Sasuke put on a serious face and quickly asked, "Nii-san, you like this stuff?"
Itachi nodded slightly. "I guess so."
Sasuke threw his hands up in despair. "Oh, now you're telling me you weren't on a date. You like sweets, and even I didn't know that about you!"
Itachi denied it. "I really wasn't on a date."
"I don't believe you..." Sasuke's eyes darted around. "Unless you promise to train with me today."
Itachi reluctantly said, "Alright."
Sasuke cheered, "Yay!"
As his brother's face lit up with a happy smile, the heavy thoughts in Itachi's heart felt washed away. Without realizing it, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Splash...
Itachi's heart tensed, and he glanced at the sound.
It was just a fish flipping in the lake, causing ripples on the surface.
Itachi narrowed his eyes. His reflection in the lake became distorted and unrecognizable as the ripples spread.
In the Uchiha compound's training ground.
The area was surrounded by forest, with targets placed in the treetops.
"Why did you follow us?"
Sasuke was annoyed with the woman named Izumi who had followed them. He finally had a chance to train with his brother.
Izumi followed with a kind smile. "I've never seen Itachi-kun train. It's a rare opportunity, so let me watch."
She then glanced at Itachi. "You don't mind, do you, Itachi-kun?"
"It's fine."
Itachi calmly pointed to a target. "Sasuke, try to hit that target with your shuriken."
Sasuke looked in the direction Itachi was pointing, and his face instantly fell. The angle was tricky, and there was something blocking the way. "No way, how can I possibly hit that?"
With a smile, Itachi took out a shuriken from his pouch, gripped it between his fingers, and threw it. The shuriken spun rapidly in the air. With a clatter, the two shuriken collided and bounced off each other. One of them flew in a beautiful arc, bypassing the tree and hitting the target behind it.
Sasuke's eyes lit up at the display. "That's amazing! How did you do that? Nii-san, teach me!"
This might be the last time he trained with his brother. Itachi's explanation was especially thorough.
Sasuke scratched his head, a little lost in Itachi's explanation.
Itachi chuckled. "Just try it first. Practice is the best teacher."
Sasuke couldn't wait to try. He clumsily held two shuriken between his fingers and threw them.
With a clatter, the two shuriken collided in mid-air.
Itachi looked on with anticipation.
Unfortunately, the two shuriken flew off in random directions.
Itachi encouraged him. "Don't be discouraged. Just try a few more times."
Sasuke nodded and tried several more times, but he couldn't achieve his brother's accuracy.
He stamped his foot in frustration.
Izumi, who had been watching quietly, felt this was a good opportunity to earn some points. She stepped forward. "Sasuke, do you want me to teach you a trick?"
"You?"
Sasuke's look was full of disdain.
Izumi pouted playfully. "What's with that look?"
Words were useless, so Izumi picked up a shuriken, threw it, and achieved the same result as Itachi, leaving Sasuke with his mouth hanging open in surprise.
"Now do you see how good I am?" Izumi said proudly. "Don't let me being a girl fool you. I'm actually a taijutsu specialist."
Sasuke's face showed his refusal to lose. "Hmph, I'll catch up soon enough."
Izumi asked again, "Do you want me to teach you?"
"No."
Sasuke didn't believe anyone could teach him better than his brother.
Itachi advised, "Sasuke, you can try it. Everyone is different, so different methods will work for them."
Sasuke followed Itachi's advice, pouting. "Fine..."
Izumi patted Sasuke's head. "That's a good boy..."
Sasuke swatted her hand away. "Don't get too proud. I'm only agreeing for Nii-san's sake."
Izumi didn't take Sasuke's insolence to heart and patiently explained things to him.
Sasuke was initially indifferent, but after Izumi's hands-on teaching, his attitude toward her changed. His progress was astonishing. He couldn't quite match their shuriken accuracy yet, but he was getting the hang of it.
"You're amazing..."
Izumi said sincerely.
When she was learning this, it took her a very long time.
While her explanation was good, the main reason for his rapid progress was likely Sasuke's high talent.
Sasuke puffed out his chest. "I told you I'd catch up quickly."
Izumi glanced at Itachi, thinking, He truly is his brother...
Though his talent might not reach Itachi's level, it was far beyond that of his peers.
Watching Itachi guide Sasuke, she had noticed a small problem.
Itachi's explanations were too fast and too brief.
Especially for a child as young as Sasuke.
Fortunately, Sasuke was intelligent. Any other child would have been completely lost.
But this was normal. The thought process of a genius was different from that of an ordinary person.
Sasuke had benefited from Izumi's help. As the saying goes, he was eating her food, so he had to be polite. "I guess I'll acknowledge you..."
He silently added a thought to himself, But I will never acknowledge you and Nii-san's relationship...
"Sasuke, no matter what, never underestimate anyone..."
To make his lesson more effective, Itachi gave an example.
"Izumi awakened her Sharingan even earlier than I did."
Talent couldn't be simply judged by how early one awakened the Sharingan, but it was a factor.
Growing up in a clan with a kekkei genkai, Sasuke naturally knew what the Sharingan was. He looked at the girl who had awakened her Sharingan earlier than his brother, his face filled with disbelief.
Izumi smiled and deliberately displayed her Sharingan.
Sasuke asked, "When did you awaken your Sharingan?"
Izumi placed a finger on her chin and smiled. "Around five or six, I think."
Sasuke was astonished. The way he looked at Izumi changed completely. He couldn't believe this girl was so amazing. He thought about his own age and how he hadn't even seen a glimpse of the Sharingan.
"I hope I can awaken my Sharingan, too..."
Hearing this, both Izumi and Itachi's hearts sank. Awakening the Sharingan too early was not a good thing.
Every Uchiha who had experienced it knew this unspoken truth.
"I'm sure you'll awaken it soon..."
As soon as he said it, Itachi thought of something and instantly regretted it.
Sasuke said with an innocent smile, "Yeah, I'll follow in Nii-san's footsteps."
Itachi sighed inwardly.
He looked at Izumi and Sasuke. The more beautiful this scene was, the more pain he felt.
Itachi wasn't very interested in romance, but that didn't mean he was completely ignorant of it.
He saw the affection Izumi had for him.
If he were to find a partner in the future, Izumi might be a good choice.
However, the sad reality was that he was about to burn this scene to ashes with his own hands.
The thought of living with endless pain and guilt from now on made even him feel a profound sadness.
At this moment, Sasuke and Izumi were talking and didn't notice Itachi's unusual behavior.
Sasuke asked, "You're around Nii-san's age. Were you classmates?"
Izumi smiled. "Yes. Your brother was a genius. He was very popular with the girls at school."
Sasuke got straight to the point. "Including you?"
Izumi was caught off guard by Sasuke's direct question and coughed a few times before changing the subject. "Sasuke, you must be popular with girls at school, too."
"I don't know." Sasuke wasn't very interested in the topic. "If the criteria is them always yelling when they see me, then I guess so."
"From your tone, it sounds like you don't like it?"
Izumi was a little puzzled, thinking most boys would enjoy that.
"It's annoying. Besides, girls only get in the way of my training..."
Izumi: "..."
Sasuke didn't want to continue the topic, as he found it boring. He went back to asking about his brother. "Was there anyone at school who was better than Nii-san?"
Izumi shook her head. "Itachi-kun was amazing. Unlike me, he was a true genius."
"I knew Nii-san was the best."
Sasuke had a strong sense of pride in his brother and thought he would follow in his footsteps, graduating from the Ninja Academy as soon as possible. If possible, he wanted to be on a team with his brother to go on missions.
Itachi shook his head. "Don't say that, Sasuke. I've taught you this before. There's always someone better. There are many ninjas with more talent than me."
Sasuke pouted, refusing to believe there was a ninja more talented than his brother. "Then tell me, who is more talented at being a ninja than Nii-san..."
Itachi was about to use Shisui as an example, but the name was too heavy, and he paused.
Seeing Itachi unable to answer, Sasuke laughed, thinking his brother was just being humble.
Itachi shook his head to cast away the heavy feelings and thought of a person. "Uchiha Tōshirō..."
(End of Chapter)
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