Plop.
Just as Jin was quietly observing the area outside the village, a figure suddenly dropped down beside his feet.
He frowned and kicked out reflexively.
"Pakkun, scram. I'm not in the mood to play with you right now."
Pa.
His small leg was stopped mid-kick.
"Jin, it's me."
Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, a gentle smile on his face. "Sunbathing again today?"
As he spoke, he casually brushed the dust off Jin's calf.
The top of the courtyard wall was pretty dusty, after all.
"Yataseven, aren't you going out on missions today?"
Jin glanced at his brother, sounding listless.
He hadn't managed to copy a single trait today, so he really wasn't in the mood for deep conversation.
"No. Lately, Father's been preparing to have me enter the ANBU."
Itachi sat down beside him.
His voice was warm, like sunlight in early spring—comfortable and soothing.
But the words themselves made Jin lift his gaze.
Enter the ANBU?
If he remembered correctly, this was around the time Yataseven became an undercover agent… and ended up being completely turned against the clan, wasn't it?
"What's wrong?" Itachi looked over.
"Yataseven… has it really reached this point between the clan and the village?"
Hearing Jin's words, the smile on Itachi's face faltered slightly.
His half-closed eyes opened a bit wider.
"As expected, you're just as sharp as ever."
Clearly just a kid who loved basking in the sun—
yet from a single piece of information, he could accurately infer the situation.
This—
wasn't something ordinary people could do.
Jin's brain… even compared to the Nara clan, it's not inferior at all,
Itachi thought, unconsciously nodding.
The light in his eyes dimmed for a brief moment.
The conflict between the village and the clan really had reached the point of irreconcilability.
To put it bluntly—if not for Father holding things back, the clan would've already launched a coup.
But—
Those were outsiders.
He took a deep breath, and when he looked up again, only determination remained on his face.
"Don't worry, Jin. I'll definitely protect you and Sasuke."
"Then… what about Izumi-nee?"
Itachi: "..."
"…Let's talk about you setting dogs on Sasuke instead."
He inhaled, smoothly changing the topic.
"I watched the whole thing, so—"
Unfortunately, before he could finish, Jin cut him off directly.
"Father, you heard that, right? Yataseven watched the whole thing!"
Itachi: "?"
Jin suddenly twisted around, jumped up, and pointed at Itachi to tattle.
Below the wall—
Fugaku was holding Sasuke by the back of the collar like a chicken and tossed him toward the wall.
The once clean, fair-skinned, adorable little boy
was now covered head to toe in filth.
There was even a faint smell of dog pee.
Instantly off-putting.
A total turn-off boy.
Fugaku had just reached the wall when he heard Jin's accusation.
He looked up at his smartest, most capable eldest son
and let out an almost imperceptible sigh.
Sins upon sins…
This obedient, brilliant, monstrously talented eldest son
was starting to show problems too!
His brow creased slightly as he searched for the right words.
"Itachi… Sasuke has always idolized you, cherished you deeply. You…"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the implication was clear—
As an older brother, how could you just let your little brother get chased and bitten by dogs?!
Itachi's expression grew complicated.
His gaze shifted between Jin and Fugaku, then finally landed on Sasuke by the wall.
He let out a long sigh.
No explanation.
Useless rebuttals would only worsen the conflict.
Even though he'd stopped things because he noticed the villagers' attitudes improving.
As for Sasuke—he wanted to protest, but he'd already been disciplined on the way back.
Naturally, he didn't dare make a sound.
"Hmph! The three of you—reflect properly today!"
After a moment, Fugaku harshly flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.
He couldn't even bring himself to say anything harsher.
Leaving the three brothers staring at one another.
A moment later, Itachi chuckled softly, picked Sasuke up, and coaxed him like a child.
"You stink. Go wash up."
Jin watched the two walk away, then quietly adjusted his position—
lying down even more comfortably.
Before his eyes, a line of prompts slowly scrolled past.
[Defeated Uchiha Sasuke. Attempting to copy trait.]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, host has obtained the common trait Tsundere (White).]
Jin: "..."
Feed it!
Feed this trait into Flying Thunder God—right now!
One Month Later
Morning.
Uchiha clan grounds. After breakfast.
Fugaku tapped the table while looking at Sasuke.
"Come with me to the river later. I'll teach you how to extract chakra."
Thud.
Sasuke's eyes flew wide open, round as bull's eyes.
After struggling three times to swallow the rice ball in his mouth, he looked up, bursting with excitement.
"R-Really, Father?! I can finally start training?!"
"Really."
Fugaku rubbed his head.
This younger son had way too much energy!
For an entire month—
from being chased by dogs every day, to now chasing dogs every day.
Absolutely outrageous!
Whenever Fugaku went out to handle affairs, villagers would point and whisper:
"Look, that's the father of the dog-chasing kid."
"Hehe, yeah, his kid got chased by dogs for half a month."
"Have the Uchiha fallen so far that they play with dogs now? Hahaha!"
All kinds of chatter made his head ache.
Some people even jokingly dubbed Sasuke and Jin the Twin Dragons of the Uchiha.
One chased dogs all day.
The other chatted all day.
It was worlds apart from the once lofty, untouchable image of the Uchiha clan.
With no choice, Fugaku decided to burn off Sasuke's excess energy.
Worth mentioning—
During the dog-chasing period, Sasuke had even recruited a group of… teammates.
Led by a blond kid and a green-clad one!
They joined the dog-chasing squad.
And no longer limited themselves to the original seven Shiba Inus.
Any dog they saw in the village—
they chased it.
As a result, recently, dogs across the village had been terrified at the mere sight of pillars.
Thinking of this, Jin turned and glanced at Pakkun outside the door.
The seven Shiba Inus behind him had even started developing muscles.
Biceps.
Sure enough—chasing really was the best training.
After breakfast, Fugaku led Sasuke away.
Itachi thoughtfully helped their mother Mikoto with the housework.
And Jin?
He cheerfully followed into the kitchen.
Before he could even speak, Itachi answered rapidly:
"Don't worry. I'll protect you and Sasuke—no matter whether the other side is the village or not."
"If anyone tries to take Shisui-nii's eyes, I'll stop them—
even if it's Danzō!"
Days of Q&A had allowed Itachi to figure out Jin's preferred answers.
In short—
Always stand with your own people.
After getting the answer he wanted and chatting just long enough to make ten minutes, Jin turned to leave.
But the moment he lifted his foot, something he saw made him freeze.
"Hm? Jin, what's wrong?"
"N-Nothing."
Jin forced a smile, turned back, stood on tiptoe, and patted his brother's shoulder, sighing.
"Yataseven… when you've got time, remember to go check your health."
"You're so young—how did you already become weak?"
[Conversation target: Uchiha Itachi.]
[Conversation for ten minutes. Attempting to copy trait.]
[Success. Congratulations, host has obtained the white trait Frail (White).]
[Frail: Under the influence of Too Wise, Too Short-Lived, the body cannot bear the mental load, resulting in accumulated deficits that are difficult to recover.]
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