"Uh... well..." Naruto hesitated, unsure how to answer. In his panic, he had directly called Uchiha Itachi by name—he couldn't exactly say they had known each other in a past life.
Fortunately, Uchiha Itachi did not dwell too much on that question. He continued coldly, "What did my brother do for you to beat him into this state?"
Glancing at Sasuke's current condition, Naruto gave an awkward laugh. "Haha, well, Sasuke and I hit it off right away and became good friends. We were just sparring a moment ago. Yeah, that's right, sparring."
As if he had found a reasonable excuse, Naruto nodded repeatedly, looking as though he had even convinced himself.
Uchiha Itachi snorted, his expression darkening. "In that case, let's spar as well."
"This... wouldn't that be inappropriate?" Naruto said hesitantly. He could attack Sasuke without the slightest hesitation largely because he had long held a grudge against him. He had wanted to beat Sasuke up for far more than a day or two.
But when it came down to it, he had no real conflict with Uchiha Itachi. On the contrary, in his past life, the two had gotten along fairly well after Itachi was reanimated because of Sasuke. Naruto even admired how Itachi had endured humiliation and hardship over those years.
"Please enlighten me." Uchiha Itachi gave Naruto no chance to explain himself again. His gaze sharpened as he assumed a fighting stance.
Anyone who had read the original story knew that Uchiha Itachi was an experienced little-brother fanatic. Though he was also the most ruthless when it came to tormenting Sasuke, no one's love for Sasuke ran deeper than his.
But the Uchiha clan massacre had not happened yet. Itachi was still the model older brother. Under these circumstances, if someone dared beat Sasuke into