"Leave me alone for a while." Hanayo walked to the tree with a disappointed face and squatted down. She poked the ground with her finger and said, "Impossible. This can't be real. That is not something a Shinobi can do. "
Kabuto, who planned to grab Hanayo's hand, changed his mind.
After all, he was the one who was responsible for this Hanayo. If he got too close with her, it would make Hanayo feel even more humiliated. It was better to give Hanayo some space.
What Kabuto didn't know about was that Hanayo did not blame him. Hanayo could accept defeat and knew that Kabuto was strong. The thing that bothered her now was her own strength.
Could it be that the elders in the Clan were lying to her? That she was actually not talented at all? However, she was clearly stronger than other students.
Hanayo could not understand why she was defeated so easily in something she was best at.
However, Hanayo soon stopped thinking about it altogether. Since it was her friend who defeated her, she had to become stronger as fast as possible and strive to win next time.
She refused to lost against Kabuto at Taijutsu because that was her only talent!
She tend to mess up all the time, and Taijutsu was her one and only savior as that was the only thing people would praise about her.
....
"Itachi, what is your favorite food? I like Takoyaki."
Izumi Uchiha asked Itachi with a smile as they sat by the river.
"... " Itachi did not really want to talk to Izumi Uchiha. Since the last time he and Izumi Uchiha met there, he often ran into her here. Then, she would walk up to him and strike a conversation with him. Itachi once thought about switching his training place, but this place held a special meaning. It was the place where he and Kabuto got acquainted with each other, and it was indeed a good place to train, so he decided not to switch place.
"Three-colored Dango..." Itachi still answered out of courtesy. She felt bad for letting Izumi Uchiha talk on her own
"Three-colored Dango? I thought a genius like you would not eat sweet that only ordinary children like us would eat. For a second I thought that you only eat foods that adults eat." Izumi Uchiha said in surprise.
Itachi began to miss Kabuto. Chatting with Kabuto was one of his entertainments. The two of them would discuss the meaning of life, how to get rid of war, and all kinds of Ninjutsu...
All Izumi talked about was games and food.
Every time Itachi and Izumi Uchiha finished chatting, he only felt was that his precious time had been wasted.
"Food has nothing to do maturity." Itachi took it seriously and retorted.
He remembered a Shinobi buying a three-colored Dango and gave him some. That Shinobi then recommended a Dango shop in the west of Konoha and told him to mention his name to the owner.
Although in the end Itachi did not know the name of Shinobi, that Shinobi left quite an impression on him.
Not only because of Dango, but also because that Shinobi had a different perspective of desire.
"Of course there is. I have never seen an adult eat a three-colored Dango." Izumi Uchiha argued.
Itachi didn't know how to argue against that for a moment. It was impossible to speak empty words without evidence. Unless he had a picture of an adult eating a three-colored Dango, it would be difficult for him to convince Izumi. Thus, Itachi simply did not say anything and just quietly looked at Izumi Uchiha.
Seeing Itachi just looked at her, Izumi burst into laughter.
"Itachi, you are so funny. You can argue if you don't agree with me, you know." Izumi Uchiha teased Itachi.
"I don't have any evidence, so I don't think I can convince you," Itachi explained.
"Why don't you believe me? I believe whatever you say." Izumi Uchiha said with a smile on his face.
"You didn't believe me just now..." Itachi said seriously.
"That's because I wanted to see your reaction." Izumi Uchiha snickered.
"Why don't you practice Shuriken throwing instead?" Itachi made a suggestion.
"I'm not a genius like you. There's no point in practice too much. I'll practice on average basis. I heard that from this year onwards, Academy will add a Medical-nin curriculum for those who wish to become a Medical-nin.
Izumi Uchiha informed Itachi about a news that had been discussed recently in the village.
"That is a good thing. There will be more Medical-nin in the village." Itachi replied.
When he was four years old, he was brought to the battlefield and knew how dangerous the battlefield was. Having one more teammate who could use Medical Ninjutsu could save lives at a critical moment.
"I want to be one of those special students so that I can treat Itachi in the future." Izumi Uchiha said with a smile while looking at Itachi expectantly.
Would Itachi be moved by her words?
She had sacrificed so much time to talk to Itachi.
Itachi thought for a moment. He thought that Izumi couldn't become a good enough Medical-nin if she didn't train properly and kept interfering with his training.
Moreover, he had already known a person who could use Medical Ninjutsu, and that was Kabuto.
They were bound to suffer some injuries after their spars. So Kabuto would use medical Ninjutsu to treat himself and Itachi after their spar.
Itachi felt that he could trust Kabuto over Izumi more for treating him.
"Kabuto knows Medical Ninjutsu. You should learn from him." Said Itachi after thinking for a moment.
It would be too harsh to say that he didn't believe in her skill, so he phrased it in a less harsher way.
Izumi Uchiha: …
What the hell! It was fine if he wasn't moved, but why did he tell her to learn from Kabuto?
Although he hadn't met Kabuto before, Izumi had heard Itachi mention himso many times.
Izumi Uchiha wanted to ask Kabuto how she could get closer to Itachi.
Obviously, she just wanted to be friends with Itachi, but it was so difficult.
Itachi was different from other peers Izumi had met before. He had a certain charm that made her drawn in to him.
Since Itachi felt that his stamina had recovered, he casually said to Izumi Uchiha,
"Izumi, I am about to practice Ninjutsu. You should go back and train as well. Strength is very important for a Shinobi."
Izumi left with looking slghtly annoyed at Itachi.
She understood that she could not get too familiar. Otherwise she would come off as a stalker, which she didn't want to.
Izumi didn't want to get too close to Itachi if it made him hate her. Moreover, Izumi also grew to understand some of Itachi's traits.
He was more gentle than he thought. He would not ignore her even though he one-sidedly tried to strike a conversation with him. She was also more mature, and his way of thinking was different from ordinary children.
"I'll make you agree with me sooner or later, Itachi."
Itachi didn't think about it as much as Izumi. From the beginning, he only thought of Izumi Uchiha as a rather enthusiastic Uchiha.
In his eyes, only Shisui and Kabuto could be considered friends. These two were irreplaceable people in his life.