A Family

Family

Combing his hair to look like Madara, dressing in a handsome clan outfit, going to school later would definitely turn out better than imagined...

Uchiha Hane narcissistically looked at himself in the mirror, humming a song he had adapted from his past life while straightening his slightly messy hair.

The teenager in the mirror wore a short-sleeved black shirt with the proud red Uchiha clan crest on the back, paired with matching black casual pants, and long, shattered black hair that reached down to his waist, with two locks of bangs hanging down the sides of his cheeks in the wind.

His delicate facial features had three parts young Sasuke and seven parts Madara, and his eyes were deep and calm, yet the corners of his mouth carried a playful smile, overall giving off a devil-may-care vibe.

Seriously, there's something wrong with Fugaku's bloodline. Why do I end up looking so much more like Madara! Hane fell into deep thought as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"Hane, hurry down for breakfast!" A gentle voice drifted up from downstairs.

"Got it! Mother!"

Hane pulled back his wandering thoughts, quickly put down the comb in his hand, and trotted down the stairs.

Inside the living room at that moment, three figures had already appeared early on: his kneeling parents of this life, Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto, along with Itachi sitting at the other end of the dining table, holding one-year-old Young Sasuke in his arms.

Uchiha Mikoto shot Hane a reproachful look. "Dally any longer and you'll miss the opening ceremony!"

"Understood, Mother. It's not every day we go to the Ninja Academy! I need to dress up properly so I can leave a good impression on my classmates and teachers later." Hane winked playfully at Mikoto.

"Hane, ninja strength is what matters most. Appearance is completely useless to a ninja." Fugaku, sitting next to Mikoto, spoke up with a stern face.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Father is always right." Hane shrugged helplessly. He didn't want to argue with this rigid father of his and just brushed it off perfunctorily.

"Brother, come sit over here. After we finish breakfast, Father will take us to the Ninja Academy." Little cutie Itachi called out sweetly to Hane.

At the same time, Young Sasuke in his arms also reached out chubby little hands. "Brudda, hold!"

Hane walked over to Itachi with a light chuckle and rubbed the little cutie's head. "Itachi, you're still such a good boy today!" Then he casually took Young Sasuke from Itachi's arms.

Itachi's little face showed a trace of reluctance, but remembering his big brother's words earlier, his face flushed red again, and he lowered his little head in shyness.

Opposite them, Fugaku looked at Hane's flippant demeanor and felt somewhat displeased. For some reason, he just couldn't feel very close to this eldest son born on the very same day as Itachi.

He was full of his own opinions from a young age, leaving him completely without the feeling of being a father, but regardless of what happened, he was still his own son. Fugaku let out a faint, cold hum and didn't say anything more.

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

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

With that, the four of them quietly ate breakfast. As the premier clan of Konoha, silence while eating and sleeping was the most basic family etiquette—aside from the still somewhat boisterous Young Sasuke, of course.

Finishing breakfast quickly, Hane gave a glowing compliment to his mother's culinary skills as usual.

Mikoto smiled gently at Hane, rose lightly, and prepared to clear the bowls and chopsticks from the table.

Seeing this, Hane quickly handed Young Sasuke over to Itachi and joined in to help clean up, while Fugaku pulled Itachi toward the doorway without a word.

Watching the mother and son clear the tableware from the table with smiles and laughter in silence, Fugaku felt a sense of gratification mingled with an indescribable trace of worry.

His eldest son had been very opinionated since childhood, which led to him disagreeing with many of his own principles, and sometimes he would even leave him speechless, making him lose face as a father.

He wanted to hit him, but couldn't bring himself to do it, leaving him with little choice but to speak very rarely in front of his eldest son nowadays.

Just as Fugaku was lost in thought, he suddenly felt the small hand he was holding want to pull away slightly. Fugaku quickly looked down at Itachi.

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

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

Itachi looked at his majestic-looking father, then glanced at Young Sasuke in his arms, and nodded earnestly. "Understood, Father."

Hearing Itachi's reply, Fugaku let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good thing Itachi has always been so obedient.

Hearing the two of them exchange words, Hane rolled his eyes. Macho man! Hane muttered softly.

Mikoto, who was carrying bowls toward the kitchen, cast a helpless glare at Hane. "He is your father! Hurry off to school! It's your first day, don't be late!"

"It's fine, Mother, it's still early!" Saying that, Hane familiarly placed the tray from his hand into the sink, turned on the tap, stood on a stool, and started washing.

Seeing this, Mikoto felt both helpless and touched. In this family, although her husband treated her very well, the one who truly understood her best was this eldest son of hers. To say she wasn't moved would be a lie.

Sensing Mikoto's touched gaze, Hane felt quite helpless. Was helping his mother with housework really that difficult? Anyway, Hane didn't feel any particular way about it; he just couldn't bear to watch his mother bustle about the house day in and day out.

In his past life, he was an orphan, so he cherished the paternal and maternal love he possessed now very much.

Although he wasn't close to Fugaku, it didn't mean he didn't acknowledge this father. After all, he possessed the mind of an adult; there was no way he would throw tantrums and lack direction like a child!

Although Fugaku was rigid and chauvinistic, he had never once harbored disgust or alienation toward him simply because he wasn't close.

Whatever Itachi had, he had never received any less. No matter how much he and Fugaku argued since childhood, Fugaku had never raised a hand against him. For this point alone, he already far surpassed eighty percent of the fathers from his past life.

After being busy for a while, Hane wiped the water off his hands and walked toward the door with Mikoto, only to see Fugaku and Itachi still waiting quietly outside.

Seeing this, a trace of a smile appeared on Hane's face. They really are people who say one thing and mean another after all.

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

Hane nodded and grabbed Fugaku's large hand. The three of them—one adult and two children—walked toward the Ninja Academy amidst Mikoto's gentle gaze as she held Young Sasuke.

Walking down the street, Hane felt numerous unfriendly gazes. To this, Hane had long since grown accustomed. Compared to Itachi, who was immersed in cultivation day in and day out, Hane ran into the village whenever he had free time. After all, the way he grew stronger wasn't just by training hard.

Besides, the Uchiha clan's reputation was probably only a fraction better than Naruto's as a Jinchuriki. As a transmigrator with an adult mindset, he simply didn't care about a tiny bit of malice from others.

On the other hand, Itachi, with his sensitive personality, lowered his little head slightly and looked rather upset. Seeing this, Hane smiled softly at Itachi. "Itachi, don't pay too much attention to other people's gazes."

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

"Who knows, what does it matter to us whether they hate us or not, we just need to do our own job well." Hane shrugged.

"Understood, Brother!" Itachi answered in a low voice, to which Hane didn't have any great solution either, since he certainly didn't have Naruto's powerful Talk no Jutsu.

Instead, Fugaku tightened his grip on the hands of the two boys, obviously very dissatisfied with the current state of the Uchiha Clan in the village.

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

"Yeah! Father, I will work hard!" Itachi nodded heavily.

"Hehe, Father, the prejudice in people's hearts is a giant mountain. Wanting to move this giant mountain, how could it be something my younger brother and I can change with just one or two people? Besides, the two of us are still children right now. Do you think it's reasonable to hand such a heavy task over to me and my younger brother?"

Fugaku frowned, "Hane! As the young master of the Uchiha Clan, this is a heavy responsibility you must bear from childhood."

Hearing Fugaku's near-scolding words, Hane did not retort. Right now, the relationship between the Uchiha and the village was becoming increasingly tense every day, much like a slowly accumulating powder keg.

He silently recalled the Naruto manga he hadn't watched much of in his past life.

He completely disapproved of Itachi massacring the entire clan in the future. Clearly, the villagers' attitude toward the Uchiha did not stem entirely from the Uchiha Clan itself.

The Konoha Elder Council, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, as well as that ridiculous Will of Fire, and Obito, the rat hiding in the sewer—numerous injustices and conspiracies, along with covert instigation and sowing of discord, were the reasons the Uchiha Clan marched toward destruction.

Thinking of this, Hane let out a slight breath of foul air and revealed a cold sneer. Since you want my family destroyed and us dead, then come and try. Who will emerge victorious depends entirely on our respective means...

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

Itachi seemed to sense something and directed his gaze toward his big brother. Suddenly, he felt that his big brother's gaze at this moment was incomparably strange.

"Brother, is something the matter?" Itachi asked with some trepidation.

"Itachi, you must listen to your big brother from now on, you know!" Hane replied with a hidden meaning.

Itachi's little face froze, and a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes. "Brother, you're only older than me by a little over half an hour!" Itachi spoke up somewhat glumly.

"Hehe, a big brother is a big brother. Itachi, are you planning to rebel against Lord Big Brother right now?" Hane suddenly put on a sorrowful expression.

"N—No, Lord Big Brother!" Itachi answered somewhat panicked all of a sudden. Toward this big brother who was only older than him by a little over half an hour, Itachi still cared immensely right now.

"Well, just tell me whether you'll listen to your big brother or not!" At this moment, Hane displayed his tea-art skills to the fullest. In every movement and gesture, he revealed a look of disappointment toward the younger brother who was about to spin out of control.

Itachi found himself in a difficult dilemma. He glanced at his silently brooding father, then sighed helplessly, "Brother, I'll be obedient!" Itachi answered in a soft voice.

Seeing that his objective had been achieved, Hane immediately revealed a gratified smile. He pulled his hand out of Fugaku's grip and patted the head of the lowered-head Itachi, "It looks like my cute little brother is still as well-behaved as ever!"

A wave of awkwardness washed through Itachi's heart, but thinking that this was his big brother, what other choice did he have? He could only quietly narrow his eyes and feel the love coming from his big brother.