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Chapter 4 – The Will of Fire

Staring out the window Itachi absently drummed his pencil against his desk listening to what his teacher was saying, but not hearing a word. It was all stuff he had learned in the past through reading. He tried to pay attention, hearing it twice wouldn't be harmful, and he might even learn something. However, today he couldn't focus no matter how hard he tried. Spring had finally taken over Konoha, and the flowers were beginning to blossom. Even in the winter, Konoha never got very cold, but he was still relieved when the fresh air of spring came around.

Someone grabbed his shoulder shaking it slightly, "Itachi, are you coming?"

Looking over at his classmate Saisu, "Huh?"

"Seems like you got lost in daydreaming." He laughed, "Everyone else left for taijutsu practice."

Looking around he saw that the classroom was indeed empty, all except for a single chunin, the teacher's assistant, who was tapping his foot impatiently. "Yeah, let me grab my bag."

Outside of the academy, a group of school kids was surrounding a medium-sized circle etched into the field. They were watching two of their classmates attempt to knock each other out of the circle. It was very basic taijutsu practice, but it was only the first year of training, and they needed to start somewhere. Inside the ring, there was a Hyūga and a civilian-born. The Hyūga was winning having been clan-raised as a Hyūga, nonetheless.

When it came to Itachi's turn, he was standing across from Saisu. Their sensei had decided to line them up in the order they arrived. As Saisu and Itachi were the last to leave the classroom they were also the last to face off.

"You ready to lose Uchiha?" Saisu smugly asked

Itachi didn't say anything merely got into a stance. This was the third spar that he had participated in since joining the academy, winning the other two. The fights were easier than he anticipated. All the time he devoted to practicing katas had paid off. He was easily faster than his opponents, all except maybe the Hyūga. They, the Hyūga and him, had yet to compete, and he didn't know who would come out victorious. The Hyūga clan was known for their taijutsu skill, but that didn't mean that the boy, Kō, could beat him.

Turning his focus back on his opponent, Itachi barely ducked the overhead swing. Saisu fought more like a street fighter than a martial artist. He threw slow, sloppy hits that were easy to predict and therefore easy to dodge. At the moment, that was all he was doing, dodging Saisu's strikes. He wanted to improve his footwork and without having a sparring partner, this was his best bet.

"Itachi, for this to be a spar you need to strike your opponent." Their sensei called out.

Ducking under another strike, Itachi grabbed his arm twisting it around and slamming his head into the ground. "Yield."

He tried to get out of the younger boy's grip, but eventually, he gave up. "Alright, alright, I yield."

Itachi released his grip on Saisu and walked out of the ring.

Rubbing his sore shoulder, he ran to catch up with the black-haired boy. "How did you do that? You weren't even trying. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, "You just need to practice katas."

"Uhhhh," Saisu scratched the back of his head, "Ka-tas?"

"Sensei gave everyone some academy katas to…" Seeing the older boy's confused expression, "You've not been paying attention, have you?"

Saisu just chuckled nervously as a reply.

"I think I still have the scrolls sensei gave us," Itachi said while rummaging through his bag. Grabbing out two scrolls he handed them to the brown-haired boy.

Taking them from Itachi, "Thank you, but won't you need them?"

"I don't plan on practicing that style." Every Konoha shinobi incorporated those katas into their style in some way. If he didn't, it might give him a slight edge when he ultimately faced a stronger opponent, and even a slight edge could be the difference between life and death to a shinobi.

Itachi returned inside from his time meditating in their backyard. From the position of the sun in the sky, it was about noon. Grabbing some food out of the fridge, he placed it on the counter alongside a plate. As he was dishing up some food there was a knocking on the door.

"Itachi, can you get that. I'm feeding Sasuke." His mother called from up the stairs.

Walking out, he opened the door. A familiar face was on the other side. "Izumi?" Itachi tilted his head, confused about why she showed up.

"Hey Itachi," She smiled, "Can I come in?"

Moving out of her way he motioned for her to come inside, "Would you like something to drink, tea?"

"Yes, please." She looked a bit awkward standing there like she didn't know what she was doing.

"Aright, I'll go put some tea on." By the time he returned he saw his mother sitting beside her

"Ah Itachi, I see you've already met Izumi." His mother spoke, "I thought it was odd when she approached me asking for tips on how to throw a shuriken, but if she's your classmate that makes more sense."

So she was here for his mom, not him. That made a lot more sense. "I'll go grab another cup."

After drinking their tea, his mother left with Izumi to show her how to throw. Of course, they invited Itachi, but he turned them down. He wanted to take a shower and eat his lunch. He completed his physical conditioning this morning and planned to work on his schoolwork after dinner. That meant that his whole afternoon was free. Pulling out a book, he sat on his bed careful not to lay back on his pillow since his hair was still drying from his shower.

"We're back!" Came the voice of Mikoto.

Setting his book down on the table next to his bed. He went into the kitchen where he could hear a conversation. The two girls were sweaty and there was dirt on their arms.

His mother must have seen what he was staring at, "We did a bit of light sparing as well." She explained.

Izumi looked completely exhausted; she probably didn't train like this every day. It amazed Itachi how many people wanted to become shinobi but didn't want to put in the effort. Of course, Itachi didn't realize the resources and support he received.

"So, Itachi," Izumi said in a voice that was quieter than he was used to hearing from the girl, "I was wondering if you'd like to go get some dango?"

Itachi thought it over, deciding to decline her offer. Until his mother spoke up for him, "Of course, he would." She said with a devilish grin.

Izumi perked up, "Really?"

Itachi couldn't turn her down after seeing how excited she was, "Yes, I could use the fresh air."

They arrived at a small shop in the shopping district. After placing their order, the two of them sat at an outdoor table to wait. The two hadn't spoken on their way over. Izumi didn't know how to break the ice, and Itachi wasn't sure he wanted to. When their order came, they both thanked the server.

Izumi thought back to when they ordered. The server recognized Itachi, but not enough to be familiar with his name, referring to him only as 'Uchiha-san'. "I didn't realize you were such a big fan of sweets Itachi." It seemed a little out of character for the serious kid.

He waited a long moment, and Izumi started to think he wasn't going to reply. "I've enjoyed dango ever since my mother first brought me here." Pulling another dango off the stick, "The pink ones are my favorite." It's not that he didn't like Izumi, he just didn't know how to approach social situations.

Izumi smiled at getting more information from the reserved boy, "I like the green ones." She remained silent for a moment enjoying the taste of the dango. "My mother brought me here after…" Her eyes burned, "-after the Nine-Tails attack."

Itachi figured Izumi had probably lost someone that night, most people had. Itachi's family had lost a few relatives, but nobody Itachi knew that well. He didn't know how to approach her feeling of loss so instead, he just remained silent and ate his dango.

When they finished, they stood up and Itachi paid for their snack with money they got from his mom. As they were walking through the village Izumi stood much closer than normal. "This was nice." She said putting her arms behind her, grabbing her wrist with one of her hands.

"Hn," he nodded.

In the coming weeks, Itachi decided to send a shadow clone to the academy so that he'd be able to devote his time to more productive matters. It was a common misconception that the shadow clone jutsu is a kinjutsu, a technique forbidden by the first Hokage. However, that was multiple shadow clone jutsu because the user could easily use more chakra than they had, killing themselves. The danger didn't exist when the user only created one clone.

Currently, the Itachi clone was sitting against a tree reading. The clone had been reading their entire lunch break, after all, there was no need for it to eat. Standing up he prepared to go back to class, knowing that the bell was about to ring.

Before he could head inside Saisu bolted behind him. A senior student, who had to be double Itachi's weight, with his two friends approached them, "Are you friends with this idiot?"

"Is there anything I can do for you?" The raven-haired boy asked.

"Are you deaf?" The larger boy spat, "I asked if you were friends with this twerp."

"Yeah, what does it matter to you?"

"That idiot ran into me, and I need to teach him to respect his elders." He laughed

"I'm sure my friend apologized," Looking at Saisu, he nervously shook his head up and down. "So, I don't see what the problem is."

"The problem," taking a step closer, "Is that he needs to learn respect."

"And you're the one who's going to teach him? How about a spar?" Itachi offered up.

Looking Itachi up and down, "You're looking to take the punishment for your friend?"

By this point, a small crowd had arrived. The two boys began circling each other. Izumi ran to the front of the crowd. She had her hair in a ponytail and had changed out her outfit. She was wearing a sleeveless, high-collared blue shirt, with fingerless purple gloves, "Come on Dokan…"

She was interrupted by the boy, "Shut up Uchiha bitch."

Itachi waited for the newly named Dokan to make the first move. Dokan lunged at Itachi looking to land a punch on his face. Ducking the attack, Itachi used the boy's momentum, and a slight push to the backside of his elbow to cause him to fall and the other students to chuckle. Instead of trying to further beat his downed opponent Itachi just turned around and grabbed his book. While he was walking away, the humiliated boy got up and decided to 'regain his glory'. Charging at Itachi, he sucker-punched him from behind causing the younger boy to poof in a cloud of smoke.

"What the hell?" Dokan yelled.

Itachi was in the middle of his katas when the memories from his clone flooded his brain. Slipping, from the sudden memories, Itachi barely caught himself on the nearby tree.

'I've got to get to the academy.' He thought to himself.

Itachi sat across from the academy director. "Starting fights with other classmates, missing classes, sending a clone to the academy. This is unacceptable for a regular student, let alone a clan heir." He reprimanded.

Itachi sat there silently, he knew he'd probably get in trouble for fighting Dokan, he figured his teacher wouldn't be pleased if he found out he had been sending a clone, but he had still done it and had no excuses.

"Can you at least explain to me why you had to fight Dokan, embarrassing him in front of his colleagues? That's the part I don't understand."

Itachi waited for a while to reply, he waited so long that the director debated if he even heard him. "He was threatening to attack Saisu."

The academy director's expression softened at this. He could hardly punish the boy for protecting his comrade, that was the exact lesson the teachers of the hidden leaf tried to bestow upon their students. "And the clone?"

"The teachers were going over stuff I had already learned. I figured my time would be better spent practicing in a field. I sent a shadow clone so that I could retain the memories after it dispelled." He answered

'How did the boy already know how to create a shadow clone?' Sometimes he forgot the extent of the Uchiha's jutsu library. The boy should've just learned how to begin molding his chakra. He shouldn't know how to create a regular clone, let alone a shadow clone. "I'll see what I can do about getting you some higher-level classes, but you need to stop sending shadow clones in place of yourself. It's disrespectful to both your sensei and fellow students."

Itachi didn't understand how it affected others if he sent a clone instead-but agreed anyways. "Alright, can I go now?"

"Yeah," The director said running a hand through his hair. He didn't get paid enough for this, "And Itachi, if your friends ever get threatened again, bring it up to your teacher. It's one of the reasons we pay them."

Exiting the building Itachi saw the figure of Izumi leaning against the wall, focusing on a scroll in her hands. She didn't notice him until he was right beside her.

"Do you stay late often?" He didn't see her as the type to stay late.

"Itachi!" She said surprised, "I was waiting for you." She blushed looking down at her feet.

"If you're ready, we can leave for the compound now." They tended to walk to the compound together most nights.

Rolling up her scroll she got in step with Itachi, "What was that about?"

"The fight with Dokan."

Izumi turned to face him, "Wait, that wasn't your fault, you were just protecting Saisu."

"That still doesn't warrant fighting with a comrade." He explained.

"Why didn't you beat him once you had knocked him down, he definitely deserved it." Izumi was confused when she saw Itachi walking away after knocking Dokan to the ground.

"There was no need, he wasn't looking for a fight." The young boy reasoned, "He probably lost someone during the attack on the village and was looking for something to place the blame on, I was the most logical choice."

Not that it was a worthy excuse, but she did understand it. "I guess that makes sense, but even if he did lose someone during the tragedy that still doesn't give him the right to attack you."

"True, but it's only human instinct to want revenge, and if I would've fought back then it would only further his hatred."

This made sense to Izumi, the rest of the walk remained silent for the young shinobi. Little did anyone in the area know, another person was viewing the interaction from a nearby budling, waiting to report it to their master.

"We don't graduate students early. The rules are in place for a reason." Came the voice of an elderly man.

"I'm not asking to graduate him, merely bump him up a few classes." The other man argued.

"The rules are in place to reduce mental illness and fatigue when they become older." The commander stated.

"He's getting nothing out of his current classes." The teacher argued. "He even sent a clone so that he could be productive while not missing a class.

"A clone." That didn't seem a very responsible thing for a student of this excellence.

"A shadow clone," he clarified, "he didn't want to miss any of the lessons."

This stunned the older man, "And this is a first-year student?"

"Yes," He sighed running a hand through his hair, "They haven't even been taught how to mold their chakra yet."

"As a clan heir it isn't odd that he knows a few jutsu," he reasoned, "but to know a B-rank jutsu so proficiently where he can keep it up all day. That is a bit strange."

"Exactly," He knew he was making progress. "Along with taking down a student four years his senior in a taijutsu fight."

"Why was he sparing with an older student?"

"It wasn't an official spar. He got in a fight with another student." The grey-haired man just raised an eyebrow at the accused action. "It was to protect a fellow student." The younger man explained.

That was all his leader needed to hear. The boy was already showing signs of the Will of Fire. "It looks like Uchiha Itachi will progress through classes a bit early." The Hokage said, giving him the green light to accelerate the boy's teaching.

When Itachi finally made it back home his mother was in a frantic mood, tidying up the house. Apparently, they were having a last-minute guest over for dinner. However, that was the only info he got before she pushed him back out the door with a list of ingredients he needed to pick up from the market for dinner.

By the time he made it back with the groceries, their guest had already arrived. There were two ANBU guards placed by his front door and he assumed there were even more out of sight. The Hokage was in their common room sitting and talking with his father. Sasuke was napping in his room. When he walked through the door his mother came over grabbing the vegetables.

Walking out into the common room, "Mother said dinner will be done soon." He told the two men as his mother instructed.

"Ah, Itachi, just who I was wanting to talk with." The Hokage said, "Sit, there are a few matters I'd like to discuss with you."

Obeying the commander's instruction, he sat next to his father and across from the Hokage.

"How's the academy treating you? I hear you're thriving under your sensei's teaching."

"My time at the academy has been excellent." The boy respectfully said. Itachi could see his mother standing in the archway.

"I'm glad, but that makes it more troubling that you're getting in fights with other students."

His mother's eyes grew from shock. Itachi never seemed like a violent boy and hadn't told her.

"Can you explain these actions?" His father asked.

Itachi looked down in shame, "I have no excuse for my actions."

"We'll discuss this further later." His father stated sternly.

"The director was quite impressed by your actions." The grey-haired shinobi took a puff of his pipe. "He even recommended that we accelerate your time at the academy by skipping you ahead a few classes."

"Hokage?" His father asked

"Well, the story I heard said that he fought Dokan to protect his comrade." Their leader explained.

"Is this true?" Fugaku asked turning to Itachi

His son nodded. "Yes, Saisu had accidentally bumped into Dokan and Dokan was going to 'punish' him."

The Hokage pondered on this for a moment. "As you all know un-condoned fighting at the academy results in expulsion." He gave a moment to let it sink in, "But under this circumstance, I believe an exception should be made. Konohagakure was founded on a simple ideology. The First named it the Will of Fire. I can hardly punish a student for following this ideology."

The remaining afternoon they spent enjoying the dinner Mikoto had cooked for them all. The Hokage explained the ideas behind the Will of Fire to young Itachi. By the time he left, he thanked Mikoto one last time for the wonderful home-cooked meal and left.

Chapter words: 3,376

Story Words: 12,066