controlled.
Rinka trembled as she processed it.
All that… for a freaking sparring session.
Kaen lay stunned.
Then he saw them.
Itachi's eyes—no longer black.
Red.
One tomoe in each.
"WOOOOAAAHHH—ITAACHIIIII!"
Itachi straightened.
Kaen burst out laughing, shouting,
"ITAAACHIII!"
"What?!"
"Your eyes—the Sharingan!"
Itachi froze. His eyes widened as he looked around.
The world was too clear.
"Kaen… you're not joking, right?"
"Yeah, Einstein. That's the Sharingan alright."
Itachi smiled.
Then chuckled.
Then laughed outright.
Kaen laughed with him—then hissed,
"Ouuuuccchhh…"
as the adrenaline faded and the pain finally caught up.
Itachi swayed.
THUF.
He collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted.