1 Prologue

Prologue

On the outskirts of the village, a six-year-old boy sat on a tall tree and watched the bustling village. Even when it was getting dark, the village was full of people. Streets were filled with all kinds of shops. Laughter and excitement were spilling out of the village, hidden in the leaves.

Today was the tenth of October, there wasn't anything special on this day, yet it felt like a festival was happening. It has been like that every day since the third shinobi war ended. Well, nothing special has yet to have occurred. The boy knew what this day would bring, so he watched it. He wanted to see the most powerful beings in the world fight. He wanted to see the heights he would need to climb in this world.

As the night descended into the darkness, the boy felt the pressure of the oppressing chakra descent on him. His Uchiha blood boiled in excitement and fear. Finally, he thought, show me the power I need to live in this world. As if the world heard him, the Kyubi appeared in the middle of the village.

It was a horrifying sight as the beast's tails moved, bringing down everything in their paths. The building would crumble with a touch of the beast. People would fall just from being near the beast. Yet it was not over. It was just the beginning.

The boy saw the beast creating a chakra ball that nothing could stop. Still, what gave him chills was the appearance of the Fourth Hokage. With his famous jutsu, he redirected the chakra ball away from the village. The boy seeing this sight, understood what true power was. It was skill.

Ever since he regained his memories of his past life, he thought that to live in this world filled with monsters, he would need absolute power, yet now he realized what he needed wasn't some overpowered kekkai genkai but overwhelming skill. A skill that could suppress anyone and anything.

The boy watched as the Third Hokage joined the battle with other shinobi and drove away the beast from the village. He watched as shinobi died, yet they never gave up, even when faced with such a demonic beast. The boy understood at that moment what shinobi were.

The shinobi were warriors that fought against impossible odds but never gave up. Seeing such a sight, the boy wanted to join the battle. His excitement level reached such a limit that his eyes turned red with one tomoe spinning around. His Uchiha blood boiled.

The slowed-down vision startled the boy, and soon he calmed down. He knew it was not the time for him yet. He was still at the bottom of the food chain. But now, he knew what path he would take. Soon the Fourth Hokage teleported the Kyubi away from the village.

The boy realized he couldn't see the rest of the battle, so he hopped down and ran to the shelter. He had to stop at one point, realizing his eyes were still red. He stopped for a moment and calmed down, cutting down the chakra from entering his eyes. Once his vision cleared, he moved once more.

…

The shelter was filled with people, civilians, and shinobi alike. Genin and chunin worked hard instructing and overseeing the shelter. The shelter was filled with pain and anguish, some people sat in the corners crying, and some went around asking for their loved ones.

Quite a few wanted to go out and fight but were stopped. One of them was Shisui Uchiha. He didn't want to fight but wanted to find his friends that were not there. He was worried and couldn't keep calm. Just as he was about to force his way out, one of his friends came.

"Itachi, are you all right?"

Itachi Uchiha was a prodigy, but to Shisui, he was still only a five-year-old boy. Shisui was extremely worried about him and his arriving so late. He could only imagine what terrible things he saw on the way. Shisui knew that Itachi was more mature than most people, and he had been on the battlefield just a year ago and witnessed many of the war's casualties. But Shisui knew it wasn't something a boy should ever see, so he was worried.

"I am," Itachi answered calmly, holding his baby brother tightly in his arms. "Where is Kaen?"

"He still hasn't arrived."

Kaen was one year older than Itachi. He was too a prodigy, at least he was before Itachi. While Itachi was heir to the clan and received the best training one could get, Kaen was an orphan. Still, Kaen was offered to be trained by the best of the clan, but after a few months, he refused to continue his training.

It didn't help that Kaen wasn't very polite with the clan elders and was keen on pissing people off. Elders didn't want Kaen to reach the same highs as the heir, so they didn't let him learn from other clan members afterward. Shisui and Itachi were the only ones who trained with Kaen. So, they both knew that Kaen was no worse than Itachi, in some aspects, even better. And still, it felt like Kaen was always hiding his actual skill.

"You don't think he went to the battle?" Itachi asked.

"Knowing him, he might do something like this," Shisui let out a worried sigh.

"Only idiots would do so," A voice replied from behind them. "And even more idiotic people would think I would do so."

"Kaen," Both Itachi and Shisui exclaimed in surprise.

"Then where were you have been?" Shisui asked.

"None of your business," Kaen replied coldly. The baby in Itachis's arms started to cry. "What with that ugly thing in your arms? Make it stop."

"His name is Sasuke," Itachi told Kaen, even with a colder voice.

"I don't care what its name is. Just make it shut up, or I'll do it for you."

Itachi was mainly a calm and collected boy until it came to his little brother. Itachi was way too overprotective over Sasuke, and if someone threatened him, the person would regret it. As Sasuke started to cry even louder, Kaen stepped forward to him but was stopped by a kick from Itachi. Kaen caught Itachi's foot in front of his face.

"What are you thinking of doing, boys?" A chill settled on all three of them when they heard a feminine voice ask.

"Nothing, Mikoto-sama," Kaen was the first to bow his head to a woman. "I wanted to play with Sasuke-kun, but Itachi wouldn't let me."

"Itachi," The woman called out to her son. "How many times I have told you not to be overprotective over your little brother."

"But mom," Itachi didn't finish his words before his mother started pinching his ear.

This was one aspect that Itachi couldn't win over Kaen. Kaen was way too good at lying. He knew how to talk with people. He enjoyed tormenting people like this way too much. That way, Shisui suspected he pissed off the elders of the clan purposely. Why? He could only guess it was for his enjoyment. Prodigies were weird like this.