Itachi Covered in Black Entries

"Finally awake, huh, One-vs-Seven!"

Uchiha Jin licked the corner of his mouth, dry from standing too long, a faint, unusual glint in his eyes.

This man, hailed as the Beloved Son, he had finally met.

Of course, it wasn't out of admiration.

His feelings toward Itachi were complicated.

On one hand, this guy had turned around and gutted his entire clan—an unrepentant zealot.

On the other hand, he had done it to protect his younger brother, even going so far as to threaten the village.

A tangle of complex, contradictory emotions—you could only say he was both lovable and hateful.

But right now, his main goal was—the traits!

"I wonder what traits this age's Itachi has."

"Hope I don't copy Amaterasu later..."

He murmured to himself, a hint of anticipation in his heart.

There were plenty of traits; as long as it wasn't that one that couldn't burn anyone to death.

That's right, I'm talking about it—Amaterasu!

Even if Amaterasu sounded impressive and worked decently, But!

In the world of Hokage, it fell into the same trap as 99% of fire techniques—it couldn't burn anyone to death!

Great power, but no kills!

So what was it for?

To put on a fireworks show for others?

Or maybe a nighttime iron-flower performance!

Uchiha Jin cleared his throat and asked, "One-vs-Seven, I've got a question for you now!"

"One-vs-Seven?"

Uchiha Itachi repeated it, immediately catching the pun.

Giving his own older brother a nickname!

He furrowed his brow.

But when his gaze landed on his little brother's smooth, tender face, his brow relaxed again:

"As expected of Jin, to come up with such an amusing nickname."

"Ask whatever you want."

With that, he reached out a hand to ruffle Jin's little cheek.

Smooth and soft—he wanted to squish it.

"Hey, be serious."

Seeing this, Uchiha Jin dodged his head and put on a stern face, speaking like an adult, "If one day the village and the clan stand on opposite sides, whose side will you take?"

Click.

Itachi's outstretched hand froze mid-air.

He was a little stunned.

Though still a child, his eyes revealed a surprise and melancholy that didn't match his age.

"Has Jin already sensed this too?"

"No! That's not it!"

"Could it be... that's right, he must have overheard Father talking."

"Father has been getting careless lately, not even paying attention to things like this!"

"It seems the restless elements in the clan are growing..."

He furrowed his brow.

On his small, childish face, tear tracks and frown lines were already quite prominent.

Clearly, this was because he'd been frowning and worrying since childhood.

Seeing this, Jin shook his head and sighed: Sure enough, at this age, Itachi had already sensed something was wrong.

But even sensing it this early, he still ended up on the path to clan annihilation.

It shouldn't have been.

How wrong of you, Itachi!

Seven years is enough time to change many things!

Of course, the Uchiha clan's paranoid laughter can't be changed.

"Jin, why would you ask that question?"

"Do you really think the clan and the village will end up on opposite sides?"

Hesitating, Uchiha Itachi didn't answer directly. Instead, he lowered his arm and spoke softly.

He didn't know what he should do.

But he also wanted to see his younger brother's opinion.

"You just need to answer me."

"I... I don't know..."

"Then—let me rephrase."

Jin shook his head. The current Itachi was lost.

Even the Itachi who would later carry out the massacre was lost.

He could only ask a sharper question to wake up this foolish nii-san!

"If the village wanted to kill me and Sasuke, which side would you stand on, Itachi?"

Crack!

Itachi's face instantly tightened, and his back straightened.

Did he even need to ask?

There was no hesitation at all!

He clenched his fist and said directly, "Don't worry, I won't let that day come."

Still running away.

Not facing things head-on was a form of escape.

Jin shook his head and didn't press further.

But to fill the time, he had to ask something else.

"By the way, Itachi, you said before that Father's secret savings are in the bottom right corner of the cabinet in the third room?"

Uchiha Itachi: ???

Fugaku, eavesdropping next door: ???

Damn it, Itachi, how could you tell Jin that!

You exposed my secret savings!

No wonder little Jin knew so much!

In an instant, Fugaku even pinned last night's blame on Itachi.

His face darkened as he grabbed a rope and was about to yank open the sliding door when a cold, eerie glare came from behind him.

"Dear clan leader, where are you—going?"

Drip.

Drip.

It was a cool morning, yet the chill was thick.

Sweat slowly beaded on his forehead.

It slid onto his eyelids, stinging sharply.

Fugaku turned around and saw Mikoto smiling sweetly.

Dead meat!

He gritted his teeth viciously but could only force an awkward smile. "I'm going to prepare breakfast for you all."

"Oh~ Alright then, Fugaku."

Uchiha Mikoto smiled, not exposing the man's embarrassment.

She just gazed at the two small figures outside the door, a deep happiness radiating from her.

These were her beloved children.

Living room.

Swish.

Just as their words faded, the side door slid open.

Then, with a dark face, Uchiha Fugaku stepped out, looking utterly miserable.

"Ah, Father!"

The two of them jumped in unison at Fugaku's sudden appearance.

Especially Jin.

He had been asking some very sensitive questions.

Luckily, Uchiha Fugaku seemed to have only caught the tail end.

After glaring at them both, he headed straight for the third room without looking back.

His secret savings needed a new hiding spot.

"Hm? Father's gaze seemed... a little complicated?"

Itachi was startled too, but also puzzled.

He felt there was something else hidden in his father's eyes.

Meanwhile, after Fugaku left.

Jin's eyes lit up.

The prompt was here!

[Conversation Target: Uchiha Itachi.]

[Parsing Copyable Traits...]

[Fire Style Affinity (Green), Chakra Refinement (White), Brother Complex (Black), Too Smart to Live Long (Black), Afflicted by Illness (Black)...]

But when he saw Itachi's current traits, his face fell.

The first few were fine, but the last three were practically blackening to purple!

They were close to blotting out both his eyes.

But thinking about it, he let it go.

Uchiha Itachi was still young now; he didn't have any of those later traits yet.

And because he'd awakened the Mangekyo too early, he'd always been sickly...

Jin couldn't help but size up One-vs-Seven, his nominal older brother, once more.

Then he shook his head slightly, straining to stand on tiptoe to pat his shoulder.

But because he wasn't tall enough, he could only manage to pat his chest.

Seeing this, Uchiha Itachi crouched down in confusion and asked, "Jin, do you want... a hug?"

"No, I just wanted to say, One-vs-Seven, there's nothing wrong with you going dark."

Jin sighed.

[Ten minutes of conversation with Uchiha Itachi. Attempting to copy traits...]

[Copy failed.]

Failed.

That was normal; the chance of copying a trait through conversation wasn't high.

For a moment, Jin waved his hand listlessly, turned, and walked out.

Leaving Uchiha Itachi behind, staring at his back, caught in confusion:

What did Jin mean by that?

And Father's gaze...

But it felt like he'd forgotten something...

Meanwhile, in the woods behind the Uchiha clan grounds.

A short-haired boy stood shivering in the cold wind...