19 Chapter 19

Hidden Leaf Village.

Izuna walked through the market, petals of sakura blossoms fluttering through the air.

"It's good to have small breaks once in a while, huh."

After getting his pay, he along with Kakashi and Mugino went out to eat.

When was the last time when he ate outside like this?

Training.

It was all he had in his mind, most of the time.

He always remained focused on his training, slowly and steadily growing stronger; which paid out pretty well during his encounter with an S rank Ninja.

And if not for his considerable strength, he wouldn't be standing there alive, right now.

'Well, that's that, but now...'

Izuna slowly jogged through the bustling streets of Konoha. And since he had the next day off from his mission, he decided to solely focus on his training.

However, there was that one thing that seemingly hindered his progress. His rather young body.

Indeed that was true, after all, he was just six years old. Even so, he knew that the progress he was making was pretty darn satisfactory for sure.

No matter who you were, you would be hard-pressed to feel 100% satisfied with everything. Since he had thought about and seen his progress for a long while, he was more or less happy with it.

'But, if not for...'

In the end, it was possible just because of the gifts, he was born with. Or no doubt he'd be relying on others or the so-called teamwork for his survival.

Teamwork is important, no doubt about it, but there's a limit to how much you can rely on each other.

In that sense, dying together would also be considered teamwork, wouldn't it?

As these thoughts were running in Izuna's mind, his steps came to an abrupt halt.

'Hm? Something's off here.'

Izuna quitely read the atmosphere around him as he felt a piercing gaze on himself.

It was just for a moment.

But within that single moment, he could sense a minute trace of malice intent directed towards him.

Was this also one of the facets of his enhanced perception? Or was he just being overly cautious?

In any case, he couldn't let it pass as if nothing happened. So, he began searching for the source.

'Hmm. Now that I think about it...'

He soon came to a conclusion and a deep frown formed on his face.

'...there's only one image that pops up in my head. Tsk, tsk, I should've known.'

It was then, that he remembered a face. Someone a bit too sucked up with the geniuses like him and the Uchiha.

"And who might you be?"

And that 'someone' stood before him, blocking his view. A man, a dark man. He couldn't exactly put into words just what was dark about him. Or just everything about him was dark?

It goes without saying that Izuna knew him but still decided to ask.

The man didn't respond and continued looking down on him with his icy gaze.

And rather than answering him, he too asked back.

"Are you Izuna Uchiha?"

The right eye of his face was covered with bandages. He was donned in clad black, with a white robe underneath as his left eye alone glared at Izuna.

"I see..."

Unflinchingly, Izuna met the gaze of the man clouded in a sinister aura.

'I can't say that things are going the way I planned... But beggars can't be choosers, right?'

Izuna quietly thought to himself. The least he wanted was to keep a safe distance away from the man before him. At least, until he became considerably stronger than he was now.

After a lengthy pause, the man said, pointing at Izuna.

"You are a bearer of chaos. It'll follow you through your entire life."

"Chaos...? Let it be. I'll see through it."

This didn't seem like a conversation between a kid and an adult.

Izuna didn't care what a character like him had to say to him. And not that he cared to find out the meaning behind his words.

"Hmm... I believe time will tell about that. I have a question for the most talented genius ever to grace the halls of the Academy."

Izuna simply waited for the man to continue.

"Ten of our brethren have been shipwrecked. One of the caught an infectious disease. If left alive, the other nine will also get sick and die..."

*Swish*

The young kid before the man continued to listen as his hair fluttered due to a sudden swift wind.

"If you were the captain of that ship, what judgment would you make?"

The question of why the man would ask Izuna something like that when it was their first time meeting, did linger in his mind.

But the next instant, he offered the reply, in his own thoughts with simple words.

"No matter what happens, the one who is sick is destined to die..."

Just as the man heard Izuna utter this statement, a bold smile started to form on his face.

'I hoped you'd say this.'

But his happiness didn't last long and his smile froze when he heard the following statement.

"...If it were me, my priority would be to save the nine while focusing on the man."

Izuna continued.

"It could very well be possible for him to die, but if possible, I'd do all in my power to save him."

Listening to his response, the man's face had a malicious and cold expression.

What he wanted to hear was the certain death of that man.

And yet the answer that Izuna presented before him left him hanging and somehow made him unable to refute.

"I see... Very well then, I'll be watching you and look forward to the day we meet again."

He almost whispered as he passed the boy. Izuna felt the malicious echo try to sully his heart with darkness.

'Unfortunately for you, you'll find out that our thoughts don't match, not even a little bit... Danzo Shimura.'

A rueful sigh leaked out of his mouth.

He really didn't like him, not even a single a bit. And was just as he expected him to be.

And if it's about saving the life of that man, he was more than capable of doing that.

Was this just his arrogance? Or it surely was the fact.

"Huh?"

When Izuna turned in the direction of the Uchiha district, he was surprised to find out his father slowly walking toward him.

'Father...?'

"Izuna... What did he say?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. It wasn't anything important."

Izuna shrugged his shoulder, and while walking next to his father, smiled rather happily. It's been a while since he walked like this with him.

"Oh, really."

His father said, turning his eyes on the man's departing back. It was his time seeing this look on his father's face.

'Hm? I guess just like others, he also doesn't like him, huh. And neither do I.'

A dark shadow lurked behind Danzo's departing steps.

And while having normal talks, along with exchanging warm greetings with the residents, the father-son duo walked towards their house.

"Oh, it's you Akio. Thanks for your hard work."

"I, uh, Oh? So he is your son, huh? Hahaha, here, have some of this."

A few of the older citizens sent their heartfelt gratitude. Thus receiving some handmade sweets, they soon arrived at their home.

That particular smile on Izuna's face still didn't fade away from his face, feeling proud of his father.

"Mom, I won't be having the supper tonight. I ate outside with my friends."

"All right. Hm? Are you going to train for the time being?"

"Yes."

After informing her mother that he won't be having dinner tonight, Izuna turned into a blur and dashed towards the Uchiha training grounds.

Today's unexpected visit left Izuna with a turmoil of thoughts. He couldn't put it into clear words. He was feeling a bit uneasy?

Whatever that feeling was, training seemed the only way out of it.

It was one of the ways he uses to divert his mind from something that troubles him.

*

"Fu..."

Exhaling a deep sigh, Izuna continued glancing at the sky filled with glittering stars and the half-moon.

The uneasiness did go away from his heart, but somewhere in the corner of his mind, the words stated by that geezer continued to linger.

Izuna couldn't sleep the entire night.