Frail Itachi

Splat.

Just as Jin was secretly watching the outskirts of the village, a figure suddenly landed beside his feet.

He frowned and instinctively kicked at him. "Pakkun, get lost. I'm not in the mood to play with you right now."

Smack.

Someone caught his outstretched leg.

"Jin, it's me." Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, a warm smile on his face. "Are you sunbathing again today?"

As he spoke, he casually brushed the dust off Jin's lower leg.

There was a lot of dust on the courtyard wall.

"Uchiha Itachi, why aren't you going on a mission today?"

Jin glanced at his brother and asked listlessly.

He hadn't copied a trait today, so he wasn't particularly interested in having a deep conversation with Itachi.

"No. Father's planning to have me join the Anbu soon."

Itachi sat down beside him.

His voice was gentle, like the sunlight on a spring day, soothing to listen to.

But what he said made Jin look up.

Join the Anbu?

If he remembered correctly, this was when Uchiha Itachi became a spy, only to be completely turned against the clan, wasn't it?

"What's wrong?" Itachi looked at him.

"Uchiha Itachi, have things between the clan and the village really reached this point?"

Hearing Jin's words, Itachi's smile faltered slightly.

His narrowed eyes opened a little wider.

"As expected, you're just as clever as ever."

He was still just a little kid who loved to sunbathe.

Yet from a simple piece of information, he'd accurately deduced the situation!

This!

Was something an ordinary person could never do!

"Looks like Jin's brains are every bit as sharp as those of the Nara."

Thinking this, Itachi nodded unconsciously.

The light in his eyes dimmed for a moment.

The conflict between the village and the clan had indeed reached the point of no return.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that if Father weren't holding them back, the clan would have already launched a coup.

But!

Those were all outsiders!

He took a deep breath. When he looked up again, his face held nothing but resolve.

"Don't worry, Jin. I'll protect you and Sasuke!"

"What about Mizumi?"

Itachi: ...

"Let's... talk about you letting the dogs chase Sasuke instead."

He drew a breath and changed the subject.

"I watched the whole thing, so—"

But before he could finish, Jin cut him off.

"Father, you heard that, right? Uchiha Itachi watched the whole thing!"

Itachi: ?

Jin abruptly spun around, leapt up, and pointed at Itachi as he complained.

At the foot of the wall.

Fugaku held Sasuke by the scruff of his neck and set him down beside the wall like a little chick.

The little Shota had been clean and adorable before.

Now he was covered in filth.

There was even a faint smell of dog urine.

What a turnoff.

Such a turnoff!

Fugaku had just reached the wall when he heard Jin's words.

He looked up at his cleverest and most capable eldest son.

A nearly imperceptible sigh escaped him.

What a mess!

His most well-behaved and brilliant son, so gifted, was starting to have problems too!

His brow furrowed slightly as he carefully chose his words.

"Itachi, Sasuke has always looked up to you. He cares about you so much, and you..."

He left the rest unsaid, but the message was clear:

How could an older brother stand by while his younger brother got chased by dogs?

Itachi's expression was complicated.

His gaze shifted between Jin and Fugaku, then finally settled on Sasuke by the wall.

He sighed deeply.

He didn't bother to explain further.

Pointless arguments would only make things worse.

Even if he had only stopped because he saw the villagers' attitude improving.

And although Sasuke wanted to speak up, he'd already been scolded once before they got home.

He naturally didn't dare say anything now.

"Hmph! You three can all think about what you've done today!"

A moment later, Fugaku gave his sleeve a sharp flick and turned to leave.

He couldn't even bring himself to say anything harsher.

That left the three brothers staring at one another.

After a moment, Itachi chuckled and picked Sasuke up, soothing him like a little child. "You're all stinky. Go wash up."

Jin watched them leave and quietly shifted position.

He settled in more comfortably.

A notification slowly appeared before his eyes.

[Defeated Uchiha Sasuke. Attempting to copy trait.]

[Copy successful. Congratulations, host has obtained the common trait Tsundere (White).]

Jin: ...

Feed it!

Feed this trait to Flying Thunder God right now!

One month later.

Early in the morning, after breakfast at the Uchiha District,

Fugaku tapped on the table as he looked at Sasuke. "Come with me to the river later. I'll teach you how to refine Chakra."

Thump.

At the words, Sasuke's eyes flew wide, round as a bull's.

It took him three tries to swallow his rice ball. Then, brimming with excitement, he asked, "R-really, Father?! I can finally start training?"

"Really."

Fugaku rubbed his temples.

His youngest son had far too much energy!

For a whole month, he'd gone from being chased by dogs every day to chasing them every day!

This was simply ridiculous!

Now whenever he went out on business, people in the village would point at him and say:

"Look, that's the father of the kid who chases dogs."

"Hehe, his kid got chased around by dogs for half a month."

"Has the Uchiha clan really fallen so far that they have to play with dogs now? Hahaha!"

All those comments were giving him a headache.

People had even taken to calling Sasuke and Jin the Uchiha Twin Dragons.

One chased dogs all day.

The other chatted all day.

They were worlds apart from the aloof Uchiha of the past.

He had no choice but to find a way to burn off Sasuke's energy.

It was worth mentioning that, over the course of chasing dogs, Sasuke had also recruited a group of—teammates!

The kids led by Yellow Hair and Green Clothes!

They'd joined the dog-chasing pack too.

And they weren't limited to the seven Shiba Inu from before anymore.

Any dog they spotted in the village was fair game!

As a result, the dogs in the village had been terrified out of their wits lately.

Thinking of this, Jin turned to look at Pakkun outside the door.

The seven Shiba Inu behind him had even started growing muscles.

Biceps.

Sure enough, chasing was the real workout.

After breakfast, Fugaku took Sasuke and left.

Itachi thoughtfully helped his mother, Mikoto, with the housework.

And Jin?

He cheerfully followed them into the kitchen.

Before he could say a word, Itachi quickly said,

"Don't worry. I'll protect you and Sasuke, no matter whether the other side is from the village or not."

"If anyone tries to take Shisui's eyes, I'll stop them, even if it's Danzo!"

After so many days of questions and answers, Itachi had figured out what Jin wanted to hear.

In short, he'd always stand by his own people.

Once he'd heard the answer he wanted and chatted long enough to reach ten minutes, Jin turned to leave.

But the moment he lifted his foot, what appeared before his eyes made him freeze.

"Hmm? Jin, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing."

Jin tugged at the corner of his mouth, turned around, and stood on tiptoe to pat his brother on the shoulder. He sighed.

"Uchiha Itachi, make sure you get yourself checked out more often."

"How did you get so frail at such a young age?"

[Conversation target: Uchiha Itachi.]

[Talked for ten minutes. Attempting to copy trait.]

[Success. Congratulations, host has obtained the white trait Frail.]

[Frail: Under the influence of the Too Smart to Live Long trait, the body cannot handle the strain caused by the mind, and the resulting depletion is difficult to make up for.]