Uchiha Itachi was still just a child, yet he possessed the remarkably mature air of a "little adult." He wore the traditional raiment of the Uchiha Clan, the large paper fan, the Uchiha crest, emblazoned on his back. While the young Itachi was undeniably cute, he already carried a hint of striking coolness.
"Are you here to buy ninja tools as well?" Kakashi asked casually.
He wasn't particularly close to Itachi, but as a prodigy himself, Kakashi was quite famous in the village. Itachi had also begun to demonstrate his genius at a young age, earning a reputation of his own. Occasionally, while on missions involving the Police Force, Kakashi would run into Fugaku; through these encounters, he had come to know Itachi.
For some reason, Itachi always addressed Kakashi as "Senpai."
"Yes. I plan to enroll in the Academy next year," Itachi nodded, speaking with characteristic candor. "I want to graduate as quickly as possible, so I have already begun my shinobi training."
Itachi was five years old. He would enter the Academy at six and graduate at seven, becoming perhaps the fastest graduate in the history of the Hidden Leaf. Three years later, by the age of ten, he would already be a Chunin.
However, "Chunin" would be the highest official rank he would ever hold in Konoha's records. After becoming a Chunin, he joined the Anbu at eleven and became a Captain at thirteen. On the eve of his promotion to Jonin, he chose the path of clan-slaughter, "defected" from the village, and became an S-Rank rogue ninja. Consequently, until the day he died, Itachi never officially became a Jonin of Konoha.
"As expected of the Uchiha's most anticipated prodigy. Good luck," Kakashi said with a nod.
"I will work hard, Kakashi-senpai," Itachi replied with impeccable politeness.
Everyone knew Itachi graduated in a single year, but few knew the sheer amount of sweat and experience he had poured into achieving that feat. In the original timeline, it was during this period, perhaps even slightly earlier, that Orochimaru would discover Itachi's talent and develop his obsession with the Sharingan...
Kakashi wasn't in a hurry and let Itachi make his purchases first.
Itachi quickly selected some shuriken and kunai, but as he prepared to leave, he hesitated, looking at the shop owner as if he wanted to say something. His eyes kept drifting toward the infant, Tenten.
The shop owner, a perceptive man, asked with a chuckle, "What? You want to hold my precious daughter too, kid? Ho, now that I think about it, Kakashi's a bit too old for her, but you're a good match, only four or five years older. How about it? Want to be my son-in-law? You'll inherit my billion-ryo fortune!"
Itachi's face actually flushed red, a rare sight. He looked shy and wanted to refuse, but out of politeness, he didn't know how to start.
Seeing this, Kakashi chuckled. "Boss, he's the eldest son of the Uchiha Clan Head."
"Hahahaha, is that so? What a shame. Looks like you and my Tenten aren't meant to be, hahahaha!" the owner laughed boisterously.
Itachi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling quite helpless against this "fierce" businessman. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Boss, do you have any gifts suitable for a baby?"
"A baby?" The owner blinked, rubbing his chin as he looked at the little one in his arms. Then, he had an epiphany. "You want to buy a gift for my Tenten? Kid, I like your style!"
"No, no!" Itachi waved his hands frantically, explaining, "My mother is about to give birth to my younger brother soon. I thought, as an older brother, I should prepare a gift for him in advance... but I have no experience in these matters. I figured you might know, so I asked."
"Is that it? Hahaha, my mistake then," the owner laughed.
Kakashi asked with some curiosity, "Is Mikoto-sama about to give birth as well?"
Mikoto was Fugaku's wife. In her youth, she was one of the village's top beauties; even now, she was at a very charming age. Before marrying Fugaku, she was a formidable shinobi, an elite Jonin. After marriage, however, she gave up her career to become a dedicated homemaker. She was one of the few members of the Uchiha Clan who enjoyed a consistently good reputation within the village. Because of her, even Fugaku was viewed more favorably by some.
The child Mikoto was carrying was, undoubtedly, Sasuke. Sasuke was indeed slightly older than Naruto; on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage, Itachi was home alone protecting his infant brother, which confirmed Sasuke was about three months older than Naruto.
"Yes, about five months to go," Itachi nodded.
That's roughly the same time as Minato-sensei's child. Come to think of it, there are a lot of newborns arriving in the village lately... Kakashi thought to himself. Aloud, he said with a smile, "Congratulations, Itachi. You're going to be a big brother. Have they decided on a name?"
The Hidden Leaf was indeed experiencing a baby boom. For instance, in the prestigious Hyuga Clan, Hizashi, the younger brother of the Clan Head, had just had a son named Neji. Meanwhile, the Head himself, Hiashi, was also reportedly trying for a child. It was quite strange; it seemed all the great clans, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the Inuzuka, the Aburame, were all focused on child-rearing after the war. One could foresee that within a year, many noble "young masters" and "princesses" would be born.
Thinking of this, the gloom in Kakashi's heart dissipated slightly.
Where the leaves dance, the fire consumes.
The war was over. The village would only get better. The sacrifices of Rin and Obito had not been in vain.
"Yes, he will be called Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke," Itachi said.
"Sasuke!?" Kakashi repeated, slightly surprised. The name held a very significant meaning.
Itachi nodded. "Yes, Sasuke. It was decided by my mother. She said her most admired shinobi was Sarutobi Sasuke-sama, so she hopes my brother will become a magnificent ninja just like him."
Kakashi nodded with feeling. "I see."
Undoubtedly, this was a gesture of goodwill from the Uchiha to the Sarutobi clan, or more specifically, from Fugaku to Hiruzen.
Who was Sarutobi Sasuke? He was the legendary brother-in-arms of the First and Second Hokage, and the father of Sarutobi Hiruzen. Though he had passed away, he was a living legend in his time. His fame and power were so great that even the proud Uchiha acknowledged his strength and respected him deeply.
Naming Fugaku and Mikoto's youngest son "Sasuke" was a sign of respect for the man, and a clear olive branch to the Sarutobi clan. It seemed that since Orochimaru's defection, Fugaku and Hiruzen had engaged in some private communication and "SP trading." However, given both men's tendency toward indecisiveness, it was unlikely to lead to a truly happy ending.
"Ah, speaking of which... I was going to save this for my own girl, but since you want one, you can have it," the owner said with a smile. He reached under the counter and pulled out a small shuriken made of what looked like transparent rubber, handing it to Itachi.
Itachi froze, then waved his hands. "How could I? That's for your daughter, Boss."
"Take it! Before Tenten was born, I didn't know if she'd be a boy or a girl, so I made this thing by hand. Now I see it's not quite right. Who gives a little girl something like this? My Tenten is going to grow up to be a refined lady of high society; she can't be swinging weapons around all day... Since yours is a boy, give it to him. I hope he becomes a great shinobi," the owner said breezily.
He likely couldn't have imagined that "Little Heiress" Tenten wouldn't become a refined lady, but would instead become a master of every weapon under the sun...
Kakashi added, "Go on, Itachi. Take it. It's a kind gesture from the Boss."
Itachi hesitated for a moment before accepting the gift. He bowed deeply to the owner. "Thank you very much."
The owner laughed and waved him off. Soon, Itachi finished his business, politely bid farewell to Kakashi and the owner, and left the shop.
Watching Itachi disappear into the street, the owner sighed with emotion. "The Uchiha Clan has good kids too. Honestly, if they were all like Itachi, the people in the village wouldn't always be looking at them sideways, would they?"
Kakashi withdrew his gaze from the street but didn't respond. The owner suddenly realized something, Kakashi's best friend, the hero Obito, was an Uchiha, and Kakashi himself possessed a Sharingan. It was best not to talk about the Uchiha like that in front of him.
"Sorry, sorry. Just ignore my rambling," the owner said, waving it off.
"It's fine," Kakashi shook his head. "I need to restock my tools. The usual." He paused, then added, "No discount today?"
"For the Fourth Hokage's sake, I'll give you twenty percent off," the owner said grandly.
A small smile played on Kakashi's lips. "Then thank you."
After buying his tools and walking out of the shop, Kakashi felt that his originally heavy and dark mood had lightened considerably.
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