Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Okay, so I am currently starting my life of college as a freshman. Sadly, I have horrible dedication skills to stick to writing fanfictions for long periods of time but I'm working on it. This is one of my newest story ideas that won't just let me sleep in peace so I am forced to write it all down. Well, enjoy!
Flawed Perfection
Chapter 1: My Future Occupation: A Ninja
"Human beings are flawed creatures. Thus, we can never achieve perfection. The best we can do is dedicating our entire life's existence to obtain excellence. This road is fraught with peril…but if we do, we become something greater than being a flawed existence. We reach excellence, we achieve excellence, and thus, we become excellence…with the ever utopia of perfection distantly in front of us, urging us that we can always do better, achieve more…The Kojiro Clan must become the leaders and heroes that doth leads humanity to an existence closer to perfection; but never to perfection. For if humanity reaches perfection, then humanity will fall asunder its own weight. Our goal…is to grasp upon the rails of a false utopia…and elevate humanity into… the realm of flawed perfection. Thus, we ensure humanity continues on."
- Founder of the Kojiro Clan, Kojiro Sasaki
(Creed of the Kojiro Family & Philosophy of the Ganryu Sword Style)
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Uchiha Itachi was a unique individual. As a child, he was already considered to be a one-in-a-million lifetime super genius that was destined to be a great Uchiha S-ranked shinobi.
Why you may ask? Because…
At the age of 2, he learned how to walk. At the age of 3, he could socialize with adults easily. At the age of 4, he mastered the famed Uchiha Interceptor Fist. And now that he was at the age of 5, the clan was waiting to see what more records the young prodigy could set.
It was easy for the Uchiha elders to unanimously decide that this child must be properly cultivated to ensure his maximum potential would be unleashed into the world and thus, make the Uchiha name be feared once more.
And so, at the age of 3, Uchiha Itachi was already being trained to become the next clan head of the Uchiha clan compared to other clan-head children who would start at 6 or 7. It was a remarkable sight to see a child doing a political debate with a forty-one year old man, easily point out all the flaws in his argument, and destroy his opponent's argument within ten minutes.
Indeed, it looked like the Uchiha clan would achieve great fame in the future, with Uchiha Itachi leading them into prosperity. And when the Third Shinobi World War broke out when Itachi was 4, Itachi received even more pressure to lead the red-eyed clan into a golden age.
If Uchiha Itachi had the mentality of a normal child, he would have cracked from all the pressure he received. He could have become a more reclusive individual in order to focus solely on impressing the clan. On the other side of the spectrum, he could have abandoned his duty to the clan all together and commit suicide.
But Uchiha Itachi had a secret…something that not even his mother and father knew, which allowed him to not only retain a healthy personality, but also flourish under all the expectations placed on top of him.
His secret? He could remember every little detail of his past life.
He was once known as Kojiro Itachi – the successor of the Kojiro Family who was molded to become the 21st head of the Kojiro Clan.
He came from a clan that was founded by the legendary Kojiro Sasaki, whose clan perfected the art of kenjutsu to an inhuman degree.
He came from a clan that achieved skills beyond human limits in every field they devoted their entire life's work and made sure humanity would continue to evolve under their watch.
He came from a clan that cultivated geniuses into their genetics using selective breeding to the point that every clan member was a born genius in their own way since 500 years of the clan's founding.
He came from a clan that taught him everything from military tactics to seduction to biology to economics – molding him into a modern day leader with the potential at the levels of Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte.
But despite Itachi's almost inhuman traits that would make him seem like the perfect human, because Itachi was a culmination of 500 years work of careful selective breeding, one thing failed Itachi.
He was born in the wrong era. He was born in the 21st century.
If Itachi were born 100 years ago, he would have become a famous general of Japan in World War II and make a name for himself in the history books. If Itachi was born 150 years ago, he could have become a shogun and lead Japan to new heights.
But in the 21st century where the world revolved around corrupted politicians and backroom deals, the best occupation he could legally achieve is being national kendo champion or a father (he is expected to father children). And if he did participate in wars in the Middle East, his god-like kenjutsu skills would be near useless against modern guns, tanks, artillery, and drone strikes.
And thus, when Kojiro Itachi was reborn as Uchiha Itachi, it allowed Itachi to show all the inhuman potential he had in this new war-torn world.
It didn't matter if he had a new father or mother.
It didn't matter if he was born in an age that lacked technology of the 21st century.
It didn't even matter if he lived in a world where you could die the next day.
Because this was a world that Kojiro Itachi could only dream of living in.
And this was a world where Uchiha Itachi could only flourish in.
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As he was quietly sitting on grass in his new family's compound, Itachi was closing his eyes while looking inside himself to find the energy source.
His father, Fugaku Uchiha, a stern-faced black-haired man who crossed his arms, stood to the side and quietly observed his son take the first step to become a shinobi for the Uchiha clan.
What Itachi was doing was meditating while looking inside of him to find the energy called chakra, the lifeblood of every ninja.
As he continued to look, his father spoke out, "Your chakra should look like a burning fire in you. Grab it and mold it. Tell me when you have it."
Itachi quietly sat on the grass before he touched it. He felt its warmth flood through his body, energizing each cell in his body to their fullest potential. Then, he smiled.
"Good." The man nodded to his son in approval, "Now, make the hand signals I make to complete the Rite of Passage of the Uchiha clan."
As Itachi walked towards the edge of the pond next to the family's dojo, he watch his father perfectly as he made hand signs:
Tiger-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger
Itachi saw his father then take a deep breath, tilt his spine back at least 30 degrees, before pushing his torso forward 75 degrees and opened his mouth.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)" His father spoke.
To the amazement of Itachi, his father released a humongous fireball quadruple the size of a modern school bus; its warmth speeding across the pond and burned anything that dared to cross its path.
After the fire snuffed out, his father turned to stare at Itachi. He nodded his head and took a step back.
But unlike normal children at the age of 5 who would immediately try to replicate the phenomenon, Itachi calmly asked questions about the technique. "I have some questions father…"
"Speak." Although Fugaku Uchiha didn't show it, he was very proud that his son proved his intelligence yet again by asking about the minor details of the technique.
After all, becoming a ninja isn't all fun and games as many kids dream of it to be. Doing that jutsu incorrectly could kill any Uchiha inside out.
But nevertheless…he was so proud! His son was already on the right track to become a fabulous shinobi. He wanted to cry manly tears of joy!
But he made sure to listen to the questions his son asked.
"Do you need to do the hand signs father? Wouldn't it be easier and faster to complete the jutsu without it?" Itachi questioned.
Nodding his head in agreement while internally praising his son's level of attention to detail, Fugaku replied, "Hand seals are used to control the amount of chakra being expelled. Yes, it would be faster for a shinobi to use it. But it would be harder for beginners to mold the chakra into the appropriate jutsu the first time. It would cause the user to waste more chakra and take longer to achieve the same result. Thus, beginners must first use hand seals. Only with practice can users slowly eliminate a hand seal at a time until the user can perform the jutsu seamlessly."
"Understood father." Itachi nodded with a smile.
"Any more questions son?"
"None, father."
"Then go." And make me proud son!
Itachi nodded his head in agreement. As he took a couple of steps forward, he looked at the body of water where hundreds of Uchiha performed the same rite of passage at the same spot to be considered an adult within the clan.
With his memory, Itachi did each seal a little slower than his father to make sure each hand sign alignment was perfect. After doing the six seals, he positioned his body exactly like his father shown him.
Itachi felt his chakra bubbling up in his chest, threatening to burn his body inside out. Knowing the danger, he pushed his head forward and opened his mouth into an O shape to allow flames to burst from his mouth.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)" Itachi intoned.
To his amazement and delight, Itachi's fireball/flamethrower flame went across the pond and reached the other side.
He completed the Uchiha rite successfully!
While his father was crying tears of joy in the background, Itachi could only smile softly.
It seems this world is interesting after all…
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After Itachi successfully completed the Uchiha rite, he received a bear hug by his stoic father.
Sweat dropping at his father's sudden change of demeanor, he could only watch in shock as his normally stoic father broke out in a grin and ran outside of the compound to inform everyone that his five year old son once again set a new record for being a future Uchiha shinobi.
Itachi could only sigh in distress as heard his father yelling about his awesome his son is. He already knew what came next after his eccentric father's bragging…
Regardless of success, Itachi wanted to practice his fireball jutsu. He thought shooting fireballs was pretty awesome but he wanted to achieve mastery of the technique to the point that he didn't need to use hand seals. But sadly, his remaining reserves caused his second attempt to give him only one little fireball that barely crossed half of the pond.
Calling it a day, Itachi walked away from the pond. He would practice the jutsu again tomorrow when his chakra refilled.
But now, he needed to condition his new body to be just as agile as his old body.
Ignoring the background noise of his father's yelling, he started to jog around the huge pond in the compound to work on his stamina. Then, he worked on some push-ups and sit-ups before practicing the Uchiha kata.
He wanted to master the Uchiha Interceptor Fist before modifying it to add his own style but it required a Sharingan for maximum effect. So, he would need to figure out how to unlock the legendary dojutsu before figuring out how to improve the Interceptor Fist form. But for now, he wanted to ingrain the movements into his body.
Taking off his drenched shirt filled with sweat, the five-year-old prodigy went through his kata with an elegance that showed Itachi's hard work and dedication. It also helped that he used a sword in his past life, allowing his movements to be swift yet graceful.
Once he finished his six-hour long workout with more sweat, he grabbed his shirt and walked back home seeing it was almost time for dinner. Along the way, he saw some of the female Uchiha servants, who were tending the garden, give him praises and smiles for completed the rite.
Itachi thanked each servant personally, with an automatic sensual smile that was ingrained in him from his past life that left many teenage girls blushing and giggling. He walked to his house's porch, ignorant of the fact that many of the girls were checking his five-year-old body out that was showing some definition of muscles.
When he entered the Japanese-styled home, he immediately heard someone cooking in the kitchen. Quickly putting his clothes into the basket and rinsing his sweat off quickly in the shower and putting on a fresh shirt, he went to the kitchen. There, he saw his new mother, Uchiha Mikoto. Unlike his father who had the rugged look, his mother had fair skin with straight and long black hair with bangs hanging on both sides of her face.
"Ah! Hello Itachi-kun! I heard you passed the Rite of Passage. Good job dear. I am proud of you." The female let out a small smile while she was cutting some vegetables on the counter.
"Thank you mother." Itachi let out a similar smile.
"I see you were training after. Just don't work yourself too hard Itachi-kun. You still need to enjoy life before you become a shinobi, you know?"
"It's alright mother. I find training to be a shinobi to be a fun thing. And I can make you and father proud."
Mikoto was worried that all the expectations was going to hurt her child. But Itachi seemed to be happy and healthy. So, she didn't press on.
"Alright dear. Just make sure you don't hurt yourself. Do you want to help me cut some of your father's favorite fruit for dinner?"
Nodding his head in agreement, Itachi took the nearby kitchen knife and started slicing some watermelon on the table for his stoic/eccentric father.
Itachi was happy that he completed the Uchiha Rite of Passage. Now, he was classified as an adult in the eyes of the clan, he could start figuring out what type of training he needed to do in order to become a strong shinobi.
It has been five years ever since he somehow found himself here and he loved this place every minute. For the first time, he had a loving and supportive father and mother. His skills, from his past life, would allow him to make himself a name to be remembered in this world. And the versatility of this chakra energy gave him new ideas on how to improve his family's Ganryu kenjutsu numerous ways.
The only thing Itachi had to worry about was tomorrow's party…stupid father.
A/N:
So, I am writing this story because:
The complexity of Uchiha Itachi isn't really captured in the canon. Seriously, telling his brother that he murdered his whole clan to "test his strength" is one of the lamest excuse for justifying murder when he could go ask the Hokage for a spar any time.
Many of Itachi fanfics are all about Itachi x Sakura. The horror! I seriously think Sakura is one of the most one-dimensional main characters in this story. At least Hinata character development does changes over time.
The Uchiha Clan's politics, policy, and members aren't fully flushed out. Only their dojutsu is. Enough said…
The arts of kenjutsu and genjutsu are only just touched on. Most characters using highly explosive jutsu to kill their enemies while annihilating the landscape.
Sasaki Kojiro from Fate/Stay Night (Assassin from 5th Grail War) is one of the most badass characters of the series.
Write a review and tell me how you like (or don't like T_T) this story!