"Itachi, did you know? The only thing that can burn leaves is fire!" With his back turned, a black haired boy said as he clenched the cane in his hand.
Uchiha Itachi, who was only five years old, did not fully understand the meaning of his words.He just looked at his best friend, Uchiha Chiba, with a confused expression.
However, from the words [Leaves] and [Fire], Itachi probably guessed what Chiba wanted to express.
"Chiba-san, do you mean the saying [Where the leaves fly, the fire burns stronger. The fire will continue to illuminate the village and let the new leaves sprouts grow]?"
This sentence was a classic saying throughout the entire hidden leaf village, It suggested that fighting and sacrificing yourself so that your villages and future generations can prosper.
From the First to the Third Hokage, it was a speech given to all future konoha Shinobi as children when they enroll at the ninja academy.
This was first said in earnest, but slowly the mean shifted and bastardized over time. No it shouldn't be time but desire, greed, and even worse the human heart! Bastards like Danzo use this proverb to manipulate the young into sacrificing themselves so that he can gain more power.
Hearing these words at the moment, Uchiha Chiba smiled bitterly.
"Itachi, when the roots of a tree are rotten it doesn't matter how big it grows or how often it's pruned, the tree is destined to die."
"???" Uchiha Itachis face shifted into confusions, what was his friend trying to imply?
Itachi didn't understand Chiba's meaning, he just stared blankly at this close friend who was a year older than him.
He was holding a cane in both hands, and his black hair was hanging down slightly. However between the hair, the representative eyes belonging to Uchiha were robbed of its brilliance by a piece of black cloth.
His name was Uchiha Chiba, but he was a blind boy.
Despite his impairment, the boy radiatied strength that could be felt by itachi, it was the kind of oppression feeling that a blind person shouldn't have.
That kind of oppression has been accumulated over time. It has been almost a year since the two had met each other and became close friends, despite the short time together Chibas feeling of strength only grew larger.
During the year together, the two started learning and progressing as friendly rivals, but even though they were rivals Itachi had never beaten the blind Chiba in a spar, not even once.
Don't be fooled by Chiba's identity as a blind man, the cane in his hand is not just for exploring the way. The sword hidden inside of it was heavy, terribly heavy.
"Although I am blind, I am a swordsman"
This was a saying that Chiba often said to Itachi, he talked about how a man and his sword was all it took to travel the world, no matter the disability or obstacle.
This is why Itachi regards Chiba as a close friend. Although strange words always came out of his mouth, they are always thought provoking and gave him new insight.
He likes to communicate with Chiba as it broadens his thought process, just like today.
"I don't quite understand what you mean" Itachi tilted his head, puzzled.
"If you don't understand now, thats fine itachi. I just hope that you remember this sentence in the future." The blind boys face was deadly serious, before it suddenly relaxed and he scratched his head.
"I'm a bit too talkative today, you will know what it means naturally when the time comes" the boy looked at Itachi, deep in thought.
'Tomorrow is your first day at the academy, meaning that you are about to receive Konoha's education.'
Itachi's worldview was about to receive a new baptism from Konoha's education system which could be consider indoctrination.
As a clan member of the Uchiha and a close friend of Itachi, Chiba naturally didn't want to watch Itachi follow the old path of the original. The Boy named Chiba had only been reincarnated into this world for a couple years, he planned on stopping the Uchiha massacre .
That was a road of no return, to destroy a clan for a village. While the Uchiha may have been angry and emotional, Chiba believed they were justified in trying to stage a coop.
Despite the Uchiha being the only founding clan, as the senju clan was wiped out, they were forced to live on the outskirts of the villages after the kyubi attack, forced to take the most hated job as the policing force, and banned from having any leadership roles in the village.
The Uchiha were being systematically discriminated against and kicked out of the villages that they had created! looking at Chiba's thoughtful face, Itachi's mind was trying to decipher his words.
'Leaves, fire, Konoha, Uchiha.'
At this moment, Uchiha Itachi seemed to catch something and looked up at Chiba.
'Chiba-san, are you suggesting....The village and its relation with the Uchiha?' Itachi was surprised but not shocked.
He saw just how his family and village felt about the way they were being treated, but he never truly considered what would happen because of it.
Itachi started thinking deeply about it, his face went pale and his body was starting to get sweaty. The boy was falling deeper into his dark thoughts when suddenly...
*Flick*
With a mild pain on his forehead, itachi looked up to see Chiba's retreating hand.
"You overthink too much itachi. There is no need to stress out about things that have yet to happen." Chiba said with a smile.
Uchiha Itachi touched his forehead and pouted silently.
"In this age of war, the only thing you need to know is how to survive, and to recognize where the real enemy is..." Letting this sentence sink in for a few seconds, Chiba changed topics.
"Are you sure about enrolling early? Your father should have shown you how dangerous the battlefield is" Chiba said in hopes of delaying Itachi's inevitable future.
"Enrolling early means that I can go to the battlefield early, I don't want to leave you and my clansmen fighting when I can help."
In the original story Itachi should have enrolled at the age of six. By that time he graduated, the third war had just ended and wasnt officially deployed.
Now, it seems that it was because of his influence, Itachi made the decision to enrolling in advance.
The third Ninja was war currently in full motion. The land of fire, thunder, earth, and water fought continuously across different environments, making everyone in the world enemies!
However, when Chiba said 'real enemies', Itachi knew Chiba had another meaning and pondering his meaning.
In the original story, Itachi chose Konoha between Konoha and Uchiha, which is definitely not an easy choice.
Chiba cant even imagine how painful it is when an Uchiha, a clan that experiences heightened emotions, slaughters his own friends and family as they beg for their life's.
In order to do such a thing, one must have incredibly resolve. Chiba made it his entire goal to prevent Itachi from gaining such a resolve in the first place.
When Chiba was reincarnated as an Uchiha, his fate was chained to Itachi and the survival of his clan.
As a fan of the original anime, Chiba can sympathize with Itachi's experience but as a member of the Uchiha clan.....To Chiba, Uchiha Itachi was a demon that threatened to destroy his life.
To prevent the Uchiha genocide, Chiba knew he had to get at the root cause of this matter. The Uchiha's enemy was never Itachi, it's the corrupt Konoha officials!
"It's still the morning Itachi, that's all for today's discussion!" Chiba said as he started walking away
"and also....." Chiba's hand tightened around his cane, understanding what he'll have to do if his best friend if he doesn't change his future. There was a moment of silence before Chiba spoke once again.
"If you have anything on your mind, now or in the future, you can tell me..... As a friend, I will listen to you Itachi" saying this, Chiba truly left. Using his cane to explore the way forward.
Uchiha Itachi looked at Chiba's back blankly, thoughtfully.
'As a friend?'