I thought I could raise a Hokage!!!

On the streets of Konoha Village.

The little boy looked very pitiful holding a crow, especially since the crow looked very fierce.

A cute little boy and a pitch-black ominous bird...

The style didn't quite match.

A few children ran past them, noticed the crow on Uchiha Itachi's arm, and ran away shouting.

Even though a little girl seemed to want to talk to him, she bit her lip timidly and left when she saw Kitahara's red eyes.

Originally, Itachi Uchiha was not good at communicating with people, but now that he had brought along such a bird with an intimidating appearance, even fewer children talked to him.

"This is our village," Uchiha Itachi said softly, pressing his slightly sore arm. "Konoha Shinobi Village."

"Gah..."

Kitahara noticed his predicament, flew up lightly, and landed on his shoulder.

Since the crow was now larger than the boy's head, Uchiha Itachi tilted his head involuntarily to make room. This was slightly more comfortable.

The crow's feathers brushed lightly against his face, warm and a little itchy.

"Those... children just now, they're the same age as me," Uchiha Itachi said, watching their figures disappear into the street. His tone was low. "But... we clearly don't belong together."

He didn't want friends.

However, Uchiha Itachi, confused by the battles between ninjas, wasn't interested in children's games.

"Gah..."

Kitahara opened his wings and softly patted the boy's hair, as if comforting him.

The boy's cheeks flushed slightly, and a smile crept onto his face as he walked toward the commercial street in the village.

Here's the continuation with grammar corrections:

"There's a takoyaki stand up ahead," Uchiha Itachi said, his voice soft but a bit excited. "The taste is average, but during the summer festival, lots of people line up for it, so it's hard to buy. It's kind of strange..."

"You can often see ninja eating skewers here, but I don't really like the taste. The stories they tell are interesting, though. Even adults get so noisy when they're drunk—my father isn't immune..."

"This shop's three-color dango is sweet... but Dad doesn't like sweets."

Uchiha Itachi rambled on as he walked, an unusual habit for him. Throughout his life, he only ever spoke this much to one other person—his little brother. Whether it was sweet words of encouragement or harsh reprimands, Itachi rarely expressed himself otherwise.

The crow on his shoulder glanced at a nearby meatball shop, its gaze sharp and attentive.

"You want to eat this?" Uchiha Itachi asked, his face lighting up. "Let's go buy some!"

"...Gah..."

Kitahara let out a weak cry. You little brat, you obviously want to eat it more than I do! However, what child doesn't crave sweets?

Perhaps it was because Uchiha Fugaku forbade too many indulgences that Itachi developed such a lasting fondness for them.

Kitahara watched as the boy eagerly approached the shop to pay for the dango. He clearly loved sweets, though he had suffered countless scoldings for it over his life.

"Can crows eat sweets too?" Uchiha Itachi asked, holding a small bag of dango and glancing between the skewers and the crow on his shoulder.

"..."

Kitahara sighed internally. He understood the boy's thoughts all too well.

"Gah!"

The crow suddenly reached out with its beak, snatching a red dango and swallowing it quickly.

Itachi blinked in surprise. "Huh? Don't you like it?" He watched as the crow turned its head away as though uninterested, then happily took a bite himself.

Before long, the bag of three-color dango was empty. Uchiha Itachi burped softly, looking very satisfied. Realizing he was out of sorts, the boy straightened his posture immediately.

Kitahara was stunned. Hey, those dango are barely good as snacks! You ate them like a meal...

"Gah..."

Kitahara noticed a smear of sauce left on the boy's cheek and instinctively stretched out a wing.

"Ah, thank you!" Uchiha Itachi said, quickly wiping his mouth and smiling brightly.

It seemed he hadn't been this happy in a long time—possibly not since his father last praised him for his shuriken skills.

"Itachi, haven't you gone home yet?"

An elderly woman passing by called out to him.

"Grandma, I'll head back now," Itachi responded politely.

"The weather's getting colder. Don't make Mikoto-sama worry!" she added kindly, her tone warm.

Itachi nodded. "Yes!"

Straightening his back, he turned toward his house. Kitahara perched silently on his arm, observing the exchange.

When they arrived at the Uchiha residence, Itachi hesitated before opening the gate. "Want to come inside?" he asked the crow.

"Gah!"

Kitahara nodded eagerly. He was curious to see what life in Konoha's most famous clan was really like.

As Itachi stepped inside, the familiar scent of home greeted him.

"Itachi, you're back?" his mother, Uchiha Mikoto, called out from the kitchen. She stepped out to meet him, wearing an apron tied neatly over her clothes. Her expression softened as she noticed the crow perched on her son's arm.

"Is that... a pet? Why did you bring a crow home?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Itachi thought carefully for a moment before replying, "No, it's a friend I made today."

"…"

Mikoto stared at the boy and then at the bird. Her son had always been mature beyond his years, rarely showing interest in anything trivial. Yet today, he'd brought home a crow as a friend? It was unusual, to say the least.

"Can you tell me how you two met?" she asked, curious about the story behind this strange new companion. She looked at Kitahara, it was a fierce-looking crow, and those red eyes made it look unpleasant.

Kitahara ruffled his feathers slightly under her scrutinizing gaze. He wasn't just a crow, but he couldn't exactly explain that to her.