Uchiha Itachi Was Shocked!

Back home, Sasuke was at a loss.

As expected, geniuses were all a little strange.

Those clothes... He wouldn't wear them even if someone beat him to death.

"Sasuke, you're back?"

"I don't have any missions today, so I can train with you!"

Sasuke had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Itachi's pervy voice.

"Okay."

"Big brother, I have a question."

"Did you tell Lord Hokage everything about me?"

Sasuke looked at Uchiha Itachi with distaste.

He'd been wondering the whole way home who had told Hiruzen Sarutobi about him.

Fugaku Uchiha definitely wouldn't have.

His mother wouldn't do something like that either.

As for Aunt Bubin... what she'd said to Naruto had already ruled her out.

That left only his big brother, grinning foolishly in front of him!

"I did."

"Did Lord Hokage show that he wanted to raise you well?"

Itachi looked like a child eager for praise.

As expected, his big brother had already been thoroughly fooled.

"Big brother, let's go train."

"And, big brother, I want to learn some genjutsu and ninjutsu."

"Father won't teach me. You teach me instead."

Sasuke didn't dwell on it any longer.

Changing Itachi wouldn't happen overnight.

Aside from being a little stubborn, his big brother was still a pretty good guy.

At least, he'd never had any problems with Sasuke.

"Okay!"

"Let's go to the training ground."

Seeing Sasuke rely on him a little more, Itachi smiled.

He took Sasuke to the training ground.

They trained until late at night.

It only ended after Aunt Bubin had brought them food twice.

Sasuke lay on the ground, utterly exhausted.

"Big brother, did you have to hit me that hard?"

"I'm only five!"

Sasuke gasped for air and complained.

"Sasuke, you've improved a lot lately. You need to master this power quickly."

"Also, have you awakened your Sharingan?"

Itachi suddenly asked in a calm voice.

"Yeah."

Sasuke didn't hide it and answered directly.

Given Itachi's talent, and Sasuke's perception and awareness during their fight, he was bound to notice.

Most importantly, the flow of chakra around the eyes was impossible to hide after awakening the Sharingan.

Itachi was a genius, and he cared deeply about Sasuke.

Of course he'd noticed.

"I'll set up a barrier in a moment. Awaken your Sharingan and fight me."

Itachi remained calm.

"Okay."

Sasuke nodded, then slowly got to his feet.

He took a Military Ration Pill from his pocket and tossed it into his mouth.

He'd gotten it from Fugaku Uchiha, saying he needed it for training.

As his strength returned, Sasuke slowly opened his eyes.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared.

"Three tomoe!"

Itachi was stunned!

[ Ding! Detected Uchiha Itachi's shock. Releasing a mission. ]

[ Perform 10 actions that shock Uchiha Itachi ]

[ 1/10 ]

Just then, the system notification sounded.

"Hm?"

"Shock him?"

Sasuke had originally planned to show off his Sharingan and his current strength.

That way, his big brother, Uchiha Itachi, would acknowledge his power and stop treating him like a little kid.

Then Itachi would take the actions Sasuke planned to make later seriously.

After that, he could slowly change Itachi.

Now it seemed he'd have to reveal some of his trump cards early.

"Big brother, I'm ready."

"I'm going to attack."

As soon as Sasuke finished speaking, he activated Thunder God Mode.

Boom!

The ground shattered as he lunged at Uchiha Itachi.

"This physical strength, this Taijutsu..."

Itachi was shocked again.

[ 2/10 ]

But Uchiha Itachi was a genius, after all. He recovered from his brief distraction and met Sasuke's attack.

In Thunder God Mode, the fight between Sasuke and Itachi was clean and sharp.

Not a single movement was wasted.

Every strike landed with precision.

The Sharingan gave them a major boost in accuracy!

Thud!

Sasuke made a mistake and was immediately sent flying by Itachi.

Itachi's eyes were full of delight.

His little brother had actually managed to fight him for so long!

"Sasuke, you..."

"Zzzzt..."

Boom!

A bolt of lightning shot toward him, cutting off Uchiha Itachi's words.

The next moment, Sasuke rushed in again, electricity crackling all over his body.

The lightning nature of his attacks boosted his speed and strength and inflicted paralysis...

With so many advantages, even Itachi had to take him seriously.

[ 3/10 ]

Shocked once again, Itachi also used ninjutsu to support himself in the fight.

Lightning Style, Fire Style...

Before long, clouds of dust filled the training ground.

But the fight didn't stop.

With both of them using the Sharingan, they could see through an obstacle like this.

When the dust cleared, Sasuke was lying on the ground again.

With his current chakra reserves, he really couldn't keep up this kind of all-out fight for long!

Another day envying those with absurd chakra reserves.

"Sasuke, when did you learn to fight like that?"

Itachi sat down beside Sasuke, asking in delight.

"I figured it out a while ago, when I tried converting my chakra to Lightning Style."

"Big brother, do you have anything that can restore chakra?"

"I still have other ways to fight that I haven't shown you."

Sasuke pretended he wasn't ready to give up.

"I do."

"Here. It's a type of medicine used by the Anbu."

"Take it, and it'll restore your chakra quickly."

"Along with the chakra you refine yourself, you should be fully recovered in two hours."

"I'll wait here."

Itachi handed him the medicine and patiently explained...

"Big brother, what do you think the Will of Fire means?"

After taking the medicine, Sasuke sat up.

Then he asked.

"The Will of Fire?"

"To protect the village with your own life!"

Itachi thought for a moment, then gave the answer he believed in.

"Whose village are you protecting?"

Sasuke asked again.

"Whose village?"

"Of course, Konoha. It belongs to everyone..."

As he said that, Itachi's expression faltered.

The answer he'd always taken for granted suddenly seemed questionable.

"Big brother, the Uchiha are also part of the village. So the Uchiha should have a place in it, too."

"But as you protect the village now, are the Uchiha really included?"

After saying this, Sasuke fell silent.

The [4/10] progress indicator had already given him his answer.

As Sasuke closed his eyes and began refining chakra, Itachi started to consider other possibilities.

If Sasuke were still the little kid who followed him around, calling out, "Big brother, train with me," he might not have given it much thought.

But now...

A strange little seed began to take root in Uchiha Itachi's heart.