Ming Jing and Itachi!

Ever since the Kurama Clan started making money, Ming Jing had begun enjoying life. The clothes he wore had to be tailored from the finest fabrics, with every outfit featuring different patterns and styles. The food he ate each day had to be the freshest, and the same dish could not appear on the table within seven days. The horse he rode to school had to be a purebred white horse, while the palanquin he used for daily travel was made from the finest fragrant wood. Even the small courtyard where he lived had been specially built according to the Suzhou Gardens in Ming Jing's memories, combining the strengths of both Lion Grove and the Humble Administrator's Garden. Ming Jing had named it Xiaoxiang Bieyuan.

Every day, the beautiful and attentive Tsukishiro Yuexi waited on him as he got up and washed, while the honest and dependable Qing Yan guarded his door. The entire Kurama Clan was under his control, operating according to his will. This kind of life was called "sleeping drunk upon a beauty's lap, waking to wield power over the world"! Ming Jing even had the feeling that if he did not find himself some fun soon, he would find some fun for all of Konoha—and that would be a huge spectacle.

Thinking of this, Ming Jing hurriedly climbed out of his tender paradise. He looked around, and there appeared a super bro-con with built-in colored contacts!

"Good morning, Itachi!" On a bright sunny morning, Ming Jing sat atop a tall white horse and lowered his head with a smile to greet Uchiha Itachi.

"Morning." Uchiha Itachi glanced at Ming Jing. He knew that the Kurama Clan had made a lot of money by opening restaurants. The entire Kurama Clan seemed to have changed careers from ninjas into an ordinary wealthy family—they had actually started enjoying life! In the cruel ninja world, that was simply courting death.

So, in Uchiha Itachi's eyes, the Kurama Clan and the Uchiha Clan had completely become worlds apart.

This was a ninja clan corrupted by worldly money!

That was Uchiha Itachi's evaluation of the entire Kurama Clan.

"Itachi! Winter break is coming up soon. Konoha's hot springs aren't authentic. How about we go to Oita Prefecture together? The Beppu Onsen there are the best in the world." Ming Jing invited him eagerly.

"No." Itachi shook his head and refused directly.

"Eh? Why? Soaking in warm water is good for your physical and mental health. It relieves stress, promotes blood circulation, and speeds up metabolism!" Ming Jing continued inviting him.

"I'll be training in winter." Itachi paused before offering an explanation.

Ming Jing got down from his horse and walked alongside Itachi, speaking meaningfully. "Life is short. You should enjoy yourself when it's time to enjoy yourself. After all, no one knows what might happen tomorrow!"

Itachi looked at Ming Jing strangely, then spoke after a while. "That's why I need to train hard and become stronger!"

"I think I heard some terrifying perverted-brother-con inner thoughts like, 'Only then can I protect my dearest little brother! Ah! My little brother really is the cutest little brother in the world!'" Ming Jing said with a serious expression.

A vein popped out on Itachi's forehead. This bastard! In just two or three sentences, he had gone off in some weird direction again!

"Oh, really?! I think I heard someone's inner thoughts plotting a terrifying plan too. Something like, 'My adorable little sister will be getting married in ten years or so! What should I do?! Should I kill my future brother-in-law later?'" Itachi actually retorted. He had actually retorted!

Ming Jing stared at Uchiha Itachi in shock!

This guy wasn't Uchiha Sasuke in disguise, was he?

Thinking of that possibility, Ming Jing jumped back and stared at Itachi nervously. "Admit it! You're Uchiha Sasuke, aren't you? My Itachi would never say something like that! Uchiha Sasuke, you foolish little brother, did you think I wouldn't see through your impersonation of your brother? I'm your brother's lifelong best friend and lifelong rival!"

Ah, shit!

Itachi took a deep breath. In a certain sense, the bastard before him really was his lifelong rival! Only in front of Ming Jing could he not remain calm. When had this started?

No, no! If I don't fight him today, I won't be able to calm down at all!

"Come with me!" Uchiha Itachi said coldly, then turned and headed toward his usual training ground.

"Hmph, I'm a good student in the teachers' eyes, a fine example in my classmates' hearts, and a good Young Master in my clansmen's minds. I'm not skipping school with you!" Ming Jing righteously refused. At that moment, Captain America possessed him—he was justice itself!

The "light of justice" radiating from Ming Jing nearly made Uchiha Itachi activate his Sharingan! Yet Itachi had no response to that at all!

Forcibly suppressing the urge to beat Ming Jing up in the street, Uchiha Itachi headed straight for school. He did not want to see Ming Jing for even one more second!

Yet Itachi had barely taken a few steps when Ming Jing caught up, opening his mouth and rattling off a whole string of words. "Eh? This is the Itachi who's my lifelong best friend! Itachi, you might not know this, but I just saw your little brother Uchiha Sasuke pretending to be you in order to trick me! Luckily, I'm incredibly perceptive and exposed him immediately. After you go home, you have to properly educate your little brother. How could he be so naughty? ..."

Ming Jing suddenly realized that making Itachi angry was actually so much fun. So he happily kept at it every day, teasing this future S-rank rogue ninja whenever he had the chance. Finally, on another bright and sunny day, Itachi challenged Ming Jing! For peace-loving Itachi, this was simply unbelievable—yet he had done it anyway.

After all, he was still a child!

Ming Jing smiled inwardly. No matter how mature he was, he was still a child!

Led by Itachi, Ming Jing arrived at the training ground Itachi often used. Qing Yan and Tsukishiro Yuexi, who were always inseparable from him, came along as well. Once they reached Itachi's private training ground, Ming Jing looked around everywhere like a curious child.

After coming to a stop, Itachi looked at Ming Jing, his expression turning solemn. Itachi never underestimated his opponents, even if they looked like idiots!

"Um..." Ming Jing scratched his hair and asked awkwardly, "What am I supposed to do?"

"!!" Itachi frowned slightly. It seemed the Kurama Clan's decline had been even faster than he had imagined!

"Just like the sparring classes at school." Itachi explained briefly. Then he drew a kunai and said to Ming Jing, "Careful. Here I come!"

"Wait, wait a second..." Before Ming Jing could finish speaking, the kunai in Itachi's hand had already flown toward him. At the same time, Itachi himself kept moving, firing kunai at him from every angle.

Ming Jing stood where he was. At some point, an ornate longsword had appeared in his hand. Faced with kunai coming from all directions, he seemed not to move at all, yet every kunai around him was cut cleanly in two and fell to the ground.

Hidden in the shadows, Uchiha Itachi inexplicably felt relieved when he saw this. Perhaps deep down, he truly did not want his friend to have really fallen so far.

"The Young Master's Sword Drawing Technique has become even faster. I didn't even see when he drew his sword." Qing Yan stood in the distance, his tone excited.

"Yes! So fast!" Tsukishiro Yuexi nodded as well.

Itachi darted between the trees and threw out several kunai. Just as they were about to pierce Ming Jing, the kunai miraculously struck one another several times, changing their trajectories and flying toward him from other angles.

Ming Jing turned slightly and used the same move again. In an instant, his sword flashed out and knocked away every kunai. Itachi instantly moved behind Ming Jing and completed a hand seal at a speed that even Yuexi found astonishing. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

When Ming Jing turned around, he saw an enormous fireball that nearly filled his entire field of vision!

"As expected of Itachi! His movement, Hand Seals, and Ninjutsu release are all unexpectedly fast!" Ming Jing praised sincerely. After releasing the Ninjutsu, Itachi hid himself again. He did not think Ming Jing would be defeated by a C-rank Ninjutsu. And indeed, Ming Jing swung his sword once more. A cold gleam sliced down through the huge fireball, splitting the Great Fireball Technique cleanly in two!

The six-year-old Uchiha Itachi had yet to awaken his Sharingan, but when he focused intently, he still caught Ming Jing's movements. There had been no tricks to it—just pure speed, speed taken to the absolute extreme!

"You're clearly a master of genjutsu. Why did you train your swordsmanship to this level?" Itachi could not help asking.

"Don't you think I look especially cool dressed in white and holding a longsword?" Ming Jing smiled faintly, casually spun his sword in a flourish, and spoke with great self-satisfaction.

Itachi was silent for a while before speaking. "That's exactly why I have to beat you up! ..."

"Because I'm more handsome than you. I've always known that." Ming Jing nodded seriously.

Standing nearby and watching, Tsukishiro Yuexi covered her mouth and chuckled. "The Young Master is only like this when he's with Young Master Itachi!"

"Yes..." Qing Yan twitched the corner of his mouth. The Young Master in his heart was steady, wise, calm, beautiful, humble, elegant, generous, clean, friendly, bright, serious, self-aware, considerate, diligent, devoted, reliable, conscientious, cautious, passionate, straightforward, pure—five thousand words omitted here. His Young Master was not like this at all! Who was this sharp-tongued narcissist? Get out of my adorable Young Master's body already!!!