Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha

Naruto took Kiba Inuzuka to Teuchi's Ichiraku Ramen with practiced ease.

"Uncle Teuchi, I brought my friend! Hurry up and make two signature ramen bowls—ah, no, three!" Naruto swaggered into Ichiraku Ramen and called out to Teuchi.

"So it's Naruto. You made another new friend? That's wonderful! I'll make it right away!" Teuchi was delighted to see Naruto bringing along a new friend.

"Hello, Uncle. I'm Naruto's new friend, Kiba Inuzuka, and this is Akamaru!" Kiba pointed at Akamaru in Naruto's arms.

Upon hearing Kiba's name, Teuchi immediately understood. The Inuzuka Clan was considered one of Konoha Village's major clans, famous for raising ninja hounds.

People turned into dogs, dogs turned into people, people and dogs turned into people together, and people and dogs turned into dogs together.

Their ramen was served before long, along with a portion for Akamaru.

Although Akamaru was still young, the Inuzuka Clan's special methods of training allowed him to eat human food normally.

The two boys and one dog ate with great relish, and as usual, Naruto put it all on that old bastard Hiruzen Sarutobi's tab.

Teuchi silently shed tears for Hiruzen Sarutobi. Since he had agreed to it, he naturally had to see it through properly.

After finishing the ramen, Kiba took Akamaru back from Naruto's arms and said, "Naruto, we're heading home. Let's play together again sometime. I'll introduce you to my friends then!"

Akamaru also reluctantly said goodbye to Naruto, his little tail wagging nonstop.

"Okay, Kiba, Akamaru, see you next time!"

Naruto bid them farewell and headed down the little road home.

He had made another friend today. That was nice.

Perhaps it was because their memories had fused, but Naruto had also been influenced by some of the original Naruto's personality. Or perhaps Asura's reincarnated chakra had invisibly pushed Naruto to be more positive and upbeat.

He was more than happy to make friends. The more friends he had, the more paths he would have. If he became Hokage someday, these friends would all be his best helpers.

On the way home, Naruto passed a sweets shop. It was an ordinary-looking sweets shop, yet it suddenly caught his attention.

An older boy was buying sweets at the shop with another boy who appeared to be his younger brother.

The older boy had short black hair and black eyes, long lashes at the corners of both his upper and lower eyelids, delicate features, and tear troughs that seemed inherited from his parents.

His gaze was as gentle as water, and he looked every bit the image of a kind older brother.

The younger boy, meanwhile, had fair skin. His hair and bangs grew longer toward the back before gradually becoming choppy at the ends. He wore a simple black high-collared long-sleeved shirt and black shorts, with the Uchiha Clan's fan emblem on his back.

He looked like a somewhat mischievous child.

Naruto suddenly realized that these two were the most loving pair of brothers from the Hokage series—Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha.

As though he had sensed Naruto's gaze, Itachi Uchiha turned toward its source. The instant he saw Naruto, a faint flash of surprise crossed his eyes before they returned to their gentle expression.

When Sasuke Uchiha saw his brother turn to look at something, he also turned around, wanting to know what his brother was doing.

The moment he looked at Naruto, Sasuke suddenly felt as if something inside him was slowly awakening. For some reason, when he looked at this yellow-haired boy, he felt a faint sense of familiarity—and even a slight urge to get closer to him.

"Ding. System mission issued: Please have Itachi Uchiha treat you to three-color dango."

Sure enough, encountering famous characters from the original story made it easier to trigger missions!

"Brother, do we know him? I feel like he seems kind of familiar?" Sasuke Uchiha turned back to his brother and asked softly.

Sasuke's words startled Itachi Uchiha as well. He knew Naruto Uzumaki because he had learned certain secrets about the village from his father and mother.

He knew that Naruto Uzumaki was Konoha Village's Nine-Tails jinchuriki, so the villagers calling him the Nine-Tails Demon Fox was, in a sense, quite accurate.

But Sasuke should never have met Naruto. Why would he find Naruto familiar?

"Probably not, Sasuke. Maybe you remembered wrong. Still, meeting is fate. Let's invite him over!"

Kakashi, who was watching from the shadows, suddenly felt that things were not looking good. The Uchiha Clan's reputation in the village was not very favorable right now, and the surrounding ANBU were stirring faintly, as if they were about to make a move.

"Don't act rashly. I'll keep watch. If anything happens, I'll step in. I'll report to Lord Hokage myself. Don't be impulsive!"

Kakashi hurriedly spoke up to steady the hidden ANBU around him.

In that instant, Itachi Uchiha also noticed the ANBU hidden nearby. His eyes turned sharp, but when he saw that they made no move, his expression returned to its gentle state.

"Little one, would you like to have some dango with us?"

Itachi Uchiha warmly greeted Naruto.

Hearing Itachi's invitation, Naruto grinned from ear to ear. On the surface, he was happy about the dango, but in truth, he was delighted because this mission required no effort from him—Itachi Uchiha would help him complete it!

"Sure! Thank you, big brother. I wanted to buy dango before, but those shop owners wouldn't sell any to me. They only gave me dango mixed with sand."

Naruto put on an expression of deep gratitude, then seemed to remember something and instantly became dejected.

Hearing how the villagers had treated Naruto, Itachi Uchiha's expression darkened. He then rubbed Naruto's head and said, "It's okay, it's okay. Big brother will treat you to dango today. Three-color dango—it's sweet and delicious. Take a few extra skewers home with you!"

Itachi Uchiha packed several portions and handed them to Naruto.

"Brother, you're playing favorites! I want some too!" Feeling ignored, Sasuke immediately jumped up and shouted at Itachi.

"I bought your portion too, Sasuke. We'll eat it after we get home." Itachi handed another portion of dango to Sasuke.

After taking the dango, Sasuke instantly brightened and said with a smile, "Thank you, Brother."

"Thank you, big brother!" Naruto took the dango Itachi handed him and copied Sasuke.

"We're heading back now. You should go home early too, little one." Itachi glanced toward where the ANBU were hiding, took Sasuke's hand, and prepared to leave.

"Okay, big brother, and little brother too. Be careful on the way home! Thank you for the dango!" Naruto said to the two of them, putting on an obedient act.

"He's my brother, not your brother! And I'm not a little brother!" Sasuke held Itachi's hand and made a face at Naruto.

"Okay, okay, I got it. See you!" Naruto carried the three-color dango as he bid the brothers farewell.

Seeing that Naruto had not had too much contact with Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi finally relaxed.

He said to the nearby ANBU, "I'm going to report the situation to Lord Hokage now. Keep an eye on Naruto. I'll be right back!"

Before the ANBU could respond, Kakashi had already flashed away.

Naruto could sense Kakashi's departure. At this time, Kakashi was probably going to see Hiruzen Sarutobi.

After all, Naruto's identity was special. He was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki.

During the previous Nine-Tails attack, the ninja who had controlled the Nine-Tails had also been from the Uchiha Clan. There was no mistaking those Sharingan.

For all these years, the Uchiha Clan had remained shrouded in controversy.

If Naruto lost control again while interacting with the Uchiha Clan, then the Uchiha Clan truly would not be able to clear its name even by jumping into the Yellow River!

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