Itachi walked absent-mindedly on the road back to the clan compound. Just now, he had asked several villagers in succession, but all he got were more or less the same answers.
It was hard to imagine that the clan would end up like this after he'd been away from the village for only a short while.
Although the Police Force used to clash with villagers from time to time, things had never escalated to the point where the entire force mobilized to violently beat up villagers.
"Could Brother Shisui have just stood by and watched all this happen?" With this question in mind, Itachi returned to the clan compound. As he passed by the Police Force headquarters, a scene in the training grounds once again caught his attention.
Inside the training ground, Uchiha Zaito was repeatedly throwing shuriken at a young boy dressed in a Police Force training uniform. The boy fled in a panic, with Great Fireballs exploding behind him from time to time.
Unable to dodge in time, the boy was knocked over by the shockwave of a Fireball Jutsu exploding behind him. He fell heavily to the ground, and rolled a few times before stopping, and when he looked up, his cheek was bleeding from being scraped by the gravel.
At this moment, the instigator of it all, Zaito, shouted sternly at the boy, "What's with that expression and that look in your eyes? And those tears—can your tears protect the village? Can they uphold the Will of Fire?"
"Hurry up and get up! Don't dodge! Charge at my shuriken and jutsu!" Zaito pointed a kunai at the boy, roaring angrily.
After a while, Fujiwara Haruki finally mustered his courage, stood up, and after shouting to bolster his spirits, charged towards Zaito.
Seeing this, Zaito immediately shot several shuriken at him and unleashed several Great Fireball Jutsu in succession.
Fujiwara Haruki shouted as he deftly dodged the shuriken and ninjutsu. When he couldn't avoid them, he used a substitution jutsu to block. After several twists and turns, he finally reached Zaito and stabbed at him with a kunai. However, Zaito casually stretched out his hand, grabbed Haruki's wrist, and the kunai dropped to the ground.
Exhausted, Fujiwara Haruki could no longer hold out and collapsed to his knees, panting heavily.
At that moment, Zaito glanced down at him and coldly said, "Is that all? How useless."
Seeing this, Itachi frowned deeply, shook his head, and continued on his way home.
Are they even treating their own comrades like this now? There's truly no hope for the clan.
However, after Itachi left, Haruki shakily stood up again. Seeing this, a barely noticeable smile flashed in Zaito's eyes, but when he spoke, his voice was still cold: "At least you're showing some backbone, but it's not enough. Go home and rest well, and train extra tomorrow."
"Yes, sir!" Fujiwara Haruki replied, struggling to raise his head.
The next second, a token was tossed into his arms. Fujiwara Haruki looked puzzled.
"My allowance for this month hasn't been collected yet. When you leave, go collect it for me, then go buy five sets of medicinal bath ingredients at the Nara family pharmacy. Use them at home, and bring the remaining money to my office tomorrow morning."
"Captain, there's no need for that. I still have money," Fujiwara Haruki said.
"Just take it!" Zaito said coldly. "You'd better use your money to buy something nutritious to strengthen your body. If you drag us down on another mission, I won't let you off so easily."
"Yes!" Fujiwara Haruki nodded, feeling somewhat ashamed. In the recent Police Force operation, only a few people got hurt, and he was one of them—making Zaito lose face. As soon as Haruki recovered, Zaito had dragged him back for extra training.
Still, Fujiwara Haruki had no complaints. Zaito was considered top-tier among the village's ninjas of his age, and even some Jonin might not fare well against him. Getting one-on-one instruction from such a strong ninja was a rare opportunity.
After finishing training, Fujiwara Haruki cheerfully went home.
…
Meanwhile, Itachi had arrived at his own house.
"I'm home!" Itachi called as he opened the door.
"Itachi? You're back." Mikoto poked her head out from the kitchen, smiling at her eldest son.
"Mom, are you here alone?" Itachi asked.
"Yes, your father is working overtime at the Police Force, and Sasuke went to his teacher to learn a new jutsu."
"Teacher? Since when did Sasuke have a teacher? How come I didn't know?" Itachi was surprised.
"It's Clan Leader Seiryu," Mikoto replied with a smile. "Sasuke's fire release talent isn't as good as his lightning release, so your father specially asked Clan Leader Seiryu to teach him."
"What?" Itachi was shocked. "How can Sasuke take Brother Seiryu as his teacher?"
"Itachi, Clan Leader Seiryu is the head of our clan. How can you address him so casually?" Mikoto's gaze grew stern. "Didn't your father and I teach you these manners?"
"Sorry, Mom, but—" Itachi apologized quickly.
"No buts. Sasuke really likes his teacher," Mikoto said.
"Alright." Itachi wasn't about to argue. He put down the things he'd brought home and hurried out again. In his eyes, Seiryu would only corrupt his adorable little brother—he couldn't just stand by.
"Ah, this boy." Seeing Itachi rush out, Mikoto could only sigh helplessly.
…
In the backyard of Seiryu's house, Sasuke quickly formed hand seals and summoned a ball of lightning. Compared to when he'd just started learning, he'd made a lot of progress—the lightning ball was much more solid, its color shifting from a faint yellow to a light blue. Though it still wasn't as deep a blue as Seiryu's almost ghostly lightning, for his age, Sasuke's achievement was already impressive.
Then, as Sasuke moved his fingers, the lightning ball circled around them a few times before shooting into the sky and exploding.
"Teacher, I did it!" Sasuke looked up at Seiryu, face full of anticipation for praise.
"Mm, well done." Seiryu patted Sasuke's head.
"So, teacher, what are we learning next?" Sasuke asked curiously.
Sasuke's question stumped Seiryu for a moment. The offensive jutsu he knew—whether learned or self-developed—were still beyond Sasuke's current chakra reserves.