"Itachi, I am your father, and I would never harm you. If you are willing, I will risk teaching you the Uchiha Jutsu every day, something that Uchiha Yoichi will not pass on to you."
"Every day, I will give you a new code. When you notice it, just follow along; since you have activated your Sharingan, this shouldn't be difficult for you at all."
"I must go now, Itachi. This village is not very safe for me either."
With that, Uchiha Fugaku used the Instant Body Jutsu to leave, and Uchiha Itachi sat alone for a long time before slowly getting up and heading towards the school.
However, when Uchiha Itachi arrived at school, he discovered it was already noon. His classmates were eating lunch, and they told him that the teacher was looking for him when they saw him.
Uchiha Itachi nodded and went to the ninja teacher's office, where, as expected, he was asked why he hadn't been there in the morning.
Itachi had already thought of an excuse, and he explained calmly, which the Chunin teacher accepted; after all, being the son of the Hokage, they were merely asking.
In the afternoon, Uchiha Itachi still wasn't in the mood, and after school, he walked home with his head down. Aside from greeting Shiro and Kimimaro, Uchiha Itachi hardly spoke.
His behavior made Shiro and Kimimaro realize something was wrong. They heard that Uchiha Itachi hadn't been to the Ninja Academy that morning, so Shiro gave Kimimaro a look, hoping he would tactfully find out more.
Kimimaro noticed Shiro's look, nodded at him, then quickly ran to Uchiha Itachi's side, patted his shoulder, and asked, "You're acting strange. Did something happen?"
Seeing this, Shiro helplessly patted his face, realizing he should've asked himself.
"It's nothing, I just feel too weak and want to train harder."
Uchiha Itachi noticed their concern and couldn't help but smile, thinking that even these two brothers could tell something was wrong. Surely, he wouldn't be able to hide it from his parents and Sasuke Karin at home.
"The teacher says you're already like a Chunin. How can that be weak?"
"Hmm, there are too many unknowns in the Ninja World. Without strong power, I can't handle it, so I'll go back and train."
Uchiha Itachi said with a smile.
Shiro and Kimimaro, seeing this, agreed with the explanation and followed Uchiha Itachi home.
When they got home, Sasuke heard the door open and ran over, hugging Uchiha Itachi's leg and complaining, "Nii-san, Karin has been bullying me…"
"Hmph, even clinging to Itachi-nii won't save you from a sparring match with me. Come with me!"
Karin chased over, lifting Sasuke by his collar, and sweetly smiled at Uchiha Itachi in greeting, then began dragging Sasuke away.
Uchiha Itachi saw Sasuke's pleading look but only gave a sheepish smile, thinking to himself, 'Sorry, Sasuke, I'll save you next time…'
If he helped Sasuke, Karin would latch onto him. He had experienced this little sister's energy before, so he better not interfere.
But this bickering between Sasuke and Karin improved Uchiha Itachi's mood considerably, with having family around providing much comfort. He knew, even before removing his shoes, that his mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen.
Now, the family had a dedicated cook, delivering prepared meals home for just finishing touches; otherwise, preparing meals for nine people would keep Mikota busy the whole afternoon.
Uchiha Itachi went to the kitchen to have a look, noticing his mother's smile was genuine and unfeigned, leaving him unsure of whom to trust.
"Mother."
"Yes, what's up?"
"Nothing, just noticed you seem very happy lately. Has something good happened?"
Mikota smiled warmly, "As long as I am with my family, every day is full of happiness. Itachi, why do you ask such a question?"
"Nothing, just asking casually. I'm going to wash my hands."
Uchiha Itachi said and then left the kitchen.
Meanwhile.
Uchiha Yoichi, after leaving a clone in the office, went to Kushina's house.
Lately, he's been visiting quite often, mainly due to news of Namikaze Minato. As soon as there was news, Uchiha Yoichi personally brought it over thoughtfully.
As a Hokage, he's overly concerned about the village's widows.
Pop!
The sound was like uncorking a wine bottle as he pulled it out.
'Too short a time; I should find a chance to let Kushina train on Turtle Island. Then we can fully indulge.'
Uchiha Yoichi thought to himself and then put down the chilled drink in his hand.
"You bastard…"
Kushina said weakly, truly out of strength this time. Then, with a peculiar tone, she asked Uchiha Yoichi, "Help me, take out the medicine from the drawer~!"
Doing this much every time left her always worried afterward.
"No choice, but this medicine isn't completely effective and taking too much is bad for your health, Kushina."
Though he said that, Uchiha Yoichi still went and opened the drawer, poured out a vitamin tablet, and then fed it to Kushina in his arms.
After taking it, Kushina scoffed, "Hmph, if you did it outside, I wouldn't have to take this medicine."
"What if you get pregnant? Would you have the baby?"
"In your dreams, then I'd…"
"Kill our child? Even if it hasn't been born yet."
Yoichi's words plunged Kushina into silence. In the Ninja World, the continuation of bloodlines was highly valued.
Perhaps because being a ninja is a high-risk profession, the average lifespan during the Warring States Period was around thirty years. While it was better during the Ninja Village Era, few lived long lives.
If a child could be born, they definitely would have it; every descendant was extremely precious. So, Kushina never voiced the thought of aborting, as it was hard for ninjas to accept this idea.
"Rest well now, I'm going back."
Seeing Kushina fall silent, Uchiha Yoichi laid her weakened frame on the bed, covered her up, and went to take a shower.
Exercising before dinner at Kushina's just opened up his appetite for when he got home.
As for Kushina, she would clean up herself after resting a bit.
——————————————
After returning home, Uchiha Yoichi had dinner with his family. The meals at home were lavish every day, and today it was a feast of roast lamb and seafood.
After the meal, Uchiha Yoichi quickly caught Karin in his arms, saying, "You're planning to bully Sasuke again? It looks like I really need to consider sending you to school early, Karin!"
"Daddy, I want to stay home with you~"
"I'm not home during the day, so that's not a good reason, Karin."
Seeing his daughter's face fall, Uchiha Yoichi laughed.
But then Uchiha Itachi suddenly spoke, "Father, could you guide my training today?"
"Training?"
Uchiha Yoichi was rather surprised to hear this but nodded and said, "Sure, let's head to the yard."
Uchiha Itachi's request piqued the interest of Karin, Sasuke, and others, who followed with him.
Once they arrived in the yard, Uchiha Yoichi asked, "Itachi, why the sudden desire for me to guide your training today? Are you thinking of graduating early again?"
"No, Father. I just feel that my current strength is too weak. Compared to others, my power is far from sufficient, and I want to become stronger. So… I'm asking for your help, Father."
Uchiha Itachi explained, though only he knew his true thoughts.
"You want to become stronger, huh? Fine, if your performance pleases me, I can teach you a new technique. But if not, then you'll just have to train step by step."
Uchiha Yoichi said, "There are no shortcuts to enhancing strength, only sweat and hard work. Attack me first, let me see your current capability."
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