Itachi finished cooking and arranged the dishes on the table one by one. Coming into the living room wearing his apron, he waved to his younger brother and mother. "Sasuke, Mother, come eat."
"Coming!" Hearing Itachi call him, Sasuke jumped off the sofa and ran toward his brother with a smile.
The smile stretched the muscles in his face, making it ache again.
"Go wash your hands first, then we'll eat." Itachi watched Sasuke run toward him excitedly, affection warming his expression. When Sasuke reached him, Itachi gently ruffled his hair.
"Okay, brother!" Sasuke went to wash his hands.
Itachi looked up to see Mikoto approaching as well. He said softly, "Mother, please wash your hands and join us."
Their father, Uchiha Fugaku, had business to attend to and wouldn't be home for dinner.
The family gathered around the dining table. Sasuke looked at the spread of his favorite dishes and reached for a chicken leg...
"Hey, your brother hasn't said we can start yet. Don't be rude." Mikoto lightly scolded.
Sasuke's hand froze mid-air. He turned to look at Itachi, eyes narrowing hopefully. "Brother..."
Itachi gazed at Sasuke with affection, then turned to Mikoto. "Let him eat. He's still a child. Why make a fuss?"
"Thank you, brother!"
Sasuke gratefully grabbed the chicken leg and bit into it. His brother's cooking was incredible. Every bite filled him with happiness.
"You're going to spoil him eventually." Mikoto watched Sasuke's delighted expression and shook her head at Itachi.
"Don't worry, Mother. Sasuke is a good boy. I'll always watch over him." As Itachi said this, something unreadable flashed in his eyes.
After dinner, the family walked in the back garden to aid digestion.
They strolled leisurely along the cobblestone path, tall cherry trees lining both sides. The cherry blossoms weren't in full bloom this season, but other flowers filled the garden with color.
While admiring the flowers, they chatted about small matters.
Sasuke walked ahead while Itachi and Mikoto followed behind. After a bit, Sasuke started running. His brother's concerned voice called from behind, "Sasuke, don't run! You just ate. Be careful of stomach cramps."
Despite the scolding words, the corners of Itachi's eyes and mouth held nothing but love. He knew that outside, Sasuke maintained a cool, aloof image. Only in front of family could he show this innocent side.
It must be wonderful to show your true self freely in front of family.
Unlike himself, living perpetually under a dark mask.
But at least he had Sasuke. Sasuke was his only beauty in this world.
Without Sasuke's laughter, perhaps he would have...
After their walk, Sasuke followed Itachi and suddenly said, "Brother, will you train with me?"
Hearing the request, Itachi stopped and turned around. He knelt down, cupped Sasuke's face, and asked, "Sasuke, do you want to get revenge on that classmate?"
"Yes." Sasuke's face flushed.
Itachi tapped Sasuke's nose affectionately. "Your brother will help you."
At the training ground, Itachi said, "Sasuke, tell me in detail about both battles with him. That way I can identify your weaknesses and his strengths."
Sasuke felt somewhat embarrassed about those two fights.
His opponent had been too fast. He'd been defeated before making a single move...
But since his brother asked, he couldn't avoid answering. Hesitantly, he began, "That guy is strong. Really big too. And his speed is incredible. He has this strange taijutsu technique where he grabs people from behind. Once you're caught, it's nearly impossible to break free."
"The first time, he attacked from behind. Before I could react, I'd already fallen into his trap."
"The second time, we started ten meters apart. I was about to use the Fire Style technique you taught me, but then he vanished. Then I felt wind behind me..."
The result was self-evident. Sasuke had been caught again.
"So both times, he didn't use any ninjutsu? He defeated you purely with taijutsu?" After Sasuke finished, Itachi asked his own question.
Looking at his brother's bruised face, Itachi couldn't help but wonder. How could a child Sasuke's age defeat him twice using only physical techniques?
The Uchiha clan's physical conditioning wasn't the weakest in Konoha, or even in the entire shinobi world.
Suddenly, another thought occurred to him. There was a jonin named Might Guy in the village who excelled at taijutsu. Could Sasuke's classmate be Guy's student?
"Sasuke, I believe your speed was your weakness in both battles. If you were faster than him, he couldn't catch you, and you'd be able to use ninjutsu for ranged attacks." Itachi identified the core flaw.
"I thought the same thing. That's why I wanted to ask how to improve my speed."
"Alright, I'll teach you now." Itachi ruffled Sasuke's hair.
Meanwhile, Naruto returned to the back mountain. As usual, he checked on the pigsty, the sheep, and the cattle. When he spotted a lazy bull, Naruto retrieved his educational manual and encouraged the bull to continue working.
The efforts of this period had shown remarkable results—three new members had joined the herd.
Watching the three little calves bouncing across the grass, Naruto felt all the bull's hard work had been worthwhile. As long as the bulls kept trying, they'd add even more new members.
It was still early. The Nine-Tails hadn't started cooking yet. Instead, the fox had brought out a basin with a washboard, moved a small stool, and sat washing Naruto's clothes.
The Nine-Tails had fully honored its promise to Naruto.
Everything was in order. Naruto began training. He estimated that in ten days or so, he'd formally enter the next level. At that point, ninja kunai, shuriken, senbon, and other cold weapons would no longer threaten him.
After training, the Nine-Tails had prepared the meal and called Naruto to eat.
Following dinner, Naruto rested on a reclining chair, reading Advanced Swine Husbandry in his hands. With the expanded pigsty, he needed to learn the corresponding knowledge.
The Nine-Tails finished washing dishes, retrieved a cookbook, moved a stool, and took out a notebook. The fox knelt on the ground and began writing.
Not knowing what the Nine-Tails was writing piqued Naruto's curiosity. "Nine-Tails, are you writing a book?"
The Nine-Tails shook his head. "I'm not writing a book. I'm creating my own cookbook. These are my original recipes. They'll be revolutionary when published."
Recently, the Nine-Tails had grown critical of the cookbook in its possession, believing it could do better. So it had decided to create its own.
"Wow, that's amazing, Nine-Tails!" Naruto gave a thumbs up in praise. Then his expression shifted. "But since you're creating something, don't kneel like that. Doesn't it hurt your knees?"