Becoming the Eldest Son!

After half a year of living like a savage, I'd forgotten I had a pretty face.

"I'm sorry, there's no time for a bath."

Uchiha Xun stood behind me, helping me out of my filthy clothes. She helped me put on a black fishnet undershirt, then pulled a standard Uchiha high-collared shirt over it.

"Take off your pants! Want me to help?" she teased from beside me in the moonlight.

I hesitated for a moment, but finally took off my pants. Then, as fast as I'd ever dressed in my life, I put on black shorts and bandage leggings, and finally pulled on my shinobi sandals.

The mirror reflected a spirited-looking little boy.

His hair had grown long, falling naturally around his face and revealing his smooth, fair forehead. His black-jade eyes held no unnecessary emotion; one moment they were cold, the next innocent. Beneath his small nose was a pair of pale, rose-colored lips. He was very pretty and likable.

"You look a lot like your mother." Uchiha Xun crouched to fix my hair, then carefully used ninjutsu to heal the scars on my legs and arms.

"You're such a quiet, well-behaved child. How come you always go completely wild when you're doing something?" She sighed, muttering as she worked, never tiring of tending to me. "You've got so many more injuries. Aren't you afraid of pain?"

"It hurts, but once the pain passes, I forget about it."

I smiled foolishly and lowered my head, obediently letting her work, though I felt perfectly calm inside.

What kind of pain was this? Illness was what really wore you down!

Once I was cleaned up, Uchiha Xun brought me back to the Uchiha, but not to my own home. Instead, she took me to the Clan Head Mansion, the residence of Uchiha Fugaku.

I began to have a bad feeling again.

Standing at the gate, I quietly took in the magnificent sight.

This was where it had all begun, the place where grudges and love were intertwined. The rise and fall of this clan... it had all unfolded here, and would continue to do so.

My gaze swept over the imposing mansion, the carefully crafted stream bridge, the immaculately trimmed lawn, and the pebble path that looked just like the one at my mother's home. I frowned slightly.

Everything was clearly laid out beneath the sun, yet the place seemed steeped in the stench of blood, sending a chill through me.

I instinctively disliked it here.

A gentle-looking woman came out to greet me. She'd been dozing in a reclining chair in the garden, but woke at the sound.

As she stood and walked toward me, I immediately noticed her round belly. She was pregnant.

My heart began to pound. I turned to look for Uchiha Xun, but she was already gone.

"Hello, I'm Uchiha Mikoto, Fugaku's wife." The black-haired woman before me had a soft smile in her eyes. When she spoke Japanese, it sounded as gentle and tender as a Suzhou lullaby, making me unconsciously slow my breathing.

It really was her! Itachi and Sasuke's mother!

The Uchiha clan's beauty, the lovely Mikoto!

But I never seemed to know how to deal with kind people. I forced a stiff smile and stood perfectly still, then nervously managed, "I, I'm—"

"Uchiha Yue, right?" She led me inside, teasing me as we went. "Fugaku told me you're very talented."

I shook my head, darting a quick glance at her belly.

You should know that the one you're carrying is the real genius.

Mikoto was a perceptive woman. She noticed where I was looking, took my hand, and sat down with me before lifting her outer robe.

"He's been very lively since you arrived." She playfully patted her belly. "Want to listen?"

I swallowed, unable to contain my excitement.

Th-this was Itachi himself!

I carefully leaned closer and gently pressed my ear to her belly. At once, a series of warm sensations passed through her to me.

I closed my eyes and listened quietly.

First, there was the sound of water. It flowed and mingled, forming something like the sound of ocean waves. Heard through a layer of skin, the waves sounded hazy and distant.

Then came the irregular sounds of fluids and air shifting. The sound was deep one moment, close to the surface the next. I held my breath and leaned in a little closer.

I could tell for certain that a life was growing inside her, waiting for tears and laughter, waiting for light and a new beginning.

Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Itachi. I silently rolled his name around in my mind, absurdly tempted to laugh.

Who could have imagined that the S-rank rogue ninja who would one day wipe out the entire Uchiha clan and join the Akatsuki at just thirteen—the legendary figure deified in my previous life—was now nothing more than an unborn baby?

He had no thoughts and couldn't move. He could only float in the amniotic fluid, drawing nourishment through an umbilical cord, fragile... still needing his mother's protection.

Just then, my face was gently kicked.

"He felt you," Mikoto said, her eyes curving into crescent moons. She stroked the top of my head and closed her eyes. "He likes you very much."

I smiled dreamily and blurted out, "I like him very much too."

Because of my feelings from my previous life, I really did like Uchiha Itachi. I admired and respected him, but more than anything, I felt heartache and pity for him.

After all, Itachi's life had been far too hard.

Uchiha Fugaku came home at dusk. By then, I'd drunk all of Uchiha Mikoto's tea and eaten all her snacks. I was racking my brain for a reason to leave that wouldn't be awkward.

After Fugaku entered, he closed the sliding door. My heart sank. I knew I wasn't getting out of there.

He straightened his clothes and pointed to the cushion in front of the door. "Come sit down."

I obediently took my seat.

"I called you here today because there's something I want to tell you. Afterward, I'll announce it to the entire clan."

My unease grew heavier by the moment. I was panicking, but I didn't dare move.

"I want to adopt you as my son—" Uchiha Fugaku sat beside Uchiha Mikoto, posture upright and expression solemn, and dropped a bombshell.

"That would make you the eldest son of me, Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha Clan."

What?

"Wh-what did you say?" I heard my own voice come out shrill and distorted—

I was so startled my voice had cracked!

"You're gifted, hardworking, and loyal to the clan. Once you become my child, I expect you to devote yourself wholeheartedly to serving the entire Uchiha Clan." Uchiha Fugaku's tone was practically an order.

His words hit me one after another, leaving my mind blank. I felt like I was dreaming, but both of them looked utterly serious. They weren't joking at all.

When I didn't respond for a long time, Fugaku frowned. "Do you have a problem with pledging your loyalty to the clan?"

His tone was so stern that I instinctively bent forward and stammered, "I... I don't..."

But if I became your child, what would happen to my mother?

Thinking of my mother, I instinctively asked, "But my mother..."

"Your mother won't object. I'll speak with her," Fugaku said, still scrutinizing me. He clearly wasn't satisfied with my response and was waiting for me to say more.

"So, what's your answer?"

Only then did I understand what pledging loyalty to the clan meant.

If I refused, I'd be betraying the clan!

I hurriedly prostrated myself on the floor, looking thoroughly uneasy. "If my mother has no objections, then I have none either—"

They still didn't react. I gritted my teeth and forced the words out with great difficulty.

"Thank you... Father, Mother, for trusting me and giving me this opportunity..."

Only then did those two forms of address, along with my promise, seem to satisfy them.

"Good. Then starting today, you're my child. You'll need a new name. Add the character 'Aka' before 'Tsuki,' and you'll be Uchiha Akatsuki." Fugaku rose calmly and helped me to my feet.

"Akatsuki?" I stared at him, confused. "Why should I be called Akatsuki?"

"The character 'Aka' represents someone who protects the clan in the darkness. It's an important character. You must remember what it means, Akatsuki. Never betray the clan, and always cherish your family. Do you understand?"

They stood on either side of me, hemming me in like they were embracing me—or threatening me.

"Akatsuki, you have to set a good example for the baby." Mikoto looked into my eyes. "He's due in three months. I hope you'll be there to witness his birth."

Itachi... was going to be born?

Amid my overwhelming shock, my heart raced. Trembling, I managed to reply—

"Yes."