4 Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After a year since Kaen obtained his Sharingan, he learned all D-rank seals he could find. He liked the chakra-draining seal the most but only had a chance to use it against Shisui once, as Shisui never fell for it ever again. It wasn't hard to memorize the seals with his Sharingan, but learning calligraphy was challenging and time-consuming.

The best time to practice his calligraphy was in the academy, and sensei only thought that he took notes, so his seals were kept secret. Even today, Kaen sat at the academy and used his brush disguised as a pen to practice. As sensei entered the classroom, he always smiled at his most studious student.

"Attention, everyone, today you will have a new classmate, Itachi Uchiha. He has proven enough of his skill to skip first class, so from today onwards, he will study with you."

"Ahh, another Uchiha freak," Hana Inuzuka, who sat behind Kaen, grumbled.

"Itachi, there is an empty seat beside Kaen. If you need help with something, ask him."

Now Kaen wanted to grumble, there were plenty of empty seats, but sensei just had to put Itachi next to him. Kaen, over the year, had eliminated his classmates so nobody would sit next to him, so nobody could notice him practice calligraphy. He sat in front of Hana Inuzuka because she was too absent-minded to notice him.

Now, Itachi would destroy his hard work. But Kaen knew that Itachi would graduate in a couple of months, and he would be left alone again. So, he had to find something else to do in an academy in the meantime. If only he had enough chakra and knew shadow clone jutsu, all his problems would disappear.

"Share your textbook," Itachi told me once he sat beside me.

"One okonomiyaki for one hour," Kaen reasponded.

"Sensei said you should share," Itachi calmly replied.

"Are you going to disturb sensei for one okonomiyaki? How disrespectful of you."

"Fine," Itachi agreed, knowing that if he asked sensei, Kaen would make an excuse to shift blame from himself.

Kaen was finally happy with Itachi. Okonomiyaki was his favorite food in the world. The savory pancake with pork was something that Kaen never even knew existed in his previous life, but now he didn't know how he couldn't have tried it sooner. Too bad it was expensive, so he could only have it a couple of times a week. And it definitely wasn't healthy.

As the morning lecture ended and the sensei told everyone to gather outside for practical lessons, Hana Inuzuka came in front of Itachi. Kaen already knew why she did so. She hadn't changed ever since Kaen defeated her on the hit last year.

"Listen here, Uchiha, I don't care if you a prodigy or not. I am the top dog in this class," She had developed an inferiority complex, especially against Uchiha.

"You smell like a dog, too," Kaen said, pushing her out of the way.

Itachi bowed his head in apology and followed Kaen to the yard. He found a nice place to sit and wait for the rest of the class to gather. Once sensei arrived, he instructed us to do kunai and shuriken throwing first.

The students were shocked when Itachi got more points than Kaen. Well, Itachi hit every target in dead center, while Kaen only tried to earn enough points to be at the top of the class and only winning by a couple of points.

Seeing that Itachi was more skilled than everyone else, sensei put Itachi and Kaen to spar with each other. As Kaen was top of his class, sensei hoped he could match Itachi. He expected too much, as Kaen was defeated after five minutes. It was better to let Itachi shine while Kaen hid behind his shadow.

Hana Inuzuka was rather angry at Kaen's defeat, as it was supposed to be her who kicked his ass first. Kaen didn't care for such a childish notion. In the end, it was established that Itachi was the top student in the class, not Kaen. It was a relief to Kaen that some eyes finally not be watching him anymore. He didn't need to try so hard to hide his abilities, as Itachi would always overshadow him from now on.

Even though Kaen did what he thought was best for him, he still couldn't help but regret not fighting Itachi with all his strength. He wanted to test himself and show what he had learned in the past year, but he had to accept that it wasn't the time yet. A couple more years, and he would be mastered all the basics. A couple more, and he would have a sizeable arsenal of jutsu and be able to use his bow in a real fight.

After the lessons were over for the day, Itachi accompanied Kaen to a nearby okonomiyaki shop. There, Kaen forgot all his worries and enjoyed his favorite food. It was one of the things that would relax him and didn't let him think of anything else. Of course, Itachi had to ruin it all.

"Why did you hold back?" Itachi asked.

"Hold back, what?" Kaen feigned ignorance as he took another bite of his savory pancake.

"In our spar, I knew you could have dodged and counterattacked me many times, yet you didn't do it."

"You saw wrong."

"I didn't."

"You did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

Kaen and Itachi went on like this for ten minutes before Itachi gave up. Kaen smiled victoriously. No matter what, nobody could beat Kaen's stubbornness. Even his third okonomiyaki tasted better after his small victory.

…

After another day in the academy, Kaen thought about what he should do for the rest of the day. Should he practice chakra control, fire jutsu, or bow skill? In the end, Itachi decided what he would have to do.

"Father has invited you for dinner."

"Don't want to," Kaen replied to Itachi.

"Mother said, if you don't come in, she will go check on you, herself."

Mikoto Uchiha was the only member of the Uchiha clan to which Kaen was scared and respectful to. She was the one that Kaen couldn't deny and the only person he listened to. It wasn't that Kaen was afraid of Mikoto, but he was scared to disappoint her. She was the only person that was kind to him in his clan. The only person that cared for his well-being aside from Shisui.

Shisui was a friend, but he barely could see him as he would be gone most of the time on missions. Itachi was close to him, but that was pretty much all. Kaen didn't want to befriend someone he would have to fight to survive. And part of him didn't wish Itachi to feel even worse for trying to kill his friend.

…

It was an average house in all comparison, a leader of a prestigious clan like Uchiha should have lived in a manor, at least that is what Kaen thought. The first thing that welcomed him was the cry of a toddler and Mikoto-sama trying to console her youngest son. Itachi, a massive bro-con, went straight to his brother, leaving Kaen behind.

Fugaku-sama was the only one left to welcome him formally. It was awkward. He invited Kaen to the dinner table where Mikoto-sama was setting the table. Itachi had Sasuke in his arms. All of them sat down at the table and started to eat in silence. Kaen still was confused about why he was there, but after everyone ate, Fugaku-sama's words gave all the explanation that Kaen needed.

"I heard that Itachi had defeated you in sparring."

"He did," Kaen confirmed.

"That wouldn't have happened if you had accepted the training from the elders."

"Maybe, maybe not," The elders were called so, just out of respect. To Kaen, they were nothing but old fossils that survived the Shinobi world wars.

"You had so much potential. Do you have to throw it all away?"

"Potential for what? And for whom?" Kaen asked, getting a bit annoyed. "A great potential to be a tool for the clan or the village."

"Being a perfect tool is what all shinobi should strive for."

"Do they? I wonder what the First Hogake would have to say about such a notion. Didn't he establish the village so that children wouldn't have to become tools for war?" Kaen asked, and for a moment, Fugaku-sama fell into silence.

"Enough of this," Mikoto-sama said. "Kaen-kun, you have grown so much since last I saw you. Tell me how you have been."

"I been fine, Mikoto-sama. Thank you for worrying about me."

"Nonsense, your mother was a dear friend of mine. The least I can do for her son is to worry about him," Mikoto-sama replied with a kind smile. "Now that Itachi is your classmate, please take care of him. Would you do it for me?"

"Of course, Mikoto-sama. I will make sure that Itachi understands the lessons."

"Thank you."

"I should be going," Fugaku-sama said. "I ask you one last time, Kaen-kun, will you not accept the elders' teachings?"

"I rather die than be chained by the ideology of a generation that long should have been forgotten."

"Very well," With these words, he left.

Kaen didn't stay long either, and after telling Mikoto-sama that he was doing fine a dozen times, he left for home too. His cat would be hungry by this time, and Kaen was worried about it. So, he ran back home but had no choice but stop when a trio of boys blocked his path. One of them was his roommate.

"Oh, if it isn't the prodigy. I heard Itachi defeated you."

"You didn't hear wrong," Kaen replied.

"I thought you were so talented that you didn't even need elders to teach you. I wonder if I beat you, would they accept me as their student."

"As you are at least three years older than me, I don't think so," Kaen told him.

"It wouldn't hurt to try, though."

"Wait, fine, you win," Kaen suddenly shouted. "I will tell you why I refused to learn from the elders."

"Why?" The de facto leader of the trio asked out of curiosity.

"It was because they wanted to teach me the most brutal taijutsu that the clan kept secret for generations. After only learning one move, I was so disgusted that I couldn't handle the rest of the training anymore."

"What kind of taijutsu is that?"

"I only learned one move," Kaen said. "I can show you, and then you will understand why I had to refuse the training."

"Show us," All of them were interested in the move.

"Very well, look at my right hand, focus on it as your life depends on it. This is a forbidden taijutsu move called," Kaen said and lifted his right hand. As the trio focused on and waited, Kaen kicked the de facto leader straight into his balls. "It is called Jewel breaker."

As the leader fell to the ground groaning in pain, the trio quickly looked at Kaen, who was already running. The two promptly tried to chase him, but when they caught him, it was just an illusionary clone, and he long has disappeared.

"I will kill him!" The leader of the trio yelled.

"Who will you kill?" A soft feminine voice asked.

"That bastard wannabe prodigy," The leader answered before he realized who spoke to him. "I didn't mean it, Mikoto-sama."

"Yes, I am sure," She smiled. "I will make sure you don't mean it."

The trio leader looked for his friends to help him, but they were long gone. When he looked back and saw Mikoto-sama's smile, he felt chills running down his spine. Is it the end of me, he thought before Mikoto grabbed his collar.

…

"Why is everyone so concerned with me being defeated by Itachi?"

Kaen asked himself as he returned home. Before his roommate returned, Kaen had to ensure his roommate would never enjoy a nice sleep again. Kaen poured an itchy powder all over his roommate's bed. It would show him what happens when they mess with me. Kaen started to laugh maniacally.

"Meow," Ash meowed, afraid of his master.