Brothers

After Sasuke and Naruto exchanged those few words, they fell silent again. The atmosphere instantly returned to its original state.

Just then, the door opened, and a youth of about seventeen, who looked seven or eight parts similar to Sasuke, walked out.

Naruto and Sasuke looked at the youth simultaneously. Sasuke excitedly ran up to him and said, "Brother, I've been practicing shurikenjutsu. Do you have time now? You promised you would teach me."

Naruto knew that this man was the person most loyal to Konoha and the one with the loftiest ideals in the entire series—the man who would not hesitate to slaughter his own clan for the sake of those ideals: Itachi Uchiha.

In Naruto's perception, Itachi could be considered a perfect person and a perfect ninja, as great as his own father. Yet, they both shared the same weakness: their loved ones.

Itachi could risk his life to return to Konoha just to warn Danzo not to touch his younger brother, just as Minato could use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal for the sake of Kushina and Naruto, solely to let Kushina see Naruto grown up. Both were truly great men.

Itachi extended two fingers, tapped Sasuke on the forehead, and smiled. "Forgive me, Sasuke. Next time." Hearing this, Sasuke immediately acted like a disgruntled little brat and said unhappily, "It's always like this, hmph." After saying that, he turned his face away.

Watching the interaction between the brothers, Naruto felt a wave of envy in his heart; this was a kind of familial affection he had never experienced in all three of his lifetimes.

Itachi noticed Naruto watching them with such envy, then spotted the delivery box in his hands. He smiled and said, "Little brother, are you here to deliver food? Come on in." With that, Itachi walked into the house first. Naruto didn't say anything and followed him in. Seeing them both go inside, Sasuke had no choice but to follow.

Itachi pointed to the table in the hall and said to Naruto, "Just put it there." After Naruto set the box down and took out two bowls of ramen, he prepared to leave. At that moment, Itachi said to him, "Little brother, would you like to stay and eat with my brother Sasuke? I happen to have something to take care of outside. You are the same age as Sasuke, so I think you could become very good friends."

Sasuke, standing nearby, bristled like a cat whose fur had been rubbed the wrong way. "Brother, what are you saying? You want me to be good friends with this brain-damaged idiot? Don't joke around."

Naruto, hearing Sasuke's assessment of him, also bristled. "What did you say? You arrogant, prickly brat, how dare you say I have a brain problem and call me an idiot? What right do you have to say that about me?"

Sasuke cast a look of disdain at Naruto and said dismissively, "It's a hot day, yet you're wearing a cloak, a hat, and a face mask. You're wrapped up so tightly that only half your face is showing. If that's not a brain problem, what is? You're dull and foolish, so if you're not an idiot, what are you?"

Naruto wanted to retort, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say because everything Sasuke said was true. Looking at his black robe and cloak, Naruto angrily took them off and tossed them out the window.

He glared at Sasuke, ready to argue, but stopped when he saw Sasuke staring at him blankly. Naruto asked curiously, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you stupid? Why do you keep staring at me?" Snapped out of his daze by the question, Sasuke replied, "So you're a girl. Girls should be more reserved, even if you are quite pretty."

Naruto felt like vomiting blood upon hearing this. He roared, "I am a man! Ah, ah, ah!"

Sasuke didn't quite believe him. He asked suspiciously, "You're a man?" Naruto said fiercely, "What's with that suspicious look?" Sasuke snorted and turned his face away, muttering, "Why would a man look so pretty? Anyone would misunderstand. Besides an idiot, I guess I have to add 'pervert' to the list."

Naruto was instantly incensed and cursed angrily, "Still better than you, you damn tsundere, prickly brat, and venomous tongue!" After saying that, he also turned his face away.

Itachi, watching their interaction from the side, smiled and said, "Alright, you two behave and eat first. I have things to do, so I'm heading out." Sasuke looked at his brother and said earnestly, "Remember next time, okay?" Itachi laughed, "I will." With that, he headed out.

Sasuke watched his brother leave with anticipation, and only after Itachi closed the door did he turn back to Naruto. "By the way, what's your name, you big idiot?" Naruto replied calmly, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And you, you dead tsundere." Sasuke also replied calmly, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. And don't call me names, you big idiot."

Naruto replied just as calmly, "Fine, but you aren't allowed to call me names either." Sasuke didn't answer, only saying, "Let's eat, I'm starving." Sasuke sat down and began to eat his ramen. Naruto watched him for a moment before sitting down to eat as well. Neither of them spoke.

After finishing, Sasuke went outside to practice shurikenjutsu. Seeing him training, Naruto walked over and joined in. Sasuke was slightly stunned to see Naruto practicing too, but he didn't say anything and just continued.

However, when he saw that Naruto's shuriken skills were not inferior to his own and even possessed a few extra techniques, he became unconvinced and wanted to compete to see who was stronger.

In truth, Naruto felt the same; he was surprised to find that Sasuke's rate of progress was incredibly fast. Initially, he could only hit six or seven out of ten shuriken, but later he was hitting all of them, and the speed at which his technique improved was truly astonishing.

In the end, the two of them grew stronger through their competition and came to acknowledge one another. They practiced until evening, when the sky was almost dark.

During this time, Itachi had returned, but they were both too focused to notice. Later, a man and a woman arrived—they were Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha.

Itachi was about to speak, but was stopped by a look from Fugaku. Fugaku watched Sasuke's shuriken skills improving steadily and found it incredible; this kind of progress was not something the usual Sasuke could achieve.

Beside him was the child of his good friend, the Fourth Hokage. His progress was equally incredible. After watching for a while, he took Mikoto and Itachi back inside, and neither Naruto nor Sasuke noticed a thing.

Just as the two were fully immersed in their training, a pleasant voice came from behind them: "It's time to eat, Sasuke, Naruto." Only then did the two snap out of it and see the woman behind them.

Sasuke called out happily, "Mother." Naruto, however, just stared blankly. Mikoto Uchiha smiled, took Sasuke's hand, and then extended her other hand to take Naruto's. Naruto was led back into the house in a daze.

By the time Naruto regained his senses, he was already sitting at a round table. He was sitting next to Sasuke, with Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto Uchiha, and Itachi sitting opposite them. Mikoto placed some food in his bowl and said, "Naruto, come on, eat up. Why are you just staring?" Naruto looked at the food in his bowl, feeling at a loss. Sasuke, sitting beside him, was also a bit bewildered.

At this moment, Fugaku Uchiha's voice came: "Mikoto, your sudden enthusiasm is making the children uncomfortable." Mikoto realized she had made a rookie mistake and said, "I was just too happy. Thinking about how friendly Naruto and Sasuke are, and seeing that Naruto has grown up safely, I just got a bit carried away."

Fugaku looked at Naruto and said, "You must be confused, but there's really nothing to be confused about. Your parents were our best friends. Before you were even born, both our families hoped that you and Sasuke would become like brothers." Hearing this, Sasuke felt a bit incredulous, but Naruto remained very calm.

Fugaku was slightly surprised by Naruto's composure. "You don't seem surprised or confused at all." Naruto said calmly, "Well, in Aunt Mikoto's eyes, I saw deep pity and care, and in Uncle Fugaku's eyes, I saw gratification. Such looks are only seen when elders look at their juniors. You aren't like the others, whose eyes only hold cold disgust and hatred when they look at me. So, I figured you must have had a deep friendship with my late parents."

Upon hearing Naruto's answer, Fugaku, Mikoto, and Itachi went from surprised to shocked, marveling at the child's intelligence, which was truly unheard of. At the same time, they thought of Minato and could only sigh, As expected of his child, this intelligence is terrifying. Hahaha, good, good, let's eat.

Naruto said politely, "Thank you for your hospitality, Uncle and Aunt. Although I really want to ask about my parents, I assume you won't tell me, right?"

Fugaku looked into Naruto's eyes and said, "Although I would like to tell you, we truly cannot. So, I apologize, Naruto."

Though a bit disappointed, Naruto replied calmly, "It was my rudeness that put you in a difficult position. I'm sorry."

Fugaku replied, "It's alright. Although we cannot tell you what you want to know, even though your parents are gone, you can treat us as your family. Sasuke is your brother, Itachi is your older brother, and Mikoto and I will watch over you as you grow up, just as your parents would have."

After saying this, Fugaku turned to Sasuke and asked, "Sasuke, are you willing to have Naruto as your brother?" Sasuke hadn't expected his father to ask for his opinion and was a bit surprised, but he quickly regained his composure and thought about it.

He said to Fugaku, "Although he's a bit of an idiot, I can accept it. After all, he's not a person I dislike." Naruto was deeply moved; although Sasuke's words made him a little annoyed, he could tell they were sincere.

Fugaku asked Naruto, "Are you willing to become part of this family?" Looking at the sincerity hidden beneath Fugaku's calm gaze, Naruto felt his heart warm up. He softly replied, "I can."

When Fugaku heard their answers, a flicker of emotion passed through his calm eyes, but he quickly suppressed it. He nodded and said coldly, "Then let's eat." However, the flicker in Fugaku's eyes had been caught by Naruto; a Jinchuriki is very sensitive to gazes.

Naruto suddenly understood why Sasuke was so cold and arrogant—his personality was exactly like his father's. Naruto felt speechless and could only bury his head in his food, constantly asking himself if he had agreed to Fugaku's proposal on impulse because he was too desperate for familial affection.

After the meal, and after promising Sasuke they would train together again tomorrow, Naruto returned to his small room. Lying on his bed, he thought of the caring looks from Fugaku and Mikoto, and his heart felt warm.

Naruto looked at the moon outside the window and murmured, "It seems the plan will have to change slightly."