Chapter 53: Show Offs

Keitaro simply shook his head as he watched everything play out. He'd never had any interaction with the Uchiha before today but he'd heard lots of stories and tales of their sky high arrogance and pride.

He'd always taken them lightly since he was certain most people were embellishing the behavior of the Uchiha to a certain degree, but after seeing it with his own eyes he wasn't sure if he should continue to give them the benefit of the doubt.

No matter how much the Uchiha had been sidelined and 'mistreated' their actions today definitely weren't helping their case in the slightest. 

Keitaro glanced back at Hizashi who he had expected to run over to his brother side, and while he appeared to be calm, the fact that his knuckles were white from how tightly he was clenching his hands showed just how agitated he was at the actions of the Uchiha.

"Dad, is everything alright?" Neji asked as he too was looking back at his father with concern.

"It's fine Neji, just pay attention to the competition and learn as much as you can." Hizashi said as he relaxed his hands. 

By now the competition was winding down with only one or two more left to have a go at it. There were already a few people who had stood out and with their skill had practically secured their positions in the top three. 

In a perfect world the competition would continue without any interruptions and after receiving their prizes the next competition would commence, but this was anything but a perfect world.

No sooner had the last competitor stepped forward, Keitaro noticed that Fugaku was frowning heavily as he turned towards Haishi and whispered to him. Haishi seemed troubled by whatever Fugaku had said and the two soon began having a hushed conversation. 

Eventually after much back and forth, with clear hesitation, Haishi eventually seemed to give in as he visibly deflated a bit and nodded to Fugaku, who smiled ever so slightly. Whether there were others who had noticed the exchange between the two clan heads or not Keitro wasn't sure, but he was certain that the nefarious intentions of the Uchiha were far from over.

Keitaro's conjecture were confirmed when the announcer was called over by Haishi who whispered something into his ear, leaving the announcer visibly flustered. 

By now the last contestant had already been scored and everyone was looking forward to the winners to be crowned, but instead the announcer delivered a surprise announcement that made everyone agitated.

"A round of applause for all of our contestants who have showcased their skill and determination for all to see! I'm pleased to say that with the skill displayed here today the future strength of the village will only continue to increase."

"Now Before we crown the winners of our first competition, I must apologize and say that we have at least one more person who will be taking a crack at the weapons throwing competition. It's a late entry but I'd like everyone to give a warm welcome to our last contestant, hailing from the Uchiha clan, Itachi Uchiha!"

The crowd all began to clap politely as they all began muttering to each other.

"Itachi? Isn't he the kid that's been making waves around town recently?"

"Son of the Uchiha head, graduated at the age of 7, and I hear there's even been talk of promoting him to chunin recently…"

"Isn't he like what, 9 years old right now? Are all those rumors true?"

"The genius of the Uchiha…should he even be allowed to take part? He's already graduated afterall…"

"He might have graduated, but he's also the youngest one to compete…"

"Do you think he's going to outperform…"

The muttering grew louder and louder as itachi made his way forward. If he heard the mutters of descent towards him, he didn't show it as he kept his face neutral as he stood on the throwing platform. 

The announcer was quick to quiet the crowd before turning to Itach who had begun to get a feel for the throwing weapons that he'd be using.

"Just like all the other competitors, you'll have a chance to examine the targets before you have to throw your weapons. Are you aware of the rules or would you like me to explain them to you?" 

"I already know the rules, I'll just need a moment before we can begin." Itachi merely glanced at the announcer before he flickered and disappeared.

Shocked gasps sounded from the crowd as multiple people were shocked at Itachi's proficiency with the body flicker technique. Most people hadn't even noticed when he'd vanished and those who did weren't certain if they'd be able to pull off the technique as skillfully as him much less to a better degree.

The only people who didn't seem surprised at Itachi's actions were the members of the Uchiha who all had smiles on their faces, and Keitaro who was more interested in seeing if he could pick up on itachi's movements with his ears.

'Honestly knowing that itachi trains with Shisui, who is known for his body flicker technique, it would be stranger if he wasn't at least partially skilled in the technique as well. Though the fact that I can't seem to pick up on his movements at all…is surprising.' Keitaro thought as he sat back in his seat seemingly lost in thought.

'I've never really thought about it but after today's game with Neji i might need to see if Kazuki has any training techniques to help me with training my ears. They'll definitely be helpful in terms of reconnaissance given how easily I can pick up on certain sounds.'

Keitaro's musings were soon put to rest as the figure of Itachi once more appeared on the throwing platform without a sound. By now the murmurs of the crowd had died down as everyone was laser focused on Itachi and his performance. 

For his part Itachi didn't seem fazed by all of the attention and simply nodded to the announcer to show that he was ready. With another glance to the head of the Hyuga, the announcer wished Itachi good luck and stepped back to give him space.

Pin drop silence blacketed the field as IItachi grabbed the shuriken from off the table and got into a throwing position. 

Immediately it became clear to everyone that unlike the other contestants who had all thrown the shuriken individually, itachi was planning to throw his all at once. 

With a calming exhale Itachi opened his closed eyes, and his three tomi sharingan was on full display. His intense gaze seemed to lock onto the distant target and with a certain grace he lept into the air as spun around. 

The suriken in his hand flew out with a considerable amount of power and spin as they all began to twist and turn in the air. Almost immediately several of the suriken collided with each other midair, the unmistakable sound of metal on metal ringing out from amongst the trees. 

WIthout even looking back to see if his weapons had hit their intended targets, Itachi landed gracefully before swiping his hand across the collection of Kunai and tossing those out as well with just as much flourish as the Kunai.

Much to the dismay of the watching crowd, the sound of metal on metal sounded out once more and most of them couldn't help but be disappointed by his display. Afterall they all assumed that he had made a mistake given that his weapons collided with each other instead of hitting the targets. 

Some of the more vindictive members of the cord even turned toward the Uchiha members present wanting to ridicule them for being so overconfident in a child, only to be greeted by the haughty gazes of the Uchiha in return.

Keitaro of course knew exactly what was happening and could only smile as he hoped that the other kids who had gone before wouldn't be too disappointed at losing out on their top three spots. 

In fact, they should actually be happy that Itachi went last since if he had gone first then none of them would have had the balls to go on after him. 

Keitaro thoughts were soon confirmed once the targets were brought forward and the crowd that had once more began to mutter amongst themselves had been silenced.

Twenty purple targets had been brought forward and every single one of them had been hit dead center without fail.