naruto · uchiha clan · child prodigy · shy · serious · ninja academy · pacifist · tragic hero · introvert · Sharingan
The air in the Academy hallway grew dense, charged with a hostility that was both childish and deadly serious. Tenma's voice, hard with inherited anger, broke the quiet. "It was the Uchiha. Your clan summoned the Nine-Tails." A subtle quickening pulsed in Itachi's veins. "All the grown-ups say it," Tenma pressed, the words a rehearsed village grievance. "You're too clever to ever get caught. But it was one of you. The Hokage's suspicion is why you live on the outskirts now." "I know nothing of that," Itachi replied, his voice a low, calm stream. "You think not knowing makes it meaningless?" Tenma's forehead creased. "My uncle died. His father, too." He jerked a thumb toward Katsura, then Hagiri. "My mother... she died holding up a wall so my sister could live." A memory, sharp and viscera…