Naruto: Becoming Stronger through Bonds

Chapter 5: Uchiha Izumi

____

Uchiha Izumi—a girl who truly lives up to her name.

She has a gentle personality, reminiscent of spring; a voice as soothing as flowing water; long black hair; and a distinctive teardrop mole at the lower corner of her right eye. It was clear that she would grow into a rare, traditional beauty.

She was Ervin's childhood Friend, a connection that began last year.

Ervin had first met Izumi during the chaos of the Nine Tails Rebellion.

The sight of the giant fox, as large as a mountain, wreaking havoc outside the village was etched into his memory.

At the time, Ervin was being led to an underground shelter by several guards when he happened to encounter Izumi, who was fleeing in panic. Naturally, he intercepted the frightened, black-haired little girl.

Ervin's wind and hidden yang attributes were innate, but his current fire attribute? That had been obtained through his bond with Izumi.

"Ervin," Izumi said, her face flushing slightly, her tone carrying a hint of grievance. "What were you so busy with during the holidays? Why didn't you come to see me?"

"I've been training hard, Izumi," Ervin sighed, feigning a dramatic tone. Then, his gaze shifted toward the figure who had entered with Izumi. "After all, with a genius like Uchiha Itachi in my class, I have to work hard so as not to bring shame to the Shimura Clan."

The figure accompanying Izumi was none other than the ninja world's most famous filial son—Uchiha Itachi.

There were many orphans in the ninja world, but Itachi was unique in that he essentially made himself one. It was, if nothing else, a feat worthy of admiration.

"You're also a genius, Ervin," Izumi quickly chimed in, attempting to lift her friend's spirits.

She wasn't wrong. At this stage, before Itachi awakened his Sharingan, Ervin might very well have been stronger.

But once Itachi's eyes opened, it was as if he'd unlocked a cheat code—catapulting himself to Kage-level within a few short years.

Itachi, standing nearby, frowned slightly. He couldn't shake the feeling that Ervin harbored hostility toward him.

Hostility toward the Uchiha was common, especially after the Nine Tails Rebellion. Many had seen the Tomoe in the Nine Tails' red pupils, fueling suspicions against the clan.

But Ervin was different. His hostility seemed focused solely on Itachi, with no prejudice toward the Uchiha clan as a whole. This was evident from his close relationship with Izumi.

"You're not inferior to me in strength, Ervin," Itachi said politely. "We should both continue to work hard and contribute to the village as soon as possible."

With those words, Itachi turned and walked toward his seat.

Ervin watched his back, debating whether this was the real Itachi or merely a Shadow Clone. The urge to test him was tempting.

"Ervin, what are you staring at?" Izumi asked curiously.

"Nothing." Ervin shook his head, turning his attention back to Izumi with a smile. "I didn't spend time with you last weekend. How about we go fishing together next week?"

Izumi's eyes lit up, her earlier grievance forgotten in an instant.

"Where should we go fishing? How about the stream near Forest No. 35? The scenery there is beautiful!"

"I'll leave it up to you," Ervin agreed with a smile.

Despite Danzo's disapproval of his relationship with Izumi—and the arguments they'd had over it—Ervin had stood his ground. In the end, Danzo refrained from using any underhanded means to separate them.

Perhaps, in Danzo's eyes, a marginal Uchiha like Izumi posed no real threat and was ultimately inconsequential.

That said, Danzo never missed an opportunity to instill the belief that the Uchiha were inherently evil. These repeated attempts at brainwashing left Ervin thoroughly exasperated—often to the point of wanting to vomit.

Not long after, the bell rang, and their class teacher, Kazama Shuichi, walked in.

"Class, today we will learn how to throw ninja tools..."

Kazama wasted no time and quickly dove into the lesson, skipping over any unnecessary lectures or brainwashing.

The textbooks of Konoha's Ninja Academy in this era were not as shamelessly biased as they would become in later years, where they glorified the Third Hokage as the "strongest Hokage" and were largely filled with propaganda.

This was a time when the war had not yet fully ended.

In the 50th year of Konoha, Namikaze Minato's succession as Hokage had signaled the end of large-scale battles.

However, apart from Sunagakure, which had surrendered and lain dormant, the other ninja villages continued engaging in small-scale skirmishes. The villages were still on high alert, maintaining a wartime state.

The students at the academy were considered part of the military reserve force, and there was no time for meaningless rhetoric. Teachers prioritized imparting practical ninja knowledge and experience.

Kazama sketched diagrams on the blackboard, casually explaining various trajectories and teaching several techniques for throwing shuriken.

After the theoretical session, the practical training began in the second half of the class.

Ervin led his classmates to the training ground, where they would apply what they had just learned.

The field didn't have enough targets for everyone, so the students were paired into groups of two. Naturally, Ervin was partnered with Izumi.

Itachi, meanwhile, was paired with an unremarkable student. Picking up three shuriken, Itachi threw them effortlessly. After a crisp collision, they all hit the bullseye with uncanny precision, drawing a wave of exclamations from the class.

"Wow! All three hit perfectly!"

"As expected of an Uchiha. He's so strong."

"Itachi is so cool. Who should I pick, him or Ervin?"

"Pick yourself, you big-headed fool. Stop eating so much candy—sweetness doesn't suit you!"

The chatter continued unabated, but Izumi paid no attention to it.

She focused on throwing her shuriken with serious concentration. Though she didn't show off her skills like Itachi, her results were the same—each shuriken landed perfectly in the red center.

"Very good, Izumi," Ervin praised her generously.

The little girl beamed with a cute smile and stepped back to give him space.

"Ervin must be even better than me," she said with confidence.

"You're right. Watch carefully," Ervin replied with a smile, pulling out a shuriken from his ninja pouch.

Kazama also turned his attention to Ervin.

Ervin and Itachi were both considered geniuses in the class, hailing from prestigious Clans.

Itachi had just demonstrated skill that matched his reputation. Now it was Ervin's turn to prove himself.

A second later—

Boom!

Several targets suddenly exploded, startling the students.

Kazama eyes widened in shock as he stared at Ervin, completely dumbfounded. "Why… Why do you have an explosive tag on your shuriken?"

He had seen it clearly: Ervin's shuriken had narrowly missed the target, but the explosive tag attached to it detonated, destroying several nearby targets.

Ervin, however, looked as if this was completely normal.

"It increases the error tolerance. If the shuriken misses the target, the explosive tag still ensures it serves its purpose," Ervin explained matter-of-factly.

"Now, just tell me—did it hit or not?"

Kazama Shuichi: "..."