"Finally awake, One-vs-Seven!"
Uchiha Jin licked his slightly dry lips after standing around for so long, a strange glint flickering in his eyes.
He'd finally met the man hailed as the Beloved Son.
Of course, it wasn't because he admired him.
His feelings toward Itachi were complicated.
On one hand, the guy had turned around and wiped out his entire clan. He was an outright fanatic.
On the other hand, he'd done it to protect his younger brother, even going so far as to threaten the village.
All those complicated, conflicting emotions left you loving him and hating him at the same time.
But for now, Jin was mainly here for one thing—traits!
"I wonder what traits Itachi had at this age."
"I'd better not copy Amaterasu..."
He murmured to himself, feeling a little excited.
There were plenty of traits to choose from, so long as he didn't get the one that couldn't burn anyone to death.
That's right. He meant Amaterasu!
Amaterasu sounded incredibly powerful, and it worked pretty well, too.
But!
In the world of Naruto, it suffered from the same problem as 99% of Fire Style jutsu—it couldn't burn anyone to death!
It was pretty powerful, but it couldn't kill anyone!
What was it even good for?
Putting on a fireworks show for people?
Or maybe performing a steel-flower show at night!
Uchiha Jin cleared his throat and asked, "One-vs-Seven, I've got a question for you!"
"One-vs-Seven?"
Uchiha Itachi repeated the nickname, immediately understanding the pun.
His little brother had given him a nickname!
He furrowed his brow.
But when he looked at his little brother's smooth, tender face, his expression relaxed again.
"As expected of Jin. You came up with such an interesting nickname."
"Go ahead and ask whatever you want."
As he spoke, he reached out to ruffle Jin's cheek.
It looked so soft and smooth. He wanted to give it a rub.
"Hey, be serious."
Jin dodged his hand and put on a stern face, asking like a grown-up,
"If one day the village and the clan ended up on opposite sides, who would you help?"
Itachi's outstretched hand froze in midair.
He stared blankly.
Though still a child, his eyes held a surprise and melancholy far beyond his years.
"Has Jin sensed it, too?"
"No! That can't be it!"
"Could it be...? Yes, that must be it. He overheard Father talking about it."
"Father's getting more and more careless. He can't even keep an eye on who might hear something like that!"
"Looks like there are more and more malcontents in the clan..."
His brow furrowed.
Though his face was small and youthful, the tear tracks and deep creases around his mouth were already quite pronounced.
Clearly, that was what came of constantly frowning from such a young age.
Seeing this, Jin shook his head and sighed. As expected, Itachi had already sensed something was wrong at this age!
But even though he'd sensed it so early, things still ended with the clan's annihilation.
It shouldn't have happened.
It really shouldn't have, One-vs-Seven!
Seven years was enough time to change a lot of things!
Of course, Uchiha fanatics didn't change.
"Jin, why would you ask that?"
"Do you really think the clan and the village will end up on opposite sides?"
After hesitating, Itachi didn't answer directly. Instead, he lowered his arm and spoke softly.
He didn't know what he should do.
But he wanted to hear what his little brother thought, too.
"You just need to answer me."
"I... I don't know..."
"Then—let me put it another way."
Jin shook his head. One-vs-Seven was lost right now.
Even when the clan was wiped out later on, he'd still be lost.
Jin had to ask a sharper question to wake up this foolish Nisan!
"If the village wanted to kill Sasuke and me, One-vs-Seven, which side would you stand on?"
Itachi's little face tightened at once, and he straightened up.
Did he even need to think about that?
There was no hesitation!
He clenched his fist and answered, "Don't worry. I won't let that day come."
Still avoiding the question.
Refusing to face it was a form of avoidance in itself.
Jin shook his head and didn't press him further.
But since he had to keep the conversation going, he could ask something else.
"By the way, One-vs-Seven, you said Father's hidden money was in the bottom-right corner of the cabinet in the third room, right?"
Uchiha Itachi: ???
Fugaku, eavesdropping next door: ???
Damn Itachi! How could he tell Jin something like that?
He'd exposed where Fugaku hid his secret stash!
No wonder little Jin knew so much!
In that instant, Fugaku even blamed Itachi for what had happened last night.
His face darkened. He found a length of rope and was about to yank open the door and charge out when a chilly voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Dear Clan Head, where are you going?"
Drip.
Drip.
It was a cool morning, yet the air was filled with an intense chill.
Sweat began to bead on his forehead.
It trickled onto his eyelid, stinging painfully.
Fugaku turned around and saw Mikoto smiling at him.
He was screwed!
He gritted his teeth, but in the end could only force an awkward smile. "I'm going to prepare something for you all to eat."
"Oh~ All right, Fugaku."
Uchiha Mikoto smiled, but didn't call him out on his predicament.
She simply gazed at the two little figures outside the door, her whole being radiating happiness.
They were all her precious children.
Living room.
Rustle.
Just as the two finished speaking, the side-room door suddenly slid open.
Then Uchiha Fugaku emerged, his face dark as could be.
"Ah, Father!"
The two of them jumped in fright when they saw Fugaku appear out of nowhere.
Jin most of all.
He'd been asking about some very sensitive things.
Thankfully, Uchiha Fugaku seemed to have heard only the last few sentences.
He glared at them both, then headed straight for the third room without looking back.
He'd have to move his hidden money.
"Hm? Father's expression seems a little complicated."
Itachi had been startled, but he was also confused.
He felt there was something else in his father's gaze.
Meanwhile, after Fugaku left,
Jin's eyes suddenly lit up.
The prompt had appeared!
[Conversation target: Uchiha Itachi.] [Analyzing 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 traits, his face fell.
The first two were fine, but the last three were so black they were practically purple!
They were almost enough to turn both of his eyes black.
But when he thought about it, it made sense.
Itachi was still young. He didn't have the traits he'd gain later on.
And because he'd awakened the Mangekyo too early, he'd been sickly ever since...
Jin couldn't help examining One-vs-Seven, his older brother in name.
Then he gave a slight shake of his head and strained to rise onto his tiptoes, trying to pat his shoulder.
But he wasn't tall enough, so he could only just reach Itachi's chest.
Seeing this, Itachi crouched down, puzzled. "Jin, are you trying to... give me a hug?"
"No, I just wanted to say, One-vs-Seven, you've got every reason to turn dark."
Jin sighed.
[After ten minutes of conversation with Uchiha Itachi, attempting to copy a trait.] [Copy failed.]
It had failed.
That was normal enough. The chances of copying a trait through conversation weren't high.
Jin waved his hand, suddenly losing interest, and turned to leave.
Itachi was left behind, watching him go and sinking into confusion.
What had Jin meant?
And Father's expression...
But it seemed like he'd forgotten something...
Meanwhile, in the woods behind the Uchiha District,
a short-haired boy stood shivering in the cold wind...
Before you continue