Jie Uchiha spoke with a hint of excitement in his voice. Listening to him, Itachi nodded continuously, caught up in his rhythm.
'Did he buy it? Good.' Jie let out a silent sigh of relief.
He had no choice. Jie couldn't exactly tell Itachi that his older brother was a transmigrator with the mental age of an adult. He absolutely couldn't stomach playing ninja in the Academy with a bunch of little kids.
So, Jie could only spout some grand-sounding nonsense to Itachi, claiming his dreams lay not within the walls of the Academy, but out in the vast sea of stars.
"Can I apply for early graduation too? I want to face more obstacles and become stronger, just like you, Brother!" Itachi's eyes held a trace of worship, his face filled with longing.
"Sorry, but you aren't strong enough right now. You aren't ready to face the risks out there." Jie patted Itachi on the shoulder. "So, study a bit longer. Once you become as strong as me, you can apply to graduate!"
He turned around and walked further into the Uchiha compound, his figure bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
"I will definitely catch up to you, Brother!"
Watching Jie's back—a figure that seemed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun itself—Itachi secretly made a resolution. No matter the cost, he would become his brother's strongest pillar of support.
After dinner that evening, Fugaku Uchiha stopped Jie, and the two entered the study together.
Jie wasn't surprised by this at all. In fact, it would have been a real shock if Fugaku hadn't reacted. After all, he hadn't made any effort to hide his graduation application. By now, the news was likely sitting on the desks of every major clan in the Hidden Leaf.
If Fugaku, as the head of the Hidden Leaf's number one clan, was still in the dark about this, then the Uchiha clan deserved to be wiped out.
"What are you thinking, Jie?" Fugaku asked openly.
"With my current strength, the Ninja Academy is no longer of any use to me," Jie replied. "I need to become an official ninja. I need a tougher grind to make myself even stronger!"
Having practiced this exact speech on Itachi earlier that afternoon, Jie delivered it without batting an eye.
Fugaku fell silent for a moment, a complex expression crossing his face. "But Jie, you must understand you are only six years old," he said in a deep voice. "I am not old yet. I have the confidence to protect you and ensure the safety of the Uchiha clan. You don't need to push yourself so hard."
'?'
Jie was momentarily stunned. Had Fugaku completely misunderstood his intentions? He just didn't want to go to school, that was it.
Still, Fugaku's words deeply moved him. Perhaps Fugaku wasn't a qualified clan head—in the original story, the Uchiha clan met their demise under his leadership. But as a father, Fugaku undoubtedly passed the test with flying colors.
"Don't worry, Father. I won't put myself in unnecessary danger," Jie said, comforting him.
"Since you've made up your mind, I won't say anything more." Fugaku sighed softly and slowly stood up. Just as he reached the door, he paused. "Your exam is in three days, right? I will be there."
With that, Fugaku left the study without looking back.
Just as Jie suspected, his graduation application had indeed become the hot topic on the desks of the various major clans.
"The Uchiha clan truly lives up to its reputation as the number one clan in the ninja world with hundreds of years of legacy. Their supply of geniuses is endless."
"If this Jie Uchiha truly possesses talent on par with Kakashi, then once he grows up, the Uchiha clan can rest easy for the next fifty years."
"No, I must personally observe Jie's graduation exam in three days."
...
"Kakashi, that is the situation. In three days, I want you to be the chief examiner for Jie Uchiha's graduation exam." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the masked, white-haired young Kakashi standing before him, his expression deadly serious. "This time, I need you to go all out and test Jie's absolute limits."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Kakashi instinctively replied.
Stepping out of the Hokage building, Kakashi looked toward the brightly lit Uchiha compound in the distance. Recalling the graduation application form he had seen in the Hokage's office, he couldn't help but fall silent.
'The Uchiha clan!'
Kakashi raised a hand and adjusted his headband, revealing the crimson Sharingan in his left eye. 'Obito... if only you had lived to see this thriving Uchiha clan.'
Three days passed in a flash.
Accompanied by Fugaku and bringing Itachi along, Jie slowly made his way to the Hidden Leaf's First Training Ground. It was the largest public training area in the village.
Originally, Hiruzen hadn't wanted to make a big spectacle out of this. However, to his surprise, he had received a flood of messages from various clan heads that very night, all expressing their desire to personally spectate Jie's graduation exam.