Being a genin was a lot of work. Each sensei set their own pace, and even the laziest had a work ethic that left their young students exhausted. It was different for each team though. Some jonins were cautious and delicate. Others were harsh. Learning to be a shinobi couldn’t be done in school. It was on the field. The genins had to learn the hard way.

Jun was happy with his students. They had been attentive, disciplined, and talented. It was his first time taking care of genins and completely improvised at first. Fortunately, he had received good teaching in the past. The teachings of Shiba-sensei and Shisui inspired him. The results had been quite good. He was proud of his team and his work as their sensei.

With his little experience, he allowed himself to be judgmental of the methods of his colleagues. Asuma Sarutobi was a responsible teacher, organizing measured training and well-prepared missions to keep his team running with clockwork precision. But the gossip also said that he managed above all not to have to make any effort himself. He guided his students in the right direction, but he mostly let them find their rhythm without rushing them. It was the kind of softness that Gai would never have tolerated.

Hiro Hyuga was more rigid and placed more pressure on his students. He instilled in them discipline and a sense of duty, and never failed to remind them that two of them were the heirs of prestigious clans. And of course, he paid special attention to his third student, the young immigrant from the land of Water, Ranmaru. The boy possessed a rare Dojutsu that Hiro had never seen before. He was trying to make model genins out of his students. The jonin wasn’t as hard as he could have been and listened to his proteges. But he was undoubtedly one of the strictest teachers.

Curiously, it was probably Kurenai who was the most severe. She imposed intense training on her students, assigned them a mountain of work, and tested their knowledge in a way that was as regular as it was ruthless. While most teachers preferred to focus on the basics that their genins had learned at the Academy, Kurenai had gone in a completely different direction, cultivating skills that his three students didn’t possess at the time of their graduation. For Yakumo, it was Ninjutsu. Hinata needed to become a decent tracker, and Ino had to improve in Taijutsu.

Team 9’s sensei was struggling. It was obvious Yamato had no idea of what he was doing. He had trouble establishing programs. He avoided D-rank missions and tried to turn them into training. But the three kids tended to go out of control. For example, a simple cleanup mission would turn into a trash battle. And when it came to hard training, the jonin tended to aim too high. He would teach advanced jutsus before teaching them how to walk on walls or water.

In his defense, his genins had different levels. Naruto was a noob when it came to chakra manipulation, while Hotaru and Kazuma excelled at it. Conversely, Hotaru had difficulty in Taijutsu while Kazuma’s talent and Naruto’s stamina gave the boys an edge. Poor Yamato was doing his best.

Jun was dying to give advice, but the clan leaders couldn’t interfere in the senseis’ business. It was infuriating, but he had to hold himself back. On the bright side, Yamato was involved in guiding his genins. It was better than what Kakashi was doing.

The copy ninja was too relaxed. It was as if he was afraid of getting attached to the genins. He gathered his students late in the morning, took a couple of low-rank missions and left them to fend for themselves while he supervised from afar. He hoped a natural cooperation would appear between them like it happened when ANBU teams were forced to work together. But the children had never cultivated that kind of instinct. And Kakashi should have taught them instead of hoping for the kids to develop it on their own.

Well, a certain understanding was beginning to develop between his students, They would team up against their sensei to give him a hard time. But their teamwork still needed a lot of work. Kiba was too abrupt, loud, and arrogant. Sakura was too impulsive and too focused on Sasuke. As for the Uchiha, he was a loner by nature. Moreover, he was particularly withdrawn at the moment.

He turned again and again in his head what he had learned about his clan. He was learning to live with it because he had no other choice. But things didn’t get any easier with time. He felt alone. Somehow, he had always felt alone. Before the massacre, no one really had time to take care of him. And after… there had always been a kind of distance between him and his new family.

Sasuke launched another volley of kunais, which impacted their targets with a snap of metal. Half a dozen hit the bullseye. Itachi had once managed to hit the bullseye of targets scattered all around him and sometimes hidden behind obstacles. Jun could also manage that. They were both so strong, much stronger than him. Sasuke was tired of feeling weak and helpless. If he became as strong as them, would he feel less lonely?

There was a rustle. The sound of a sole scraping the earth. A ninja, who normally didn’t make a sound when moving, politely announced his presence. Sasuke stiffened.

“Jun.”

The jonin stopped in his tracks.

“Do you want to be alone?”

Sasuke turned away and made a dubious noise that didn’t mean yes or no. Jun went to lean against a tree on his right and crossed his arms.

It had been more than a week since their last conversation. It wasn’t that Jun was keeping his distance on purpose. He just didn’t know what else to tell the boy. He let Sasuke breathe and stood awkwardly, waiting for a sign he wasn’t sure he would recognize.

He realized he had done the same for Shisui. He had waited for him to come to him. But ultimately, he hadn’t helped him. He knew Shisui was miserable, that something was wrong, but he said nothing. He did nothing. He was waiting for a sign, a call for help… He was just waiting. In the end, Shisui carried his burden alone.

“I’m sorry.” He said to the boy.

Jun knew that Shisui and Sasuke’s situations weren't the same. And yet… he reacted the same way. He waited. He didn’t know what to do, so he waited... hoping things would change.

“Why? It’s not your fault.” Sasuke said.

Jun looked away. If only the boy knew…

Sasuke then began picking up his kunais. Jun didn’t offer to help him. He knew the boy wouldn’t have accepted his assistance. He waited for him to finish.

“There was a man named Danzo Shimura. He was an elder of Konoha and a powerful man. He was the commander of a secret branch of the ANBU called the Root. His influence in the village wasn’t negligible. I believe he was one of Itachi’s and Shisui’s superiors.”

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

“Did Itachi kill him too?”

Jun shook his head.

“I was the one who killed him.”

Sasuke had an incredulous look.

“Why?”

“He stole Shisui’s Sharingan. He didn’t know I had given Shisui a seal to protect his eyes in case someone else tries using his Sharingan. He attempted to use the stolen Dojutsu that night, and the seal was activated.”

“So Itachi didn’t kill Shisui?”

Jun shook his head again.

“I don’t know the details surrounding Shisui’s death, but I’m sure Danzo was involved. What I just told you is confidential information. The Sandaime had forbidden anyone from disclosing it.”

“And yet he made you the head of the Uchiha clan.”

“That was before I accused his childhood friend of theft and hinted at him being behind Shisui’s death. The fact that Danzo was killed by my seal undoubtedly proved that he stole Shisui’s eye, even the Sandaime couldn’t deny that or defend Danzo. However, I don’t think he nor the council ever truly forgave me for causing their friend’s death.”

Sasuke blinked.

“Even if he was a traitor?”

The clan leader shrugged. He personally still felt a vindictive satisfaction knowing he had caused Danzo’s death. But he could understand it wasn’t so simple for people who had known the man as a friend.

“It was hard for them to admit. Sometimes… even when someone betrays us in an abominable way, we still care about them.”

Sasuke’s face hardened, and Jun cursed internally. His last sentence was too much. The boy wasn’t ready to admit he still loved his brother. Given what Itachi had done, it was hard to accept that one still care for him.

There was a short silence. Then Sasuke pointedly turned away to observe the targets clinging to the trees, mechanically twirling a kunai between his fingers as if he was hesitating to throw it.

“Why tell me that?”

Jun asked himself the same question. The information he just told the boy was dangerous. Sasuke was a child and needed to be protected. However, of all of the kids under his care, Sasuke was the one who looked the most like Jun’s old self. He was angry, desperate, and running after a way to soothe his anguish with a sense of urgency that drove him forward. Jun knew what it was like, not being able to sleep because you knew there was a threat out there and feeling weak and helpless.

Jun saw himself a lot in Sasuke. If he had been in his place, he would have wanted to know, to fill the empty spaces with names, clues, and concrete information to feel less lost.

However, a part of him talked to the boy to ease his own guilt. Perhaps he could have saved the Uchihas. He knew what was going to happen but did nothing. His only priority was his own family. He turned away from the rest. He had accepted their death as long as his family’s safety was guaranteed.

“Maybe that information may come in handy one day. You should know of Danzo. He was powerful, influential, and distrusted the Uchiha clan. It was a person who could have known more about what really happened. One thing that bothered me that night and still bothers me is that no one seemed to notice while Itachi was killing everyone. The ANBU only showed up after everything was over.”

Sasuke stiffened at the mention of the ANBU. Jun could feel that the boy was making some connections in his mind. They had been a curfew that night after the incident with the police. Normally, they should have been watched by the ANBU. But no one blocked Itachi’s way.

“But he’s dead, I’ll never get an answer.” Sasuke blurted out in frustration.