Pa—!
Just as Kai was quietly observing the village outskirts, a figure suddenly dropped down beside his feet.
He frowned and instinctively kicked out.
"Pakkun, scram. I'm not in the mood to play right now."
Pa.
His leg was caught mid-kick.
"Kai, 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 Kai's calf.
There was quite a bit of dust on the courtyard wall.
"Itachi," Kai glanced at his brother lazily, sounding listless, "aren't you out on missions today?"
He hadn't copied a single trait today.
Right now, he really wasn't in the mood for deep conversation with Itachi.
"No," Itachi said as he sat down beside him, voice warm like spring sunlight—comfortable, soothing.
"Father plans to have me enter the ANBU soon."
That single sentence made Kai lift his eyes.
ANBU?
If he remembered correctly, this was exactly the period when Itachi went undercover—
and ended up getting completely 'converted' along the way.
"What's wrong?" Itachi looked at him.
"…Itachi," Kai said slowly, "has it really come to this between the clan and the village?"
Itachi's smile paused, just a fraction.
His half-lidded eyes opened a little wider.
"As expected," he said softly, "you're as sharp as ever."
Still just a child who liked to lie in the sun—
yet from a single piece of information, Kai had accurately inferred the overall situation.
This wasn't something ordinary people could do.
Kai's mind… even compared to the Nara clan, it wouldn't lose out.
As Itachi thought this, he nodded unconsciously.
A shadow flickered briefly in his eyes.
The conflict between the village and the clan had indeed reached an irreconcilable point.
To be blunt—if Father hadn't been holding things back, the clan would've already launched a coup.
But—
Those were outsiders.
Itachi took a deep breath. When he looked up again, only resolve remained.
"Don't worry, Kai. I'll protect you and Sasuke. No matter what."
"…What about Sister Izumi?" Kai asked calmly.
Itachi: "..."
"…Let's talk about the dog-chasing-Sasuke incident instead," Itachi said after a pause, changing the subject.
"I watched the whole thing, so—"
He didn't get to finish.
"Father, you heard that, right?" Kai suddenly shouted.
"Itachi admitted he stood by and watched the entire time!"
Itachi: "?"
Kai twisted around and leapt up, pointing straight at Itachi as he tattled.
At the base of the wall—
Fugaku was holding Sasuke by the back of his collar, lifting him like a chicken and tossing him against the wall.
The once clean, fair, and adorable little boy was now covered in grime.
There was even a faint smell of… dog urine.
Unbearable.
Absolutely unbearable.
Fugaku had just arrived when he heard Kai's words.
He looked up at his eldest son—his smartest, most capable child—and let out a barely perceptible sigh.
Sins upon sins…
Even his most obedient, most gifted son was starting to go wrong.
His brows knit slightly as he chose his words carefully.
"Itachi… Sasuke has always idolized you. He cherishes you deeply. And yet you…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
But the meaning was clear.
As an older brother, you let your younger sibling get bitten by dogs?
Itachi's expression grew complicated.
His gaze moved between Kai and Fugaku, finally settling on Sasuke by the wall.
He sighed deeply.
And said nothing more.
Any explanation now would only worsen the conflict.
Even if he'd stopped only because he noticed the villagers' attitudes changing.
As for Sasuke—he wanted to argue.
But he'd already been disciplined once before coming back.
He didn't dare make a sound.
"Hmph!" Fugaku snorted at last.
"All three of you—reflect properly today!"
With that, he flicked his sleeve and turned away.
He didn't even have the heart to say anything harsher.
Only the three brothers were left, staring at one another.
After a moment, Itachi chuckled softly, lifted Sasuke into his arms, and coaxed him like a child.
"You stink. Go wash up."
Kai watched their backs, then quietly adjusted his position—
lying down more comfortably.
A line of text slowly appeared before his eyes.
[Defeated Uchiha Sasuke. Attempting to copy trait…]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, host has obtained common trait: Tsundere (White).]
Kai: "..."
Feed it.
Feed it right now—dump it straight into Flying Thunder God.
One month later.
Morning, at the Uchiha compound.
After breakfast, Fugaku tapped the table and said to Sasuke,
"Come with me to the river later. I'll teach you how to extract chakra."
Thump.
Sasuke's eyes went wide, round as ox bells.
After three attempts, he finally managed to swallow the rice ball in his mouth.
Face flushed with excitement, he blurted out,
"R-really, Father?! I can finally start training?!"
"Really," Fugaku said, rubbing his head.
This younger son had far too much energy.
For an entire month, he'd gone from being chased by dogs every day—
to chasing dogs every day.
Absolutely outrageous.
Whenever Fugaku went out on business, villagers would point at him and whisper:
"Look, that's the dad of the dog-chasing kid."
"Hehe, yeah—his kid got chased by dogs for half a month."
"Have the Uchiha really fallen so far they're playing with dogs now? Hahaha!"
The comments were endless. His head was about to explode.
Some even jokingly called Sasuke and Kai the Twin Dragons of the Uchiha.
One chased dogs all day.
The other chatted all day.
Compared to the once aloof, untouchable Uchiha, it was night and day.
Left with no choice, Fugaku decided to burn off Sasuke's excess energy properly.
Worth mentioning—
During the dog-chasing days, Sasuke had actually gained a group of teammates.
Led by a blond kid and a boy in green.
They joined the chase.
And it wasn't limited to just the original seven Shiba Inu anymore.
Any dog in the village was fair game.
As a result, village dogs had recently become terrified at the mention of pillars.
Thinking of this, Kai glanced at Pakkun outside the door.
The seven Shiba Inu behind him were starting to develop muscles.
Actual biceps.
Turns out—chasing really was the best training.
After breakfast, Fugaku took Sasuke and left.
Itachi thoughtfully helped their mother Mikoto with the housework.
And Kai?
He grinned and followed into the kitchen.
Before he could even speak, Itachi answered at lightning speed:
"Don't worry. I'll protect you and Sasuke—no matter if the other side is villagers or not."
"If someone tries to take Shisui's eyes, I'll stop them. Even if it's Danzo!"
Days of repeated questioning had taught Itachi exactly what answer Kai wanted.
In short—
Always stand with your own people.
Satisfied, Kai chatted a bit longer to make up ten minutes, then turned to leave.
But as he lifted his foot, what appeared before his eyes made him stop.
"Hm? Kai, what's wrong?" Itachi asked.
"N-no… nothing."
Kai tugged at the corner of his mouth, stepped forward, stood on tiptoe, and patted his brother's shoulder with a sigh.
"Itachi… when you've got time, go check your health more often."
"You're still so young. How did you end up this weak?"
[Conversation target: Uchiha Itachi.]
[Conversation duration reached ten minutes. Attempting to copy trait…]
[Success. Congratulations, host has obtained white trait: Frail (White).]
[Frail: Under the influence of the 'Early Genius, Early Death' trait, the body cannot bear the mental burden, causing irreversible depletion.]
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