Chapter 9: I Recognize All These Characters Individually, Just Not Together!
Along the way, Uchiha Shisui recounted stories of the Uchiha clan. His profound knowledge greatly impressed the little boy... however, the stories weren't particularly engaging, because Kitahara fell asleep listening to him...
Uchiha Itachi caught the crow just as it was about to fall off, then suddenly asked, "Shisui, can you tell me about the missions you've carried out?"
"Itachi, ninja missions must be kept secret!" The older boy held up a finger, shaking his head mysteriously. However, seeing the disappointment in the little boy's eyes, Shisui couldn't help but laugh, "But I encountered many interesting things during my missions, and some little bits of ninja knowledge. Want to hear about them?"
"Is that okay?"
"Of course!" Uchiha Shisui thought for a moment, then nodded, "Those are unrelated to the missions. But if you plan to become a ninja in the future, Itachi, you need to be careful. Sometimes, even things not directly related to a mission can leak clues..."
Uchiha Itachi's small face instantly showed conflict, "Then, maybe I shouldn't listen..."
"Hahahaha..." Shisui turned his head, saw the little boy's expression, and chuckled softly, "Very sensible, Itachi!"
"Caw!"
The crow's sudden cry rang out; the older boy's teasing of Uchiha Itachi had woken him... Kitahara's chakra instantly formed a shadow clone, charging towards Uchiha Shisui with resolute momentum at high speed...
Under the impact, the boy's figure dissolved into smoke, a few black feathers drifting down with the wind... It was Uchiha Shisui's Crow Clone!
That was really fast!
The crimson eyes looked towards a nearby tree... There stood a boy forming hand seals, the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes incredibly striking. It was indeed Uchiha Shisui who had just escaped.
Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!
Sharingan: Release!
Uchiha Shisui shook his head, muttering to himself, "A Sharingan genjutsu... how was it completely reflected?"
After being attacked by Kitahara's chakra-filled clone, he had tried to subdue the Ninja Crow with genjutsu, choosing the Shackling Stakes Technique for fear of harming Itachi... But instead, he himself fell into the genjutsu. It wasn't Mirror Change, but pure spiritual power...
"Quiet down, Kitahara..." Uchiha Itachi hugged the crow's wings tightly. Sensing it was no longer struggling, he shouted towards Shisui, "It's okay now, Shisui!"
"Caw..."
Feels like I've discovered a new use for shadow clones...
"Whew..."
Feels like this crow's spiritual power is a bit strong...
...
Naka Shrine.
Kitahara stood on Uchiha Itachi's shoulder, his crimson eyes watching the dense crowd of Uchiha clan members climbing the mountain steps... Beside them, Uchiha Shisui looked at the crow with an indescribable expression.
"Mom!"
The little boy spotted his mother under the shrine gate instantly. Uchiha Mikoto stood smiling beneath the wooden archway, holding a wooden ladle, with several wooden buckets beside her.
Each passing clan member dipped their fingers in a bucket, then knelt before Mikoto. She would then scoop up a few drops of water and sprinkle them onto the person as a symbol of washing away impurities.
Although it looked like a position of high status... the Uchiha clan, including ninjas and ordinary civilians, numbered at least a thousand. This meant she had to stand here for several hours... Fortunately, Mikoto was also a ninja; her body was strong...
When it was Itachi's turn, Mikoto scooped up a few drops, evenly sprinkling them on both Kitahara and Itachi. Even with the crow's sturdy body, the cold water couldn't help but jolt him awake.
"Caw!"
He was a crow; he had feathers, not clothes...
"Now, now, Kitahara needs purifying too!"
Mikoto's loving smile was truly impossible to refuse. Kitahara could only let out a weak cry, "...Caw..."
"Quite interesting..." Shisui half-covered his lips beside them.
After the water purification, the stone path leading to the main hall was spontaneously divided into two lanes by the Uchiha clan members. The left side was for people queuing to enter, while the right side was for those exiting after worshiping, chatting in groups of two or three, comparing the fortune slips (omikuji) in their hands.
As for where the fortune slips came from...
Inside the main hall, Uchiha Fugaku stood beside a huge, round fortune cylinder, looking quite like a fortune teller... Seeing his son enter, Uchiha Fugaku inevitably put on a serious expression, maintaining a father's steadfast image.
Uchiha Itachi earnestly worshiped the River God, looking quite adorable.
He then stood up before his father, bowed, and held out his hands, asking for a fortune slip... Kitahara watched curiously as Fugaku expressionlessly drew two slips from the cylinder... His manner of drawing the slips showed no dedication, lacking any sense of profound mystery.
Well, it's a part-time job, understandable.
One fortune slip was placed in Uchiha Itachi's hand, the other clipped onto the crow's wing...
Kitahara: "..."
After leaving the main hall, the little boy took out his fortune slip and stammered, "bro... brother..."
Uchiha Itachi couldn't continue reading. The New Year fortune slip had only two characters on it, and the five-year-old Uchiha Itachi only recognized one... When Shisui came out, Uchiha Itachi handed his slip over.
Brotherly Love
After reading it, Shisui couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, thankful he recognized that character.
The Uchiha clan's fortune slips were passed down from ancestors. Each slip contained lines from poems or phrases, often including strange, obscure characters, let alone their meanings.
For example, Shisui couldn't even understand his own fortune slip. This year, the slip he drew had five characters: Nurturing the Lord of Life
He recognized all the individual characters, but put together, he felt like he didn't recognize them at all.
Among the three fortune slips, the easiest to understand was surprisingly Kitahara's: Yin Yang.
It's just that the meaning of these two characters was rather broad...
"Well, forget it. No one in the clan ever understands these. Let's go hang them up!" Shisui led Itachi to the sacred tree, hanging the fortune slips on its branches. Before next year's hatsumōde, the slips on the tree would be collected back into the cylinder...
At the very top of the sacred tree, a single fortune slip tied with a small bell swayed back and forth. On it was written just one character: Youth.
...
After the hatsumōde, the villagers of Konoha began visiting each other, exchanging New Year gifts, and giving lucky money (otoshidama) to children. The lucky money would continue until the child became a ninja.
Uchiha Itachi and Kitahara each received a large sum of freely disposable lucky money: 100,000 ryo.
This amount was roughly the reward for a B-rank mission. Converting it to "red notes" would be about sixty-six thousand, six hundred sixty-six yuan... Something felt slightly off about that...
As the head of the clan, Uchiha Fugaku received numerous New Year gifts.
As for returning the gifts, for some reason, this year Fugaku made an exception and chose to have the young boy Uchiha Itachi handle it. Shisui would also help, as there were quite a few Uchiha elders.
This was a distinct change from last year, as Uchiha Itachi was only five this year. Shisui accepted the task with considerable interest, even going home to change into a kimono.
As for Kitahara, after returning, he snuggled back into his covers for a "second sleep"... Waking up again, the sky was already dark...
Lights twinkled from countless homes, and Konoha was brightly lit with fireworks.
Uchiha Mikoto knocked on the door, "Kitahara, it's time for dinner!"
At the dinner table, Uchiha Fugaku was lecturing his son, predictably the same old way... Kitahara's ears soon caught Fugaku's concluding phrase: "You did very well today, truly my son..."
Usually, when the husband said this, the wife would also chime in... Sure enough, Uchiha Mikoto walked out from the kitchen smiling, "Itachi is really amazing!"
"...No, it was mainly because Shisui helped..."
After escorting Itachi home, Uchiha Shisui had returned to his post. Even during the New Year, Konoha's defense needed ninjas on rotation. The Hokage inauguration ceremony was approaching...
Meanwhile, the couple was still praising their son...
"You're only five this year; doing this much is already very good."
"That's right! When Mom was five, all I did during New Year was play with friends!"
...It seemed they could always find something to praise their son for... Kitahara felt he had already gotten used to this family's way of interacting...
(End of this chapter)