Rants: I was supposed to post this new chappie yesterday but then my ISP had a problem and I couldn't connect to the net so I decided to just post it next morning. What happened next was that doesn't accept my word file. Oh the horror! Well, I guess halloween starts early for some of us. Enough of that, hope you enjoy the new chapter.
The old man eyed the young shinobi sitting opposite the table. A number of mouth watering dishes were spread in between them. "What do you want to know, Iruka? I'm sure there's a reason why you'd invite me over for lunch."
"I know that this is not within my power to decide, hokage-sama, but why did you have to place Naruto on a team on his own?" Iruka asked trying to sound as polite as possible.
"You don't think it was a good idea?"
"I do not wish to sound rude but Naruto has been alone for most of his life. Nobody wanted him. This would have been the perfect chance for him to make friends with his teammates. However, after I announced the groupings in class I'm sure that even though Naruto refuse to let it show, deep inside he was sad because it would mean that he's going to be alone again."
Sandaime lowered his head and took a sip off his tea. He knew perfectly that Iruka had a point.
"Also, a one-man team is viable only for exceptionally talented students. With his current abilities, coping up with this kind of setup will be almost impossible for him." Iruka explained.
"So you don't have much faith in Naruto's abilities."
Taken by surprise, Iruka vehemently shook his head. "N-no... it's not that I don't have faith in him. After all, I've acknowledge him as one of my excellent students."
"There's no problem then." Hokage said, placing his cup down the table.
"But hokage-sama..." Iruka stopped midway in his speech when he saw the hokage pull a book from underneath his robes and placed it over the table.
"It was Naruto's new sensei who asked that Naruto alone be placed under his team. To be honest, he was showing a lot of interest at the kid." Hokage continued.
"Who is this jounin sensei? Is he strict?" Iruka's question was only replied with a light nod from the hokage gesturing him to take a look at the book. Iruka did so as told and opened it to the bookmarked page. "Missions completed: fifty-three D-ranked, one hundred sixty-four C-ranked, two hundred thirty-six B-ranked, twenty-seven A-ranked and six S-ranked missions. Date of birth: June 9." Iruka's eyes grew wide when he read the next entry. "Age: sixteen!"
Naruto opened the classroom and found the new jounin sensei already inside.
"You're late." The jounin said turning his head towards the boy.
"You... you're that Anbu guy!" Naruto exclaimed. "You mean you're going to be my new sensei! And besides, I'm not late! I'm actually early! Look!" Naruto pointed at the clock hanging by the wall to prove his point. The clock now reads one forty-two.
Itachi stood up and marched pass the door where Naruto was standing. It was only after he had taken a good five steps away that Itachi stopped and called out without turning around to face the blonde, "Naruto-kun, come."
"Isn't he a bit too young to be teaching a genin team?"
The old hokage nodded. "I know. However, he has held the position of Anbu squad leader for three years and is one of the finest shinobi in the village. Personally, I think he is responsible enough and is quite capable of handling this task."
"But hokage-sama, leading a squad of professional shinobis and teaching a genin team are completely different tasks. He may be a genius but I think he may not be mature enough to take on a student of his own." Iruka protested.
"Well, let's just say that I am taking a gamble in this." Hokage simply said reminiscent to something one of his former students would say. The old man's mind lingered back to the last time he allowed such a pairing. The team then was composed of a pale-skinned jounin with snake-like eyes and a hyperactive young girl as his apprentice.
Naruto was lead by Itachi to the banks of Nakano River. Itachi rested himself on one of the benches along the paved walkway while directly opposite him Naruto sat on the top of the metal railings.
"It looks like we haven't been properly introduced." Itachi began. "Tell me about your likes and dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, anything about yourself that you feel like sharing."
"Ne, sensei? You already know who I am so why don't you introduce yourself first. That way we'll be even," said Naruto.
Itachi nodded. "I am Uchiha Itachi. Sixteen years old. I was promoted to the jounin rank just recently. Likes, I guess dango and natto. Dislikes..." Itachi paused momentarily. Several images flashed inside his mind which he dispelled just as quickly. "...I don't really hate anything. As for dreams, I am still looking for one that will suit me although I have already set my mind towards a particular goal. I usually train whenever I'm not on a mission so I guess that will count as a hobby."
"Yosh! It's my turn!" exclaimed Naruto, shifting his hite-ate yet again. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen! What I like even more is the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei buys me! I hate the three minutes that I have to wait after I put the hot water for the cup ramen to cook! My hobby is troublemaking and playing pranks! And my dream..." Naruto's voice grew cockily. "...is to gain the hokage name and surpass all the previous hokage! And then, I'll have everyone in the village acknowledge my existence!"
'This is going to be interesting.' A weak smile curled over his lips. "We will begin with your first mission tomorrow morning. "
"Yay! Mission!" Naruto exclaimed. He energetically raised both hands in his excitement that he momentarily lost balance and threatened to fall off to the river below. Luckily, the boy managed to grab the railing just in time to avoid an unscheduled bath. "Ne, Itachi-sensei, what kind of mission?!"
"First, we are going to do something with just the two of us."
"What what what, what is it?"
"Survival training."
"Survival training?" Naruto felt all the excitement drain away from his body. "But sensei, that's just boring. We did that a lot of times at the Academy with Iruka-sensei."
Watching the boy cross his arms and pouted, Itachi waved his hand mentioning his student to come closer. Naruto obliged by jumping down the railings and walking towards the young Uchiha. It was when the boy was merely a step away that Itachi raised his hand and poked Naruto on the forehead. "I will be frank with you. Out of the thirty-one students that graduated this year, only ten or less will become genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This training is actually a difficult test that will determine if you have the right to become a true shinobi."
"WHAT!!" Naruto screamed in disbelief. "What the hell!! But I went through so much trouble! What's the point of graduating then?!"
Itachi actually flinched after having the boy yell right before him. The kid was so loud he feared that he might have permanently damaged his eardrums. "That was simply to choose who among the students have the chance of becoming genin."
"WHAT!!"
"Tomorrow I will determine whether you pass or fail. We will meet at the training grounds near the Shinobi Memorial at exactly five in the morning. There you will receive the details for the test. Bring all your weapons and equipments. Be sure that you eat your dinner and don't skip breakfast tomorrow. Also, go to bed early tonight and get enough sleep. You will need to be in top shape for tomorrow's test." Itachi instructed.
"One more thing..." Itachi turned at Naruto. Though the expression on his face was devoid of any emotion, his eyes were both hard and cold. "In the world of the shinobi only the best are worthy to call themselves 'ninja'. Those that cannot meet the high standards are seen as worthless, wannabe trashes. Be professional. I don't want to hear any excuses in case you fail."
"If you have no more questions then you may go. Meeting is adjourned."
Itachi stood up impassively and started to walk away leaving Naruto alone to contemplate on his chances of passing tomorrow's training. Those eyes and the harsh speech made Naruto tremble nervously. 'I can't fail here. I have to kick Itachi-sensei's ass and make him acknowledge my strength! Seriously!'
The sun has barely cast its first light that morning when a sleepy Naruto marched into the designated training area. His eyes were somewhat closed that he could be mistaken as sleepwalking.
"You're late."
That voice rudely snapped the blonde off his trance. Naruto glared at Itachi who was leaning by one of the three large logs and yelled, "I'm not late! I'm early!"
"Did you have a good night sleep and ate your breakfast like I told you?" Itachi asked.
"Yeah... I had ramen." Naruto replied yawning aloud and scratching his eyes.
"Good. Let's get over with the training then." Itachi stood upright and placed an alarm clock on top of the log he had leaned on. "The alarm is set at twelve noon. You have until that time to complete the task."
"What task?" asked Naruto.
"We are going to do things with a little twist." Itachi pulled out a small bell and extended it forward so that Naruto can see. "Your task is to get this bell. If you do that you will pass and become a full pledged genin. Normally, a team of three genins will be asked to take one of two bells from their jounin sensei. The one that fails to do so fails and is sent back at the Academy. It's basically the same as to what you will be doing today. However, for this task we will pattern things to what the Hidden Mist Village do with their graduating Academy students – a death match."
Naruto swallowed hard after hearing those. The sleepiness abruptly left him and the ominous feeling of dread slowly settled in. "S-s-seriously, Itachi-sensei..."
"The task you are going to do is a ninety-nine point nine percent failure rate, all or nothing test where if you fail you don't get sent back to the Academy but instead you die." Itachi explained. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you outright but that doesn't mean that I won't fight back. You have until exactly twelve noon to try and take this bell however, when the alarm goes off so will your head."
"N-no way..." This time, Naruto was shaking uncontrollably. Goose bumps started to appear all over his skin.
"But if you think that you won't be able to take the bell and you don't want to die, you can always say 'I quit'. If you do so, you will automatically be sent back to the Academy and can try your luck again next year. Do you understand?"
Naruto nodded. He had a difficult time swallowing down a heavy lump that suddenly formed in his throat.
"Good. If you don't have any questions we will start...NOW!"
'What am I going to do...? This guy is an Anbu for crying out loud! If I don't beat the crap out of him soon I'll die...' A panicking Naruto thought.
"You're not going to stand there all day are you? Maybe its best if you just quit now." Itachi teased. A sarcastic grin formed on his lips. "We can't have scaredy cats as shinobis, can we?"
'Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat! I'll show you not to underestimate me, you bastard!' Naruto was practically flaring in anger. He pulled out a kunai from the holster in his right leg and charged straight at Itachi. "I'll beat you to a pulp!!"
Naruto started his attack by thrusting his kunai right towards the jounin's face. Itachi lazily bent his head to left avoiding the sharp metal. Naruto quickly followed with a roundhouse kick which Itachi dodged by crouching down. "Damn it!" Naruto cursed. The boy thrust his kunai again however before it could land on its target Itachi suddenly disappeared, much to Naruto's surprise. The next thing he knew, a leg sweep sent him falling face down before a foot stepped over the back of his head pinning him against the ground.
"The term ninja refers to someone who was trained in the art of stealth and camouflage. It simply means that the basic for any ninja is to hide and conceal himself." Itachi took his foot off Naruto's head and proceeding to land a sharp kick on his side sending the boy skidding along the ground.
The blonde slowly pulled himself back up. "Hide, my ass! I'm going to knock you out with one punch!" Naruto yelled a battle cry, rushing yet again towards Itachi.
"Foolish."
Once he got close enough, Naruto threw his fist forward. Itachi gripped his outstretched arm on the wrist stopping him completely. He then landed a powerful kick on the abdomen propelling the kid several yards back.
"Only two minutes have passed since we started the training and you're beaten already?" Itachi said watching Naruto who was down on all fours. His stomach cringed in pain as he regurgitated all the food he had eaten during this morning's breakfast together with last night's dinner. "For someone who is going to surpass hokage, you sure are weak." Itachi followed.
"I'm not done yet!" Naruto went to strike Itachi but was met with a hard fist on the jaw sending him flying high up into the air and falling straight down the nearby river. 'It wasn't supposed to be this way! Damn it!'
The boy, threading underwater, pulled out a pair of shuriken. The deadly stars flew right out of the water and raced towards the jounin. Itachi simply raised two fingers and caught each shuriken perfectly on the holes at the center of each blade.
'Damn it! Damn it! He's just toying around with me!' Naruto thought angrily in frustration. He crossed his fingers performing a seal. 'I can't fail over a thing like this! I can't! I'm going to become a ninja!'
Itachi was waiting patiently on the ground above when he saw a number of bodies erupt from the waters. Eight Narutos landed perfectly on the ground and broke into a mad dash straight towards the Uchiha heir.
"Haha! My best technique, Kagebunshin no Jutsu! You better not get careless Itachi-sensei! There's more than one of me now!" Naruto bragged.
"That won't make a difference. Come." Itachi's was surprised when he felt Naruto suddenly seized him from behind.
"Hah! Got you!" The Naruto riding on Itachi's back boasted triumphantly. "Using Kagebunshin, I made a clone sneak out from the lower part of the river and made it sneak behind you!" By that time, every shadow clone had latched themselves all over Itachi leaving the real Naruto to strike his sensei. "With this punch, I'm going to make you acknowledge my strength!" Naruto leapt up gathering all the strength he could muster into his fist. "Here goes!" He threw a power-packed punch that landed on... another Naruto.
"Ouch!" The clone cried.
'What the hell. Who did I punch?' The real Naruto thought bewildered. A grand realization suddenly hit him. "You! You're Itachi-sensei, aren't you?! You used Henge no Jutsu to transform, didn't you?!" Naruto accused one of his clones. The following scene erupted in chaos as the Narutos went after each other's throat.
"You are!!"
"No! It's you!!"
"It's not me!!"
"You smell like Itachi-sensei!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"The jutsu I used was not Henge. It was Kawarimi." Every single Naruto stopped beating each other and turned towards the source of the voice where they found the missing jounin. "I switched my body with one of your clones. Not only did it confuse you, but it also caused you to deal damage to yourself."
Itachi quickly performed a series of hand seals ending with the tora seal. "A ninja must never let his guard down. Katon: Goukakyuu no Justu!!" A large mass of flames came out from Itachi's mouth engulfing all the Narutos. Each clone erupted into smoke as soon as the fire came into contact with them. When the flames died down, all that was left was a downed Naruto that was singed on several parts of his body. Thankfully, the injuries weren't severe.
Itachi walked over to the beaten Naruto. "Is that the best you can do?"
Back at the Ninja Academy Iruka was already busy working on his lesson plan for the next school-year. The conversation he had with Sandaime yesterday suddenly crossed his mind making him stop whatever it was he was writing. Iruka stared up at the ceiling.
"Please excuse me." Iruka that time was standing near the door saying his leave.
"Listen Iruka, I know that this is something that you completely disagree with." The elderly man who was left sitting by the table shifted his gaze towards the chuunin instructor. "Whatever the result, do not hate Itachi."
"That would depend on how Naruto will be after he comes out from the test." Iruka bowed in respect for the village leader. "It was a pleasure, hokage-sama." He said before pulling himself upright and walking out of the room.
'...how Naruto will be...' Iruka's gaze moved down to the small frame sitting right across his desk. It contained the picture of him and Naruto that was taken a day after the blonde received his own hite-ate. Iruka broke into a smile and returned to his work. 'Naruto's a strong kid. I'm sure he'll be okay.'
The sun was now nearing its highest position in the sky. At that time, the field was filled with several Naruto clones. Itachi pelted straight through the orange crowd and landed a punch against one particular Naruto throwing that body off his feet flying backwards until his back painfully crashed against a sturdy tree trunk. At that instance all the remaining clones were dispelled into a cloud of ninja smoke leaving only the struck down body as the real Naruto.
"I... I'm not done yet..." Naruto muttered weakly.
"Think carefully before using a jutsu or it will be used to your own disadvantage." Itachi said slowly walking towards Naruto. "You should have known that Kagebunshin won't work against me. It isn't a problem for me to identify the real body from the clones."
"What do you mean...?" Naruto, who was slumped against the tree's exposed roots, asked raising his head to see the jounin.
Itachi stopped when he was just a step away closing his eyes. "The unique pair of eyes that sets the Uchiha clan apart, Sharingan." When he opened them once again, Naruto noticed the color of his pupil have completely changed from pitch black to a bloody red that was marked with three black dots. "These eyes can see the different states and movement of chakra. I see your shadow clones as mere masses of chakra and easily distinguish them from your real body. It is impossible to fool these eyes by trying to simply hide behind the clones." Itachi cast a dissatisfied look down on Naruto . "You are pathetic. You should just quit now."
"Damn you!!" Naruto cried getting back on his feet and attempting another shot at Itachi. He gasped for air when he felt a knee land sharply on his abdomen. That was quickly followed with an elbow on the base of his neck and another knee on the jaw sending the battered kid down on the ground once more.
"Quit now while you still have time."
'Damn it! Damn it! I have to get that bell no matter what! I have to!' Naruto thought desperately. A loud ring suddenly echoed across the training field making Itachi turn his attention towards the alarm clock. 'He dropped his guard! Now is my chance!' The kid quickly seized the opportunity and tried to snatch the bell dangling on Itachi's waist. Unfortunately, before he could even have his hands touch the bell a strong foot struck him on the side of the head swinging him a hundred and eighty degrees around and throwing him back towards the center of the open field.
"It's already twelve o'clock. Time is up." Itachi said walking once again towards the badly beaten Naruto. "I remember telling you yesterday that in the world of the shinobi only the best are worthy to call themselves 'ninja'. Someone as weak you who is not even fit to become a genin will be better off dead."
Gritting his teeth due to the intense pain coming from his numerous injuries, Naruto managed to gather enough strength to pull himself back on his feet. It wasn't an easy feat having to spend so much effort just to stay standing. He was panting heavily as he watched Itachi approach closer and closer.
"Don't you want to run away? I will give you one more chance. If you don't want to die then quit. If you die, all your dreams will disappear. You cannot hope to defeat me. Just run. Run and cling to your life." While he continued on with his speech, in his head Itachi recalled the talk he had with hokage in his office a few days back.
"He interests you, doesn't he?" The old man asked. Seated from across his desk, Sandaime had both hands joined and eyed the young jounin intently.
"Hai." Itachi who was standing a few steps away answered while looking at Naruto's profile. "I see many unique qualities in him. One of those that especially interest me is his personality. I recall from our few encounters how he would tirelessly keep on talking about his dream..."
The hokage sighed. "Naruto's dream may be impossible."
"Itachi, I'm sure you have heard about this."
Itachi nodded knowing perfectly what the hokage meant. He did not make any effort to lie or hide that fact knowing that it was impossible to fool the old man.
"As you know, only the adults that fought it eleven years ago know that the kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto. I made it a rule never to mention that fact and severely punished those who broke that rule so the present children don't know the truth. That's the only hope Naruto has." Sandaime paused and looked up on the opposite wall where the portraits of all the previous hokages hung. "Yondaime wanted everyone in the village to see Naruto as a hero. That was his dying wish when he died performing the seal."
"I see..."
"Yondaime sealed the kyuubi inside a baby that just had his umbilical cord cut off. Naruto became the container of the demon monster fox for the village. However..." Hokage continued, his voice sounding bitter. "The adults don't see Naruto in this way. There are even a few who believe that Naruto is the kyuubi itself. The attitude of the adults towards Naruto is being passed down to the unknowing children as well."
'To find acknowledgement for your existence...' Itachi thought, his mind drifting back to the present. He turned at Naruto displaying a cold facade. "To become hokage eh? It is pointless to run after such an unreachable dream. Look closely at reality. There's no way a kid like you will ever becoming hokage."
"SHUT UP!!"
Itachi was surprised to see Naruto look at him with burning eyes, eyes that show no sign of doubt or fear. Instead, they were eyes full of determination and strength.
"I will not run away! If I give up, my dreams and everything that I lived for will be gone! If that happens I will live a life that is far worst than death!" Naruto began performing a set of hand seals. "I told you before Itachi-sensei, I will become hokage and I am going to devote everything on that dream! I will never regret what I do! I will never look back! I will never take back my word! That is my nindo!"
"Very well." Itachi said trying to sound unimpressed. He found the thickening feeling of the air around them satisfying. 'Naruto-kun, show it to me... the height of your capacity.'
Naruto began to gather so much chakra that his entire body was glowing in a bright, bluish light. The wind around them was blowing unnaturally. "Tajyuu Kagebunshin no Jutsu!!" There was a massive explosion of ninja smoke and when it lifted the entire training field was revealed to be filled with around a thousand Narutos.
"It's useless." Itachi stated. From his current position, he could clearly see the real Naruto behind a number of glowing human-shaped masses of chakra. 'He has able to squeeze out chakra in his current state. Impressive.'
"Get ready, Itachi-sensei! I'm going to show you the great Uzumaki Naruto Ninpochou! Alright everyone, let's go!" The real Naruto commanded making hundreds of his clones jump into the air while about half the total number remained on the ground. "Shihou Happou Shuriken no Maki!!" All the Naruto clones yelled at once throwing out a massive number of shurikens that came in from all directions.
"Ninpou, Suiton: Suijinheki." Two pillars of water rose from the nearby river and quickly snaked its way towards Itachi destroying any Naruto clone that got in its way. The water gathered around its summoner forming a protective dome that prevented every single shuriken from hurting Itachi.
"What the..." Naruto cursed. All the clones have landed back on the ground, surprised that their attacks had no effect at all.
Itachi continued with another set of hand seals and the dome slowly rose to become a tall tower of water. "Suiton: Suishouha." The column broke down sending massive amounts of water to flood the entire training field. When all the water cleared, Itachi was left to watch over a thousand Narutos that lay drenched and beaten on the ground. The usual explosion of smoke followed as the shadow clone dispersed but after the smoke cleared Itachi was surprised to find that the real Naruto was nowhere in sight.
"Down here!"
Itachi looked down, utterly surprised to see Naruto emerge from the ground right next to him. 'He knew that the Sharingan will detect his real body from the clones so he buried himself under the ground to hide himself from my eyes and prepared for a sneak attack. Good thinking Naruto-kun.'
'I'm almost there!' Naruto thought triumphantly, his hand was just half an inch away from the bell. Itachi quickly landed a sharp kick catapulting Naruto away. The boy landed hard against the ground, the wind knocked out of his lungs and he simply passed out.
'Am I dead?' Naruto slowly opened his eyes and found himself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. The faint smell of disinfectant lingered through the air. He was lying comfortably on a soft bed. Looking around, he noted how spacious this hospital room really is but what caught his attention even more was the young man standing patiently right next to him.
"How do you feel?"
His freakish energy slowly gearing up, Naruto bolted upright and turned excitedly at the man. "Ne, ne, Itachi-sensei, how did I do? Did I pass? Did I? Did I?"
Itachi was surprised at the astonishing speed of Naruto's recovery but chose to keep his silence and merely shifted his head staring at the boy's clenched right fist.
Naruto noticed his sensei's gesture and slowly opened the said hand. What he found made his face beam with happiness. Resting on his palm was the bell that he risked his very life to get. "Yehey! I passed! I'm incredible! Hahahahaha!" Naruto laughed aloud bouncing up and down on the soft cushion.
Itachi poked Naruto on the forehead causing the bundle of energy to stop and stare at him. "Congratulations Naruto-kun. Starting today you are now an official genin. Team Eleven will begin its duties tomorrow."
"Arigatou! Arigatou, Itachi-sensei!" Naruto bowed, his eyes threatening to break into tears.
"Since it seems that you're injuries are now healed. Why don't we leave this place and celebrate?" Itachi said the next line needlessly. He perfectly knew what his student would answer. "Tell me, what do you want to eat?"
"Ramen!"
And so ramen it is. The two were later found at the Ichiraku ramen bar. Itachi was still halfway through his bowl while Naruto had already consumed five bowls and was slurping on his sixth one. It seems that eating ramen was one of the few things that Itachi can have a very hard time beating Naruto.
"Naruto-kun?" Itachi started.
"Huh?" Naruto turned his chubby face at Itachi, several strings of noodles dangling out from his mouth.
"Back at the training field, did you feel afraid?"
Naruto paused to think for a moment after which he decided to go back to stuffing his face with ramen. "A little I guess. But not really."
Itachi shifted his head slightly watching his student fish out the last string of noodle from the bowl.
"I know it was just a test and that Itachi-sensei is a kind person..." Naruto slurped the ramen broth noisily before continuing. "...because Itachi-sensei's eyes were different from the others'."
Itachi was touched after hearing those. He remembered the exact words hokage told him the day he told old man his intention to teach a genin team, particularly Naruto.
"Itachi, have you heard of this before?" The hokage asked, turning his eyes back at the Uchiha.
"Heard what, hokage-sama?"
"When a person hates and doesn't acknowledge another's existence, his eyes when looking at the other becomes frighteningly cold."
Back at the ramen bar, Itachi merely nodded. A small smile appeared over his lips.
"WHAT!! What is the meaning of this?!"
The scream was so loud that Sasuke was awoken from his deep slumber that night. He immediately recognized the voice as his father's, the tone of which meant that he was mad about something. Curiosity took the best of the eleven-year-old kid making him stand up from his bed and wander down the dark corridors of the Uchiha household. 'What are they doing so late at night with the lights turned off?'
It only took a moment before Sasuke reached the reception room and from the light and shadows coming out from the thin paper walls, he guessed that the rest of his family was there discussing something important. The boy crept quietly and opened the door just enough so that he could eavesdrop on them.
"It is exactly what is written on the document. I am resigning from the Anbu." Itachi said. His back was turned against the wall so Sasuke couldn't see the expression on his brother's face. On the other hand, their father looked angry and was clearly displeased while their mother was apprehensive.
"You don't understand where your position is." The head of the Uchiha clan said, crossing his arms.
Itachi merely turned his head down on the floor avoiding his father's gaze. Silence reigned within the room that moment, neither one uttering a word.
"Itachi..." It was the father that broke the ice. "You are the backbone that connects this family to the village. You have to be a useful connection. You understand that..." The middle-aged man made his eyes turn from black to red as he stared at his son. "...right?"
"Hai."
"Good. Then go to hokage-sama's office first thing in the morning and have your resignation revoked." His father continued.
Itachi clenched his fist. He knew that this would happen. Silence reigned once more as he focused his thoughts on things, more precisely, his goal. 'If I cannot stand up now, I will be trapped like this for the rest of my life.' With new found determination, Itachi looked up and faced his father eye to eye. "I cannot do that."
"What?!"
"I have already given my word to hokage-sama and I cannot take it back. I'm sorry, father, but I am not the connection that the Uchiha needed."
"What are you saying?!" The head of the Uchiha screamed in disbelief, his voice growing louder.
"I am terribly sorry for failing to meet your expectations." Itachi said, bowing his head. "However, there is someone I know who can become an even more useful connection for the clan if given the proper attention."
"Who are you referring to?" His father asked.
Itachi continued face forward, not caring to look at the door behind him. "Sasuke, don't just stand there. Come inside."
"O...okay..." Sasuke slid the door open and hesitantly stepped inside the room
Both parents were surprised to see their younger son standing by the door. The truth was they did not feel Sasuke's presence and had absolutely no knowledge that he was eavesdropping at their conversation. Sasuke walked in and proceeded to sit next to his brother.
"Sasuke is a talent that you happened to overlook, father." Itachi explained. "He has been constantly training himself to become stronger so that he could prove himself worthy in your eyes. He is someone who will do anything for the clan in exchange for your acknowledgement."
Sasuke looked up at his brother. He was quite embarrassed that his brother was speaking highly of him to their father.
Itachi, on the other hand, did not return his glance and kept his eyes fixed on their father. The expression on the young jounin's face was impassive and he continued in all seriousness, "In that sense he will be a better connection that me."
The head of the Uchiha eyed his younger son with such intensity that made Sasuke shrink before his presence. He was carefully sizing up Sasuke's viability to become Itachi's replacement. The man sighed before gazing back towards Itachi. "Why are you doing this? What are you really planning to do?"
"I'm going to teach a genin team. Being an Anbu requires me to frequently take missions outside the village that I will not have enough time for my student so I decided to quit." Itachi said.
Learning of the fact that his brother had given away his job as Anbu captain, something that any random shinobi would kill for to have, just to hang out all day with some kid was something Sasuke did not expect. For one, he thought that his brother think of kids as a nuisance noting the way he always treated him. However, deep inside a fang of jealousy vent from his heart for the lucky kid who would get to be with the brother he always wanted to spend time with.
"And who are these kids? Is one of them an Uchiha?" Their father asked again.
"No." Itachi shook his head. "However, he is one of a kind. A rough diamond."