Chapter 87
Everything was way too easy for Itachi. He knew it was only his first year in the Academy, but it was disconcertingly too easy. Everything that he was taught, he had already learned beforehand. And everything he didn't know was easy to grasp.
It was to the point where it was impossible to hide it from others. The teachers quickly picked it up, stopped trying to accommodate him, and just left him be. The other students, his classmates, thought he was a freak and didn't even speak to him, apart from a few people.
Itachi couldn't find any need for the Academy. Any reason to be here? Everything just looked pointless to him. He just came and sat through the day before leaving. It was a limbo where he knew he didn't belong.
One day, he managed to get exam papers from last year, and after checking them, he found that he could pass the exams with the highest marks. He couldn't understand how others could even struggle with it.
Combat lessons weren't any different; there was nobody who could even make him try. The Uchiha-style taijutsu he had learned since he could walk made others obsolete. Within five exchanges, he could defeat anyone. Effortlessly.
He was on a different level when it came to weapons, too. There was nothing the teachers could teach him that he didn't already know. And so, he was left behind to do his own practice. As others had around him, he also started to question why he was even here.
"Then do nothing." When Itachi asked his father what he should do, that was the answer he got. "If it were a couple of years ago, I would have done everything I could to make the Hokage let you take the exams and become a genin. But in today's world, there is no need for children on the battlefield."
"Is that what you said three years ago?" Though his words seemed to have angered his mother. "Don't think I forgot you taking Itachi onto the battlefield."
"It was a different time, and I thought it was best for Itachi."
"Stop that nonsense about different times."
Itachi could only watch helplessly as his mother threw a pan at his father's head in anger. How could they not understand that Sasuke and Naruto learned from them how to pick fights with each other? Itachi didn't know.
He could only take his younger brothers away from them. He was already worried when they started throwing toys at each other; he didn't want it to escalate into pans or dishes. He was the only one normal in this household, so he had to protect his brothers.
And he would rather stay home and look after them than go back to the Academy. Play with them, tell them stories, and show them how he trained. To be with them was always the best time of the day for Itachi.
…
It was a peaceful time. That was what they were taught. But Itachi didn't think so. He could see through his father that it wasn't as peaceful as everyone kept telling him. The world was in a tense standoff, and at any moment, all that was built over the past few years could come crumbling down.
The only thing that kept it somehow standing was the Hokage's actions and shinobi like his father doing the work to ensure it. The sacrifices the other shinobi must make to keep this world out of conflict weren't something Itachi would call peaceful times.
"Itachi, fight me." His thoughts were interrupted when a certain girl, who couldn't take losing to him, asked for a rematch once again.
"Teacher prohibited me from fighting other students," Itachi replied.
"I don't care. I learned a new move from my mom, and I will use it to defeat you once and for all."
Itachi didn't know how he should react to being treated like some kind of great evil to be defeated at all costs. But Hana Inuzuka at least wasn't afraid of defeat, or she simply truly believed that she could win this time. She was the only one who would challenge him to spar.
But sadly, he was prohibited from sparring with other students because he was on another level to begin with, and it might hurt others' self-esteem if they were single-handedly defeated by Itachi all the time, without them even being able to do anything.
"Even if you say so, I still can't have a match with you," Itachi once again explained. "The teachers won't allow it."
"Fine then, after class, come to training ground seven; we'll have our match there."
It didn't seem like he had a choice now. His mother would kill him if he left a girl waiting for him. And from how noisy Hana usually was, his mother would hear about it one way or another. He wouldn't have that.
"Itachi, there you are." There was another person who would come to him without any reservation, though, unlike Hana, he wasn't here to pick a fight. "I have a problem with today's match lesson. Can you explain it to me again?"
"Sure."
Kabuto Yakushi wasn't very talented, neither in studies nor in combat, at least that's what others thought of him. An oddball in the class, but Itachi saw it differently. Kabuto just liked to keep it to himself without getting involved with others.
Itachi saw how interested Kabuto was in the lessons. Even if it was hard for him to grasp something, he would agonize over it for hours or days until he understood. Never giving up, always trying to do his best.
That's why he offered to help Kabuto one day, and from that day on, Kabuto would find him whenever he had a problem understanding something. Itachi was more than happy to help him, as he found his genuine wish to learn something very endearing.
And he quickly realized that Kabuto was quite a genius himself. Itachi wondered if, if their upbringing were reversed, he would learn things any faster than Kabuto? In half a year, from the bottom of the class, Kabuto was now only second to Itachi in theory.
And in combat lessons, he would only lose to the children from the clans who learned how to fight long before they joined the Academy. Sadly, most of the students in their year were members of clans or had shinobi parents.
So, at some point, Itachi wasn't that alone, nor as bored as he expected to be in the Academy. Maybe his father's words were right; there was no need for him to do anything. It was quite nice to just enjoy things as they were without trying to understand them or make sense of them.
So what if he didn't know what he was even doing in the Academy when there was nothing for him to learn? He just had to keep accepting Hana's challenges and helping out Kabuto with his studies. And he was fine with that kind of life, as he knew what the alternative was.
The battlefield where his father brought him had never left his mind. He could still see it, not only the dead, but the living. The rage and the hatred in the eyes of a shinobi who tried to kill him just because he was from a different village were ingrained in his mind.
But it was something else that caught his eye at that moment: the desperation and fear of that shinobi. And after thinking about him for years, Itachi came to understand that the rage and hatred were just methods used by him to overcome his desperation and fear.
Ruled by such emotion, a human being soon becomes nothing but a beast that just smells blood. Itachi didn't want to be such a person. He didn't want anyone to become like this, but peace was just temporary, and war was always over the horizon. Never changing.
…
Hiruzen wasn't really swamped with work, but he still had many things to do to prepare before he received a response from the Tsuchikage. Yet, he couldn't ignore when one of the clan heirs broke another clan heir's arm.
Though he expected a bigger reaction from both clans, Tsume Inuzuka looked more annoyed at her daughter, and Fugaku Uchiha couldn't even say anything because of how his son managed to explain the situation and prove that it wasn't his fault.
At least there was Kabuto Yakushi, who managed to do some first aid before Hana Inuzuka was brought to the hospital. Now they were all crowding her and probably making her very embarrassed. And from the way Tsunade was glaring at them, he could tell that they weren't wanted here.
"I appreciate the wish to train and improve oneself, but you both are seven years old. And both of you must have been informed that you can't have a sparring match without anyone watching over it."
Hiruzen shouldn't even be here telling them this, but this little matter could get inflated and explode in his face if he didn't step in. Even if both of the clan heads didn't see too much of a problem in this, that didn't mean their clan members would do the same.
"There is a reason why you both are going to the Academy; why can't you spar there?"
"I am not allowed to spar with other students," Itachi explained.
"What?" It wasn't just Hiruzen who tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean you are not allowed to fight other students?"
"Teacher said I was too good for them."
"What the fu-"
"Fugaku, please, there are children here." Hiruzen stopped Fugaku before he could go any further. "Anyway, I understand now what happened, but it still doesn't absolve either of you of your responsibilities. You both broke rules, and though this time it only came to a broken arm, next time it could be far worse. So, because I don't want such a thing to repeat, there will be punishment for all of you."
Hiruzen could feel a headache coming back to him. It wasn't because of the children but because of what he had just heard from Itachi. He had completely neglected the Academy, but to be fair, he hadn't heard anything bad about it.
And he could guess why they made such a decision. But it was still unacceptable. And from Fugaku's expression, he could tell he hadn't been told of it either. If the Uchiha clan heard of it, well, if certain members heard of it, it could open a can of worms Hiruzen would rather not see opened.
"Since both of you want to play at being shinobi so soon, you both will do D-rank missions for the next month after your classes. And if even one of the mission evaluations isn't satisfying enough, you shall do it for another month, free of charge, of course. And that also includes you, Kabuto, since you didn't stop them or tell anyone about it."
Let them clean gutters, weed out gardens and lawns for a while, then see how much they want to play at being shinobi. It should teach them not to be so damn reckless and fight each other to the point where one ends up with broken bones. There were seven for sage's sake.
But it was also his fault. Hiruzen had completely forgotten that Itachi was on a completely different level from other kids. But there was no way he was going to let him grow too fast. Hiruzen didn't want, nor did he need, for Itachi to grow up so soon.
"I agree to it. Now, which teacher told you that you can't have sparring matches with other students?" Fugaku didn't seem like he liked the idea of his son being excluded from things like that.
"I will deal with it, Fugaku. Tsume, can you make sure they do their punishment correctly and watch over them for this month?"
"Me? Sure, I will work their asses off."
"Language, there are children around." How can people be so vulgar around their own children?
And Hiruzen hoped that Fugaku could rest up for now. As the future looked quite bleak for him. So, he quickly put his hand on his shoulder to calm him down. He could tell that Fugaku would make sure that those teachers reevaluate their professions.
Either way, that was dealt with, but now another thing he needed to look into had fallen into his lap. Though it was probably his fault. He should have gone to the Academy while he had free time. It had been far too long since he visited it or even looked at how the Academy was doing.
And Itachi was reason enough to do so now. That kid, though nobody had realized it, was probably the most important person for the future of the village. He needed to be nurtured properly because, one way or another, he was going to lead the village in the future.
But he also wanted to give Itachi his childhood, to build bonds beyond his family, and, most importantly, to keep him from being burdened with anything but his homework. Sadly, that meant Hiruzen had to do more work, and do it properly, too.
A.N. As always, thanks for reading and supporting me, so I can continue writing without any concerns, and if you want more, up to seven more chapters, you can support me on Patreon. com \ ironwolf852.