Frail Itachi

Splat.

Just as Jin was quietly sizing up the area outside the village, a figure suddenly landed at his feet.

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

Thump.

His outstretched leg was blocked.

"Jin, it's me." Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, a warm smile on his face. "Basking in the sun again today?"

With that, he casually brushed the dust off Jin's calf.

There was quite a bit of dust on the courtyard wall.

"One-vs-Seven, huh? Why aren't you out on a mission today?"

Jin glanced at his older brother, his voice listless.

He hadn't copied any word entries today, so he wasn't keen on a deep conversation with Itachi.

"No, Father's been planning to have me join the Anbu recently."

Itachi sat down beside him.

His voice was gentle, like spring sunlight—comforting.

But the words he spoke made Jin lift his eyes.

Join the Anbu?

If he remembered correctly, this was around the time One-vs-Seven went undercover and ended up getting fully turned, wasn't it?

"What's wrong?" Itachi looked over.

"One-vs-Seven, has it really come to this between the clan and the village?"

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

His narrowed eyes even widened a little.

"As expected, you're still as sharp as ever."

Here was a kid who just liked lazing in the sun.

Yet, with a single piece of information, he could accurately deduce the situation!

This!

Was something most people couldn't do.

"It seems Jin's mind is more than a match for the Nara clan's."

Itachi thought this and nodded unconsciously.

The light in his eyes dimmed for a moment.

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

In fact, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that if Father hadn't been holding things back, the clan members would have already launched a coup.

But!

Those were outsiders!

He took a deep breath, and when he looked up again, only resolve remained on his face.

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

"And what about Mizumi?"

Itachi: ...

"Let's... talk about that thing with you setting the dogs on Sasuke instead."

He took a breath and shifted the topic.

"I saw the whole thing, so—"

But before he could finish, Jin cut him off.

"Father, did you hear that? One-vs-Seven watched the whole thing!"

Itachi: ?

Jin spun around, jumped up, and pointed at Itachi, tattling.

At the base of the wall.

Fugaku held Sasuke by the scruff of his neck, tossing him aside like a little chick.

The once clean, fair, and adorable Little Shota.

Was now covered in filth.

And even faintly reeked of dog urine.

Truly off-putting.

That bastard!

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

He looked up at his most intelligent and formidable eldest son.

Let out an almost imperceptible sigh.

What a disaster!

Even this most obedient, clever, and extraordinarily talented eldest son was starting to develop problems!

His brow furrowed slightly as he hesitated over his words, then said:

"Itachi, Sasuke has always looked up to you as his idol, and he cares for you deeply. You..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but the implication was clear:

As an older brother, how could you let your younger brother get bitten by a dog!

Itachi's face showed a complex expression.

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

He let out a deep sigh.

Said nothing more.

Pointless rebuttals would only deepen the conflict.

Even if he had stopped because he noticed the villagers' attitudes improving.

And Sasuke, though wanting to argue, had already been scolded before coming back.

So he naturally didn't dare make a sound.

"Hmph! You three brothers reflect on yourselves today!"

After a moment, Fugaku harshly flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

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

Leaving the three brothers staring at each other.

After a moment, Itachi chuckled softly and picked up Sasuke, coaxing him like a child: "You're all stinky, go wash up."

Jin watched their retreating figures and silently adjusted his position.

Lying down more comfortably.

Before his eyes, a line of text slowly flashed by.

[Defeated Uchiha Sasuke. Attempting to copy trait.]

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

Jin: ...

Feed it!

Feed this trait to Flying Thunder God right now!

One month later.

Early morning, in the Uchiha District, after breakfast.

Fugaku looked at Sasuke and tapped the table, saying: "Come with me to the river later. I'll teach you how to refine Chakra."

Clunk.

Hearing this, Sasuke's eyes shot wide open, like a cow's eyes.

He struggled three times to swallow the rice ball in his mouth, then said excitedly: "R-really, Father?! I can finally start training?"

"Really."

Fugaku rubbed his head.

This youngest son had way too much energy!

For an entire month straight, he'd gone from being chased by dogs every day to chasing dogs every day!

How outrageous was that!

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

Look, there's the father of that dog-chasing kid.

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

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

All kinds of comments made his head spin.

Some people even jokingly called Sasuke and Jin the Uchiha Twin Dragons.

One chasing dogs all day.

A guy who chatted all day long.

This was a world of difference from the previously unapproachable Uchiha clan members.

No choice, he had to find ways to drain Sasuke's energy.

Worth noting, in the process of chasing dogs, Sasuke had also gained a batch of—teammates!

The brats represented by Yellow Hair and Green Vest!

They'd joined the dog-chasing crew too.

And it was no longer limited to the original Seven Shiba Inu.

Any dog spotted in the village, they chased!

This also made the village's dogs recently tremble in fear at the mere scent of them.

Thinking this, Jin turned and glanced at Pakkun outside.

The Seven Shiba Inu behind this guy had even started growing muscles.

Biceps.

Indeed, chasing was the real training.

After the meal, Fugaku turned and left with Sasuke.

Itachi considerately helped his mother Mikoto clean up the housework.

And Jin?

He cheerfully followed into the kitchen.

Before he could even speak, Itachi said quickly:

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

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

The repeated Q&A over the past few days had let Itachi figure out the answers Jin favored.

In short, to put it simply.

Always stand on your own side's side.

Getting a satisfactory answer, after chatting a bit more to make it ten minutes, Jin turned to leave.

But as soon as he lifted his foot, the scene before him made him freeze in place.

"Hm? Jin, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

Jin twitched the corner of his mouth, turned, stood on tiptoe, and patted his elder brother's shoulder, sighing:

"One-vs-Seven, remember to go get yourself checked out sometime."

"You're young, how'd you get so weak?"

[Conversation target: Uchiha Itachi.]

[Conversation for ten minutes, attempting to copy trait.]

[Success, congratulations host for obtaining white trait Frail (White).]

[Frail: Under the influence of the Too Smart to Live Long trait, the body cannot bear the deficit caused by the spirit, difficult to make up for.]