"I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."
Sasuke mumbled, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, I know! It's Uchiha Tōshirō, the one that woman mentioned last time..."
He was hostile toward Mizumi, so he referred to her as "that woman."
"Sasuke..."
Fugaku was a bit displeased with his son's loud exclamation and began to lecture him.
Sasuke shrank his neck, not daring to look directly into his father's stern eyes, and apologized again in a low voice.
Fugaku's face was stern. "You don't need to apologize to me. You should apologize to your Uncle Tōshirō."
"I understand, Father..."
Sasuke answered and was about to call him "uncle" when he looked at the white-haired, blue-eyed boy again and froze.
Uncle Tōshirō?
How could this guy, who was probably younger than his brother, be his uncle?
Sasuke's worldview was a bit shaken.
"Is there a problem?" Fugaku said seriously. "Tōshirō is actually a few years older than me..."
Sasuke was dumbfounded. To him, his father's words were nothing but serious nonsense.
A few years older? How was that possible!
He looked at Itachi with a bewildered expression, hoping for a definitive answer.
Facing his brother's gaze, Itachi knew exactly what he was thinking. He nodded and continued, "Remember the person I mentioned to you not long ago? The person standing in front of you is him."
Sasuke's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. "You're kidding me."
Tōshirō gave a hearty laugh. "It seems you've learned a bit about me."
Sasuke suddenly realized. "Oh, I get it. You're using a Transformation Jutsu, right?"
Tōshirō smiled. "Unfortunately, that's the wrong guess."
Sasuke: ...
Fugaku scolded, "Sasuke, don't make me repeat myself too many times."
Sasuke was forced to submit to his father's authority and reluctantly said, "Uncle Tōshirō..."
Tōshirō patted Sasuke on the head. "Good boy. Let's go eat. I'm hungry."
Sasuke was in a state of confusion from beginning to end. During dinner, his small eyes would occasionally glance at Tōshirō, secretly observing him.
He quietly leaned toward Itachi, covering his mouth with his hand, and whispered, "Brother, this guy has a very good relationship with Father and Mom. This is the first time I've seen Father smile."
"It's been a long time since they last saw each other."
Itachi looked at the three people who were laughing and talking and said with emotion.
He thought that if Shisui were to be resurrected in front of him one day, he would probably be this happy, too.
Tōshirō waved his hand and laughed. "That's all in the past. We should talk more about the present."
This reminded Fugaku. If his younger son hadn't been there, making it difficult to talk, he would have loved to discuss the current situation with Tōshirō.
Tōshirō rested his chin on the back of his clasped hand and looked sideways. "Speaking of which, your eldest son is really impressive."
Itachi was taken aback. Why did the conversation turn to him?
Tōshirō looked at Itachi and sincerely praised him. "When I was his age, I wasn't as good as he is."
This wasn't flattery. When he was Itachi's age, Tōshirō would not have been able to beat him in a real fight.
Fugaku didn't deny this.
His son was a true genius.
Sometimes, Fugaku would even forget that Itachi was his son and be jealous of his talent.
Due to their distant relationship, Fugaku didn't comment on it.
Mikoto, however, had no such concerns and said proudly, "Itachi learned the Great Fireball Jutsu just by watching Fugaku do it once when he was only four years old."
Tōshirō showed a surprised expression. "That's really impressive."
"It's nothing special."
Itachi said humbly.
Compared to someone who was born with two bloodline limits, his talent was nothing.
Everyone was talking about how amazing his brother was. As the younger brother, Sasuke felt neglected and sulked as he ate his food.
Praising Itachi was just a prelude to what he was about to say. Tōshirō continued the conversation. "Since Itachi is so amazing, Sasuke, as his younger brother, must also be very talented."
Sasuke froze and stopped eating.
Before he could say anything, his father, Fugaku, scoffed at him. "He's still far from Itachi."
Sasuke lowered his head, his hand slightly curled, and his eyes showed a hint of sadness.
In his father's eyes, no matter how hard he tried, he could never be as good as his brother.
And the truly tragic fact was that it was true.
"Fugaku, you're jumping to conclusions too early."
Tōshirō rested his chin on the back of his hand and looked at the self-conscious Sasuke with an interested gaze. "I think Sasuke's talent might not be any less than Itachi's."
Sasuke looked up at Tōshirō.
Fugaku shook his head. "You think too highly of Sasuke."
He wasn't scolding his son because he didn't love him.
He was just educating his son in his own way.
He knew Sasuke was very talented, but in front of Itachi, anyone would feel ashamed of themselves.
Of course, Tōshirō was a special case and was not included.
He hoped to continuously stimulate Sasuke through comparison to make him stronger.
Tōshirō denied it. "I'm not just trying to comfort Sasuke..."
Fugaku asked, "What's your reason?"
"A hunch..."
Tōshirō's reason wasn't convincing at all. Not only did Fugaku not take it seriously, but Sasuke also felt the same way.
He's just comforting me...
He lowered his head silently.
Itachi was about to say something but held back.
His talent was putting pressure on and causing pain to Sasuke right now.
"Sasuke..."
Hearing Tōshirō call his name, Sasuke looked up with a confused expression. "What is it, Uncle Tōshirō?"
"Would you be interested in being my disciple?"
Everyone who heard this looked at him with surprise.
"Is that alright?"
Fugaku paused and asked.
Tōshirō explained, "In the past, I wanted to take Mikoto as my disciple, but something unexpected happened to me. It's not appropriate for me to take Mikoto as my disciple now."
"That's a shame." Mikoto thought that since she was already a mother of two children, it was indeed inappropriate for her to become Tōshirō's disciple.
Fugaku suddenly understood. "So you plan to take Sasuke as your disciple to make up for your regret?"
Tōshirō took a sip of tea to clear his throat. "Something like that. And, of course, from the first time I saw him, I felt there was something very special about this child."
Sasuke was the reincarnation of Indra, and Tōshirō planned to use the identity of a master to carefully study Sasuke's physical condition.
The metaphysical reason Tōshirō gave wasn't something everyone could understand, but one thing was for sure: Tōshirō had made up his mind to take a disciple.
Mikoto clasped her hands together, resting the back of one hand against her cheek, smiling. "That's great, Sasuke... You have to work hard for me too."
"Work hard."
Fugaku looked at Sasuke with anticipation.
Tōshirō's strength and experience were well-known within the clan, so it was a great thing for him to take Sasuke as his disciple.
Since Tōshirō was so highly praised by his mom and dad, Sasuke nodded seriously. "I will definitely work hard."
Watching the three of them immerse themselves in a joyful atmosphere, Itachi opened his mouth with a worried expression. Tōshirō had the Mangekyō Sharingan. He didn't know if it was a good or bad thing to entrust his brother to such a person.
He could only go along with the current situation and offer his congratulations. "That's great, Sasuke..."
Sasuke nodded in agreement, secretly vowing to train hard with Tōshirō and live up to the expectations of his father, mother, and brother.
(End of Chapter)
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