Two weeks later—
"Shisui, who should we target this time? I've noticed that ROOT has increased the number of ninjas patrolling around the Uchiha clan. Danzo will definitely vent his anger on the Uchiha."
Itachi said this while eating dango—a Japanese sweet made of three colored rice-flour dumplings skewered together, often coated with sweet bean paste or glaze.
"Hmmm. Let's not target ROOT for now," Shisui replied. "If we do, Hiruzen's suspicion toward Danzo will be broken. Instead, we should target the person standing in the way of Lord Danzo's path to becoming Hokage."
"Heh, Shisui, you really care about Lord Danzo," Itachi said lightly. "Then let's deal with the current Hokage's supporters.
"The Sarutobi clan's acting patriarch is still a good target. The Nara clan patriarch is also a good choice—he might notice the Uchiha's unusual movements."
Shisui heard this, thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"Let's target Sarutobi Itsuki. Although the Nara clan supports the Hokage faction, they are usually neutral toward us. There's no need to attack them."
Itachi nodded in response. He also wasn't very keen on killing Nara Shikaku, even though he might become a problem later—or maybe not 🤔.
Perhaps it was because of the Nara clan's neutrality, or perhaps because of his relationship with Nara Shikamaru, one of the characters Itachi admired in his previous life.
"Well, Brother Shisui, I have to go to the Ninja Academy today."
"Ah, right. Today is the end of the semester for Sasuke. Two months of vacation—it's good to be young."
Itachi felt something strange hearing this from Shisui, who was also a teenager. Compared to his previous life, Shisui was younger than him, and hearing such words from Shisui's mouth felt oddly contradictory.
"Well then, Brother Shisui, bye!!!"
After bidding farewell, Itachi headed toward the Ninja Academy with slight excitement. The original Itachi hadn't spent much time there, so he didn't have many memories of it.
Now, after transmigrating into the Naruto world, seeing the Ninja Academy was almost like visiting a tourist spot.
And he could also meet the Konoha Twelve—maybe even brainwash a few children, cough cough—no, guide them onto the right path.
As soon as Itachi entered the classroom, the atmosphere changed.
All the civilian adults looked at him with wary expressions.
As for the clan heads, they nodded at him in greeting. They had heard about Itachi becoming the next clan leader. Although it was expected, there was still uncertainty due to Shisui's presence.
In the Uchiha clan, strength usually mattered the most—the strongest typically became clan leader. In this generation, both Itachi and Shisui shone in the ninja world. However, since Shisui was older, he was currently stronger, making Fugaku's successor unclear.
As for the girls, all of them looked at Itachi with infatuation. And it couldn't really be blamed on them.
Itachi was only five or six years older than them—handsome, strong, famous, high-status—the dream partner for children who hadn't yet been beaten down by society.
Itachi didn't care.
He found Sasuke and sat beside him.
"Brother, I scored first in the entire first grade!!"
Although Sasuke said it in a calm, nonchalant tone—as if he were merely tossing a stone—Itachi could clearly feel the pride behind his words.
Itachi himself had also ranked first in the Ninja Academy and had even graduated early. But Sasuke's situation was different.
Back then, there were no truly famous figures among Itachi's peers, and coming first was simply expected of an Uchiha—especially one who would become the clan's future leader.
But now, Sasuke was competing against the young heirs of seven major Konoha clans, Ashura, and even a civilian prodigy—Haruno Sakura.
"That's great, Sasuke. Congratulations.
You're the best."
Itachi smiled and praised him sincerely. Showing appreciation at the right moment was the best form of encouragement for a child.
After hearing Itachi's words, Sasuke lifted his chin slightly, the corners of his lips rising as he replied modestly,
"No, no, Brother. There's nothing great about it."
The surrounding adult ninjas nodded in approval.
Humility was an admirable trait in strong and successful shinobi..
"—defeating a bunch of weaklings is nothing to be proud of. And among them, an idiot even scored zero. I feel ashamed to represent this class and batch."
Silence
Absolute silence
The lips of the adult ninjas twitched.
As expected of the Uchiha clan.
…Sorry, we misunderstood you.
As for the students, they were seething with anger. They were standing beside their parents, and Sasuke had just humiliated them in front of them.
Didn't he know how fragile a parent's heart was? They were going to get beaten later—all because of a boy showing off.
"Bastard Sasuke! Who are you calling an idiot?! I scored zero because I forgot to bring my pencil!"
An orange-haired boy shouted through gritted teeth, as if he could no longer endure the humiliation.
"Heh. Only an idiot would deliberately forget his pencil during an exam, refuse to borrow one, and then score zero. Iruka-sensei even asked if you wanted a spare pencil."
"T-that… that was because I wanted to score the highest using my own pencil!
That's right!
Hahahaha! I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't take things from others!
Next time I'll bring my own pencil, take first place from you, and then I'll become the next Hokage! Hahahahaha!"
Just as Sasuke was about to retort, Itachi raised his hand to stop him.
"Sasuke, you shouldn't speak to your classmates like that."
Itachi's tone carried mild disappointment.
The surrounding adults immediately nodded.
As expected of Itachi—the model student of the Ninja Academy.
The students also looked at Itachi with admiration, then turned to Sasuke with expressions that seemed to say—
Learn how to speak.
Tsk, tsk… you've disappointed your brother.
Sasuke also looked at his brother. If his brother was truly disappointed, then he would definitely not repeat his mistake.
"Although they really are weaklings, what did you expect?" Itachi continued calmly. "It's not that they are weak—it's that you are too strong.
And even weaklings have hearts, emotions, and thoughts. You shouldn't speak like that, even if it's the truth. Look at that blond-haired child—you made him cry.
Now apologize to your classmates."
Before Sasuke could say anything, Naruto—now blinded by anger—rushed forward and threw a punch at Itachi.
Itachi casually intercepted the punch with his palm, stopping it dead in its tracks.
"Ahhhhhh! Move!"
Naruto roared, as if trying to awaken some ancestral Uzumaki—or even Ōtsutsuki—bloodline.
Unfortunately, nothing awakened.
"Haruto, see? The demon fox is openly attacking again. That's why you should stay away from him."
"Nakamura, if you don't practice and study, you'll end up just like that demon fox."
Hearing the murmurs of the civilian ninjas, Itachi felt a flicker of anger rise within him.
Tch… if you want to discriminate, do it quietly.
These bastards are saying it loudly on purpose—so that Naruto can hear it.
Sure enough, Itachi felt the resistance against his palm weaken significantly.
Naruto had heard them.
Haah
Itachi sighed. Seeing the conflict between Naruto and Sasuke, he had intended to tease the blond boy slightly—but he hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
"Enough
This is the last time I'm hearing this."
His voice was calm—but cold.
"If I hear it again, the Konoha Military Police Department will personally visit your homes."
The moment he finished speaking, everyone in the room—except the clan heads—flinched and lowered their heads, instinctively trying to make themselves smaller.
Just then, Iruka finally arrived, easing the tense atmosphere.
Naruto returned to his seat, dejected.
Itachi did not stop him. He can't be too close to Naruto—specaily after he left ANBU.
He also turned his gaze toward Iruka, who had begun speaking.
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