A small campfire burned on the riverbank.
Hyuga Kiyonari cleaned the remaining three rabbits, skewered them on sharpened branches, and set them over the flames to roast slowly, turning them now and then.
"Szz… szz…"
Fat seeped out of the rabbit meat and dripped onto the burning wood, sending up that mouthwatering crackle and a smoky, charred fragrance.
Kiyonari handed one golden, glistening rabbit to Uchiha Itachi, and another to Uchiha Sasuke. "It's not Akimichi-level cooking, but I'd say it's decent."
Sasuke was actually starving—he just hadn't wanted to show it.
They'd been tracking this boar for nearly a full day. Of course, the main reason it took so long was because he wanted a chance to show off his tracking skills in front of his brother. That morning he'd dragged Itachi out of bed early, and they'd only brought a few rice balls before heading out.
With food as the bridge, the atmosphere gradually warmed.
After finishing a rabbit leg, Sasuke finally opened his mouth. "So which is stronger—your Hyuga Gentle Fist or our Uchiha Fire Style?"
Faced with the provocation, Kiyonari just smiled. "Hard for me to say. I haven't started formal Gentle Fist training yet. And as for the fame of Uchiha Fire Style, I've only heard about it—I've never seen it myself."
Even without a clear answer, Sasuke didn't feel disappointed. If anything, Kiyonari's reply sparked a little urge to show off.
"But I've already mastered the Fireball Jutsu."
"Really? Sasuke, that's amazing! To master a jutsu at that level at our age—no wonder you're an Uchiha genius!"
The praise—lavished without restraint—made a faint, proud blush rise to Sasuke's cheeks. A warm satisfaction bubbled up from deep inside him. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he lowered his head and took a big bite of rabbit to hide it.
As two dōjutsu clans, the Uchiha and the Hyuga had always had a bit of mutual dislike.
To Sasuke, getting praise from a Hyuga—especially in front of his brother—was basically the Hyuga kid personally admitting, I'm not as good as you.
That's right. Whether it's dōjutsu or ninjutsu, we Uchiha are the strongest!
Kiyonari saw every shift in Sasuke's face and posture and nearly laughed out loud inside. Child psychology really was useful.
Across from them, Itachi had been silent the whole time. Watching his little brother try so hard to look mature while still practically glowing with smug delight, Itachi couldn't help but let a small smile tug at his lips.
The one in it can't see it; the outsider can. Itachi could easily tell what Kiyonari was doing with his words.
Still… even if it was only polite flattery, with their identities, being able to speak so lightly without clinging to clan pride or rivalry wasn't easy.
No wonder the Hokage paid attention to this kid.
After a simple meal, the awkward unfamiliarity among the three of them had faded a lot.
Itachi drew the ninja blade strapped behind him, his crimson Sharingan appearing. He stabbed the blade into the boar's corpse and cut along the muscle grain and the joints with perfect precision. Thick hide, tough tendons, big slabs of meat—everything separated cleanly and efficiently.
The whole process was smooth as flowing water, not a single wasted movement, and it barely looked like it took any effort.
Then Itachi cut off an entire hind leg and set it aside. Next, he pulled out a blank scroll from his ninja pouch and spread it on the ground.
His hands flashed through a few quick seals, and then he slapped the scroll.
Poof!
A puff of white smoke rose. When it cleared, the mountain of boar meat on the ground had vanished without a trace—and on the surface of the scroll in Itachi's hand, the character "Meat" had appeared.
This was a storage scroll made with sealing techniques. Ninja normally used them for weapons and tools, but if you had money, you could store whatever you wanted.
Itachi tied up the hind leg he'd left out with rope, then held the scroll out to Kiyonari. "Take it."
Kiyonari didn't stand on ceremony. He accepted it. "You sure one hind leg is enough for you two?"
Sasuke stood to the side, hands in his pockets. "My family isn't lacking food."
"Spoken like someone from a rich family," Kiyonari said lightly.
After putting out the fire, the three of them headed back to Konoha together. Sasuke was still floating on the high of being praised earlier—his steps even felt a little lighter.
But as they passed the village gate, two unexpected people appeared. The pedestrians nearby instinctively made way, as if announcing how extraordinary these two were.
One was a tall blonde woman with a generous, frankly astonishing figure, and behind her was a black-haired girl holding a little pig. The blonde woman's eyes looked tired—until she spotted the trio walking toward her, when her brow lifted slightly and her gaze sharpened with a hint of attention.
Two Uchiha brats, and a Hyuga… kids from those two clans actually hanging out together?
Because of the drifting bottle, Tsunade instinctively paid them a bit more attention. Then she brushed past them without stopping.
A little further on, the three boys split up.
Watching Hyuga Kiyonari's back disappear, Sasuke finally couldn't hold it in. "Nii-san, you're paying him way too much attention. Why?"
Itachi led Sasuke toward home. "I noticed his quiver and his gear. They're old and worn. And he came to the Forest of Death alone—that tells me his situation isn't good. He's poor enough that he has to risk hunting in the Forest of Death."
"Sasuke, maybe you didn't see it clearly, but my Sharingan won't be wrong. The arrow that pierced the boar's left eye and created the opening—that was his."
Sasuke stopped dead, his whole body stiffening. "He… hit it? How is that possible?!"
His cheeks instantly felt like they were burning.
Thinking back to how smugly he'd been showing off—while the other guy, who'd actually done something decisive, never said a word about it, and even praised him instead…
A wave of indescribable shame surged straight up from his gut.
Itachi stopped too and turned back to look at his brother. "He's probably about your age. He might even end up as your classmate at the Academy someday. Sasuke—once you start school, make friends."
"Tch."
Sasuke forced himself to look calm and sped up to follow his brother. "Like I'd be friends with a bunch of nobodies. At minimum… at minimum it has to be someone like Kiyonari—someone who beats me in at least one area."
And… that feeling of smugly preening right in front of someone, only to realize how impressive they were after you'd already parted, thanks to your brother pointing it out—
It was the worst.
From now on—no, from now on, he absolutely couldn't get cocky over something small again.
At least… he had to be like that.
~~~
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