The Sky Cleared, the Rain Stopped

Year 54 of the Leaf. Autumn.

A gentle breeze blew steadily, and the sunlight was mild.

In the backyard of the Uchiha District, the maple leaves were red as fire, swaying in the wind.

At the time, three-and-a-half-year-old Sasuke was mimicking his older brother's movements, throwing the shuriken in his hand with all his might.

Whoosh!

Clatter.

The shuriken hit the bullseye.

But it fell down without sticking in.

His aim was good, but his strength—was lacking.

Drip.

Drip.

Sweat trickled down both sides of his face to his chin, then finally dripped onto the collar of his shirt, which bore the Uchiha crest.

"Whew, I'm exhausted."

After catching his breath, he turned to go wash his face.

But when he saw the lazy figure on the courtyard wall, his brows drew together despite himself.

"Hey!" Sasuke shook his aching wrist and said disdainfully, "The sun's almost set. How long are you planning to lie there?"

"Until the sun sets—or until One-vs-Seven brings back some three-color dango."

At that, Uchiha Jin rolled over and poked half his face out from under the blanket.

Sunlight filtered through the maple leaves beyond the wall, scattering dappled spots of light across his face.

Four years had passed, and the little child had grown into something of a young man.

His features were gradually becoming more defined.

The only thing that hadn't changed was his—lazy air.

"Don't call him One-vs-Seven. Call him big brother!"

Hearing "One-vs-Seven" clearly made Sasuke even more unhappy; two veins even bulged on his forehead.

"Do you know? Big brother graduated today with the highest score in the whole school!"

If his eldest brother, Uchiha Itachi, was his idol,

then the second brother lying on the courtyard wall was a parasite in his eyes.

Lazy. A chatterbox.

That was the only impression he had of Uchiha Jin.

For years, whenever he saw this brother of his, Jin was either sunbathing on the courtyard wall or wandering around the village looking for someone to chat with!

And in every exam, he barely scraped by with a passing grade!

A dead last!

A bona fide dead last!

But no matter how angry he got, Jin didn't argue. Instead, he—smiled?!

Seeing the smile on Jin's face, Sasuke couldn't hold back any longer.

He grabbed a training shuriken and barked like a puppy that had been denied its milk:

"Uchiha Jin! You're bringing shame on the Uchiha! I'm challenging you to a duel—"

"Shh, don't speak. Listen." Jin suddenly raised a finger and waved it. "The sky cleared, the rain stopped."

His serious manner even made Sasuke think something had really happened.

He instinctively held his breath. All he could hear was the rustling of maple leaves in the wind.

Nothing at all?

There wasn't any rain!

Damn Jin, he tricked me again!

In a fit of anger, Sasuke got angry for a moment.

Little did he know, Jin was genuinely smiling.

A string of prompts appeared before his eyes.

[Conversation Target: Uchiha Sasuke.]

[Copyable Traits: Brother Complex (Black), Get Stronger by Getting Hit (Black), Child of Destiny (Rainbow), Lightning Release Mastery (Purple), Tsundere (White), Shuriken Familiarity (White), Loud Voice (White).]

[Copy successful. Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Common Trait Shuriken Familiarity (White).]

This wasn't the first time Uchiha Jin had seen this trait.

But every time he saw it, he couldn't help thinking: as expected, brother-con and little-brother-con traits really did complement each other.

Before the tsundere boy could even remember things, this special trait had already appeared.

As for Get Stronger by Getting Hit?

Jin figured it might have something to do with Sasuke's personality.

As the saying went, once the sky cleared and the rain stopped, Sasuke thought he was on top again.

Every time Sasuke got stronger, he was either getting beaten up or on his way to find someone to beat him up.

And, of all things, he liked to pit his weaknesses against his opponent's strengths.

Wasn't that just plain crazy?

Of course, after all these years, Jin had long since gotten used to it.

That wasn't why he was smiling, though. It was because of—the system's new prompts.

[ Ding! Congratulations, host, for basking in the sunlight for 108 minutes. Chakra +108. ]

[ Ding! Current Chakra: 1,000,000! ]

[ Congratulations, host! Your Chakra has surpassed one million. The success rate for copying traits through conversation has increased from 5% to 10%. ]

[ The success rate for copying traits after defeating an opponent has increased from 50% to 75%. ]

[ Number of traits plundered from corpses: 1 → 1–2. ]

That was why Jin was smiling.

The system had changed!

More precisely, it had evolved!

The conversation-copying success rate, in particular, had gone from a single digit to double digits.

The impact of that was far more than just a 5% increase.

And the trait-copying rate after defeating an opponent was now 75%—a figure that could almost be called... As the thought occurred to him, he couldn't help glancing at Sasuke.

Wasn't there a ready-made test subject right here?

Completely unaware, Sasuke held a kunai and glared coldly at Jin. "Hmph! You idiot, Uchiha Jin! I, Uchiha Sasuke, challenge you to a duel!"

At that, Jin waved a hand and chuckled. "Sasuke, have you ever won?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

Sasuke paused, frowning in confusion.

Whoosh!

But just then, Jin casually tossed a shuriken.

Sasuke's brow twitched with anger again. "You're underestimating me! I'll make you regret it!"

But just as he was about to attack, his vision suddenly blurred.

The shuriken before him instantly became twelve!

They shot toward him from bizarre angles!

Swish, swish, swish!

Sasuke's pupils suddenly contracted. The shuriken's trajectories were actually changing nonstop!

At last, they pinned him precisely in place!

The hem of his shirt, the tips of his hair, even the seams beneath the arms of his training clothes were pierced by cold metal, yet not a single one touched his skin!

Drip.

A liquid that he couldn't tell was cold sweat or warm sweat trickled down his cheek.

He stood there, stunned.

A bizarre thought suddenly rose in his mind: could basking in the sun really make you stronger?