The Fateful Uchiha

All children must have some sort of education in Konoha. There were a few options for parents to choose from. If a child was not enrolled in any school at the age of seven, the parents would have to prove they provided their offspring with a basic education at home. In most cases, children were sent to the Academy to become shinobi. A child could enter the Academy at the age of five, and it was free. Jun was positive his parents would have no objection if he decided against becoming a ninja. However, he did not want to be powerless. His memories from his previous life gave him an advantage, but it meant nothing if he couldn’t protect his life or the ones he cared about.

When his parents mentioned enrolling him in the Academy, Jun asked questions. Though he already made his decision, he wanted to have as much information as he could. He inquired about the things he would learn at the Academy, the duration until graduation…

“Did you listen to that, Hazuki? Our child is so clever. I’m certain he can apply for early graduation.” His father said, proudly.

His wife glared at him, then her expression softened, and she turned to Jun.

“We will be proud of you regardless of when you graduate. I became genin at 12, like most people. So, no pressure, darling.”

However, it had been in a peaceful time. Jun was beginning to realize that this wasn't the case right now. There were already signs times were changing. There were more funerals than usual. Many merchants were complaining, and the price of some goods was slowly increasing. There were gloomy expressions and low whispers among some people. Others were talking about border defense, squad movements, and counterattacks.

Jun was small, but he was far from being naive. He had lived in his family cocoon without much worry. But now, he was aware of the danger looming upon them because of his mother being an Uchiha… Even though she is not officially part of the clan anymore. Jun had no idea when Itachi would strike. He did not know how long he had before the massacre. He started paying more attention to what was said around, trying to pick up any clues. Entering the Academy would grant him access to the rest of the shinobi society.

It didn’t take Jun very long to deduce that Konoha was in the middle of the Third Great Ninja War. Being in the timeline of Naruto’s world wasn’t easy for him. There was a lot going on, but his memories weren’t being very cooperative. He knew he possessed all the information he needed in his mind, but recalling them proved difficult. He knew it was the reign of the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The war had yet to fully start.

Jun hoped to graduate after the war. Being a rookie on the battlefield wasn’t exactly something he was looking forward to. He was a little over five years old when he entered the Academy. He looked like any ordinary child, cute and adorable. He had a mole on the left cheekbone, black hair, and black eyes. He blended in the crowd, not wanting to stand out. He was a bit intimidated.

Though he was reincarnated, he was still a child. He stood in a corner, staring at other children hoping to recognize some of them. But there were no familiar faces from his memories. No Kakashi, no Gai, no Obito, no Rin… However, when the senseis called names, his memories were jolted when he heard one of them. He recognized the name. It was Shisui Uchiha.

He sat two rows to his right. Shisui didn't exactly look like most Uchiha with his unkempt hair that looked curly. Jun wanted to doubt his memories, but how many Shisui Uchiha could be alive and around five years old during the Third Great Ninja War? There was no doubt about it; it was him. Shisui Uchiha, Itachi’s best friend. The one whose death would trigger some unfortunate events. At what age would he die? Jun could only guess. Itachi was thirteen years old when he massacred the clan. He was two or three years younger than Shisui, meaning Itachi was probably two or three right now. Jun roughly had ten years before the Uchiha massacre if everything went according to the storyline he remembered.

There was about a decade left to figure something out. A way to cut himself from the Uchiha clan and hide his existence and his sister from Danzo and others with Sharingan fetishism. Jun relaxed a bit more. To a child, ten years sounded like an eternity.

He devoted himself to the Academy life but quickly got bored of it. The classes were created for children. There were basic subjects like Math, Reading, and Writing. There were also other activities such as kunai and shuriken throwing exercises, katas practices, endurance tests, and expeditions in the forest.

Jun quickly realized the children were able to keep up because they had naturally learned to use their chakra to some extent. They utilized it to increase their stamina and strengthen their muscles. Some were naturally gifted. Others struggled more. It was often the case with the children of civilians who did not learn about chakra at home.

Jun performed well during the physical exercises. He demonstrated a better awareness of his chakra than the other kids. Since he knew what it felt like not having any due to his previous life, he couldn’t help noticing the strange power in him.

It had been his first clue he was reincarnated into another world. He had sensed the energy inside him when he was a baby. He had felt the warmth of it flowing throughout his body. The sensation was weird at first, but he got used to it. He naturally picked up on how to circulate the chakra in him. He could focus the energy on his hands and feet. He wanted the Academy to teach him more. Chakra was used to create Jutsus and that interested him. However, they did not teach them much.

Jun could read and write perfectly. He was ahead of the other kids. His learning pace was way above theirs. But the teachers did not notice it right away. The children of civilians and those who do not belong to a clan were given less attention.

Two Naras, four Uchihas, and two Hyugas advanced to the upper classes when the senseis realized they already knew how to read and write. Only then did the instructors devote more attention to the rest of the class. Another student claimed to be advanced, and after a thorough evaluation, they moved him to the next level. Jun, on the other hand, did not step forward. He knew the advanced students had a chance of graduating early. It was something he wanted to avoid. He did not want to draw too much attention to himself. Being a genius may be nice, but he knew many geniuses did not get to live long in this world.

Time passed. Jun celebrated his sixth birthday at home with his mother and sister. His father was on a mission. He was worried he might not return. But his dad always came back and this time was no exception. Jun forced himself to believe his father Renzo would survive the war.

Shortly after his birthday, Jun started feeling frustrated. He complained to his parents about how boring the Academy was to him. He showed less and less interest in the classes. He couldn’t explain it; he just felt like he did not belong. They were taught some katas, but Jun did not bother to memorize them. His mom offered to get him some books. She knew her son loved books.

The family went to the Konoha Library. Jun was fascinated by the place. There were several floors with books. But the rules were strict. Without a ninja headband, you could only access the first two floors. But that was enough for the excited Jun. There were numerous stories about the founding of the village, the various clans, the tailed beasts, the previous wars… There were dissertations on psychology, anatomy, and botany. The library also possessed several manuals on exercises to increase one’s flexibility and endurance. There were even some rare books on charka, what it was, how to use it…

Flipping through one of the books, Jun found out about the leaf on the forehead test. He was familiar with it from his memories. But he learned more in the book. It was a training method performed by placing a leaf over one’s head and focusing their chakra onto the leaf. It taught how to control chakra more effectively and even increase one’s concentration. Jun left the library with a stack of books almost as tall as he was.

At the Academy, it was frequent to see Jun reading a book whenever he was bored. No sensei reprimanded him. He wasn’t disturbing the class, so they let it go. Reading was also an activity they encouraged the kids to do. But Jun’s personality did not make it easy for him to make friends. He had no enemies and was not an outcast, but he wasn’t close to anyone either. He got along well enough with the other kids to be put on a team when they were playing. No one was reluctant to include him in a ninja game or eat lunch next to him. He was branded as ‘the boy who reads all the time’. It did not bother him, but he did feel lonely at times.

It was different at home, though. He had his family. His father went on missions more frequently. He often came back tired and sometimes sad. But he came back. That was important to Jun. His mom was always present, patient, and caring. Izumi was still small, she was three years old now. He couldn’t really talk with her. She was still a little kid in his eyes. But she loved him. She loved being with him. Jun also cherished his sister. He wanted to protect her. He knew she wasn’t a leading figure in the story of Naruto. However, to him, she was his little sister. She was irreplaceable.

Little by little, he understood Itachi's attachment to Sasuke. But it was only that. He did not comprehend how Itachi can kill his own clan. Even though Izumi was important to him, Jun adored his parents even more. He felt like he would never be able to do what Itachi did. Though Itachi desired peace, he demonstrated a decisive and cold side of him that frightened Jun a bit. He felt like Itachi’s decision to kill his clan was rash and impulsive.