After being busy for quite a while, I can finally get some proper rest for a few days.
Even though he's a ninja, a series of heavy missions piling up almost made him feel withdrawn.
Minato watched Kakashi leave and secretly regretted that he had no one available at hand—he wished he could split Kakashi into several people to use.
But that was just wishful thinking; he wasn't that shortsighted.
His job now was to ignore all the turmoil outside and focus solely on cultivating his trusted subordinates.
When the time was right, Kakashi should have grown up completely by then. At that time, whether to promote Kakashi to Anbu Vice Captain or Captain, Minato would need to think carefully about it.
◎
At dusk, the sunlight was no longer so intense.
Itachi once again arrived at the Tomb Park where ninjas were buried, pondering the meaning of life.
Even though he had heard the answer from one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, that was just Orochimaru's answer, not the answer he was looking for.
After standing here for a long time, Itachi took a breath, shook his head, and left.
On his way back, Itachi saw a group of kids at the riverside embankment, playing ninja games with wild abandon.
"Hey, you're Uchiha Itachi, right? Want to come play with us?"
The one who ran over to talk to him was a girl his age with long black hair and a beauty mark under her eye.
Itachi recognized her. She was also from the Uchiha Clan, called Uchiha Izumi.
"No, I need to go home."
Itachi answered calmly, declining the invitation.
It's not that he was being cold, nor that he disliked her, but because he had something far more important to do.
For a while now, Itachi had realized that he couldn't blend in with these people.
The things he thought about, his peers wouldn't even consider.
While he pondered death and life, the meaning of war and peace, all they thought about was what game to play next.
Even though that high-standing elder told him, if you want to achieve world peace, you should observe those around you, Itachi now felt that being with these people was just a waste of time.
He couldn't learn anything valuable from them.
Maybe, all geniuses are destined to be solitary and inevitably isolated.
These people simply aren't worth observing.
That was the judgment Itachi arrived at.
Just as Itachi was about to leave, a few boys ran over, angrily pointing at him: "Hey, you jerk—you're way too arrogant, aren't you?"
The reason they were mad wasn't because Itachi rejected them.
But rather, it was his obvious arrogance that irritated them.
"I'm going home for dinner, and then to practice shuriken."
Itachi didn't get angry—he answered calmly.
But in the eyes of others, his attitude seemed aloof and cold.
"Then practice shuriken with us! We know how too!"
The group of kids picked up some rocks from the ground and threw them at Itachi.
Though they weren't aiming for vital spots, getting hit would definitely hurt and he could get injured.
Without even thinking, Itachi dodged.
His gaze was calm as he watched them, observing their childish, ridiculous antics.
"Damn it!"
This only made them angrier, and they grabbed even more stones to throw at him.
Itachi didn't want to waste his life here, so he caught a stone flying at him and flung it back.
All the stones that had been thrown at Itachi flew back at strange angles, and one even hit the back of a boy's hand, making him scream and howl in pain.
The kids looked at Itachi like he was a monster—they didn't even bother with a parting threat, just ran away in panic.
Only Uchiha Izumi stood there, staring blankly at Itachi's departing back.
Life involves struggles, which leads to pain and hurt. Itachi thought about what had just happened.
In his eyes, the actions of his peers were laughable.
They never thought about what it meant to be alive—only get into meaningless fights out of boredom.
So, there was no point in observing them.
He had to get stronger, become Hokage, and bring peace to the world. He had no time to waste on any of this.
◎
"I'm back."
Itachi took off his shoes at the door and walked through the hallway.
"You're home, Itachi? Dinner will be ready soon,"
His mother, Uchiha Mikoto, called out as Itachi passed by the kitchen.
Itachi saw that his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, had a belly growing bigger by the day—there was a life growing inside her.
Will it be a little brother... or a little sister? Itachi wondered, full of anticipation.
Apart from training and getting stronger, this was the only thing that made Itachi truly look forward to anything.
"Were you out training again today?"
Uchiha Mikoto asked.
"Yeah."
He answered with the maturity of an adult, which brought a look of worry to Uchiha Mikoto's eyes. She wanted to say more, but in the end, held her tongue.
Actually, she wished Itachi would play with kids his own age, instead of spending all his time training alone.
But this had been flatly refused by her husband, Fugaku.
Fugaku believed that Itachi was a special child, and using ordinary ways to educate him would only waste his talent.
Itachi headed for his room, and as he walked past the study, loud voices suddenly came from inside:
"Why isn't the Fourth Hokage team leader, but that Namikaze Minato instead? During the war, our Uchiha Clan made huge contributions—enemies killed by our team leader weren't any less than the Sannin!"
The heated, dissatisfied voice made Itachi stop in his tracks.
The Fourth? The Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato had already been in office for months, yet someone is just now bringing this up. This person must just be airing his frustrations, Itachi thought.