The next day.
Early morning.
Little Naruto stretched lazily, giving a huge yawn.
He slowly opened his eyes.
As sunlight flooded into his vision, he squinted slightly, a trace of loneliness surfacing in his expression.
"Was it… a dream?"
Last night, he had dreamed.
In the dream, he lay sprawled on a broad, warm back.
Soft, yet reassuring.
It was a warmth he had never experienced in four whole years.
For a moment, he didn't even want to wake up.
He even wanted to pull the blanket over his head and go back to sleep.
Three minutes later.
After struggling with himself for quite a while, little Naruto finally made up his mind and got out of bed.
Plop.
But the instant he stood up, his azure-blue pupils suddenly contracted.
Staring at the whisker marks reflected before him, he muttered:
"What… so I'm still dreaming? Then I'll just keep sleeping…"
Another three minutes passed.
Suddenly, he threw off the blanket.
He jumped out of bed and stared at the spotlessly clean room.
His face trembled slightly.
"N-no… this isn't a dream…"
"There's ramen! Ah—milk! There's milk too!"
Gurgle—
His stomach growled.
The hunger made him rush straight over the moment he saw the milk.
He opened the carton and tilted his head back for a gulp.
Glug glug.
"Huh? Why does this taste better than mine…?"
Confused, four-year-old Naruto drank it all in one go.
He even licked the mouth of the bottle clean.
"This is so good… I've gotta let Uncle Ichiraku try it too…"
With that thought, he clutched two cartons of milk and pattered downstairs.
Outside the window.
Kakashi, holding a newly published book, flicked a glance in that direction.
His expression didn't change in the slightest.
But the fingers gripping the book tightened almost imperceptibly.
"So… no one ever taught this kid that expired milk can't be drunk…"
Deep inside, an emotion difficult to put into words began to spread.
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"
"Ahhh—go away! Get lost! Stop chasing me!"
"Awooo—woof!"
"Damn it! Uchiha Arata, just you wait till I grow up—ahhh! No! Not there! Not there!!"
Konoha Village.
Amid the gradually calming atmosphere brought about by the Cloud–Leaf peace talks—
One scene—
Or rather, a whole series of scenes—
Gradually drew everyone's attention.
At the front was a small boy dressed in Uchiha clan attire, legs pumping wildly as he sprinted for his life.
Behind him was a pack of Shiba Inus, chasing with equal enthusiasm.
Once they caught up—chomp!
The sight had villagers on both sides of the street laughing and commenting.
"Oh my, that little Uchiha brat is getting chased by dogs again."
"Heh, who would've thought a grand clan like the Uchiha could be so… down-to-earth?"
"Right? Look at that kid—he's overheating already."
"Seems like the Uchiha aren't that different from us ordinary folk after all, hahaha!"
Sure enough, watching kids tease cats and dogs was prime entertainment for the village's middle-aged and elderly.
In the process, the villagers' former hostility toward the Uchiha seemed to slowly lessen.
Some even started offering helpful directions.
"Run faster! Watch out for that trash can ahead!"
"Careful! There's a wall in front!"
"Go, go! Second Dog, overtake him!"
During the chase, a youth dressed in a green jumpsuit saw the scene, his eyes instantly lighting up.
"As expected of the Uchiha clan—using such methods for training!"
"This is youth! Let us burn with the flames of youth together!"
With that, his small body charged straight into the pack of dogs—
And surged ahead!
Passing Uchiha Sasuke!
Sasuke: "He… overtook me???"
Still very much a kid at heart, Sasuke's temper flared instantly when he saw someone pass him.
"I'll show you what a real genius looks like today!"
He stomped hard.
With a beautiful leap, he shot forward.
He even had time to glance back and flash the green-clad youth an arrogant look—
As if to say: Behold, the pride of the Uchiha clan!
He clearly saw the green-clad youth's pupils widen in alarm, his face turning pale.
His mouth opened, as if he wanted to say something.
"Hmph! See? Just a little effort from me, and you're already scared stiff!"
Sasuke's smugness grew even stronger—
And then—
Bang!
Thud!
Smack!
"Ow!" ×2
Two cries of pain rang out almost simultaneously.
Only then did Rock Lee's voice finally catch up:
"C-careful! There's someone—"
A black-haired child and a blond child—both four years old—collided as if by fate.
And then…
They started yelling at each other!
"You! You! You—how do you even run?!"
"Are you blind? Can't you see all these dogs?!"
"Ahhh! My milk! You—damn brat! Pay me back my milk!"
"Hmph! I'm not paying! You didn't even pay for my clothes!"
"Fan-clan clothes? Uchiha? So that's it—you're one of those naturally evil Uchiha brats!"
"Hmph! You yellow-haired fox demon!"
The two stood in the middle of the road, pointing at each other and shouting.
Beside them, Rock Lee flailed anxiously, trying to mediate.
Unfortunately—failure.
It ultimately devolved into a three-way brawl…
On the outer edge, the seven Shiba Inus exchanged glances and silently stepped back.
A city gate catches fire, and the fish in the moat suffer.
But before they could even retreat—
They got dragged right back into the chaos.
Three kids. Seven dogs.
An all-out melee.
Uchiha Clan Grounds, conference hall.
Fugaku was in the middle of discussing the matter of Konoha handing over Hizashi's body and the ceasefire with the Cloud Village.
He poured himself a cup of tea and waved his hand.
"Don't worry. As long as the Uchiha remain calm, this matter—"
Just then, a startled shout came from outside.
"Clan Head! Clan Head!"
A clan member rushed in anxiously.
"Clan Head, you'd better go take a look—Young Master Sasuke is outside and… fighting!"
Clang.
"Sasuke?! What did that brat do now?!"
"This is a sensitive time for the village! Any little movement from the Uchiha will be magnified tenfold!"
"He… damn it!"
Fugaku's expression stiffened mid-speech, his brow twitching faintly.
Suppressing his anger and worry, he tightened his grip on the teacup.
"Who is he fighting? Did he win?!"
"Uh… no… n-not… that is…"
The clan member hesitated before speaking with a strange expression.
"He's fighting… seven dogs, a green-clothes freak, and a blond kid."
"Oh, oh—if it's not another major clan, that's fine—he—hm? What did you say?! Sasuke's fighting what?!"
Uchiha Fugaku shot to his feet.
"Dogs? Seven of them?!"
"And some weirdo in odd clothes and a blond?!"
Realizing what had happened, he slammed the teacup upside-down onto the table!
"Yahhh! That unfilial brat!"
Tea spilled across the tabletop.
Drip.
Drip.
Quite a bit even splashed onto his pants.
But Fugaku no longer cared.
He only wanted to rush over and stuff Sasuke into the teacup himself!
On the wall.
"…Did I just cause trouble?"
Hearing the commotion, Jin casually tossed Pakkun away, then cautiously shuffled closer to the wall.
He slowed his breathing.
Pressed himself flat against the surface.
And then—
He desperately activated the Weak Sense of Presence trait!
Thinking silently:
If they beat Sasuke, they won't beat me, right?
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