Madara Uchiha stood beside Fugaku and glanced at Naruto Uzumaki, still a tiny little thing in the living room. What should I do with this kid now?
Put a Cursed Seal on him outright?
Absolutely not. With this kid's personality, he'd die before letting me blackmail him. But sucking up to Naruto is out of the question, too. Madara Uchiha did not even want to waste words on any brat other than Sasuke Uchiha.
While Madara pondered, Fugaku and Mikoto had already laid out dinner.
"What's wrong, Naruto? Don't you like the food?"
The moment he sat down at the table, three-year-old Naruto began shedding tears. Seeing him suddenly cry, Mikoto asked with concern.
"I'm not crying, and it's not that I don't like the food."
Though his tears had already fallen onto the table, Naruto refused to admit his vulnerability. He buried his face in his bowl and began eating. As though trying to prove how delicious Mikoto's cooking was, he finished his rice at lightning speed, then ran off to get another helping. But he had forgotten to eat any of the other dishes.
"What an adorable child."
Mikoto smiled gently as she watched Naruto hurry away. No one exposed his lie. Presumably, this was the first time the boy had shared a meal with anyone else.
"Hey, eat some of the other dishes, too! My mother's Grilled Fish is really good! And have some Soup so you don't choke!"
Seeing Naruto about to wolf down his second bowl of rice, Sasuke stopped him in time and brought him a bowl of Soup.
"Th—cough, cough, cough—thank you!"
Touched by Sasuke's kindness, Naruto gulped down the Soup in one go. Eating so quickly made him choke.
Seeing how clumsy three-year-old Naruto was, Madara Uchiha gave a self-mocking smile.
*Even