Chapter 12

In the early morning, the gate of the Uchiha clan's residence was crowded with people, stretching as far as the eye could see. Murmurs of conversation could be heard among the crowd.

"Have you heard? Young Master Itachi is going out to train."

"I heard that a long time ago."

"But why doesn't he train within the clan?"

"I heard he's going to some kind of spirit realm. Did you see the black cat on his shoulder? That's Young Master Itachi's summoning animal."

"Ah! It just looks like an ordinary black cat, I can't see anything special about it."

"You must be ignorant. Yesterday on the battlefield, Young Master Itachi killed two genin and one elite chunin all by himself. And that's not the main point; the most impressive thing is that Young Master Itachi activated his Sharingan."

"Lying, lying! He's only seven years old!" The crowd was in an uproar, many people showing looks of shock.

"Hmph! What's the big deal? I heard Young Master Itachi had already activated his Sharingan long ago. He is the first genius of our Uchiha clan. Do you know who Young Master Itachi faced yesterday?"

"Who?"

"Senju Asama!"

"What? That guy!" The mention of Senju Asama's name caused a stir in the crowd.

"What happened after that?"

"Although Young Master Itachi is strong, you know Senju Asama is an elite jounin. Of course, Young Master Itachi couldn't beat him. Fortunately, Lord Uchiha Kai appeared and saved him."

"Oh!" Many people in the crowd looked disappointed. Although they knew a seven-year-old Uchiha Itachi couldn't defeat Senju Asama, they still hoped he could create a miracle.

"Hey! What are those looks on your faces? Do you know what Young Master Itachi did after he lost?" Uchiha Shinji, who had been narrating, quickly said when he saw the crowd's expressions.

"I heard from Uchiha Gen and others that Young Master Itachi seemed to have saved them by risking his own life to save the lives of Uchiha Gen and two others."

"That's right!" Uchiha Shinji nodded, his eyes filled with admiration.

"What?" Those who hadn't heard the news were struck like lightning, looking at Uchiha Itachi as if he were a god.

"If Young Master Itachi becomes the clan leader in the future, I will definitely support him wholeheartedly."

At this, the crowd erupted in agreement.

"Well said, such a righteous person is truly unbelievable."

"Indeed!"

"Who would have thought that Young Master Itachi would be so righteous at such a young age."

"Young Master Itachi is the coolest." A few fangirls looked at Uchiha Itachi's handsome figure, their eyes filled with hearts.

"Hmph! What's the point of saving those废物? Uchiha Itachi is just a hypocrite." A fifteen or sixteen-year-old Uchiha youth stood in the crowd, his eyes filled with undisguised jealousy as he looked at Uchiha Itachi.

"Boy, what did you say?" The youth's words sparked anger, and dozens of Uchiha clan members glared at him.

"What? Do you have a problem?" To everyone's surprise, the Uchiha youth not only didn't back down but also looked at the Uchiha clan members with disdain.

"It's Young Master Sei, please don't take them seriously." Someone in the crowd recognized the youth's identity and hurriedly apologized.

"Hmph!" Uchiha Sei gave Uchiha Itachi a cold look, pushed through the crowd, and walked into the residence.

"Who is that youth? So arrogant?"

"He is the grandson of our clan's great elder. Although his talent can't compare to Young Master Itachi, he is still a genius. I heard he has been training in the clan's secret place. They say his character is very bad, and anyone who offends him will not have a good end, so you must never provoke him." The ninja who recognized Uchiha Sei sighed, praying that this guy would never become the clan leader.

"Hmph! What training? He just doesn't want to go to the battlefield. Relying on being the elder's grandson to avoid battle, this guy can't even compare to a single hair of Young Master Itachi." Someone in the crowd muttered under their breath.

At this moment, Uchiha Itachi didn't know that because he saved Uchiha Gen and two others, he had gained the support of most of the civilian ninjas in the Uchiha clan. This also made some people with ulterior motives in the clan start to pay attention to him.

"Itachi, after your training is complete, come back quickly. I'll give you at most two years, do you hear me?" Uchiha Tashima stared at his son with a serious look.

He had already heard about what happened yesterday, but he didn't agree with Uchiha Itachi's actions. However, he didn't say anything because Itachi's actions had greatly increased his prestige.

When Itachi proposed to go out to train, his first reaction was to disagree. However, his cousin Uchiha Kai kept persuading him, making it hard for Uchiha Tashima to argue. In the end, he reluctantly agreed to Itachi's request, but only gave him two years. He originally wanted to give him one year, but since Itachi was his son, he decided to give him an extra year.

"Father, don't worry, I will definitely come back." Uchiha Itachi said respectfully. He originally wanted to train for three years, but he underestimated Uchiha Tashima's stubbornness. If it weren't for Uchiha Kai's pleading, he might not have even gotten a day.

"Itachi, we've all heard about your deeds. You are a rare genius in our Uchiha clan, so be sure to take care of yourself!" One of the people standing at the front of the crowd, an old ninja with a cane, his frail body trembling as if a breeze could knock him over, looked at Uchiha Itachi with a sharp glint in his eyes, which quickly returned to a cloudy state.

"Thank you, Great Elder." Uchiha Itachi nodded. In his memory, this person was the great elder of the Uchiha clan, whose power was not much weaker than his father's, though it was said he had long since retired. He didn't expect his departure to even rouse him.

"Itachi, be careful!" Uchiha Kai patted Uchiha Itachi's shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze.

"Thank you, Uncle Kai." Uchiha Itachi smiled, but his heart sank. This matter was probably not as simple as it seemed.

In the Uchiha clan, the only people he trusted were his cousin Uchiha Kai and his younger brother Uchiha Shisui. He didn't even trust his father, Uchiha Tashima.

"Brother! You must come back soon, you haven't taught me any ninja techniques yet." Uchiha Shisui, seeing that the elders had finished talking to Itachi, rushed into his arms, tears welling up in his eyes, looking like a puppy that had been abandoned.

"Sorry, Shisui. I'll definitely teach you when I come back." Uchiha Itachi stroked Shisui's little head and apologized.

"Everyone, go back! I'm leaving! Goodbye!" Uchiha Itachi, with a backpack on his shoulders, said goodbye to everyone and walked out of the gate of the residence.

In fact, with the four-dimensional space of Cat Fairy, he didn't need to bring anything. But Itachi didn't want to arouse suspicion, so he packed a backpack with some food to make it look like he was going on a long journey.

"Brother! You must come back!" Uchiha Shisui put his hands to his mouth and shouted as he watched Itachi's figure walk away.

Itachi's figure paused, he turned and waved to Shisui, then walked away without looking back.

The rising sun stretched Itachi's shadow, making him and the cat look very lonely.

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