Return of the Uchiha Prodigy

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After confirming that Sasuke was fine, Itachi made his way back to the Ninja Academy after lunch.

When he entered the classroom, there was still some time before the afternoon classes began. As he stepped toward his seat, he noticed something unusual.

A group of boys had gathered around the desk where he and Izumi usually sat.

Izumi Uchiha, one of the top students alongside Itachi, had a kind and gentle demeanor that, coupled with her naturally charming appearance, had caught the attention of many of their classmates—especially the boys.

Itachi noticed that although Izumi was smiling and trying to remain polite, she was clearly growing tired of the attention. Even for someone as good-natured as her, this was too much.

At the same time, a group of girls made their way toward Itachi, surrounding him.

"Um… Itachi-kun?" one of the girls hesitated before finding her courage. "We all want to be friends with you… please!"

The other girls nodded in agreement, their eyes shy but hopeful.

Itachi inwardly sighed, realizing he and Izumi were in similar situations. He recalled how Sasuke had often been popular with girls in his class, and now it seemed the same was happening to him. Both he and Sasuke had inherited their mother Mikoto's striking looks, and with Itachi's top performance in class, his popularity had grown.

However, Itachi didn't take much pride in it. Instead, he found it somewhat troublesome. Still, he smiled gently at the girls and said, "Sure, we can be friends."

The girls beamed at his response. One stepped forward, smiling brightly. "My name is Mochizuki Mei!"

Even though they'd already introduced themselves earlier that morning, Itachi understood it could be difficult to remember everyone's names. But for him, it was no issue.

"Yes, I remember," Itachi said smoothly. "You're Mochizuki Mei, and you're Honmiya Meixin, and you're Maeda Suzui..." He listed off their names one by one, looking at each girl in turn.

The girls were surprised and delighted that Itachi had remembered their names. Before they could say anything else, he added, "I'm happy to be friends, but I need to take care of something right now. I'll see you later."

With that, Itachi cast a glance at Izumi, who was still surrounded by boys, and quietly left the classroom.

He found a secluded spot on the academy grounds to reflect for a while. When class time drew near, he returned to the room. By then, the number of boys around Izumi had finally dwindled.

Itachi took his seat just as their homeroom teacher, Takashi, entered the room, signaling the start of the afternoon session.

The freshman curriculum was mostly theoretical, and as Takashi-sensei began his lecture, Izumi placed a book in front of her and turned slightly toward Itachi, whispering, "How is Sasuke-kun?"

"He's perfectly fine now," Itachi replied softly.

Izumi nodded, relieved, but hesitated for a moment, her expression troubled. "Itachi, about earlier… with all those boys… I'm sorry if I caused any trouble."

Itachi shook his head slightly. "There's no need to apologize, Izumi. It's natural that people want to be your friend. You're kind and approachable."

Izumi blushed lightly at the compliment but still seemed unsure. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Why would I be angry?" Itachi asked with a faint smile. "But you should learn to say no sometimes. You'll exhaust yourself if you don't."

Izumi thought for a moment and then nodded earnestly. "You're right. I'll work on that."

Itachi chuckled softly at her sincerity. "No need to change too much. Just know your limits."

Izumi smiled, visibly relieved. After a pause, she added, "By the way, you didn't mention your favorite food when we introduced ourselves today. What is it, Itachi-kun? I'd like to know."

Itachi's mind flickered back to a memory. His favorite food was sanshoku dango (three-color dumplings), something he had first tried because Izumi had offered him some.

Seeing him remain silent, Izumi's face brightened as an idea struck her. "To celebrate us becoming friends, how about we go to the dango shop after school? It's been a while since I've had their sanshoku dango. What do you think, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi hesitated, furrowing his brow slightly. "I still have training to do tonight."

Although the Academy had brought new joy into his life, Itachi remained dedicated to his training.

"Just for a little while," Izumi pleaded, her wide eyes hopeful. "Please?"

Despite his usual discipline, something in Itachi's heart softened. Perhaps it was guilt from the past or the innocence in Izumi's expression that he felt he had long lost.

"Alright," Itachi agreed. "But only for a little while."

Izumi's face lit up with excitement. "Yay!"

She let out a small cheer, drawing the attention of Takashi-sensei and several classmates.

Itachi hadn't expected such an enthusiastic reaction and quickly knocked over the book that had been propped up in front of Izumi, causing it to fall flat on the table.

Realizing her outburst, Izumi blushed deeply and lowered her head. "Sorry for disturbing everyone…"

Takashi-sensei frowned but didn't scold her. "Please focus on the lesson, Izumi."

Izumi nodded sheepishly, still embarrassed, and buried her face in her arms, peeking out occasionally to see if people were still looking at her.

Itachi, on the other hand, remained calm, though he couldn't help but smile at her flustered expression.

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The day's classes finally came to an end at the Ninja Academy.

"See you tomorrow, students," Takashi

-sensei announced as he dismissed the class.

Izumi darted out of the room before anyone could react, and Itachi followed her quietly.

Only when they reached the street outside did Izumi relax, letting out a soft sigh of relief.

"Heh."

Itachi chuckled, understanding why she had been so quick to leave. Izumi had likely been worried about being bombarded with questions over her earlier outburst.

"This is so embarrassing…" Izumi thought, glancing at Itachi's smiling face, her cheeks flushing slightly.

It was autumn, and though the school day had ended, the sky was still bright. As they neared the Konoha dango shop, the sun cast a warm, golden glow over the village.

They entered the small shop together, walking side by side.

"Let's sit here," Itachi suggested, pointing to a table near the door.

"Okay," Izumi replied, sitting down. Inwardly, she muttered, What's wrong with me today? Normally, she wouldn't be this flustered, but the feeling lingered.

Itachi took the seat across from her and waved for a staff member.

"Three-color dango, right?" he asked, meeting her eyes.

Izumi nodded.

"Two orders of three-color dango, please," Itachi said politely, and the staff member left to prepare their order.

"It's almost dinner time, so we can consider this a small celebration," Itachi said, sensing Izumi's lingering discomfort. "And I wasn't laughing at you earlier. You just looked kind of cute."

For the first time, Itachi spoke to a girl in this manner. As the words left his mouth, he felt an unfamiliar flutter in his chest.

Izumi's blush deepened, but she looked up shyly. "Really?"

"Yeah," Itachi nodded, offering her a sincere smile.

Izumi's anxiety faded, and her smile brightened. Finally, her unsettled emotions began to calm.

Before long, the staff returned with a porcelain plate carrying two skewers of three-color dango.

"Thank you," Itachi said as he politely took the plate. He handed one skewer to Izumi. "Eat up. We'll head out after."

Izumi accepted the skewer, but instead of eating right away, she gazed at it with a soft expression. A small, sweet smile crept onto her face.

*It still tastes the same...* Itachi thought, taking a bite of his dango. The flavor stirred memories of a time long past, a taste he hadn't experienced in years.

Just then, the shop's curtain fluttered open, and a group of young ninja wearing Konoha forehead protectors—around thirteen or fourteen years old—entered.

From his seat, Itachi noticed them immediately.

His eyes lingered for just a moment before he averted his gaze, recognizing the group.

The boys and girls, catching Itachi's brief glance, noticed the Uchiha clan emblem on Izumi's clothing. While Itachi's was hidden, their identical attire made it clear that both children were from the Uchiha clan.

One of the boys—holding a senbon in his mouth—gave a quick look but didn't dwell on it.

"Asuma, let's sit here," said a girl with curly hair and eyes as red as rubies.

"Hmm," Asuma grunted in response.

Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, Goko Tetsu, and Shiranui Genma—all recent graduates—settled at a nearby table. Itachi knew them well. Years later, when he infiltrated Konoha after the Third Hokage's death, he had even fought Asuma and Kurenai.

The group ordered their food and began chatting.

A moment later, another figure strode into the shop, a boy with green spandex, a shiny black bowl-cut, and unusually thick eyebrows.

"Gai..." Itachi murmured.

The boy's full name was Maito Gai, a ninja specializing only in taijutsu. Despite being considered eccentric, his strength was formidable. Itachi remembered encountering Gai when he and his Akatsuki partner Kisame had returned to Konoha. Even then, Gai had posed a genuine threat.

Gai joined Asuma and the others at their table. 

"Still no sign of Kakashi?" Asuma asked.

Gai sighed. "Nope. That guy... always brooding. It's getting worrisome."

"Your friendship is really something," Shiranui Genma commented.

Goko Tetsu chimed in, "Is he still not over what happened back then?"

At the mention of this, the mood at their table grew somber. 

"The deaths of those two hit him hard..." Kurenai added, frowning.

"It's the fate of a shinobi," Asuma said, his eyes briefly flicking to Itachi and Izumi. "It happened during the war, after all."

Hearing this, Itachi's attention shifted. He understood what they were talking about. As a former ANBU operative, and with Kakashi as his senior, he had heard the story before.

Kakashi once led a three-man squad under Minato Namikaze, the future Fourth Hokage. During the Third Great Ninja War, two of Kakashi's teammates had died in battle. One of them was an Uchiha.

That Uchiha had sacrificed his life to save his comrades during a mission against Iwagakure. Before dying, he entrusted his Sharingan to Kakashi.

Itachi remembered hearing about this from his clan's elders. At the time, there had been some debate over the Sharingan's ownership, but in the end, the wishes of that Uchiha had been respected.

Uchiha Obito.

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