A Family

"Comb your hair to look like Madara, put on a sharp clan outfit, and you'll definitely look better than you imagined when you get to the academy later..."

Uchiha Yu narcissistically looked at himself in the mirror, humming a song from his past life that he had adapted, and smoothed out his slightly messy hair.

The youth in the mirror wore a black short-sleeved shirt with the iconic red Uchiha clan crest on the back, paired with matching black casual trousers. He wore his black hair long, reaching his waist in a layered style, with two bangs hanging down along his cheeks in the breeze.

His refined features were thirty percent reminiscent of a young Sasuke and seventy percent like Madara. His eyes were deep and calm, yet the corner of his mouth held a playful smile, giving him an overall air of cynicism.

"As expected, there's something wrong with Fugaku's bloodline. Why do I look more like Madara?" Yu fell into deep thought while staring at his reflection.

"Yu, come down for breakfast!" A gentle voice drifted up from downstairs.

"Got it! Mother!"

Yu pulled himself out of his wandering thoughts, hurriedly put down the comb, and trotted down the stairs.

In the living room, three figures were already present: his parents for this lifetime, Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto, sitting in the traditional kneeling position, and Itachi, who was sitting at the other end of the table holding two-year-old Sasuke.

Uchiha Mikoto gave Yu a reproachful look. "If you dawdle any longer, you'll miss the opening ceremony!"

"I know, Mother. But it's the Ninja Academy! I have to dress up properly to make a good first impression on my classmates and teachers." Yu winked playfully at Mikoto.

"Yu, a ninja's strength is what matters most; appearance is useless to a ninja." Fugaku, sitting beside Mikoto, spoke with a stern face.

"Yes, yes, yes! Father is always right." Yu shrugged helplessly. He didn't want to argue with this rigid father of his, so he just brushed it off.

"Brother, come sit over here. After breakfast, Father will take us to the Ninja Academy," little Itachi called out to Yu sweetly.

At the same time, little Sasuke in his arms reached out with his chubby, fair hands. "Bro-ther, hold!"

Yu chuckled as he walked over to Itachi and patted the little boy's head. "Itachi, you're still so well-behaved today!" He then reached out and took Sasuke from Itachi's arms.

Itachi's small face showed a hint of reluctance, but then he remembered his older brother's words, and his face flushed red, causing him to lower his head in shyness.

Across the table, Fugaku watched Yu's flippant behavior with some displeasure. For some reason, he couldn't seem to get close to this eldest son, who had been born on the same day as Itachi.

He had been full of his own opinions since he was a child, leaving Fugaku with no sense of being a father. But regardless, he was his son, so Fugaku just let out a faint cold snort and said nothing more.

Mikoto watched the interaction between the three brothers and smiled gently. "Yu, make sure to take good care of your younger brother at school."

"Mm! Don't worry, Mother! I will definitely take good care of Itachi."

With that, the four of them ate breakfast in silence. As the premier clan of Konoha, not speaking while eating was the most basic family etiquette—though that excluded the still-fussy little Sasuke.

After quickly finishing his breakfast, Yu gave his usual grand praise for his mother's cooking.

Mikoto smiled gently at Yu, stood up lightly, and prepared to clear the bowls and chopsticks from the table.

Seeing this, Yu quickly handed Sasuke to Itachi and helped clean up, while Fugaku took Itachi by the hand and walked to the door without a word.

Watching the mother and son chatting and laughing as they cleared the dishes, Fugaku felt a sense of relief mixed with an indescribable worry.

His eldest son had been opinionated since he was young, which led to him disagreeing with many of his father's philosophies, sometimes even leaving him speechless. This made him, as a father, feel like he had lost face.

He wanted to discipline him, but couldn't bring himself to do it, so now he rarely spoke in front of his eldest son.

While Fugaku was lost in thought, he suddenly felt the small hand he was holding try to pull away, and he quickly looked at Itachi.

Seeing Itachi looking as if he wanted to go back and help, Fugaku's face immediately hardened.

"Itachi, as a qualified Uchiha ninja, you must focus your energy on ninja training."

Itachi looked at his stern father, then at Sasuke in his arms, and nodded earnestly. "I understand, Father."

Hearing Itachi's reply, Fugaku felt a slight sense of relief. At least Itachi is always obedient.

Hearing their exchange, Yu rolled his eyes. "Male chauvinist!" he muttered under his breath.

Mikoto, who was carrying bowls to the kitchen, glared at Yu helplessly. "He is your father. Hurry to school! It's your first day, don't be late!"

"It's fine, Mother, there's still plenty of time!" Yu said, placing the tray in the sink as usual, turning on the faucet, and standing on a stool to wash them.

Seeing this, Mikoto felt both helpless and touched. In this family, although her husband treated her well, it was her eldest son who was the most considerate. It would be a lie to say she wasn't moved.

Feeling Mikoto's touched gaze, Yu felt quite helpless. Was helping his mother with chores really that difficult? He didn't feel much about it; he just couldn't bear to watch his mother busy herself around the house every day.

In his past life, he was an orphan, so he cherished the parental love he had now.

Although he wasn't close to Fugaku, that didn't mean he didn't respect him as a father. After all, he had the mind of an adult; he couldn't act like a child, whining and lacking his own opinions.

Even though Fugaku was rigid and chauvinistic, he had never shown disgust or alienation toward him because of their distance.

Itachi never lacked for anything, and no matter how much he and Fugaku argued, Fugaku had never laid a hand on him. That alone already surpassed eighty percent of the fathers from his past life.

After working for a while, Yu wiped the water from his hands and walked toward the door with Mikoto, where Fugaku and Itachi were still waiting quietly.

Seeing this, a smile appeared on Yu's face. They really are people who say one thing but mean another.

"Let's go," Fugaku said, extending his other hand.

Yu nodded and took Fugaku's large hand. The three of them—one adult and two children—walked toward the Ninja Academy under the gentle gaze of Mikoto, who was holding Sasuke.

Walking down the street, Yu felt many unfriendly gazes, but he was already used to it. Unlike Itachi, who was immersed in training every day, Yu often ran around the village; after all, his way of becoming stronger wasn't just through hard training.

The reputation of the Uchiha clan was perhaps only slightly better than that of Naruto, the Jinchuriki. As a transmigrator with the mind of an adult, Yu simply did not care about the minor malice of others.

Itachi, however, had a sensitive nature and kept his head lowered, looking somewhat saddened. Seeing this, Yu smiled gently at him. "Itachi, don't pay too much attention to the gazes of others."

Itachi's small frame trembled. "Brother, why do the people in the village hate us so much?"

"Who knows? Whether they hate us or not, what does it have to do with us? We just need to be ourselves." Yu shrugged.

"I understand, Brother!" Itachi replied in a low voice. Yu didn't have a better way to handle this; after all, he lacked Naruto's powerful Talk-no-Jutsu.

Fugaku, on the other hand, tightened his grip on both their hands, clearly dissatisfied with the current state of the Uchiha clan within the village.

"Yu, Itachi, the bridge between the Uchiha clan and the village will depend on you two in the future."

"Yes! Father, I will do my best!" Itachi nodded heavily.

"Heh, Father, prejudice in people's hearts is like a great mountain. To move such a mountain is not something my brother and I can change alone. Besides, we are still just children. Do you think it's reasonable to place such a heavy burden on us?"

Fugaku frowned. "Yu! As the young Clan Head of the Uchiha, this is a heavy responsibility you must shoulder from a young age."

Hearing Fugaku's near-reprimand, Yu did not argue back. The relationship between the Uchiha and the village was becoming increasingly tense, like a slowly accumulating powder keg.

He silently recalled the Naruto manga he had seen in his previous life.

He completely disagreed with Itachi's future massacre of the entire clan. It was clear that the villagers' attitude toward the Uchiha did not stem entirely from the clan itself.

The Konoha Elder Council, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, that ridiculous Will of Fire, and that rat hiding in the gutter, Obito—the many injustices, conspiracies, and secret instigations were the true reasons for the Uchiha clan's path to destruction.

Thinking of this, Yu exhaled a breath of stale air and let out a cold sneer. Since you want to destroy my family, then let's see. Who ends up the victor will depend entirely on our own methods.

Yu turned his head and gave Itachi a meaningful look. "My foolish little brother! How is your brother supposed to save you?"

Itachi seemed to sense something and looked toward his brother. Suddenly, he felt his brother's gaze was incredibly strange at that moment.

"Brother, is something wrong?" Itachi asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Itachi, you must listen to your brother from now on, understand?" Yu replied, his words carrying a hidden meaning.

Itachi's small face froze, a flash of confusion in his eyes. "Brother, you're only half an hour older than me!" Itachi said, sounding a bit sullen.

"Heh, a brother is a brother. Are you planning to rebel against your big brother right now, Itachi?" Yu suddenly put on a look of sadness.

"N-no, Brother!" Itachi replied, suddenly flustered. For this brother who was only half an hour older than him, Itachi still cared deeply.

"Then tell me, will you listen to your brother?" At this moment, Yu displayed his acting skills to the fullest; every gesture revealed a look of disappointment over his soon-to-be-uncontrollable brother.

Itachi was in a dilemma. He glanced at his silent father, then sighed helplessly. "Brother, I will listen to you!" Itachi replied in a small voice.

Seeing that his goal was achieved, Yu immediately revealed a gratified smile. He pulled his hand away from Fugaku's and patted Itachi, who was keeping his head down. "It seems my cute little brother is still so obedient!"

Itachi felt a sense of awkwardness in his heart, but thinking that this was his brother, what else could he do? He could only quietly narrow his eyes, feeling the love from his brother.