After Uzumaki Raiden left, Namikaze Minato asked Uchiha Itachi a few simple questions. However, noticing that Itachi's mental state was not in the best condition, Minato allowed him to leave early, leaving Kosuke Maruhoshi behind to provide the full details of the mission.
When Uchiha Itachi arrived home, his father, Fugaku, had already returned from the police station. Seeing his son enter the house, Fugaku smiled.
"Itachi, you're back!"
"I heard you performed exceptionally well on this mission, and that you've awakened your Sharingan!"
"You truly are my son—well done!"
Uchiha Fugaku patted Itachi on the shoulder in praise. However, his words did not bring Itachi much joy. Surprised, Itachi glanced at his father before quickly lowering his head and replying:
"Thank you, Father."
Though he said the words, he felt a deep sense of unease. Why didn't his father seem to care at all about the two teammates who had died on the mission?
"The mission was a failure! Two of my comrades are dead!"
"Why? Why doesn't he care that my teammates died?"
Itachi screamed internally, but he did not show his emotions in front of Fugaku. His father, unaware of his turmoil, simply gave a few more words of praise before heading to his room.
As Fugaku left, Itachi watched his father's back and clenched his fists. He felt that his father did not understand him at all.
Without another word, Itachi let out a weary sigh and headed to his bedroom.
However, before he could rest for long, the door to his room was pushed open. A small head peeked inside, searching for him. When the visitor saw him, a bright smile spread across their face.
"Brother, you're back!"
Sasuke Uchiha ran into the room happily, hugging Itachi from the side.
"It's Sasuke! Yes, I'm back." Itachi gently rubbed Sasuke's head, forcing a smile.
"Brother, practice with me! Please teach me shuriken techniques!"
"I want to get better at shuriken-jutsu. Next time I meet Naruto, I won't lose to him!"
Sasuke, thinking of the new playmate he had met a few days ago, clenched his fists with determination.
Hearing Sasuke's request, Itachi instinctively wanted to refuse. He was exhausted—both mentally and physically—from the loss of his teammates and the long journey home. However, when Sasuke mentioned Naruto, Itachi's posture straightened.
From Sasuke's words, he realized that his little brother had befriended the son of the Fifth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. Not only that, but they had already competed in shuriken techniques—and it sounded like Sasuke hadn't won. That caught Itachi's attention. His little brother couldn't afford to lose to anyone.
"Sasuke, the Naruto you mentioned just now—is he the son of the Fifth Hokage?"
"And what do you mean by that? Was his shuriken technique better than yours?"
Itachi found this surprising. He had been raised in the Uchiha clan, where ninja training was ingrained from childhood. For Sasuke, kunai and shuriken had been his toys since infancy. It was hard to imagine another child of the same age surpassing him in that area.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Father told me," Sasuke replied.
"But there's no way his shuriken technique is better than mine! He was just almost as good as me, but I was still better!"
As Sasuke spoke, he avoided Itachi's gaze slightly. Itachi noticed but didn't call him out on it. Instead, he smiled, poked Sasuke's forehead, and said softly:
"Alright, since that's the case, I'll train with you."
"It's still early—just be sure to come back before lunch."
Sasuke looked up at the sky. It was still morning, around eight or nine o'clock, meaning there were still several hours before lunchtime. Though he had initially planned to rest, Itachi decided to go along with Sasuke's request.
"Great! I'll go tell Mom!"
Excited, Sasuke ran out of the room. Itachi smiled at his little brother's enthusiasm before tidying up and following him.
A short while later, Sasuke—having informed Mikoto—grabbed a small ninja pouch in one hand and held Itachi's hand with the other as they made their way to the clan's training grounds.
Though called a martial arts arena, it was actually a secluded forest within the Uchiha compound. It was a remote and quiet area where clan members frequently trained, eventually earning the title of a training ground.
At the same time, a similar scene was unfolding at Minato's home.
That morning, Naruto had persistently pestered Uzumaki Kushina, begging her to teach him shuriken techniques. Unable to refuse, Kushina, after arranging her hospital duties, finally gave in and agreed to take him for training.
However, because their home was in Konoha's bustling downtown area, there was no suitable place to practice shuriken nearby.
As they walked, Naruto tugged on Kushina's hand, looking puzzled.
"Mom, where are we going? This isn't the way to the training grounds. Why are we heading out of the village?"
Kushina smiled mysteriously.
"I thought of a place where you can practice shuriken."
"Just follow me."
She then led Naruto toward the outskirts of the village. The guards at Konoha's gates noticed their departure but did not stop them, though they still reported the situation. After all, letting a Jinchūriki leave the village under their watch was something that required documentation.
Kushina led Naruto to a small stream and continued upstream. After walking for quite a while, a courtyard finally came into view. Beside it, a waterfall cascaded down, still flowing even in the heart of winter.
"Mom, where is this?" Naruto asked curiously, looking around in amazement. It was the first time he had seen a house in this area.
"This is your Uncle Raiden's house. He grew up here," Kushina explained.
"I wanted to check in on him anyway. I don't know what he's been up to lately—he hasn't even come to visit me."
"If you want to practice shuriken, we'll do it in your uncle's yard."
Kushina took Naruto's hand and approached the entrance, knocking on the huanghuali wooden gate.
With a creak, the door slowly opened, though no one appeared to have done so. Just as Naruto hesitated, wondering who had opened it, a familiar voice echoed from inside:
"Stop standing there—come in."
"I'm in the study."
Without hesitation, Uzumaki Kushina led Naruto inside and walked toward the study.
At that moment, Uzumaki Raiden was seated in his study, his desk covered with scrolls. These scrolls contained lists of Uchiha clan members who had died in battle or gone missing over the years, along with their basic information.
He was searching for clues.
To his right, one particular scroll was set apart from the rest. Inside, a name was circled in red ink.
It was someone who had disappeared on the day of the Uchiha clan's internal strife.
Uchiha Shun's grandson—Uchiha Kanaka.
(End of Chapter)