Last week Itachi completed the second exam, held in the forest of death. However the Hokage asked him not to defeat any more teams during the exam and instead return to the tower. Unfortunately two Akatsuki members were waiting for him when he returned to his team's campsite. Orochimaru and Sasori informed him of his new membership in the organization and told him to wait for further orders.
Thanks for all the reviews and favs!
Since someone asked – all the personal info is in my profile, but it's vague, yes. You know, basically, I'm a girl and I live in Amegakure, in the rain. Although today it's sunny. I guess that's because Pein-sama and Konan-sama have left and are on their way to Konoha. I looked at the long-term forecast and apparently they'll be back next week – but the forecasts here are always wrong, so who knows? XD
Disclaimer: Kishimoto is owned by naruto
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Chapter 38 - Genjutsu
Itachi slept better after his father left his room. He had been very aware of the man sitting in the chair three feet from his bed. The tension and anxiety he felt over his presence created nightmares that kept waking him up. Why would his father sit there for four hours just watching him? Did he expect something to happen? If so, what?
Sitting up in his bed he sat for a while meditating in the early morning sunlight. He was feeling a lot better and when his mother opened his door a few minutes later he smiled at her.
"Are you getting up for breakfast, or would you like to sleep a little longer?" Mikoto said, smiling.
"I'm getting up." Itachi slid off the bed.
That morning's breakfast consisted of the usual fish, rice and toast and was accentuated with Itachi's account of how his team took out three other teams. Fugaku was suspicious of his son's story but didn't say anything. It was obvious the boy could have taken out the other two teams as well. He was aware of the accusations made by the representatives of the other countries. The Hokage must have spoken to Itachi and convinced him to back off.
Getting up from the table Fugaku paused at the door, his back to his family. "Itachi, I would like to discuss your training in my meeting room."
"Yes father." Itachi stood up and quietly walked down the hall.
"Itachi. It is obvious what happened out there." Fugaku sat on the cushion at the front of the room while Itachi sat in front of him. "I am not amused. You may work for the Hokage, but you will take your orders from me."
"Yes father." Itachi saw no point in clarifying the matter.
"This time there was no harm done. You are still in the final exam. Have you considered your training for the next twenty-nine days?" Fugaku was all business as he folded his arms in front of him and looked at his son.
"I shall gather intelligence on the fighting styles of the three Stone ninja through stealth and observation. I shall also monitor my teammates for any new jutsu's they may learn in the next month. Other than that I will be training to improve my own jutsu and genjutsu." Itachi's plan was simple and logical and was no doubt exactly what all the other participants were doing. "I will also be on guard for them spying on me and I plan on misleading their observations."
"Hmm. A good plan. I will oversee your training. I believe you should spend more time on your genjutsu. You have mastered ninjutsu enough to start focusing on other areas. Genjutsu and the ability to copy jutsu are two of the most important features of the Sharingan and I want you to demonstrate both during the exam. A skilled Uchiha warrior can enter a fight and win through Genjutsu alone against most opponents. The rest of the fights can be won by copying jutsu – which is where the knowledge of Ninjutsu and Taijutsu comes in."
"Yes father."
"Rest today and we will begin training tomorrow." Fugaku stood up and looked down at the boy, who was still sitting on his legs on a mat. He was still small and very skinny. He definitely had his mother's body type. It had always made him look younger than his age. However, his face was older somehow.
Itachi stood up and kept his eyes on the floor as he walked out of the meeting room, past his father. He had a lot of work to do and resting was not an option. But first he had to find a Bingo book. There was usually a copy on the coffee table in the living room.
As he entered the large room he saw his mother watching some drama on TV and Sasuke attacking his building blocks with a stuffed dinosaur that had a homemade forehead protector wrapped around its head. Itachi picked up the book and sat down on the floor next to his brother.
"Are you going to play with me today?" Sasuke asked hopefully.
"I don't have time." Itachi said as he leafed through the book. It appeared to be brand new as there weren't any crease lines or battered pages.
"We just got that in yesterday, Itachi." Fugaku had entered the living room. "Check out Mist. I believe there is someone you might recognize."
Sasuke leaned over and watched as Itachi flipped through the pages. Gasping, Itachi looked up at his father. "Kisame Hoshigaki is a missing nin?"
"That was the man who assisted you in the purchase of your sword, I believe." Fugaku smirked. "Apparently he killed a feudal lord, however I find it hard to believe that would be the reason he would defect. Really, considering how ruthless the village is, the reason must have been phenomenal. I must ask that you make an inquiry of your 'teacher' as to whether he has seen him recently. I have a feeling he has."
"He's scary." Sasuke looked at Itachi. "He isn't around here is he?"
"No. He won't…" Itachi was about to tell his brother Kisame wouldn't hurt him when he remembered the discussion in the Inn.
"But the villagers… the army went along with the orders to leave no one alive? Didn't the shinobi try to protect them?" Yuri said in a small voice.
"Orders is orders, little girl. If you are told to slit the throat of a cute three year old, you had better have that kids head in your hands when you return from your mission. Morals are few and far between in this line of business. Better figure that out quick, kid." Zabuza's voice was bitter.
Kisame gave Zabuza another dirty look. "From what the messengers tell us the army arranged it so that the shinobi would engage the rebels while they slaughtered the villagers. Everyone was spread out all over the valley. We have no record of individual 'heroics' if that is what you want to call such a thing, but in the end nothing came of it."
Itachi felt a momentary twinge of fear, but he quickly suppressed it.
"He won't what?" Sasuke pressed, his eyes wide with worry. "He's scary looking!"
"Sasuke, he won't get you. Don't worry about it. He'd have to go through all the other Uchiha first. It isn't possible." Itachi tried to calm his brother down.
The young boy wiped away a tear that had escaped from one eye. "Will you be here too? You're the best. Everyone says so. I bet you could stop him."
Surprised, Itachi couldn't say anything for a moment. Finally, he smiled. "Yeah. I'll protect you Sasuke. Don't worry about it." He got up and walked out into the garden. He needed to look up a couple people and he couldn't do it if Sasuke was going to get creeped out over the pictures. Luckily the boy didn't follow him as he usually would.
Opening the book again he looked for Orochimaru. There wasn't any new information. He thumbed forward to Wind country. A man with "Red Sands" in his name had to be from the deserts of either Wind or Stone and he guessed it was probably Wind. Soon he was looking at the man's profile. He had been a missing nin for almost two decades and was responsible for the deaths of several hundred people.
"The book leaves a lot of stuff out, doesn't it?" Itachi asked his father, who had followed him out into the garden and was now sitting against a porch railing with one leg dangling over the edge.
"It does. We have other sources we use to collect information, including access to ANBU files. Who are you interested in?"
"Sasori of the Red Sands."
Fugaku was silent for a moment. The infamous Sasori was an S-Class missing ninja. In fact, he was so notorious that he would make other S-Class ninja's fear for their lives.
"Did you meet him?" The clan chief's voice was quiet, almost inaudible.
Itachi nodded his head slightly.
"Was someone else with him?"
"Not who you think." Itachi also spoke quietly.
"Who?"
"Orochimaru." Itachi's words made Fugaku clench his fists in anger.
"Those two working together. Only one person could accomplish that."
"Akatsuki." Itachi whispered. "They said I am a member. I will be contacted later."
"This is his doing." Fugaku was not happy with the news. It meant that Itachi's time would be further divided. However, it also meant that perhaps he could get closer to finding out what Madara was up to.
"Father? What are your orders?" Itachi asked matter-of-factly.
Sighing, Fugaku looked at the small boy. It would not go well if he couldn't multitask all of his responsibilities. He remembered how badly Itachi slept and how wound up he could get. Itachi bottled up his emotions until outside stimuli exploded them, then he would become violent and irrational.
"Itachi, you will have to go along with Madara. We are not in a position to fight him. However, your orders are to learn more about the man so that one day he can be killed. Our clan cannot prosper with him out there causing trouble. You will also have to keep up on your other responsibilities. We are in a precarious situation in Konoha. Things are not going well for us and you are going to help turn the tide back in our favor."
"Yes father." Itachi bowed his head in acknowledgement. He knew his father would say that. He had even debated whether or not to even tell his father about Akatsuki but in the end he didn't really trust Madara anymore. Not knowing how to handle the issue he decided that telling his father was the best way to deal with it.
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Lunch was spent with Shisui, Sheeta and Aya eating ramen. Shisui was spending about six hours a day training and only four working at the police station. Sheeta and Aya were studying and training. They were excited because they were going on their first mission in another week.
"And guess who is taking us!" Sheeta was so excited she practically yelled.
Itachi smirked. "Who?"
"Rumiko and Lady Mikoto! We don't know what the mission is yet, but Rumiko told us was the equivalent of a 'C' rank and promised that we would be back in time to see you fight in the third exam."
"Only if you don't mess it up." Aya said sarcastically.
"You're the one who messes stuff up." Sheeta glared at her older sister.
"What is Nui doing? I haven't seen her in a long time." Shisui asked, trying to divert the impending argument.
"She's an apprentice at the hospital. Dr. Yakushi gave her tons of stuff to read and she has to work there too. Fumitake is busy, too. He has to go through various files of missing nin's to try to find clues about their last known location. He's pretty good. They brought in three people last week using his clues." Aya loved to brag about her older brother and sister. They both worked so hard and received so much praise that she was sure they were amazing.
Sheeta saw it a little more realistically. "Nui is sleepy a lot because of her long hours and Fumitake is depressed because he isn't strong enough to go on missions. He is also not responding to his medicines as well as he was a few months ago. And he is worried because Nui refuses to get married."
Aya blushed and glanced sideways at Shisui. "She refuses to allow a betrothal contract. Our foster mother asked her to consider a fake one to make Fumitake feel better, but she also refuses to lie to him."
"Sounds complicated." Itachi frowned. Why was nothing ever easy? "Our clan uses people, Sheeta. She should just do it and get it over with."
"What happens if she fights it?" Aya asked.
"She is a woman who can probably have children." Shisui echoed Itachi's tone. "We need children. She will have no choice in the matter."
"I know. Mother told us so. It's…scary though. Nui is scared, but she said she doesn't know why." Sheeta said in a small voice.
The four children sat in silence for a while. None of them really understood what Nui or Fumitake or even the adults who were pushing them were going through. They understood the words, but not the feelings. Instead a sense of foreboding, of loosing control descended on them instead.
"It's okay." Shisui finally said quietly. "We are all together and we can look out for each other, right?"
Aya and Sheeta smiled and nodded in agreement. Itachi, who had just caught sight of Kabuto waving to him, frowned. Once again he found himself unable to lie to his friends.
"I'll try. But… if I'm not here… I…" Itachi trailed off, not really sure what he was trying to say. He wasn't even sure what he was feeling. "I need to go talk to Kabuto." Itachi stood up, put enough money on the counter to pay for all four meals and walked away. The three remaining children watched, sorrow in their eyes. Itachi was alone and there was very little they could do about it.
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"I've got something for you, Itachi." Kabuto said, pushing his glasses up as he spoke. He was smiling broadly as he held out a brown paper wrapped package.
"What?" Itachi was suddenly leery, suspecting the package came from Sasori.
"I don't know what it is. Master wanted me to give it to you." He paused as Itachi continued to stare at it suspiciously.
Sighing, Itachi took the package. "Thanks, I guess." It was medium-weight and flimsy. He guessed it was clothing of some kind. Probably that ridiculous looking cloak. 'I bet it doesn't fit right either.' Itachi said to himself. He hated bad fitting clothing. It wasn't really something he obsessed over, it was just annoying.
"Are you okay?" Kabuto asked quietly. "I haven't seen you in forever. Father keeps me training at the hospital when I'm not on missions."
"Oh. Um. My father has me training all day too." The two boys started to walk towards the park. They finally sat down on a bench near a swingset. School was still in session so there were only about three or four toddlers and their mother's playing in the park.
"Kabuto?" Itachi asked hesitantly.
"Yeah?"
"You said you were found on a battlefield. You were the only survivor. Do you… do you remember anything about it?" Itachi didn't like talking about personal matters, especially other people's feelings, but he was curious.
"I remember being found. Nothing before. There were bodies all over, the stench of blood. I felt… an overwhelming fear. Father found me. I heard about what happened in Water country. I was glad no one survived when I found out. It's more difficult as time passes to accept what happened. That I have no family. They would have wanted me with them, but now we are apart forever." The white haired boy looked at the ground as he spoke. For some reason he felt he could talk to Itachi and nothing he said would be used against him.
"So you believe in the 'leave no orphans' philosophy of war?" Itachi asked, curiously.
"That's so… final. I don't know. When you put it like that… perhaps not. I'm only eleven. Maybe I'll find a way to free myself from him. I suppose I'm just unlucky. What do you think?" Kabuto smirked as he looked at the serious boy sitting next to him.
"It is final. But to be an orphan without a clan is unthinkable for one raised as I was."
"True. Father treats me well, and I know he grew to love me as his son, but I wish he had married. Brothers and sisters would have been fun. Having Yota living with us was great. Even though he was more messed up than me, he was still like a brother."
They sat in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts. Slowly, the toddlers and their mothers left the playground and silence spread across the area. Occasionally the wind blew the swings and the chains would clank together.
Finally Itachi stood up. "I'll see you around, Kabuto."
"Yeah. I'm coming to the fight, so you better put on a good show!" Kabuto watched as Itachi walked away. He could see something was wrong. Itachi was different somehow. Perhaps it was just age. He was ten now. However, he doubted it. Kabuto knew what it was like to see a battlefield of corpses, and now Itachi knew that too. It was not something you could pretend never happened. It was not something you ever "got over".
"I guess we're a lot alike, Itachi." Kabuto spoke to the empty air. "Neither of us is in control of our futures or our pasts. It's too bad."
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A few days later Itachi was perched on a thick tree branch spying on the Stone team he would be fighting in a few short weeks. He had been there for six hours so far and had not really learned a lot. The three teenagers were doing nothing more than basic earth jutsus. Itachi copied them with his Sharingan and was hanging around hoping they would do something more interesting. It was going to be a very short and boring fight if this was all they had.
Finally he gave up and hopped back into the forest, heading toward the village. He would just have to return several more times. Training had just started so maybe they were building up to something.
Itachi's mind wandered back to the package he had received from Kabuto. When he had returned home and opened it he had discovered a black cloak with red clouds, a forehead protector with the leaf scratched out, pants, shoes, and assorted gear. Of course the cloak was too long, reaching his ankles. He had shown the items to his father, so he would know what was going on and Fugaku had some very sage advice for his son.
"Itachi, there comes a time in every boys life when he has to grow up. Part of that is learning how to use a needle and thread. The other part is learning how to properly beg a woman to do the hemming for you. The improper application of either lesson results in exactly the same outcome: one hell of a lot of blood."
"So… I should… " Itachi was confused
"Your mother is sworn to secrecy in all matters. Show her where the cloak is and ask her to hem it for you. If that doesn't work, sit in front of her and hem it yourself, but do such a bad job that she will get mad, take it away from you and do it herself." Fugaku was smirking. He didn't really know why he was teasing his son, but he was having fun doing it. "Don't let Sasuke or anyone else see anything."
"Yeah. Ok." Itachi waited until an hour after Sasuke had gone to bed then approached his mother, who, contrary to what his father had said, agreed to hem it. An hour later it fit perfectly. He wondered why his father had made it sound so difficult.
A note had also been included in the package explaining that further information would be provided when he was called for his first mission. Itachi hoped it was after the Chuunin exam. He was pretty sure it would be since he couldn't imagine Madara taking him away from his training.
Fugaku was already home by the time Itachi arrived. He had been teaching him Genjutsu. Training was conducted in the Uchiha compound to prevent the other team from spying on them. Not that it mattered much, Itachi figured they wouldn't understand what they were seeing even if they did somehow manage to show up. Most of what the father and son did was stand about ten feet apart and stare at each other with their Sharingan's. The actual battle was going on in their minds and couldn't be seen by anyone else.
Itachi enjoyed the training. It was hard, his father was an expert at crafting illusions. The boy was convinced that Fugaku was probably better at Genjutsu than at Taijutsu. The first two times he had been caught he had tried to escape. However, after training ended he had spent a lot of time thinking about the illusions and decided to try a different strategy.
Walking up to his father he faced him. Fugaku activated his Sharingan and quickly caught Itachi in another illusion. This time the boy found himself in their garden but it was deserted, run down and it was night-time. Zombies were wandering around the aimlessly. Fog swirled around his feet and the full moon was three times larger than usual and had fog and clouds attempting to obscure it. Instead of trying to break free Itachi walked up to the zombies and looked, touched, smelled and listened to them. He realized that whatever sense he used was accentuated by several times. If he sniffed them they stank. If he touched them he felt pain, if he looked at them their appearance became scarier and if he listened to them they were louder.
Looking at the abandoned garden Itachi wondered why his father chose to make it appear so. The plants were overgrown or dead. The ground was torn up and the beautiful pond his mother took such pride in maintaining was dry and the statuary cracked
Fugaku ended the Genjutsu. "Very good Itachi. You have figured out several key features of a good Genjutsu. The person you apply it to will be your biggest challenge. You must be able to look inside their hearts and view their fears, insecurities and dislikes as well as what pleases them. Using that information against an opponent can go a long ways.
"Also, the scene of the Genjutsu, while secondary, is still psychologically important. A zombie in a parade of happy villagers looks comedic. A zombie in a deserted run down village is scary.
"If you put yourself in the Genjutsu you must do so carefully. An exaggerated version of how your opponent envisions you is the best, then up that one more level to add a bit of surrealism. It throws them off, but it also will clue the smarter ones in on the fact that they are caught in a Genjutsu. So if you add yourself to the illusion be careful."
Itachi nodded his head, listening closely. It sounded like Genjutsu was kind of like playing Shogi or Go. It was a mental game of strategy. He had been using Genjutsu for several years, but not at this level.
Fugaku continued talking. "With the Sharingan we can gain much insight into an opponent. We can see a rapid heartbeat, sweat, irregular breathing. We can also see chakra as colors, as you already know. Using this we can easily deduce a persons chakra flow. Combining this knowledge can give you enough information to determine what kind of attack would be best.
"I have some scrolls in the library set aside for you to read. They discuss psychology as well as physical manifestations of fear. There are also some scrolls on Genjutsu application. Read them over the next two days and then we will have another training session. Also, come up with an appearance you can use for yourself in a Genjutsu. It may take a few tries to find a good one, but you need to start working on it now."
Genjutsu was sounding better and better as Itachi listened to his father. "So that is why you are so good at assassinations."
Fugaku chuckled, his eyes flashed menacingly. "I have never lost a target. And neither will you."
Itachi had a sudden feeling that he had underestimated his father. Could it be that Fugaku had never fought an all-out battle either? "Father?"
"Hmm?"
"Are the powers of the Sharingan untested?" Itachi's voice was serious.
"Have we tested our limits? No. That can only be mapped at the moment of one's death. The Sharingan is unbeatable. Even Obito, who was weak by Uchiha standards, easily made Chuunin at a young age and he didn't even have the Sharingan at the time. Such is the potential of the Uchiha.
"In fact, Kakashi, who has Obito's Sharingan, was nick-named the 'copy-ninja' because he has been able to use its basic function so successfully." Fugaku was smiling when he finished talking.
"It sounds like I should go spar with him." Itachi smiled back, wondering what a fight with Obito's eye would be like. Perhaps it would be a happy reminder of his long-dead cousin.
"Wait until after the exam. Kakashi is very popular and you are likely to attract visitors. You don't want to give away your trump card too soon." Fugaku decided he would love to see that fight as well. He had plans for Kakashi and finding out the teenager's exact strengths would be helpful. However, he doubted he would have time to watch. Well, there were others who could do that for him.
"It's just… I feel like no one is good enough to fight me." Itachi continued. He didn't like speaking about his feeling to his father.
"I gathered that from the other day when you came home from the second exam." Fugaku looked at Itachi, who was standing very still with no emotion or chakra emanating from his small form. He also noticed that there wasn't a speck of dirt on his clothes and his hands were clean even though he had been in woods all morning. He had another flashback to his father, standing over the body of his mother. That man had been spotless as well.
"There may be nothing you can do about that, Itachi. You are a genius of the Uchiha. That is undeniable. As such, there may be no one who can go up against you. As I said, only a death match can determine that. However, you are not to go looking for a battle to the death. It serves no purpose. The clan needs you alive, to take over from me someday. There is more to this than your own personal glory, something I'm sure you understand." However, in his mind Fugaku wasn't so sure Itachi understood. He saw the boy nod, silently accepting the lecture, but there was no emotion to tell him how the boy really felt.
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Over the next few weeks Itachi studied and honed his Genjutsu skills. He also sparred with various members of the clan to practice his copied techniques and to keep up on his Taijutsu. He had checked up on the Stone Genin as well as his teammates to observe their techniques and was surprised to learn that his first fight was against the weakest Stone ninja. The other boy on the team was ten times better. Guiltily, Itachi found himself hoping the boy won the necessary round against Yuri so that he could fight him later in the exam. He tried to justify it by telling himself that Yuri could still become a Chuunin even if she lost. However, if Yuri won that would mean she was better and he cheered up again. Either way, he decided, he would have a good match.
The week before the exam began a lot of people started to arrive in Konoha. By the end of the week every hotel room was full and several training areas outside of the Konoha gates had been turned into make-shift camp grounds. People and merchants were coming from several nations to view the first-ever multi-village Chuunin exam.
Merchants were assembling stalls to be used during the festival scheduled to start on the first day of competition and last for five days. The Academy was also closing for one day due to the large number of parents who were pulling their children out of classes to view the fights.
Itachi, and the other five Genin found moving around town nearly impossible. They were constantly stopped by "tourists" who wanted to talk to them or take pictures or even ask for autographs. Of course, in Itachi's case, he was a very cute ten-year-old boy with dark eyes and a pony-tail that stretched to the middle of his shoulder blades. Many older women were giving him hugs or pinching his cheeks. Of course he was too well mannered to refuse, having been taught to respect his elders and always listen to them. However, inside he was fuming and wishing he was older so he could escape all the "grandmothers".
His father just laughed at him when Itachi vented that evening at dinner. Curious and a little put-off over his father's attitude Itachi asked what was so funny.
"In another year or two you will become an attraction for every eleven to thirteen-year-old girl in the village. And it will continue. You inherited your mother's good looks, boy, no denying that." Itachi realized he should have known better than to mention it, and for some reason his mother was blushing and Sasuke was using the opportunity to steal broccoli off of his plate. All in all he couldn't wait for the exam to be over.
The rest of the week Itachi trained inside the Uchiha compound. Shisui offered to help him so he could also avoid the village. The tourists, who knew there were few Uchiha children, kept thinking he was Itachi and it was annoying. Especially since he was dressed as a policeman with a shirt that had a star superimposed with the Uchiha fan on the shoulder, a jounin vest and a cloth tied around his waist that had the same star and fan on it. Why would a Genin training to be in the Chuunin exams be running around doing police work? That was all Shisui wanted to know.
Shisui also had to admit to Itachi during a break that he was jealous. He wished he had been able to take the exam and seeing all the preparations was making it more difficult to tolerate the disappointment.
"But… I'm still going to go and watch you and I really want you to come out on top." He whispered under his breath, "And not just because it's what Fugaku wants. If you win, we are close enough in ability that I would know I also would have won."
Itachi had to smile at that. It was true, he and Shisui were so close they could be equals. He wondered why he had never noticed that before. True, he hadn't trained with his cousin for a few months. Both of them were kept busy. Shisui was training with his father and developing his "flicker" technique – a jutsu that allowed him to use teleportation to move quickly around an enemy. Combined with Genjutsu it was an amazingly powerful technique very similar to the one Madara used.
Shisui also had to work four hours a day as a policeman. Fugaku had wanted him to work longer, but the Hokage had pointed out that even though Genin worked long hours at a young age it was never consecutive and having a twelve-year-old work a regular job violated the child labor laws. Fugaku saw it as nothing more than another form of persecution – Konoha telling him how to run his clan. It didn't change Shisui's life much, no matter what anyone said. He still did his work and trained the rest of the day. It had been that way his entire life.
When they finished with their break they stood up to begin sparring again. Itachi felt he had made a vast improvement over the last month. He had learned all the scrolls his father assigned him, practiced all the new jutsu's he copied, and his Genjutsu was nothing short of, well, awesome, as far as the boy was concerned.
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The morning of the exam finally came and Itachi woke up in a good mood. He didn't know how many days it would take to get through all the fights. He hoped it would be over in one. There were six Genin and that meant five matches. With any luck it should take less than four hours to get through them all.
He had stopped at the temple the evening before and made an offering of incense and rice, then prayed for success. The elders had been there and they wished him luck, then reminded him of how important winning was. Thankfully his father hadn't mentioned it, but the looks he had been giving him spoke volumes. Itachi truly had no intention of loosing – if for no other reason than because he hated to loose.
A few short hours later Itachi was escorted to the coliseum by most of the Uchiha clan. Auntie was staying behind (she didn't like crowds) and offered to watch Sasuke so Mikoto could attend. Fugaku walked in front with Itachi behind him and then Mikoto. The rest of the Uchiha were arranged according to status. As they walked through the village the serious looking Uchihas were an intimidating sight to the tourists who had little to no exposure to ninja clans. The villagers, on the other hand, stepped back and waved to Itachi, wishing him luck. There was still a certain level of intimidation, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
The ANBU followed at a distance, a fact that was not lost on any of the clan members. Fugaku was annoyed, after all his son was carrying the whole village on his shoulders at the moment. Shouldn't that earn them all a little bit of trust?
After arriving at the coliseum Itachi separated from his clan and entered through the participant's door. An hour later the six Genin were standing in the middle of the large fight area staring up at a packed audience. Itachi quickly found his clan, they were seated in an area near the Hokage. The Hokage was separated from the crowd and seated on a balcony. Beside him were three other Kage's – Stone, Cloud, and Wind – as well as other dignitaries who were probably also leaders or representatives of other Hidden Villages.
"Smile for the crowd." A man was standing in front of them, he had introduced himself as Otoya and said he was the proctor for the third exam. Tall, with red hair and green eyes, Itachi had a sudden flashback to his first day at the Academy when he had met the Fourth's wife. He shook his head to clear it. He needed to focus on the present.
The Third Hokage finally stood up and motioned for everyone to be silent. Oddly enough it worked, and everyone sat in quiet anticipation.
"I, and the other Kages all welcome you to the first multi-national Genin exam. What we will see transpire over the next few hours are battles between the best the participating countries have to offer. The six participants you see in front of you have worked hard to get where they are and we must ask that, no matter the outcome, they all be treated with respect. They deserve it. The path they took to get to where they are now was long and hard and their futures are even harder.
"Now, cheer them on and enjoy yourselves! Otoya! You may begin." The Third sat back down, smiling.
Otoya stepped forward and held up his hand so everyone would notice him. Once he had the crowd's attention he spoke loudly. "The first battle will be Genya Watanabi and Itachi Uchiha!"
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Next week Itachi battles to reach the top.
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