After a few hours, Itachi slowly opened his eyes to look at his surroundings.
The last thing he remembered was absorbing his beast will and that he had passed out.
"Sylvia, you really gave me something powerful with Arthur, a dragon…I haven't told anyone, including Tess, or she could potentially be in danger." He got up from his bed and then went outside to better understand his new power, but he heard a crack in the room.
He quickly turned around vigilantly but he just noticed his egg and nothing else.
'Is this the egg...?' He saw cracks on the egg that grew larger and larger to finally reveal a small, white colored beast with two small wings and a small tail.
Itachi was amazed to see that the egg Sylvia gave him had hatched. The beast looked at him curiously and then started walking towards him.
Itachi took it in his hands and then lifted it up to his head. He was looking at him intently before finally concluding something.
"You're a female, aren't you? For the name I'll call you...Mikoto. That's my mother's name, we'll both be known by those names to the world. You will help recreate the glory of the Uchiha clan, my companion." He released a genuine smile that hadn't shown in years as Tessia returned home at the same time and was shocked at the sight.
She had seen Itachi give a smile that hadn't been displayed in years to a little beast.
Does he hate her ? She didn't know what to think because he had never smiled at her like that for a very long time and lo and behold she came back and then saw her childhood friend smile like this at a beast and not at herself.
She wasn't jealous, but just sad that her friend wasn't smiling at her despite everything they went through. Arthur was a friend of hers and laughed with her every now and then, but Itachi? He had always kept this small distance from others, even being cold a few times. He never smiled, no longer laughed, still that neutral expression on his face.
"Why ?" she said weakly, dropping the rag and the bowl of water she had in her hands. Itachi also had a little fever while sleeping, so she had taken care of him until he woke up.
The sound naturally alerted Itachi, when he saw Tessia in tears he couldn't help but be confused and at the same time an unpleasant sensation in his chest. Why was she in this state ? Did something happen ?
"Why ?! If you can smile like this, why haven't you smiled at me since
this day ?! You speak to me coldly and keep this distance by wanting to be alone, what do you have to be like that ! When you said I was pretty, I had this feeling of joy...It was the only real word you said to me. If you have a problem,
you can tell me anything, I'm your friend, right ?" she asked at the same time to collapse to the ground looking at him with full tears on her face and an expression of sadness.
Itachi was her first friend and her savior, she considered him a loved one on the same level as her parents. Arthur had become her friend too, but she didn't know why, Itachi was always more important in her heart than him even though she was also attached to him as a friend. As a child, she had been duped by other children who told her they were her friend, but they were fake. They even made fun of her, harassed and took advantage of her just because she was a princess.
"Tess…You asked me what you were to me, didn't you ?" Itachi released Mikoto onto the bed and then moved closer to Tessia a short distance from her.
She looked at him with expectation in her eyes but she felt a warm sensation envelop her and then she saw Itachi who was now looking at him with something other than a neutral or cold expression, but a warm expression with softness all the while. hugging her.
"You are one of the most storytelling people in my eyes with my adopted family. During these years, I wanted to avoid you to contain my feelings and concentrate on my goal. My goal is to become the strongest to be respected and feared at the same time, rebuilding my Uchiha clan is too.
I must keep a cold and serious expression of myself for the image of my clan. Unfortunately, I have to climb the ladder on my own. But now I have another companion who I can trust and who will always be there to support me in my fight. Know that I don't hate you, get stronger and you can also join me in my goal. "
He ended up tapping her forehead with two fingers and headed for the exit with Mikoto following him back. It wasn't often that he spoke so much, he himself had been amazed.
Tessia no longer had the feeling of sadness in her heart, but a feeling of joy and happiness. Itachi confirmed with his own mouth that he didn't hate her but had no choice. She even doubted him believing that she was nothing to him when it was just the opposite. A feeling of guilt washed over her but she quickly thought of something else, she was going to train more seriously and get strong and stand next to Itachi in the future !
She even thought about the phrase he said "Rebuild the Uchiha Clan". Does that mean having wives and babies...? She blushed furiously at the thought of being Itachi's wife later. But that does mean that she will have romantic rivals later to conquer Itachi. She will be the one to conquer him and become his wife ! She did not accept the fact that there was a possibility that he would have several wives.
'Come on Tessia, you won't have to cry like a child anymore ! You will be the strongest and that way Itachi will be proud of me and take me as his wife !' She was encouraging herself with determination in her head and then headed for the exit as well.
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Itachi had gone to visit Arthur. He wanted to know if his egg had hatched or not because it was twins after all. He went to where Arthur usually trained with Virion. When he came, he saw Virion with the characteristics of a panther who was training with Arthur.
"Hi, Itachi !" Arthur greeted him first. He had discovered that Itachi wasn't his real brother a few years ago, so he started calling him by name.
"Hello Arthur, hello to you too, Dean Virion." Itachi responded to his greeting.
"You don't have to be so polite, just Virion will do I told you. And that feeling I get from you...
You have successfully assimilated the beast will...
I do not know if you are a monster in human form or a human. You did it on your own at that age, it's amazing. I advise you to hide the presence of the beast will from other people or it can become dangerous and practice assimilating the characteristics of your beast" Virion said earnestly.
"I was planning on practicing this seriously for the next several months before I left for Xyrus. With that, I'll leave you." Itachi returned to the palace to go to his own land. The next minute it was around Tessia to come see them.
"Grandpa ! I have an important request for you !" she declared with determination.
"Oh? What would my granddaughter want to ask ?" Virion was curious as to what made Tessia so determined.
"I want to train with you and get stronger. Train me seriously, please !" she said with a serious expression.
"So my granddaughter was so determined ?! Ohhh, I see what it is…It's for your boyfriend Itachi, isn't it~?" He teased his granddaughter.
"I-It's not that !! I just want to get stronger, that's all ! Who will get strong for him…" she mumbled as she hugged his arms.
"Bwahahahaha, okay. I agree to train you, but it will be difficult. Are you sure you can go through with it?" he asked seriously.
"Yes I am ready !" she said with determination.
"That's fine my granddaughter! You'll be coming to Arthur's practice from tomorrow! Don't floss late or the practice will be doubled!" did he declare.
"Yess !!" She finally returned to the mansion to go see Itachi.
* Sigh * 'I should thank Itachi for that...If she's also determined for the future, it will be great for her to have a strong will. But since when have they become so close ?' Virion was confused in his head.
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4 months have passed.
During this time, Itachi had constantly strengthened his body with the assimilation of willpower. He had also started to train his elements at the same time to assimilate the capacities of the will. He had full mastery of fire and water, which enabled him to obtain their superior form, lightning and ice.
He had managed to advance to the Orange Stadium and was even on the verge of passing the Solid Stage thanks to his monstrous talent in magic. His Kenjutsu hadn't advanced and remained the same as his Taijutsu even though he was gaining strength. His mana control had improved slightly but he couldn't go any further, his assumption was that he had to unlock the Mangekyou Sharingan if he wanted to have superior control.
To talk in detail about the will of the beast, he managed to use the acquisition phase which was different from that of Arthur. Arthur's allowed the Aether (the fifth magical particle in addition to the 4 elements) to be used around him in order to freeze time for everything, he was not affected by this effect because he used the same way the Aether as him.
Its acquisition phase allows it to see the future and be able to go back in time. It can also work on other objects, but there is a limit. He can't go back in time to a few things that were done a very long time ago. And depending on how long the thing has happened, he has to use more magic and therefore gets tired faster. But Itachi had one incredible advantage over potential Aether users like Arthur, it was his Sharingan. Although he cannot see Eather's particles directly, he does manage to see the flows in his environment which allows him to have better control and to be able to understand how it works. Normally, using Aether that is not suitable for a person, no matter how long it takes to try to master their technique, it will never be easier than before. This is Itachi's strong point, he has the potential to be able to use all categories of Aether thanks to his Sharingan by improving efficiency. But he can't do that right now, as he's still too weak and his Sharingan still doesn't have the ability to see Eather's particles.
Let us come back to his competence. Itachi can go back in time or see the future with its acquisition phase. Said like that, Arthur's power seems better but it's quite the opposite. Because going back in time means making the thing you want back to the state of a few seconds ago (this is the maximum it can do for the moment).
This means that, if he uses this ability to go back in time on a spell that is about to be cast, the spell will go back to zero and will have to be prepared again. But Itachi can use this ability multiple times as long as it doesn't exceed the limit of a few seconds, he's basically invincible if you count his ability to also see the future for a few seconds too. But there 2 huge weak point is that it has a limited range of 10 meters. If the person or object and beyond the limited scope, the ability will not act on him. (Remember that this is just the acquisition phase.)
He will probably be able to increase this limit higher.
His 2nd weak point is obviously the burden on his body. It takes a lot of effort to use the Aether to such precision. Besides needing a lot of energy to control the Aethet, if he uses his ability to turn back time, he will consume a lot of mana at a time but he had found a problem to fix that.
He used {Rotate Mana} ability directly on his eyes, and it made it a lot easier for him even though he still received a little tired during the check. Using his skill does not work to go back in time as it will be simply suicide to try to turn back the time of the world, therefore defying the rules of nature.
Apart from training, he had opened up to Tessia a little more and even went out for a walk with her in the castle or in the city. She had also trained a lot even though she was not at the same level of the two boys, she had a good potential to use Plante's magic, which made her a deviant.
*The present*
It was time for Itachi and Arthur to leave, Tessia had a hard time coming to terms with as she got very close to Itachi these days.
The royal family was present to bid farewell. The cart was already there to escort the two boys. Itachi carried Mikoto on his shoulder while Arthur carried Sylvia on his head
Virion gave them a Royal Family crest to help them get through the forest without problems. Arthur was home first after saying goodbye to his mentor and Tessia.
It was Itachi's turn to say goodbye. The truth is ... He didn't know what to say. He didn't think much then just said what came to his mind.
"It's goodbye, Tessia. You will…miss you, be careful and most of all, don't change your behavior by becoming arrogant by your own power."
He gave Tessia two finger strokes on Tessia's forehead, she burst into tears and gave Itachi a hug and then they finally said goodbye.
'From now on, feelings will come after strength. I need to get stronger asap, I still have this bad feeling in me... I have no time to waste.' He admired the outside view after they walked out of the kingdom. They were in the air, for the city of Xyrus was a floating island.
After some time, they had finally arrived on the island. There were all types of people, adventurers, civilians, merchants, it was a very normal city. Itachi and Arthur didn't wait any longer and then headed for the residence where their parents were.
"Arthur, I might be talking about going on a trip right after I got there. Even if the parents don't agree, I'll be leaving anyway so I'll tell you ahead of time." he said calmly as they made their way to their house.
"Where are you going to go? You can take advantage of the weather, can't you ?" Arthur asked.
"I don't know. I can't stay here any longer." They finally arrived in front of a white mansion. Itachi took the trouble to knock and a little girl's voice was heard.
'A little girl ? Don't tell me...' Itachi saw an old maid with a little girl behind him. Arthur introduced himself first.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Arthur Leywin. We have been informed that our family resides in this mansion." When Arthur finished, another woman had arrived in the back.
It was Arthur's mother, Alice. She had come to pick up her daughter, Eleanor, who had gone to the door without good manners. The mother saw her two children and dropped her bowl when she recognized them. Arthur started to cry with joy and walked away hugging his mother while Itachi stood there with a slight smile. Right after, Reynolds also appeared to come join the family hug which also included the little sister.
'They behave better even without me.' he thought with a smile.
"Also comes Itachi, what are you doing crashing there." Alice said as Itachi also came to join her.
He had certainly missed his parents, but not on the same level as Arthur emotionally.
He was even rather stable, but he was still happy to see his family again.
After a few minutes, the parents greeted them in the living room. They asked lots of questions, the two children answered all but a few which were not totally the truth as for the "disease" which was in fact, the will of the beast.
The little sister came to them, and then they introduced themselves. Itachi used Leywin's name here so as not to cause confusion. After that, they recounted the events that happened without talking about Sylvia. Arthur put a lot of emphasis on Itachi and Tessia's relationship to annoy him a bit. Parents also asked for details but Itachi changed the discussion to avoid.
"Father, what core stage have you reached ?" Itachi asked.
"Hehe, I worked a lot. Your old man broke through two years ago and made it to the dark orange tier. Impressed, eh ? So what level are you two ?"
"I soon hit the solid orange level while Arthur is on the clear red level." Itachi said calmly.
"Yeah Orange...Holy shit ?! You're stronger than me !" Reynolds said in shock but Alice had a dark aura as he had uttered a rude word with Elijah next to them.
"When did you break through ? How ? Arghhh, come into the garden with Arthur, we'll practice!" Reynolds said.
"Father, I advise you to train with Arthur.
I will stay to the side to watch you, if you beat Arthur it will be my turn as I am stronger than him." Itachi said calmly.
"It's fine with me ! Come on Arthur, show me your progress over these years !" They all headed outside then the father and son got into a fighting position...(I'm too lazy to write a chapter for this fight, watch the webtoon or the novel because I won't write it.)
(And I still need explanations for the magic of sound)