Let Big Brother Bear All the Pain

The sky was still dark.

Dawn had yet to break.

Itachi got up, because today he had promised his little brother that he would help him make a lunchbox for his new friend, Naruto.

After washing up, Itachi stepped outside. Looking at the pitch-black world beyond, he could not help feeling a trace of irritation. In truth, he did not want to live in darkness.

Itachi longed for the light too.

"Sasuke, let Big Brother bear all the pain..." Itachi murmured into the darkness before returning inside to prepare the lunchboxes.

Time slowly passed. Wearing an apron, Itachi focused intently on preparing Sasuke's lunch for Naruto, while also making breakfast for the family.

The sky gradually brightened.

A small head poked into the kitchen. "Good morning, Big Brother."

"Morning, Sasuke." Itachi was frying eggs when he turned around and greeted Sasuke with a smile. "Go wash up. While you're at it, wake Father and Mother for breakfast."

"Okay. Thank you, Big Brother. You worked hard!" Sasuke flashed a mischievous smile, then skipped off to wake Mikoto and Fugaku.

By the time Sasuke, Fugaku, and Mikoto had washed up, Itachi had finished breakfast for the family as well as Naruto's lunchbox. At Sasuke's request, he had dug out every lunchbox in the house and filled more than a dozen of them.

The family sat around the dining table and ate breakfast.

Breakfast consisted of bread, fried eggs, and milk. Sasuke loved the fried eggs his brother made most of all.

Mikoto looked up and saw the dozen or so lunchboxes on the other side of the table. A puzzled expression appeared on her face as she asked, "Itachi, why did you make so many lunchboxes? Are they for Sasuke to take to school?"

Hearing this, Itachi said, "Mother, they're for Sasuke's new friend. Sasuke had lunch at his friend's place yesterday, so today he asked me to make lunchboxes so he could return the favor."

After hearing Itachi's explanation, Mikoto turned to Sasuke and said with a smile, "Oh? Our Sasuke made a friend? Invite him over to play sometime."

"Mother..." Sasuke had just started to speak when Itachi interrupted him...

"Mother, I'm sure you know Sasuke's friend. His name is Naruto Uzumaki, and he's Aunt Kushina's child. Actually, I saw Naruto in the hospital when I was little, but he had only just been born then. His face was still all wrinkled," Itachi said.

Itachi also knew that Naruto was the son of his mother's close friend. Unfortunately, his mother's friend and her husband, the Fourth Hokage, had both died during the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

His mother had been heartbroken for a long time afterward.

"Kushina's child?" Mikoto looked stunned. Her best friend's face surfaced in her mind. Back then, the two had been inseparable, often going everywhere together and visiting the market to shop.

In the blink of an eye, seven years had passed. Kushina had been dead for seven years.

Her child was seven years old now as well.

Ah, what a pity. For certain reasons, Mikoto had truly wanted to take in her best friend's child and raise him together with her own, but...

"Let's eat breakfast first..." Fugaku said at that moment. He was reminding his wife not to let her feelings show and alert Sasuke.

Fugaku sighed inwardly as well, feeling regret for Minato's family. If Minato were still alive, given the relationship between himself and Minato, the Uchiha Clan probably would not have fallen to such a state.

This situation left him extremely wary even of extending a helping hand to Naruto. Back then, the Uchiha Clan had founded the Ninja Village of Konoha together with the Senju Clan of the First and Second Hokage.

Some people in the clan seemed unable to sit still any longer.

Sasuke did not notice anything. He continued eating breakfast happily while telling his mother about Naruto.

After breakfast, Itachi helped Sasuke pack all the lunchboxes into a large backpack, then saw him out. He himself headed to work in the Anbu.

At home, Mikoto walked over to Fugaku and asked, "Will there be any problems if Sasuke gets so close to Naruto?"

Fugaku shook his head. "No. Sasuke is not Itachi. If Itachi got close to Naruto, some people would worry."

Fugaku analyzed the situation. He understood that Naruto's identity was far too important. He had secretly kept an eye on Naruto; when Naruto was young, the little living allowance he received had simply not been enough.

Where had Minato's inheritance gone?

Fugaku did not dare think about it, nor did he want to. He feared that once certain things were considered and acted upon, all of Konoha might be dragged into a meaningless war.

But weren't people all forced into such situations?

Some people had truly gone too far.

For a moment, Uchiha Fugaku thought of many, many things—things he did not want to think about, yet had no choice but to consider.

After chatting with Mikoto about Sasuke for a while, Fugaku tidied up and went to work at the Military Police Force.

Noon quickly passed. Itachi had worked in the Anbu all morning, and during his meal break, he left the Anbu. He wanted to visit the school and take a look at his little brother.

Now, he only wanted to see his little brother more.

One more look was one more look. In the future, he might find it difficult to see his little brother's face and hear his voice again.

When he arrived at the school, the dismissal bell had just rung. Itachi hid in a corner and watched from afar as students filed out through the school gates.

After a while, Itachi spotted Sasuke.

Sasuke carried the large backpack Itachi had prepared for him. Naruto, who was a head and a half taller than Sasuke, walked beside him, and the two chatted and laughed as they left the school.

"So that's Naruto?"

Itachi carefully examined Naruto. He looked very different from the Naruto Itachi had imagined, though that yellow hair had undoubtedly inherited the genes of the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash.

Itachi followed them from afar. With his skills, neither of them could possibly notice him.

He watched Sasuke and Naruto arrive at a small river, then eat their lunchboxes together on the grass by the river. He saw Naruto's exclamation when he caught sight of the lunchboxes.

Itachi could not help smiling. He had always been confident in his cooking.

It was just that, in the future, little brother, Big Brother might not be able to fry eggs for you anymore.

Itachi quietly watched the two interact. It was innocent and beautiful. Sasuke's smile gave him a trace of warmth. Little brother, I'm doing all this for your sake. I hope you won't blame Big Brother in the future.

At that moment, Itachi also understood what Sasuke had meant when he said Naruto had a huge appetite. Naruto's appetite really was enormous—he finished more than a dozen lunchboxes without even frowning.

After Naruto and Sasuke finished eating and left the grassy riverbank, Itachi stood where he was for a while before walking away expressionlessly.

That evening, after finishing a day of Anbu work, Itachi returned home. As soon as he reached the front door, he saw Sasuke's smiling face.

"Big Brother, you're finally back." Sasuke ran toward him.

"Mm, Big Brother's back." In an instant, Itachi put on a smile and spoke gently to Sasuke.

"Thank you, Big Brother. Naruto really loved the lunchboxes you made. He said your cooking was on the same level as his." Sasuke beamed. Naruto's acknowledgment of his brother's cooking had clearly made him very happy.

"Of course. Who do you think your Big Brother is..." Itachi put on an appropriately proud expression.

"Big Brother, um... can you teach me how to cook?"