Sasuke's Invitation

Sasuke's thoughts were simple. Naruto was his first friend, so naturally he wanted to introduce him to his parents.

He also wanted Naruto to experience the warmth of a family. Though his brother and father were always arguing, they both loved him, while Naruto had never had anyone care for him.

Though Sasuke had meant nothing by it, Mikoto and Fugaku both turned to look at him.

If Sasuke had not been their own child, they would have suspected that he had ulterior motives and was deliberately stirring things up.

As Kushina's close friend, Mikoto had long heard about Naruto's miserable life and had even considered adopting him. But was it merely a matter of whether she wanted to? It was a matter of whether she could.

Naruto was the village's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The higher-ups would never allow the Uchiha to adopt him.

In all of Konoha Village, the only person with both the ability and qualifications to adopt Naruto was the Third Hokage. Even if others knew Naruto's identity, they could only discuss it in private and could never make it public.

Itachi looked at Sasuke. His instinct as an overprotective brother made him suspect that Sasuke had been used by someone, and he planned to find a chance to ask him about it in private.

At that moment, Fugaku, who had sat with a stern face in silence for a long time, slowly said, "Since he's your friend, bring him over if you want. We can see whether he's worthy of being a friend of the Uchiha."

A faint smile appeared on Sasuke's face when he heard that.

Itachi frowned and stared fixedly at Fugaku. Mikoto had just been about to say something when Fugaku interrupted her, saying in an unquestionable tone:

"It's a good thing that Sasuke has made a new friend. Do you want him to lose face in front of that friend?"

Since it involved Sasuke, Itachi found it difficult to object. But his cold expression already revealed his true thoughts. He did not want Naruto visiting his home, as it would worsen the conflict between the clan and the village.

After dinner, Itachi changed into his usual ninja clothes and left home. Before leaving, he deliberately glanced at Fugaku's study.

He had used a mission as an excuse to leave home, but rather than heading to the Anbu base, he went to a corner of the clan compound and knocked on Shisui's door.

When Shisui saw that the visitor was Itachi, he warmly received him before asking why he had come.

Itachi quickly told Shisui about Sasuke inviting Naruto to visit, then voiced his concern that Fugaku might be planning to launch a coup.

After giving it some serious thought, Shisui said, "It is somewhat inappropriate to have the Jinchuriki visit your home, but the clan head is unlikely to attack the Jinchuriki in full view of everyone. If the clan wanted to make a move against the Jinchuriki, there would be plenty of opportunities. There's no need to act so openly."

"Itachi, you're being too sensitive."

Itachi felt that made some sense. He let out a quiet sigh and said, "I hope so. Lately, the resentment toward the village at clan meetings has been growing stronger and stronger. I'm worried the clan really will launch a coup."

At that moment, Itachi seemed to remember something. "Brother Shisui, if an irreconcilable conflict arose between the clan and the village, which side would you choose? The clan or the village?"

After pondering for a moment, Shisui smiled and said, "I'll do everything I can to prevent that from happening. If the village and the clan want to harm each other, they'll have to step over my corpse first."

Hearing this, Itachi fell silent. His thoughts had diverged from Shisui's.

If that day truly came, he would definitely choose between the clan and the village, and preserve one of them as much as possible.

The next day at noon.

Naruto took out the lunchbox he had prepared in advance, sat on the rooftop, and enjoyed the quiet lunch break.

After finishing his lunchbox in no time, Naruto looked at the crowd in the distance. As the wind blew over him, he searched for classmates worthy of becoming "friends," so he could get more living expenses and ninja scrolls from the old Third Hokage.

Though the old Third Hokage had never seemed to have much affection for him, he still diligently provided Naruto with resources for his growth.

Before long, Naruto had several promising candidates in mind.

Haruno Sakura, who came from a civilian family; Ino of the Yamanaka Clan; Kiba of the Inuzuka Clan; and the obscure, barely noticeable Shino Aburame.

Sakura and Kiba were the first to be eliminated.

Sakura was single-mindedly devoted to Sasuke. As for Kiba, Naruto simply disliked dogs and did not bear much ill will toward Kiba himself.

But Ino gave Naruto a bit of a headache. He did not particularly like dealing with girls, so that only left the obscure Shino. After getting to know him, perhaps Naruto could reduce his own presence as well.

As for the remaining three members of the Konoha 11, they were all upperclassmen and had little contact with him.

Just as Naruto was considering how to meet his quota, the Nine-Tails said lazily, "That Uchiha brat is coming to see you again. Who knows what's been going on lately? That Uchiha brat has been showing up more often than even little Hinata."

Naruto ignored the Nine-Tails, who was becoming more and more like an orange cat, then turned to Sasuke behind him. "Here to challenge me again? If you haven't improved, you're going to suffer."

Sasuke said with a cold face, "Defeating you is only a matter of time. But I came to see you about something else today."

Naruto was a little curious. "What is it? A problem with training?"

Sasuke, who was usually so aloof, seemed somewhat hesitant now. After dawdling for a long time, he finally said, "Yesterday, I told my parents about how we've been training together. They asked me to invite you over to visit, saying they wanted to get to know you properly..."

As he spoke the last part, Sasuke visibly sped up, as if he were saying something embarrassing.

Naruto was stunned for a moment before smiling. "You're the one who wants to invite me over, aren't you? It was clearly your own idea, yet you're blaming it on your parents. That doesn't sound like you."

Sasuke regained his cold expression and said flatly, "I did invite you, that's right. But my mother seems to know you. She once considered adopting you. Don't you want to ask her about it?"

Mikoto Uchiha once considered adopting me?

Naruto frowned in thought. In his memories, Kushina and Mikoto Uchiha had indeed been close friends. But the Uchiha wanting to adopt a Jinchuriki was probably wishful thinking, unless an Uchiha had become Hokage.

Sasuke took Naruto's silence as a refusal and said somewhat dejectedly, "Forget it if you don't want to go. I won't invite you again next time. I hope you won't regret it."

Naruto snapped out of his memories. Hearing Sasuke's words, he smiled and said, "I'm willing to accept your invitation. But this is my first time visiting someone else's home. Should I bring a gift?"

Sasuke shook his head, then said, "It's the thought that counts. The gift isn't important. I also want to know exactly what connection you have with my family. Whenever you're mentioned, my father and mother both become evasive."

Naruto merely smiled without speaking. That wasn't evasiveness. They understood my identity and knew what it meant for a Jinchuriki to appear at the Uchiha Clan Compound. But since it was an invitation, I wouldn't refuse.