The middle-aged man who had stood at the agreed place stood in the center of the open space, looking very calm. Beside him, there was no other subordinate ninja.
Itachi was the only one who was here to meet the middle-aged man.
This middle-aged man was none other than Itachi's jōnin sensei, Minazuki Yuki. A jōnin with a slight reputation among Konoha's ranks, but he wasn't a jōnin with real power, and he looked very ordinary, not a great person.
It had been almost three days since the end of the joint chunin exam.
The transfer order from the Hokage had come down, and Itachi would be a member of Anbu in the future, directly under the command of the Third Hokage Hiruzen, and would try to aact as a bridge for communication between the Uchiha clan and the village leadership.
Therefore, he couldn't continue to stay in the usual team, that was to say, he came to bid farewell to his sensei Minazuki Yuki.
Moreover, there was always a doubt in his heart that had not been resolved. This was also the main purpose that prompted Itachi to come here.
"Congratulations, Itachi."
As Itachi's jōnin sensei, Minazuki showed a flat smile on his face, and congratulated Itachi. But there was no pride or joy in his eyes, only an inexplicable sense of exhaustion.
"Thank you. What about the others?"
Itachi looked around at the open space. Only Minazuki-sensei was present; his other two teammates on the team were nowhere to be seen.
"They were not strong enough." Minazuki explained calmly. "I ordered them to return to the academy to study more."
Itachi clenched his fist in frustration. Although his former teammate Tenma had been killed two years ago, and Inari had quit being a ninja after realizing the cruelty of the ninja world, two more teammates had been added to the team later on. While their relationship was not very close, having those two now sent back to the academy left Itachi with conflicted feelings towards Minazuki. The man seemed rather despicable.
"Don't you have anything else to say?" Itachi asked.
Seeing Itachi's usually calm demeanor beginning to crack, Minazuki admired him. "You truly are a genius of the Uchiha clan. It is because of your status that you can stand up to me in this way."
"What do you mean?" Itachi frowned.
"You guessed correctly. It was indeed my intention to send those two back to the academy." Minazuki stated plainly.
"Why did you do that?"
"This has nothing to do with you, young Uchiha genius, does it? Or would you like to teach me a lesson?" Minazuki laughed mockingly.
Itachi tensed up. Although he had passed the Chunin Exam, with his current abilities it would be very difficult to defeat a jōnin like Minazuki.
During the battle where Itachi had used genjutsu to defeat his opponent, Minazuki must have been paying close attention. He wouldn't fall easily for such tricks again. Under these circumstances, it would be unwise for Itachi to pick a fight. However, he had not come here today to fight Minazuki. This was still the Leaf Village. Even if he felt contempt for Minazuki's behavior, the man was still a member of the Konoha.
"Tenma said something to me before he died. I didn't understand then, but I think I do now." Itachi said, suddenly bringing up his teammate who had died two years ago.
"Oh really? Minazuki just kept smiling. "Although Tenma was usually careless, he had a certain sensitivity about him. He probably foresaw that I meant to hold you back. Though it was likely not easy for him to see any glimpses of 'friendship' in your eyes."
"What do you mean by that?" Itachi asked defensively.
"You are too lonely, Itachi." Minazuki spoke as though he could see right through the young ninja. "The only reason you seem unable to forget Tenma is because his death catalyzed the awakening of your Sharingan."
"So what if that's the case? Carrying on the will of my fallen comrade who died protecting the village is my duty." Itachi replied resolutely.
"That is quite admirable. But no matter, I'm in no position to reprimand you. Now that you're a chūnin, you have no need to continue looking at this annoying face of mine... You have graduated from your fledgling stage, Itachi."
Minazuki's tone was complicated, but his congratulations seemed genuine this time.
"Then why did you hold me back all this time? You avoided letting me take the chūnin exams for years. If not for the village leadership permitting me to take the exams alone, I might have never progressed in my ninja career."
Itachi asked..He truly wanted to understand Minazuki's reasoning. Had it really just been petty jealousy driving the man's actions? Even if that were the case, this went too far.
"Haha..." Minazuki laughed suddenly. Looking at the confused Itachi, he explained, "You think too much. Even I didn't have the power to hold back your potential forever. It was simply that your father deemed it not yet time for you to advance."
"My father?" Itachi asked in surprise.
"Yes. Political affairs are never really clear. Your father is far more cunning than you realize. However, being of the Uchiha clan yourself, it may be impossible for you to avoid such complexities. As your sensei, although I've wronged you in the past, I want to warn you not to place too much trust in the village's leaders"
Seeing the dissatisfaction on Itachi's face, Minazuki just laughed softly and shook his head. Turning to leave, he parted with one last piece of advice:
"As expected, you are still just a child. The answer to the question you asked earlier - I followed Namikaze Minato's."
After speaking, Minazuki walked away until he disappeared from Itachi's view completely.
'I followed Namikaze Minato'... What could this possibly mean? Itachi struggled to grasp the implication behind that statement.
Minazuki kept sending his subordinates back to the academy, pushed Itachi to almost lose his composure, and even suppressed the young Uchiha genius.
....
After bidding farewell to Itachi, Minazuki Yuki, who was walking alone in the park, felt not just despair, but a sense of bewilderment. He hadn't lied to Itachi. He had his reasons for acting as he did.
During the period when the Fourth Hokage was chosen, Minazuki had dedicated his loyalty to Namikaze Minato, believing he would lead the village to greatness. In his thirties at the time and at the peak of his ninja abilities, Minazuki didn't wish to live a life of stagnation. It was reasonable to be drawn to the young and vibrant Hokage Minato.
Minazuki had always thought Minato could revitalize Konoha and sweep away the vestiges of past eras that plagued the village. Furthermore, skilled ninjas like Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Choza had joined Minato's camp, filling Minazuki with hope that real change was possible.
But just when it seemed they might accomplish great reforms, the Fourth Hokage made the ultimate sacrifice.
This devastating news directly defeated all the ninjas who had taken refuge under Minato's leadership. Afterwards, the old Third Hokage returned to power. Those affiliated with the Fourth Hokage's faction faced unprecedented suppression, some resigned, some were incorporated into Root, some disappeared.
As an ordinary jōnin, Minazuki knew he lacked any power to resist the Third Hokage. He came from a small clan, spending over 30 years of hard work to achieve his rank. With no influential clan backing him and only average skills, he would have been an easy target if labeled disloyal.
Minazuki knew it would be foolish to choose death over submitting. Such defiance would only ensure his complete erasure from the village by Shimura Danzo's Root.
With the Fourth gone, his supporters' power was naturally divided up by the village elite.
Unlike Nara Shikaku who could rely on his clan's strength for protection, or the famous Copy Ninja Kakashi who was valued by the Third despite his ties to Minato, Minazuki had no such advantages as a minor player.
To survive, he allowed Danzo to compromise him, escaping the fate of those wholly swept aside. But in doing so, Minazuki had handed over his life to Root's whims.
As expected, Danzo let him retain his post while using blackmail to transform Minazuki into an unofficial Root agent, reporting on activities within the regular forces.
After that, Minazuki felt his dreams shattered. What plagued him now was not just despair, but deep loss. It was as if he stood at a crossroads, with no directions, not knowing what path was left to take. The Third would not reuse him, yet Danzo refused to release his chokehold. If blame must be assigned, it lay in his own rash choice of allegiance.
"Truly, people in their 30s and 40s still clinging to ambition...what a failure..." Minazuki muttered wryly, sitting on a bench in the park.
With Itachi's promotion to chūnin, Minazuki no longer needed to monitor the young genius. This rendered his entire team worthless to maintain. So what fate awaited him next? Would he be directly recruited into Root's ranks? Or continue this charade of leading subordinates while showing his jealousy, living a contemptible existence...
When he thought of this, Minazuki was filled with unwillingness. In his many brushes with death on the battlefield, even when surrounded by enemies, he had never felt such hopelessness. If only he could have died a hero's death in battle rather than live so thanklessly now.
He had even contemplated suicide. But thoughts of his steadfast wife and children stopped him. As pitiful as his situation was, he still bore the responsibilities of a husband and father. Even drawing his last, miserable breath, those duties remained. To take his own life would be the easy way out.
No, he could only take this one step at a time. As he wallowed in despair, a voice called out.
"You seem rather gloomy today, Minazuki-san."
Minazuki subconsciously looked up to see a man with a bizarre, pink spiky hair. "Haruno Kitzushi, is that you?"
Though unmistakable, they were merely acquaintances within the Konoha forces, nothing more.
"It's me! Why so glum when your prized student just became a chūnin? People say the boy's a once-in-a-generation genius. What troubles could his teacher have?"
Kitzushi sounded almost envious as he sat beside Minazuki casually. And truly, what chūnin would not envy teaching such a genius?
"My team was disbanded yesterday." Minazuki replied flatly.
"Eh? Is that so? Sorry."
"It's okay, my life is still free." Minazuki waved it off.
"Well, an average chūnin like me can only bumble along aimlessly." Haruno laughed at himself.
"There's no shame in that."
"Say, why don't you join me for a drink if you're feeling down? I know a recently opened izakaya. The food and drinks are wonderful!"
Kitzushi could see Minazuki's poor mood and sought to lift his spirits.
Minazuki considered it briefly, then nodded in agreement. That's right, no matter the obstacles ahead, he had to endure and carry on living. With the Third still reigning, an unimportant man like himself had no future advancement in the village. When war inevitably broke out again, he would be nothing more than disposable cannon fodder.
"Wonderful! I'll gather some friends to come along too." Kitzushi said eagerly.
"But isn't today a regular work day?"
Haruno simply smiled. "Well you see, life demands a certain sense of occasion every so often! I work hard each day, so occasionally one should reward oneself, no?"
Listening to the casual words, Minazuki felt a twinge of envy. Perhaps there were some merits in living such a stable, predictable existence.
...
The day of farewell had arrived.
"Thank you for your hard work over the past two years, Fujimura-sensei." Kazuhime bowed respectfully to her homeroom teacher, Fujimura Taiga.
Today was the day she would be leaving Konoha and officially returning to the Land of Demons. They had already booked her boat ticket to sail back to the Land of Demons.
Before that, Kazuhime had also said her goodbyes to her classmates and teachers one after the other. No matter what, they had known each other for two years, so she couldn't leave without saying a word.
"Ah, it's okay, I didn't expect that Mahiru-san was actually the princess of the Land of Demons..."
Fujimura, who had heard the news suddenly, was quite confused to be honest. He had wanted to train a brand new excellent Konoha ninja, but she turned out to be the princess of another country. She was just a transfer student at the Konoha in the name of diplomacy.
In the beginning, he didn't know about it and had just raised Kazuhime as a member of Konoha. Only today did he find out Kazuhime's true identity.
"Its sad parting, but I will always remember Fujimura-sensei's teachings. This is a farewell gift."
Kazuhime solemnly placed a gift box in Fujimura's hands, which contained some special products from the Land of Demons, which could be seen as a small token of appreciation for Fujimura.
Fujimura hesitated for a while but accepted it. Yes, even if she was the princess, she was still his student. It was just that with such a farewell, he didn't know when they would meet again.
After all, Konoha was too far away from the Land of Demons, and she was still a princess. In the future, she might inherit the position of the Miko, which was equivalent to a daimyo of a country.
As he watched Kazuhime off, she walked towards the gate of the academy where her accompanying entourage stood.
'Fujimura-sensei... the next time we meet, will be as enemies,' Kazuhime thought as she walked.
"Hokage-sama truly played a joke on me."
Fujimura complained a little helplessly. It had always been his wish to train more excellent ninjas. Although teaching three S-rank rogues-nin was good, it still gave him a bad reputation. If possible, he was still willing to cultivate excellent ninja who were loyal to the village.
Kazuhime's appearance had given him hope. It turned out that the she was a princess from another country, so it was absolutely impossible for her to join Konoha, and Konoha couldn't take her in either.
'Hopes shattered... '
Fujimura sighed as he stroked his increasingly balding head. If he was twenty years younger, it would really have just been his own illusion.
As he looked off into the distance, he walked straight back into the classroom.
.....
Uchiha Clan, Naka Shrine
This was the first time Itachi had entered the clan's ancestral shrine. He has always been curious about Naka Shrine and now, he could finally get a glimpse of it.
At that moment, the elite ninjas of the Uchiha clan were gathered in the huge room of Naka Shrine. Almost all the Uchiha ninjas who were not on missions had assembled here.This included his father Fugaku and his best friend Shisui.
They congratulated Itachi on becoming a Chunin, and he thanked them one by one. It was evident that these clansmen were genuinely happy for his promotion.
Itachi was well aware of his position in the clan.Although he had little influence presently, as he became stronger, he would gain greater authority in the clan someday. In that way, he could change the clan. Moreover, as someone who intended to join Anbu, he already had a certain right to speak.
"This way, Itachi can also join the police force, and maybe he can change the clan's status in the village." An expectant clansman spoke about Itachi.
However, after he finished speaking, Fugaku remained silent for a moment before replying, "I don't intend to let him join the police force."
"Hmm?" Fugaku's words attracted the attention of many of them. "What do you mean, clan head?"
"Literally, I plan to let Itachi join Anbu, and the Third Hokage and other officials have already agreed."
Fugaku answered calmly. He had not disclosed the agreement with the Third Hokage to the clan. Mentioning it now was also meant to preempt any objections.
Sure enough, after Fugaku said this, many of them looked uneasy, and most were even dissatisfied.
"You mean to let Itachi join Anbu? How is this possible? Because of security issues in the village, we have clashed with the Anbu too many times. Why would he go to a place like that?" One of them retorted
The duties of the Police Force and Anbu overlapped in many areas. But as long as public security issues were not handled well, villagers would only blame the Uchiha clan and overlook any faults of Anbu. This was a major source of dissatisfaction and resentment among many in the clan.
Because of this ambiguous division of responsibilities, the Uchiha clan was extremely antagonistic towards the Anbu. Putting Itachi in the Anbu would naturally dissatisfy many Uchiha working for the police force.
However, due to Fugaku's status as clan leader, there was no complete backlash yet.
"I understand that fully. It is precisely for that reason that Itachi should join Anbu and monitor their movements as well as those of high-level officials for our clan." Fugaku replied evenly.
When a major crime occurred in the village, the Police would not intervene, but rather Anbu would handle it. However, the division was unclear. Deciding whether the Police or Anbu would handle a case depended entirely on the Hokage's judgment of the severity of the incident. There was no precise line drawn.
It was precisely because of this ambiguous statute that conflicts had arisen between the Police force and the Anbu.
When the Fourth Hokage was in power, Nara Shikaku had raised this issue, but it was forgotten after the Fourth's death
In recent years, conflicts with Anbu had become more frequent. The reason was that the Uchiha clan itself was being monitored by Anbu.
The high-level officials suspected the Nine.Tails attack had been caused by the now-rogue Uchiha Ruri and some accomplice who remained within the clan. Although there was no firm proof, the Anbu's scrutiny lingered over the Uchiha district, and many Jonin had taken notice.
"You mean for Itachi to..."
"Yes, just as the Anbu watches over us, Itachi will be our eyes observing the Anbu and the leadership." Fugaku affirmed.
Many doubted whether Itachi could perform such a task competently. However, Fugaku's approach was for the clan's benefit, so there was no ground to refute him. They would have one eye to monitor that dark department and the elite leadership.
"That's fine. We have been ostracized since the founding of the village. If Itachi can serve as a good eye for us, then our future plans will proceed much more smoothly."
"Such matters still require long-term planning and must not be rushed..."
Fugaku hesitated for a moment. The other's subconscious intentions were clear, they wanted to use a coup to seize the authority the Uchiha were due.