Chapter 6 Team 2

The graduation ceremony is traditionally held at the end of summer, on the first day of fall. That was the reason for the chilly air running through Itachi's hair; he was by far the youngest graduate standing behind the stage, preparing to get called out. Slowly, one by one, the other students were called out on stage to be given a forehead protector and blessed by the Hokage. After the graduation ceremony, each new shinobi will be assigned to a team with three other genin and a jonin to train them further. Itachi's turn was coming up; he could tell because the room was nearly empty. Now that he was a shinobi, he would be allowed to make purchases in military shops and be given discounts at certain shops. After the ceremony, he planned on getting a new, more functional outfit; if he was going to be taking on missions, he should probably be equipped appropriately. The last student was just called out; standing up, Itachi walked over to the side of the stage, outside of the crowd's view. Waiting for his cue, he looked out into the crowd, spotting his mother; he looked for the rest of his family but only saw his brother. Itachi already knew that his father wasn't going to be here. As the clan leader, he was too busy to make it to these events, but Itachi would be lying if he said he wasn't upset by this.

Hearing the Third introduce him as "The Leaf's newest prodigy," Itachi walked to the middle of the stage where the Hokage was standing. He accepted the Hitai-ate from the older shinobi. Bowing before his leader, "Thank you, Hokage," He respectfully said before exiting off the stage.

Seeing Shisui and Izumi waiting for him a short distance from the stage, he began walking towards them. Tying his forehead protector behind his head, Itachi approached an overly excited Izumi and a smiling Shisui. Even if his father couldn't make it, this event would still be memorable. However, before he could reach them, he was intercepted by his younger brother grabbing his leg from the side.

"Brother!" The young boy screamed, hugging his brother's left leg, "Great job!" the ecstatic Uchiha exclaimed, "Now you can train me."

A smile formed on the serious boy's face, looking down at his younger brother, "Maybe some other time" as he rubbed the top of his brother's head.

Looking up with his best pleading look, "Pleaseeeeeeee," he pleaded

Itachi looked away, "Go talk to mother about it; you have to get her approval first."

Perking up, "Really?" receiving a nod in confirmation, the energetic boy ran towards his unexpecting mother.

Turning to his friends, he received a smirk from Shisui and a look of disbelief from Izumi. Before he was able to talk with them, a chunin interrupted them offering Itachi a scroll. Grabbing the scroll, he opened it slowly, reading its content as he opened it.

Running out of patience, Izumi ran over to him, "What does it say" she questioned

Finishing the scroll, Itachi tucked it away, "It's instructions when, and where

I need to meet my new team. I'm the newest addition to Team 2." The latest addition to the shinobi ranks said without a hint of excitement

Shisui had made it over to them by this point, "Congratulations, man," the older boy said, offering a fist bump.

Bumping his fist up against his best friend's fist, Itachi was caught off guard by Izumi wrapping her arms around his neck. He just starred at a laughing Shisui, shocked by this display of affection. Itachi wrapped a single arm around her.

Izumi was glad that Itachi couldn't see her face right now because she knew that her face was extremely red. "You did it!" she exclaimed before releasing him, "You're one of the youngest students to graduate ever, and you're the youngest student to graduate outside of war." She was proud of her teacher, friend, partner; he had accomplished what many considered to be impossible.

Although no one knew Itachi was equally embarrassed. However, he wouldn't admit it; he caught himself occasionally thinking about more with Izumi. Stopping those unproductive thoughts, he realized the in all the commotion, he forgot to eat. "Do you want to get some dinner?" he asked his training partners.

Both happily agreed to go out for a celebratory dinner. As the three friends left, they were unaware of the masked man watching them from afar.


This was not what Itachi had initially planned; while eating, Itachi asked Shisui to help him pick out an outfit before meeting with his team. However, after being promoted to a chunin, Shisui was busy for the next few days. Itachi was okay with going alone, but hearing that Itachi needed a new outfit, Izumi insisted on helping him. She wanted to pay him back for all the assistance he had given her in the past year. Itachi wasn't fond of the idea, but he also didn't want to upset Izumi. Reluctantly he accepted her offer.

Now he was trying out outfits for Izumi, trying his best to sway her away from the more fashionable outfit. Itachi wasn't against looking nice, but fashion and functionality rarely went together. Often a shinobi would sacrifice comfortable, trendy clothing for an outfit that offered more functionality.

Walking out in their most recent choice, it consisted of a navy blue, high-collared shirt and dark gray shorts. Itachi had a kunai pouch on his right leg, and on his left side, he had a leather pouch for shuriken. Along each arm, he had black forearm protectors that ended at his wrist. To finish it out, he had black leather gloves on his hands.

"What do you think?" he asked, wishing for this outfit to be the one so that he could finally leave this dreaded place.

Looking him up and down, Izumi walked around him, examining his outfit. "I guess it will do." It wasn't the best outfit here, but he wouldn't try on any of the better-looking outfits.

Changing into his original outfit Itachi paid for the new outfit and left. Walking beside Izumi, he could feel her gaze upon him. "Can I help you something?" he questioned, turning to face her.

Shaking her head, "It's nothing" looking down at the ground, she decided to look down at her feet instead.

Realizing the something was affecting the generally cheery girl, Itachi decided to probe further. "I can tell when something is bothering you," he bluntly told her.

Looking at her socially awkward friend, "It's just that we're from the same clan, and we've both had the same teachers. Yet here you are, graduating years early, excelling at every task you're given. Where I'm just remaining stagnant."

Debating in his head what to say, Itachi didn't want to come across as arrogant, but he wished to offer relief to his friend. "It's easy to compare yourself to others, and when you do, you'll always notice where you're lacking. However, comparing yourself to others will rarely be beneficial." Placing a hand on his distressing friend's shoulder, "Each day, you should be aiming to be better than the day prior. Everyone progresses at their own rate. Being a prodigy means I'm an exception, not the bar."

Izumi smiled at her friend, who was too wise for his young age, "Thank you Itachi." He made it difficult not to fall for him.

"Besides, I'd put you against any of the other students, and you would be victorious. I guarantee it." Smiling at his friend, they continued their walk.


Arriving at the location a bit early, a habit that Itachi taught himself from day one at the academy, he sat against a tree, opening a book to wait for his new teammates. Today was the day he was meant to meet his new team and hopefully begin accepting missions. Learning who his sensei was from the scroll, he decided to ask around the Uchiha compound to see if he could get a read on his teacher before meeting him. Everyone had the same story; Yuki was a reasonably competent jonin with a decent track record, nothing magnificent, but he had earned his place as a jonin. The only problem that most people had with him was his unusually high failure rate. This either meant that Yuki was a rigorous teacher, which ensured his students progressed quickly, or he was an incompetent teacher who failed at teaching his past students. Neither option was optimal.

The trees nearby rustled before a middle-aged man stepped out. He was of average height and had short brown hair. He also had a green flak jacket on. Walking over to Itachi, he looked down against the boy sitting against the tree. "You must be Itachi; I've heard a lot about you." He said with a fake smile.

Skipping any formalities, "And you must be my sensei, Yuki Minazuki." The 'arrogant' boy said, standing up.

This frustrated Yuki a bit, but he tried not to show it. "We'll have to wait for the others before we can begin. While we wait, do you have any questions for me?"

The young boy thought for a moment, "No, not at this moment."

Looking down at the book Itachi had in Itachi's hand, Yuki was surprised; a child-like him would be reading something so advanced, but he probably didn't understand it. The two of them stood together in awkward silence until the last two genin arrived. They appeared to know each other by the way they walked together talking. They were probably part of the same class. The girl, who appeared to be five years older than Itachi, wore her light brown hair in dual pigtails. Instead of the traditional headbands, she wore her forehead protector as a bandanna. She was wearing a red, long-sleeved shirt that had a white strip down the middle. The other member of the duo was a boy around the same age as the unnamed girl. He had short, dark gray hair that was spiked. He had a blue forehead protector that fell beneath his hair. He wore a lightweight gray shirt and black pants. Itachi immediately identified the boy as one of the students who was part of Sugio's group.

Walking up to their sensei, the boy stepped forward, "Tenma and Shinko reporting for duty." Stepping back, he took a glance towards Itachi beside him, "Who's the kid?" he questioned with an arrogant smirk

Motion to Itachi, Yuki explained to the other two students, "This is your third teammate, Itachi Uchiha. He may look young, but he was handpicked by the Hokage to graduate prematurely." Even if Yuki disagreed with it was orders directly from the Hokage himself, he had to obey it.

Itachi could already tell that the next few days would be extremely long, having to work with these two.


A/N: Hey everyone! As we approach 20K words, I'd like to know what you guys think. Is it worth continuing? I also am thinking about adding a heading to each section. Would that improve the overall readability, or would it just be a waste of time? Again I want to let everyone know that I am looking for a beta reader/editor if you're interested. Lastly, what do you guys think about the quotes at the end?

"There's no talent here; this is hard work. This is an obsession. Talent does not exist; we are all equals as human beings. You could be anyone if you put in the time. You will reach the top, and that's that. I am not talented, I am obsessed." -Conor McGregor