[Hokage] A rose in mourning for the summer moon

"It's Uchiha's little girl. I heard that you were scared to tears by the rabbit meat made in the school cafeteria?"

The ninja in charge of guarding the northwest gate yawned.He must be bored.

"Nothing." I said.

"My kid is swearing..." Ninja yawned again, stretched his neck and glanced at the forest outside, "I said, do you Uchiha people like to run here? Is there some family secret? Do you have to practice there?"

"what?"

I am confused.

Did anyone else with the surname Uchiha go there?I have no idea.Maybe I should practice somewhere else.However, if you have to avoid even such small things, you will not be able to develop a firm and fearless attitude, right?

I still decided to go to the destination.

After walking for a long time, you can hear the sound of "Duk" and "Duk".It was the sound of a sharp blade cutting into a tree trunk, always accompanied by a sharper sound of piercing through the air.There is no doubt that there are indeed people practicing here.

When I pushed aside the last few drooping vines in front of my eyes, a handful of bitterness shot away from my face.The deep forest swallowed the reflection of the sharp blade, and the humid air was cut into sharp airflow; a few strands of hair floated down together with the fallen leaves.

Very powerful blow.Throwing techniques and strength are impeccable.

"How should I put it...is it worthy of being the number one in the grade with full marks in all aspects?" I grabbed the kunai and took it out of the tree trunk with a little effort.A fresh cut in the dark brown trunk that will soon become a scar on the tree.

The forest near Konoha has many similar scars.

"Here." I handed Kunai over.

The person who threw the kunai was standing on a stump, and when he lowered his head, he naturally formed a condescending posture.He is still a young child, but he has a pair of too quiet eyes, dark and deep, with a maturity far beyond his age.

Uchiha Itachi.I remember him, of course I remember him.

"Thank you, Xia Yue." Itachi took Kunai, his voice was still so flat, and his tone was still polite, "But, why is Xia Yue here?"

He was wearing a navy blue short-sleeved top and off-white shorts, showing fresh scrapes on his knees.But he stood upright, and his expression was so indifferent, as if he didn't feel the pain of the wound.The tree stump he was stepping on was obviously very old, and the rings of growth rings were arranged in sequence, indicating that there used to be a tree with luxuriant branches and leaves growing here for many years, and it was finally cut down by someone.

"Student Xia Yue?"

I had to lift my head to meet his gaze.

"I didn't know there was a shooting range here." I said, "Just in time, I'm looking for a place where I can practice quietly."

Konoha is located deep in the forest, and the forest has enough time to grow to cover the sky and block out the sun.In this way, the sunlight scattered on the clearing where Itachi is located is particularly attractive.I could clearly see targets walking around, some hanging from tree trunks, some hidden behind stones; old and new cuts were all over them, obviously more than one person was here practicing concealed weapon throwing techniques.

"yes."

Itachi responded with a syllable without substance.He looked at me quietly, still in a condescending posture, silently showing the intention of chasing away guests.

I remembered the whispers in school that the Uchihas were all arrogant and xenophobic, and it was annoying to look down on others.

The stereotype is wrong and I decided to correct it.Just start with myself.

"It looks good here." I cleared my throat slightly, "Do you mind training with one more person, Itachi...kun?"

Before he clearly refused, I added: "I think that being able to eliminate the interference of others and do one's own thing without distraction is also a way of cultivation. Itachi-kun, what do you think?"

He didn't answer right away.The child with calm eyes looked at me and thought for a few seconds. Finally, his eyes rested on the two books in my hand.

"The "History of the World" is the one in the library. The author is the one by Kamiya." He said, "The administrator said that the only one was borrowed."

"I haven't finished it yet, but I can solve it tonight." I praised this orphan book, "Give it to you at school tomorrow?"

The child blinked slowly.This action is very similar to that of big cats, lions or cheetahs. When they are full and drink enough, they lazily lie on the grassland to bask in the sun, and their eyes will blink slowly like this.This is a gesture that symbolizes relaxation and harmlessness.

"Of course, I don't mind." He finally jumped off the circle of growth rings, his eyes were level with mine, "Please use it, classmate Xia Yue."

A little smile appeared on the child's face.Although it was still a far more mature expression than those of his peers, this sunny smile still lit up those deep eyes.

If, at this moment - at that moment - that silent atmosphere is called "tacit understanding", then yes, the child and I have undoubtedly reached a tacit agreement.I lent him books and he allowed me to share a range with him.

It was never announced, but both parties to the transaction knew it well and acquiesced.It fits Itachi's introverted character and his habits.He has been like this since he was a child, and he will still be like this in the future, even if what happens in the future will be far darker and crueler than "a book for a shooting range".

He never said anything, never said anything.Some people understand him, some people don't.

As for me.At least when we were both young, I understood whether he said it or not.easy.

The method of throwing hidden weapons is related to the type of hidden weapons.The basic hidden weapon is the shuriken, which is made of processed iron sheets. The windmill-shaped four wings ensure that it can rotate rapidly and has enough lethality.If the poison is quenched on the tip of the sword, the death rate of the target can be greatly increased, but the premise is not to accidentally injure yourself.

The other is the kunai, which looks like a dagger but is shaped like a pyramid.This form can cause the stabbed target to bleed profusely, and is also the basic tool of the ninja.

I held three shurikens in each of my left and right hands, and aimed at the six surrounding targets, wondering how to hit the targets at the same time.

Itachi was sitting next to him, flipping through my "History of the World".Obviously, he didn't feel compelled to wait until tomorrow to watch it.

Before I could throw the shuriken out after changing positions several times, he had already turned another page of the book.

"Calculate the wind speed," he said, "using the force of the air current."

"……wind?"

He raised his head from the book and picked up a fallen leaf.The blades rose up in the wind, swaying, seemingly without any power.

"To hit targets in different directions at the same moment, you must adjust the angle when exerting force. The wind will affect the trajectory of the shuriken, but it can also be used. As long as you calculate it well." He stood up, and his arms once again When it was lifted, three shurikens flew out, "Like this."

The three-sided target was hit in the bull's-eye.Sure enough, it was an impeccable throwing technique.

"This is Uchiha's shuriken throwing technique, hasn't Xia Yue learned it?"

I picked up the shurikens I shot one by one, and tried to throw them again in Itachi's way. "No." I imitated his movements, trying to feel the power of the wind, and said, "No one told me this. In fact, I only found out that Itachi-kun's father is the head of Uchiha not long ago."

Before that, I only knew that the man named Uchiha Fugaku was the captain of the guard.The man had an overly stern face, as if he would open his mouth to scold others in the next second.It was hard to imagine that he was Mikoto's husband and Itachi's father.

The kid gave me a look.I thought he was going to ask something, but he just responded flatly and continued practicing shuriken throwing.

We didn't talk anymore.He practiced, I watched him, practiced by imitation.

Until the sun went down, I squatted on the ground and saw my sweat dripping down. I don’t know how many times I wet the tip of the grass.I don't know if these weeds and flowers will be salted to death by the salt in sweat.Hope not.

"I want to go back."

Itachi put away the hidden weapons, put them in the ninja tool bag properly, arranged them according to size, new and old, and organized them meticulously.He picked up the "History of the World" from the side and handed it to me.

"I'm done," he said.

"...so fast?" I thought to myself, how smart is this kid?He spent most of the afternoon practicing gymnastics seriously, and only spent a small amount of time flipping through the book.Did he really finish it?

I bet itachi saw right through my thoughts.Those deep pupils always seem to be able to see the truth at a glance, whether it is the illusion we learned later, or the human heart that is more complicated than illusion.

"Reading word by word is not the only way to understand knowledge." After saying this, he was silent for a moment, then shook his head slightly, turned and walked towards the village.

I am a little strange.

"Why?" I asked, following in his footsteps.

"What?" He didn't stop.

"Itachi-kun...just now you don't think you should say that, right?" I asked, "Why?"

For the first moment, he seemed to want to turn around.But he controlled the turning of his head, so all I could see was his black hair dangling in the growing twilight of the forest.

"Why did classmate Xia Yue follow me?" he said.

"I want to go back too. Besides, we don't live far away. Go in from the gate of the village, walk past the Uchiha Fruit and Vegetable Store, you turn left at the third intersection, and I turn right." I reminded him, and relying on myself Curious and impulsive knowing the reason, I persisted in asking, "Why did I feel that I shouldn't say that sentence just now, just to explain the sentence that Mr. Itachi reads very fast? 'Reading word by word is not the only way to understand knowledge', I think saying Makes sense."

Not like a 5 year old.It should be said that it is another proof that Itachi's thinking is far more mature than ordinary people.

As for me, I'm probably a weird aunt pestering a 5 year old.sad.

"It makes sense...isn't it, Xia Yue thinks so."

He finally stopped, turned around again, and looked me in the eye again.Through the faint light of the sky, I saw his eyes, and the reflections in his eyes.Deep, but clear.

"Have Xia Yue read the chapter about the origin of the country and Ninja Village?" After I nodded, he continued to ask, "What does Xia Yue think of the views in the book?"

"that……"

I stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

Discussing political philosophy with a 5-year-old child is a wonderful experience.However, it doesn't feel bad.

Itachi is one of the few people in this world that I can communicate with.That alone is enough to be reassuring.I realized something a few days later when I heard from my classmates that Uchiha in the class next door was being laughed at on the first day of school because he actually said that his ideal was to end wars and bring peace to the world.

Maybe……

Perhaps I am not alone in taking comfort from our exchange.Perhaps, the children I communicated with also felt the same way.

Do I understand itachi?have no idea.Does itachi understand me?Still don't know.

It's just that aliens are lonely, and so are geniuses.