Autumn, Konoha Year 54.
A gentle breeze blew as warm sunlight spilled across the land.
In the backyard of the Uchiha clan compound, maple leaves burned red like fire, swaying in the wind.
At this moment, three-and-a-half-year-old Sasuke was mimicking his brother's movements, throwing a shuriken with all his strength.
Whoosh!
Clack.
The shuriken struck the bullseye—
But failed to embed itself, clattering to the ground instead.
The aim was there.
The power—was not.
Drip.
Drip.
Sweat slid down both sides of his cheeks, gathered at his chin, and finally dropped onto the collar marked with the Uchiha clan crest.
"Hah… so tired."
He took a breather and turned to go wash his face.
But when his eyes landed on the lazy figure lying atop the courtyard wall, his brows instantly knitted together.
"Hey!" Sasuke shook his sore wrist and said irritably,
"The sun's almost setting. How long are you planning to lie there?"
"Until the sun goes down—
or until One-Hits-Seven brings back three-colored dango."
Hearing this, Uchiha Arata rolled over, poking half his face out from the blanket.
Sunlight filtered through the maple leaves outside the wall, scattering dappled light across his face.
Four years had passed.
The tiny child from before now already carried the outline of a young boy.
His brows and eyes had grown sharper, more defined.
The only thing that hadn't changed—
Was that lazy aura.
"Don't call him One-Hits-Seven! Call him big brother!"
At the mention of "One-Hits-Seven," Sasuke grew visibly more upset. Two veins even popped on his forehead.
"Do you know this? Big brother graduated today as first in the entire academy!"
If Uchiha Itachi was his idol—
Then the second brother lying on the wall was, in Sasuke's eyes, nothing but a parasite.
Lazy.
Talkative.
That was Sasuke's only impression of Uchiha Arata.
For years now, every time he saw this brother, Jin was either sunbathing on the wall—
Or wandering around the village chatting people up!
As for exams?
Always barely scraping past the passing line!
Dead last.
A textbook dead last!
Yet no matter how angry Sasuke got—
Jin on the wall not only didn't argue back—
He actually… smiled?!
Seeing that smile, Sasuke completely lost it.
He grabbed a training shuriken, barking like a puppy that couldn't get milk:
"Uchiha Arata! You're disgracing the Uchiha name! I challenge you to a duel—"
"Shh. Don't talk. Listen."
Jin suddenly raised a finger and waved it gently.
"The sky is clear. The rain has stopped."
The seriousness of his expression actually made Sasuke think something was really happening.
He subconsciously held his breath.
All he heard was the rustling of maple leaves in the wind.
Nothing.
No rain.
Damn it—Jin tricked me again!
In his rage, Sasuke nearly exploded.
What he didn't know—
Was that Jin was genuinely smiling.
In front of his eyes, prompts were flashing non-stop.
[Conversation Target: Uchiha Sasuke]
[Copyable Entries:
Brother-Complex (Black),
Gets Stronger from Getting Beaten (Black),
Child of Destiny (Colorful),
Lightning Release Mastery (Purple),
Tsundere (White),
Shuriken Familiarity (White),
Loud Voice (White)]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, host, on obtaining Common Entry: Shuriken Familiarity (White).]
This wasn't the first time Jin had seen Sasuke's entries.
But every time he did, he couldn't help sighing.
As expected—
brother-complexes always come in pairs.
That tsundere trait had already appeared before Sasuke could even properly remember things.
As for Gets Stronger from Getting Beaten?
Jin felt it was probably tied to Sasuke's personality.
After all, there was a saying—
The sky is clear, the rain has stopped, and Second Pillar thinks he's strong again.
Every time Sasuke got stronger, he was either getting beaten up—
Or on the way to get beaten up.
And the worst part?
He always insisted on challenging people in areas they excelled in, using what he was worst at.
Wasn't that just straight-up mental illness?
Of course, after all these years, Jin had long gotten used to it.
But the real reason he was smiling—
Wasn't Sasuke.
It was the new system notifications.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, for sunbathing for 108 minutes. Chakra +108.]
[Ding! Current Chakra: 1,000,000!]
[Congratulations! Chakra has surpassed one million!]
[Conversation Copy Success Rate: 5% → 10%.]
[Defeat-Based Copy Success Rate: 50% → 75%.]
[Corpse Looting Entry Count: 1 → 1–2.]
This was why Jin was smiling.
The system had changed.
No—
It had evolved.
Especially the conversation-based copy rate.
Crossing from single digits into double digits wasn't just a 5% increase—
It was a qualitative leap.
And then there was the defeat-based copying—
75%.
That was practically guaranteed.
Thinking of this, Jin glanced sideways at Sasuke.
Right here…
Wasn't there a ready-made test subject?
Meanwhile, completely unaware, Sasuke held his kunai, glaring coldly at Jin.
"Hmph! Stupid Uchiha Arata! I, Uchiha Sasuke, challenge you to a duel!"
Hearing this, Jin waved his hand and chuckled.
"Sasuke… have you ever lost?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Sasuke froze, frowning in confusion.
Whoosh!
At that instant—
Jin casually tossed out a single shuriken.
Sasuke's forehead veins jumped again.
"You're looking down on me?! I'll make you regret it!"
But just as he was about to charge—
His vision suddenly blurred.
That one shuriken—
Instantly became twelve!
They shot toward him from bizarre angles!
Swish—swish—swish!
Sasuke's pupils shrank violently.
The trajectories of the shuriken were actually changing midair!
In the end, they precisely pinned him in place!
His clothes, hair tips, even the seams beneath his arms were pierced through by cold metallic flashes—
Yet not a single blade touched his skin.
Drip.
Liquid slid down his cheek.
For a moment, he couldn't tell if it was cold sweat or hot sweat.
He stood there, completely frozen.
A bizarre thought suddenly rose in his mind—
Could it be… that sunbathing really makes you stronger?