Aozora returned to his estate and heard some noise from the courtyard.
Opening the gate, he found Itachi already diligently practicing in a serious manner.
Hearing the sound, Itachi turned around and saw Aozora. He exclaimed joyfully, "Master!"
Aozora smiled and said, "Great! You're treating this place like your own home now!"
He had always thought Itachi was polite but distant.
It must be because Shisui is back... Could that be why he's suddenly so comfortable here?
Looking at his master's face darkening unexpectedly, Itachi asked with concern, "Master, what's wrong?"
Aozora grunted, "Done loafing around? Get back to training!"
Itachi looked puzzled upon hearing this, not understanding how he had offended his master.
Unable to figure it out, he obediently continued performing the basic [Dao Yin Lian Qi] forms in the courtyard.
Aozora took a reclining chair from inside the house and lay on it, using the Golden Version of [Dao Yin Lian Qi] to recover his chakra.
Although the Golden Version wasn't as effective for recovery as the basic one, it was just more comfortable lying down!
After resting for a while and nearly completing his recovery, Aozora looked over at the practicing Itachi.
Itachi's small hands and feet were repeatedly going through several poses of the fundamental [Dao Yin Lian Qi].
A ninja's body resembled a little furnace. With continuous movement, his face became flushed red and heat waves started rising around him.
When Itachi finished a set, Aozora called him over.
"You've been practicing for such a long time. What have you gained?"
Itachi thought for a moment and replied, "I feel a bit stronger! And yeah, I think I've gotten taller too."
"Haha!"
Aozora chuckled while patting his head affectionately, saying, "At your age, growing taller doesn't necessarily mean it's the Foundation Building Secret Jutsu working."
Then Aozora asked, "I noticed earlier during your practice that you stored part of your chakra within your body without fully channeling it into foundation building."
Even without activating his eyes, having practiced [Dao Yin Lian Qi] for six years, Aozora could tell what state someone was in after exhausting their chakra.
Upon hearing this, Itachi lowered his head shyly.
Aozora gently asked, "Do you have any thoughts about this?"
Aozora believed Itachi already understood the benefits of [Dao Yin Lian Qi]. He must have his reasons for doing things this way.
After a brief silence, Itachi answered, "I want to graduate early! If all my chakra goes into foundation building, then I won't meet the requirements for early graduation."
Frowning slightly, Aozora realized that given the situation, graduating as just a Genin wouldn't help—it would only distract Fugaku and himself.
However, he didn't immediately reject the idea but calmly asked, "Why?"
Merely refusing wouldn't eliminate Itachi's desire; he needed to address it at its root.
With a serious expression, Itachi explained, "The situation these days is tense. Both our clan and Konoha need manpower. There's nothing more for me to learn at the Ninja Academy now. Therefore, I'd like to graduate early and contribute to our clan and Konoha!"
Nodding inwardly, Aozora felt pleased that Itachi still remembered to consider the clan. His teaching hadn't gone to waste.
Still, his assessment of the situation could be summarized in seven words:
"Worrying about things that don't concern you!"
Noticing the confused look on Itachi's face, Aozora wondered why his student always looked at him like that whenever he opened his mouth.
Aozora didn't feel like explaining. He asked directly, "Does Konoha really need one more genin? Does the Uchiha Clan truly need a six-year-old child?"
Itachi replied earnestly, "The current situation is tense. Everyone should contribute their share!"
Aozora teased, "So you're saying that if everyone contributes, the world of shinobi will have a brighter future?"
"Yeah! Yeah!"
Itachi nodded repeatedly, thinking how well his teacher understood him.
But Aozora's expression suddenly turned cold. He replied sharply, "You're too naive! Graduating early won't help the clan or the village at all — it'll just become a burden to them."
Itachi frowned and asked, "Why?"
Aozora continued, "In such dangerous times, if you graduate early, won't the clan head have to assign you an elite jonin — a high-ranking ninja — for protection? Won't they secretly station guards around you? Isn't it wasteful to use two jonin to guard just one genin — a mere rookie?"
Itachi frowned deeper and said, "I'll tell my father not to arrange any of that!"
Aozora scoffed, "Do you really think the clan leader won't do anything just because you say so?"
Before Itachi could answer, he went on, "Fine, let's assume the clan leader does nothing. Then what happens if you run into danger?
In times like these, it's perfectly normal to encounter chunin or jonin during missions.
Don't think I'm trying to scare you. My very first C-rank mission had three Hidden Cloud (Kumo) jonin — among them was someone as strong as the Raikage."
Itachi answered solemnly, "A ninja isn't afraid of death. What matters is dying pointlessly — that's all that truly matters in the world of shinobi."
Aozora clapped his hands together and praised, "What a great mindset!"
Then he added, "But have you thought about your parents? Have you thought about Sasuke? Can you imagine the tears your parents would shed late at night? Can you picture how Sasuke would look upon waking up, desperately searching for his missing brother?"
Itachi fell silent. Before this, he hadn't considered these things — but now, guided by Aozora's words, he finally did.
Aozora continued, "You think their sadness will pass easily? Your father is the leader of the Uchiha Clan and head of the Konoha Police Force. If he becomes distracted over your safety or worse, your life or death, how much damage could that cause to both the Uchiha Clan and Konoha?"
Itachi could find no reply.
Aozora gently ruffled his hair and spoke softly, "Itachi, I know you're a responsible, good kid. But you can't allow your own selfish desires hurt those who care about you, making your family and the village waste unnecessary resources.
As a member of both the Uchiha Clan and Konoha, what you should be doing now isn't rushing out as a genin to take missions — it's staying calm and focused at the Ninja Academy. Remaining there is your greatest contribution to the Uchiha and Konoha!"
Itachi nodded, though still a bit unhappy. "But the Ninja Academy is so boring. I'm not learning anything useful anymore."
Aozora replied, "I understand completely. That's exactly how I felt back then. I myself could've graduated early too, but I chose to stay behind — I didn't want to distract Shisui, so he could concentrate fully."
After thinking for a while, Itachi finally gave a serious nod.
Then, Aozora offered some further training guidance on [Ninja Tool Throwing], Taijutsu, and [Ninjutsu] before sending him home.
Looking at Itachi's petite back, Aozora thought of a masked man.
From what he remembered, not long after graduation, Itachi and his teammate encountered Obito while on a mission. His teammate was killed, which led to the awakening of Itachi's forehead Sharingan. Fugaku felt proud about his son awakening the Sharingan but forgot about Itachi's deceased teammate, causing tension between them.
Now that Itachi has awakened the Sharingan, the story has already changed.
Still, Itachi's desire for early graduation gave Aozora the sense of an underlying crisis within the Uchiha clan.
Obito might have already or would soon set his sights on the Uchiha.
A rush of urgency filled his chest, yet Aozora carefully prepared a sumptuous dinner for Shisui.
There's heaven and earth, but nothing bigger than my older brother!
He understood the greatest weight in this world—the deep love and expectations of one's family!
If Hiruzen Sarutobi could keep the promises Aozora made to Shisui, everything would be fine. But if it was just pie in the sky, then Shisui would inevitably grow resentful toward Hiruzen.
"Welcome home, Shadow Guard Team member and future leader of Konoha—Shisui Uchiha!"
Under the soft glow of lamplight, a weary Shisui once again heard his younger brother's warm greeting.
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