I days, Itachi had been unusually happy because Shisui was finally back. He eraining with his older friend and discussing his thoughts openly.

  pared to others his age, Itachi's demeanor was markedly different: he seemed more mature, likely due to his father's role as leader, which had taught him from a young age to be cautious in words and as.

  The Uchiha weren't as rigidly hierarchical as the Hyūga. Within the Hyūga , strict ranks and the elders' and leader's authority were invioble, with embers rarely allowed into meetings.

  The Uchiha, however, had a more open atmosphere, especially after Madara's departure, which had softehe 's structure. leaders faced pushback if they acted improperly, and elders might openly criticize them, even going so far as to front them at home.

  Among the Uchiha, few believed the role of leader was a desirable ohis had instilled a sense of gravity in Itachi, who had always appeared more reserved. Since his father had taken him for battlefield training, he'd bee even quieter and more posed, embodying his father's stoic demeanor in public, polite yet distant.

  Only with Shisui did Itachi show a different side of himself.

  "Try it again," Shisui instructed, his eyes focused on Itachi's chakra flow. "Focus on iing the illusion. The target shouldn't feel anything unusual."

  Itachi's hands formed the seal, his chakra molding carefully. "Like this?"

  The training ground shifted subtly—leaves reversed their fall, shadows bent wrong angles. But there was still a noticeable flutter in the chakra flow.

  After finishing the genjutsu training session under Shisui's guidance, he sat down to rest, visibly fatigued.

  "Itachi, yenjutsu still leaves some traces," Shisui said gently. "Remember, if the target senses anything, half of the illusion's power is lost. You o adapt based ouation. The stro genjutsu isn't about power—it's about uanding the human mind."

  "Like how the Will of Fire ects all vilgers?" Itachi asked.

  "Exactly. That's why it's so important to uand different perspectives."

  "Yenjutsu seems effortless," Itachi said. "How did someone like Masashi ever defeat you? Was he truly that strong?"

  "It was my own doing," Shisui admitted, embarrassed. "I tried to use genjutsu to expand his loyalty to the to a love for the entire vilge."

  "And?"

  "And then…" Shisui's expression turrange. "I realized his love for the vilge was even strohan mine."

  "What?" Itachi was shocked. "More devoted than you? But he barely even attends meetings and stantly opposes the Hokage administration!"

  "Sometimes, Itachi, the stro devotion isn't shown through obvious dispys," Shisui said thoughtfully. "Indeed... I think he might just be the most devoted to the vilge out of anyone."

  He recalled the vivid dream that had resulted from his genjutsu backfiring. During his mission, Shisui had hoped to discuss these feelings with Masashi but hadn't had the ce.

  Itachi fell silent, his brow furrowing as he processed these words. Was he simply too young to uand the plex ways adults expressed their devotion?

  Or maybe Masashi wasly an adult either?

  "Alright, you find out about him on your own, Itachi," Shisui advised. "sider my failure as a lesson. The risks of a genjutsu lie iarget's mental resistance; if they resist successfully, the backsh be more harmful to the caster."

  With that, they resumed their training, pushing themselves until they were thhly exhausted.

  Finally, Itachi headed home.

  When he arrived, his mother, Mikoto, was busy i, while his fathe sat at the dining table with a small bottle of sake by his side.

  "I'm back."

  "How did your training go today? You didn't cause any trouble for Shisui, did you?" Fugaku asked, visibly pleased with his son.

  He firmly believed his son had the makings of a Hokage.

  "No, I always listen to Shisui," Itachi replied early.

  "Good. Wash up and join us for dinner; I have something to discuss with you."

  Itachi quickly freshened up, theuro help his mother with the final preparations before sitting at the table.

  "Father, what's this about?"

  "Masashi will be training you for a while."

  This surprised Itachi, but he remembered Shisui's earlier words encing him to find out for himself. It seemed Shisui had already known.

  Still, he wasirely enthusiastic. He was far more ied in the Will of Fire than in ninjutsu. Learning teiques came naturally to him, but the philosophy behind the Will of Fire offered new insights each time he discussed it with Shisui.

  He genuinely ehe exge of ideas.

  "You're not thrilled?" Fugaku asked, frowning.

  While he approved of their close bond, he had mixed feelings about Shisui's ideas. Great ambitions didn't always trao practical solutions. Many with grand visions failed to aplish their goals, often making matters worse.

  If the Uchiha's issues with the Hokage administration were easy to solve, they would have been resolved long ago.

  "Not at all; I'm honored," Itachi said dutifully.

  "Good. Remember, as you grow into a ninja, the most deceiving thing be your own eyes. Masashi is more plex than he appears, and there are still unresolved questions about him within the . Having him as your teacher for a time will give us some insight."

  "Yes, Father," Itachi respohough inwardly, he wasn't fond of this. But he was a dutiful son.

  The versation shifted to family matters, Mikoto skillfully steering the discussion away from heavier topics, and after a few more words, they finished dinner.

  ---

  The m, Itachi rose early, following his father's instrus. When he reached Masashi's home, he was about to knock when the door opened, revealing Masashi's cousin, Hideo.

  "Looking for Masashi?" he asked cheerfully.

  "Good m, Uncle Hideo," Itachi said politely. Hideo wasn't a ninja but operated a ons store, which made no differen terms of standing.

  "He's already at the training grounds. Being a ninja isn't easy, you know." Hideo patted Itachi on the head, uo resist the young boy's seriousness.

  "Thank you, Uncle Hideo. I'll go look for Masashi," Itachi said, tidying his hair after Hideo's affeate but messy pat, before hurrying off.

  At the training grounds, Masashi ractig shuriken teiques at the target range.

  Shuriken were lodged iargets and scattered on the ground, though more were on the ground.

  This indicated yet another failed attempt—to use wind in pce of wire to trol the shuriken.

  The theory is sound... Wind chakra should be able to repce wire manipution. But the trol required is on another level entirely.

  He certainly wasn't the first to try this, nor would he be the st.

  In his first and sed lives, Masashi cked the exceptional talent of Tobirama. Creating brand-new, practiinjutsu from scratch was simply beyond him, though his Sharingan could copy teiques. Uanding made teiques truly one's own.

  However, he did possess the ability to improve upoing teiques, making modifications and refis.

  His solid theoretical knowledge served as a foundation. As a reinated soul, his memories of past lives gave him unique insight, allowing him tnize a teiques that had proven most suitable for him before.

  But some teiques were difficult to modify, especially mature ones developed by traditional s like the Uchiha and Senju.

  These are the result orous researd refis eions. Geniuses like Minato and Orochimaru, who perfected teiques pioneered by Tobirama, were exceedingly rare.

  Though Masashi was not at that level, he did not look down on himself net disced.

  paring one's weako another's strengths and feeling ie was simply self-defeating.

  He walked forward to pick up the shuriken scattered across the ground, mentally noting the pattern of their dispersion for ter analysis.

  A shadow stretched across the sunlit ground, reag right in front of him. He looked up and saw a small figure watg him.

  "Oh, Itachi, you're up early," he said as he pced the shuriken he'd already collected into a bag beside him. "Good timing; lend me a hand."

  "Okay," replied Itachi obediently, bending down to help.

  In a short time, the training ground was cleared.

  "Why do you have so many shuriken?" Itachi asked, curious about the rge bag of shuriken, as he hadn't seen any sealing scrolls.

  "A sealing teique does the job," Masashi replied, lifting his sleeve to show a strip of cloth around his wrist adorned with a sealing pattern.

  Sealing scrolls were notoriously expehe higher the ste capacity, the more plex the teique, and the greater the material cost. Simirly, explosive tags were costly too.

  Masashi learhis method of st shuriken from an Uchiha from his previous life.

  Moreover, because he could perform this level of sealing jutsu himself, it saved bor costs, and materials could be bought in bulk, making it more affordable.

  This way, he could reduce equipme, carry more shuriken, and keep his sealing skills sharp, aplishing several goals at once.

  "No wonder your ninja pouch is so small." Itachi uood now.

  It was not a particurly innovative teique si mainly depended on financial resources or skill with sealing teiques.

  Itachi hadn't initially sidered this method because Masashi had never shown a talent for spatial ninjutsu within the . He had never demonstrated aptitude iher sealing or summoning teiques.

  What everyone did know, though, was his frugality and love for food within the .

  "So, are you actually quite skilled in spatial ninjutsu?"

  "I know a little," Masashi replied casually. "Why, couldn't it be something I purchased?"

  "No way; you're famously frugal, Masashi. There's no way you'd spera on something like this."

  So he was known for being stingy? Masashi couldn't help but refle this.

  Heaven knew he was only trying to save a little bit to put toward his ninjutsu training or food... mostly food.

  "Alright." Masashi fiying up the bag of shuriken and looked at Itachi. "You're here because Fugaku-sama told you about me being your teacher, right?"

  "Yes."

  "So, what do you want to learn?"

  "Isn't that for you to decide?" Itachi looked at Masashi curiously.

  Even Shisui never asked what he wao learn; instead, he taught based on his own experience.

  "True enough," Masashi nodded, "I guide you based on my experience, but you should also have your own goals."

  "Then…" Itachi thought for a moment. "Could you teach me Water Release?"

  "No problem." Masashi nodded. "But not today—I have work with the Police Force."

  As he said this, aruck him.

  From the look of this young Itachi, he didn't seem like the type to eventually raise a swainst his own parents. He didn't even seem aloof but rather a bit naive.

  It seemed his ge began when he joihe ANBU. To be ho, Masashi found the whole sario fusing—throwing your son into a pown for heavy ideological influence.

  Among all Konoha's departments, the ANBU was unique in that only staunch supporters of the Hokage fa could join.

  At present, the ANBU was still run by the Third Hokage's fa, and that couldn't be helped.

  He didn't remember exactly how old Itachi was when he joihe ANBU, but he k was young—very young, as he was only thirteen on the night of the massacre in the inal timeline.

  But Masashi wasn't ed about a massacre in this life. If the experience of two lifetimes wasn't enough to protect his , then it might be better tain in a third, if there was one...

  "e work with me today. This will be part of your training too."

  Itachi looked puzzled. He didn't uand what this had to do with training, but, already used to following adults' arras, he nodded obediently.

  Masashi noticed his rea but didn't think much of it at the time, and took him back to the house.

  At home, his family had already left for work. Masashi told Itachi to wait while he put his things away, took a quick shower, and ged into his Police Foriform.

  Once everything was ready, he set out with Itachi.

  At the Police Force, Masashi accepted his assig and studied the missio.

  "Alright," he g Itachi. "Today, I'll be patrolling the Hokage Rock, which will be a good experience for you."