Itachi hurried to the training ground and saw the cratered explosion marks across the ground. His expression instantly turned wary.
"Mother, did enemies come here?!"
Seeing her younger son gripping a kunai in vigilance, Mikoto smiled with amusement. "Itachi, enemies did come!"
"Mother, don't worry. I'll protect you!" With that, Itachi stepped in front of Mikoto, shielding her as he activated his two-tomoe Sharingan. This was the first time he had shown his eyes to anyone other than his father.
Mikoto was both touched and amused by the sight. "Pfft! My Itachi is so adorable. The enemy Mommy mentioned is your mischievous older brother!" Mikoto gently stroked Itachi's head.
Itachi did not understand at first. Only after the dust had completely settled and he heard the conversation between his brother and father did he instantly realize what had happened.
He turned and gave his mother a helpless look, then glanced at his brother with envy. That was praise straight from Father's mouth! I want that too!
This scene happened to be caught by Hane. Seeing the two tomoe in Itachi's eyes, Hane froze slightly before his face darkened. He rode his flying sword over.
"Itachi, you're awake?" Hane asked softly.
At that moment, Fugaku also walked over. When he saw the two tomoe in Itachi's eyes, he froze as well before becoming excited.
"Itachi, your eyes... Hahahahaha! Excellent, Itachi! As expected of my son!" Fugaku could no longer suppress the joy in his heart and laughed loudly. His two sons had given him far too many surprises.
Receiving his father's praise, the somewhat dejected Itachi revealed a faint smile on his little face.
However, when he looked at his silent brother, his heart skipped a beat. "Brother! What's wrong?" Itachi asked uncertainly. Could his brother be unhappy because Father had praised him?
"Itachi, it seems I haven't cared for you enough lately," Hane said wistfully. Then he looked at Itachi with gentle eyes. "Itachi, I'm sorry. This will never happen again!" Hane's tone grew even gentler.
Itachi, who had been wondering whether his father's praise had made his brother unhappy, froze. After all, when he had heard Father say that his brother was already a powerful ninja, he had felt a brief moment of disappointment too. "Brother, why do you say that?" Itachi asked, his gaze shifting away.
Hane reached out and rubbed Itachi's head, his voice becoming incomparably low. "You're only six years old. You haven't experienced cruel war, nor have you lost any beloved family members. What kind of stimulus could have made someone as young as you awaken a two-tomoe Sharingan?"
Hane sighed softly, his hand stroking Itachi's head pausing slightly. "Brother always knew that Itachi was a very smart child. It is precisely that intelligence that made you understand responsibilities that do not belong to someone your age. Itachi! Don't take every responsibility upon yourself. You have the village and the clan, as well as Father and Brother!"
"Sigh! What kind of responsibility could have weighed on you enough to awaken a two-tomoe Sharingan, while I remained completely unaware?" A bitter smile appeared on Hane's lips. "Itachi! Tell me, doesn't that make me a terribly inadequate brother?"
"No! Brother!" Itachi hurriedly shook his head.
But Hane did not give Itachi a chance to continue. He simply went on, "Itachi! Please believe in Brother. This will never happen again. Since you are so worried about the clan and the village, then as your older brother, I should naturally stand firmly in front of my younger brother."
"Itachi! Brother will not let you stand alone in the darkness, lost and confused. This time, forgive Brother!" With that, Hane raised a finger and tapped Itachi on the forehead.
By then, Itachi's eyes were already brimming with tears. When Hane's finger touched his forehead, he could no longer hold them back, and they fell.
[Gratitude Points +1000] [Gratitude Points +500] [Gratitude Points +1000] [Gratitude Points +500] [Gratitude Points +1000]
Itachi's emotions erupted like a flood, and in Hane's mind, the system kept sounding with notifications of massive amounts of Gratitude Points.
Tears also shimmered faintly in Mikoto's eyes behind Itachi. She was deeply moved by this tender scene between her eldest son and his younger brother.
Hane noticed the constant system notifications in his mind. Judging from the numbers, his self-reproach had not only completely stirred up Itachi's emotions; his mother was not doing much better either.
Fugaku stood blankly beside Hane. His joyful laughter came to an abrupt halt. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, only to see his wife shooting him a resentful look.
Suddenly, he felt that compared to Hane as an older brother, he was far too inadequate as a father. It was not as though he did not know how the Sharingan awakened. It required an immensely powerful emotional stimulus. He had only been happy that Itachi's strength had increased, never considering how painful the process behind it must have been.
Hane gently wiped away Itachi's tears. "Why are you crying? Smile more from now on!"
"Come on! We should head back and face a whole crowd of people who need explanations. Once we're done explaining, Brother will buy you three-color dango when school starts!"
At those words, Itachi's tears nearly spilled again. But remembering that he had already embarrassed himself once before his brother, and that his brother had told him to smile more, Itachi desperately held back his emotions and made a face that looked like he wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. It was utterly comical.
The future god of the Uchiha Clan, the expressionless Itachi, had no resistance at all before his brother's tenderness and could only let Hane do as he pleased.
"Father, have you figured out how to explain what happened tonight?" Hane turned to Fugaku, who stood beside them in a daze and at a loss, and asked calmly.
"Ah!"
Coming to his senses, Fugaku fell into deep thought. He absolutely could not say that this had been caused by a battle between himself and his son. The Uchiha Clan was already like a powder keg under the suppression of Konoha's higher-ups. If they learned that the clan had gained another powerful fighter, who knew what kind of uproar it would cause.
Especially with the relocation of the clan grounds approaching. The matter had not yet been announced to the clan members. Once it was, the unfair terms would certainly cause an uproar. And with the emergence of such a powerful genius as Hane...
With countless thoughts racing through his mind, Fugaku said, "We'll say that an unfamiliar ninja infiltrated the Uchiha Clan Grounds."
Hane said nothing in response. After all, it was not the first time Konoha had been attacked by an unfamiliar ninja. As long as they stuck to that excuse, the clan members would not be too suspicious. Even if they were, they would not be able to uncover any further reason.
Before long, several old men in their sixties and seventies arrived at the entrance of their home with a large group of clan members.
A rapid knock sounded at the door. Mikoto rose gently and opened it. The leading elder, Uchiha Yashiro, quickly entered with the crowd of clan members, completely ignoring the mother and her two sons sitting opposite Fugaku.
"Clan Head, what exactly happened?" Uchiha Kyudai asked in a deep voice.
"I've caused the elders concern. It was nothing more than rats from the gutter sneaking in," Fugaku said calmly as he sat kneeling on a cushion in the living room.
Uchiha Yashiro and the other clan members' expressions changed drastically. "How arrogant! Who was it, to dare treat the Uchiha Clan as if we were nothing and attack the clan head's residence in the dead of night?"
Every member of the Uchiha Clan wore an angry expression. One after another, they revealed their Red Eyes as they stared at the clan head, whose body bore obvious signs of battle.
"I don't know. The enemy was mysterious. After I discovered him, he fled after only a few exchanges. Everyone should remain alert recently."
"Even the clan head couldn't keep the enemy here?" The Uchiha members' expressions all changed.
"Clan Head, could it have been that Uchiha who remained at large after the Night of the Nine-Tails?" The expressions of all the clan members tightened once more.
They were practically saying outright that it was that person.
If they could prove it was the Uchiha who had caused the Nine-Tails Rebellion, they could prove to the village that the Konoha Uchiha had nothing to do with the Nine-Tails Rebellion. Everyone looked at Fugaku with hopeful eyes.
"I'm not sure. The enemy did not reveal any Kekkei Genkai or Ninjutsu that could prove he was Uchiha."
"Enough! Stop overthinking it. Strengthen security around the clan grounds recently. We absolutely cannot allow this to happen again." Fugaku interrupted the elders before they could continue.
"Yes, Clan Head!" The elders turned and left unwillingly.
Before you continue