“Fugaku?! Who let you out of the Uchiha compound?”

“Amon, I came to schedule an appointment to see you. Do you have time now?” Fugaku said, staring at the dent in the wall I had just made.

“Yeah, yeah, come on in.” I invited them into my office, stepping over door fragments. Grabbing a privacy curtain from one of the rooms, I used it to replace my door. Placing my hand on the stone on the door frame, I used my chakra control to inscribe a seal to ward off sound from entering or leaving the room.

“Well, it’s always good to catch up with my teammate, and you seemed to have brought a plus one. Please introduce the young man.”

“This is my son, Itachi. I am very proud of him. Itachi, so hello.”

“Hello, mister Amon.” Itachi said as he gave a bow.

“Oh, he’s adorable. I bet he is going to break a lot of ladies' hearts in the future.”

“As aspected of the future head of our clan. He’s already skilled in the shinobi arts and is capable of performing the “Fire Ball jutsu.””

“Is that so? If I can recall, that’s a pretty important milestone for the Uchia clan.”

“It is, so much so that Itachi has shown interest in graduating early.”

“Early? Well, that is a nice goal to have. Kids usually enter the academy at the age of six and go to around twelve. This year, it has been “Streamed line” to give students more "opportunities" for advancement. What year are you in right now, Itachi?”

“First year, sir.” He responded quickly.

“Age?” I asked him.

“Seven.”

“The fireball technique by age seven. Most kids can’t perform an E-rank ninjutsu at your age, let alone an elemental C-rank. You must have worked very hard.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes, he has. Although he hasn’t awakened his Sharingan yet, I imagine it’s just a matter of time.”

“Yes, I believe you are right, Fugaku. Taijutsu and Genjutsu?”

“No, Uchiah, who isn’t already a chuinin rank, is his equal.” Fugaku blustered.

“I won’t even ask about Shurikenjutsu. How many years are you thinking of leaping? I would hate to miss the opportunity to get to know you better. ”I smiled, asking Itachi.

“Well, that is the reason why I brought Itachi here today,” Fugaku answered. “The other clan heads and I know about the task Hirazen gave you.”

“Do you now? Please do tell, I would love a reminder.”

Fugaku glared at me but answered the question anyway. “You were offered the position of kage, but to show your commitment and what growth you would bring to the village, you are to get three shinobi from academy graduate to chunin rank in two years. It is a steep challenge, but if you accomplish it, it will show how prosperous the village could be under your leadership.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“That is one of the things I need to accomplish, yes,” I confirmed.

“I want Itachi to be on your team.” I sat silently, looking at my desk and fiddling with some papers. Fugaku waited a few seconds for me to respond, and seeing I didn’t, he kept going. Itachi is incredibly talented. If he were to join your team, I guarantee he would make it.

“Remind me of your age again, Itachi.”

Itachi was about to answer, but Fugaku spoke over him. “He is only seven, but I know he can make it. If you saw what my son is capable of, you would believe the same.”

“That’s not my concern, Fugaku, and if you knew me, you would know that is not what I’m concerned about.”

“Concerned? What is there to be concerned about? The third has given you a task that, although steep, is technically doable.”

“True, but the end goal is not as important as how I accomplish it.”

“How? The mission is the mission. You accomplish it any way you can.”

“Let me ask you something. Why are you here today? I mean in my office, talking to me. Offering me to teach and guide your son.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. He doesn’t need much guidance. Leave Itachi’s training to me, and he will be a chunin.”

I let out a sigh and stood up while grabbing my wallet.“What do clouds taste like?”

“What?” Fugaku responded.

“Not asking you silly. Itachi, What do clouds taste like?”

Itachi looked at his father, but he stared at me, so Itachi shrugged. “Water,”

“Hmm, What’s your favorite color?”

“Amon, I fail to see how that’s important.”

“Say’s the guy whose favorite color is bright pink.”

“That is not my favorite color!” Fugaku expressed quickly.

“Itachi, What’s your favorite color?”

“Umm…orange.”

“Why?”

“My father's cat summons fur is orange.”

“Oh my god, you are too precious. I have a mission for you. Are you ready to hear it?” Itachi looked at me and then back at his father, who gave a hesitant nod.

“Yes, sir.” He said with steadfast determination.

“I am hungry. I need you to buy me a snack from the vending machine out in the hall. I don’t know what I want, so I need you to first go to the children's wing of the hospital and gather information on what is the best snack. Get one each of the top three snacks to determine what I should get in the future.”

“He can do more than-” Fugaku began, but I kept going.

“That is the mission. Do you think you can handle it?”

Itachi looked at his father, who rolled his eyes and waved him away. “Yes, sir.” Itachi hopped from his seat and made his way to the curtain, turned around, bowed respectfully, and left the room.

Fugaku pointed towards where Itchai left. “Are you happy now?”

“Did you know that was his favorite color?”

“What does it matter?”

“The color? A little, you know or not, a little bit more.”

“Amon, is there something you want to say to me?”

I looked at where Itachi had left. “You don’t want me to be Itchai's teacher.”

“Yes I do, It’s why I came here today.”

“I sadly believe that’s why you came to see me today. You don’t want him to be my student, you want a favor from the future hokage.”

“…” Fugaku was quiet for a few moments. “The other clans don’t like you.”

"The Hyuga clan doesn’t like me.”

“They have power.”

I shook my head. “Enough to slow me down, but not stop.”

“They just have to slow you down to stop you.”

“Do you honestly believe I can’t get three academy graduates in two years to chunin rank? Also, the clock doesn’t start till after this year's graduates.”

With a huff, Fugaku got up from his seat. “I came here today as a friend and father to help you.”

“You came here as nothing but as clan head trying to earn favor with a Hokage hopeful.”

Fugaku clicked his tongue while rolling his eyes. “You know I forgot about how irritating you could be.”

“Glad I could refresh your memory. Now, go buy your son his favorite food for completing his first mission.”

“Don’t tell me how I should raise my son!” Fugaku snapped at me.

“Raise your son, raise your son? How about you start raising your son? I can already tell that kid is strong, but he's not a child as much as a small shinobie. You are not raising a son; you are forging a weapon. You are not a father, Fugaku; you're a blacksmith.”

Out of rage, Fugaku’s eyes turned crimson, and out of reflex, I covered my eyes with my bandages and activated the sonar seal to still see. We stood there for a few moments. I broke first. "Come in, Itachi. What did you get me?"

Itachi parted the curtain and came in with three bags of potato chips. I looked at Itachi questionably until it clicked. “There’s a bunch of Akimichi kids in the children’s wing, isn’t there?”

Itachi nodded his head. “They had many opinions.”

***

Fugaku walked with his son down the street in the village. With his stern expression he spoke. “Itachi, you did well today.”

“Thank you, Father,” Itachi responded.

Silence followed as they walked. “We are going to celebrate. What do you want to eat?”

Itachi walked alongside his father, thinking about the question until he answered. “Onigiri.”

Fugaku nodded in approval. “Yes, good.” They kept walking while Fugaku kept an eye out for a good place to find Onigiri. “Is there a place specifically you want?”

Again, Itachi took the time to think about his answer. “No.”

Fugaku kept walking, thinking about all the places he knew of that served Onigiri and when Itachi ate it. He remembered that his wife would make some before he went to work for lunch and before training. “What filling?”

Once again, Itachi spent half a minute thinking about it. Cicadas chirped as they walked past people on the street, “Seaweed.”

Fugaku kept walking; years spent as a shinobi did not show his reaction, but Itachi still noticed that his father reacted to the information. “Seaweed?”

“Yes.”

“Not pork or red bean.”

“They are fine…” the two kept walking. “Should I choose differently?”

“No, you can have seaweed.” Fugaku raked his mind about his son's eating habits. Countless dinners in silence. “You don’t like red peppers.”

Itachi looked at his father. “Should I?”

“No, just noting that you pick the red peppers from your food when we eat dinner.”

The two walked home while looking out for a stall that served Onigiri.