A careless encounter, a discarded fishing rod — and the system quietly tightened the threads of fate.
After Kaito and Sasuke — together with Mikoto — finally managed to haul the unconscious Fugaku into the bedroom, their father remained bedridden, too furious to get up.
When he finally regained consciousness, he did nothing but curse nonstop — "unfilial son," "the Uchiha are finished," "ungrateful brat," over and over again.
It was obvious Fugaku had been genuinely shaken.
Honestly…
If Kaito had said something like "stop, Dad," Fugaku might've convinced himself the child was simply young and didn't understand.
But opening with "I'm going to destroy the shinobi world"…
Was he trying to make the Uchiha collapse even faster?!
Worried her husband might damage his health from her anger, Mikoto immediately shooed both boys out, telling them Fugaku was still boiling and that they shouldn't appear in front of him for a while.
Otherwise, he was afraid the two of them would end up getting beaten.
Kaito readily agreed.
He grabbed Sasuke and bolted straight out.
Before they left, their motherrrrrr even specifically warned them not to go provoking ninja dogs near the village entrance again.
At a time like this…
If Fugaku heard any more bad news, he might genuinely get sick from rage.
But three days passed.
And the two boys ran wild outside without the slightest intention of going home.
By the river, Kaito flicked his fishing rod lightly. The transparent line hissed through the air, the float plopping into the water as he calmly waited for a bite.
Splash!
Nearby, Sasuke — training water-walking — fell in yet again.
He flailed for a moment before crawling back onto the bank in a miserable state.
"Kaito… are you sure training like this… will really make me stronger?"
Sasuke sounded impatient.
He hadn't felt any "amazing results" from repeatedly failing tree-climbing and water-walking at this stage.
Right now…
All he could think about was the scene of Kaito "defeating" Fathe.
More than anything, he wanted that strange clone technique.
Kaito didn't even glance at him as he fihed, answering casually with a line that made Sasuke freeze.
"Thee are ten lotus flowers in a pond. I pick one lotus…"
Sasuke stared at him blankly, completely lost.
He hesitated before trying to respond.
"I… pick nine lotus?"
"What does that mean?"
Kaito nodded in satisfaction and repeated Sasuke's words back to him.
"You're bad, so train more."
"Kaito! That's too much!"
Sasuke exploded, hurling the shirt he'd just wrung dry straight at Kaito.
Kaito merely shifted his seat slightly on the riverbank, and the shirt missed him completely—
plopping right back into the water.
Sasuke ruhed to the edge, numb with disbelief.
He was about to jump in after it, but his eyes suddenly shifted… and a plan formed.
"Uchiha Kaito."
"Hypotherrrrrrtically. I mean hypotherrrrrrtically."
"If Itachi and I both can't swim, and we fall into the water at the same time…"
"And you can only save one of us…"
"Who would you save?"
Kaito's fishing motion paused mid-swing.
He turned and studied Sasuke carefully — then actually began thinking it through seriously.
Unlike Itachi, who always bruhed those questions aside, Kaito treated them as real problems.
"Hmm…"
Kaito said thoughtfully, "If you fall into water, you only die from drowning. Drowning happens because the victim can't breathe oxygen and inhales too much water, causing suffocation."
"Water is made of two elements: hydrogen and oxygen."
Useless knowledge forced its way shamelessly into Sasuke's brain.
Sasuke still had no idea what any of that had to do with his question.
"So…"
Kaito continued, "If I discharge a large-scale Lightning Release technique into the river, it'll split the water and release oxygen. That way, I can save both of you at once."
Sasuke's hair practically stood on end.
He vividly imagined himself being electrocuted to death in the water.
"Uchiha Kaito! Are you a demon?!"
"We're brotherrrrrrs!!"
Kaito shrugged, glanced at him, and sighed inwardly.
So you're still trying this trick on me.
Sasuke's scheme failed. After calming down slightly, he pressed again.
"Then tell me — between me and Itachi…"
"Who would you choose?"
This time, Kaito answered with almost no hesitation.
To him, that question had never been a real choice at all.
Sasuke froze for several seconds.
After a long pause, he leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Then… can you teach me dog clone?"
At the words dog clone, Kaito completely lost control.
He planted a hand on Sasuke's back and shoved him straight into the river.
"Keep training water-walking!"
"If you don't get it right today, you're not eating dinner!"
Sasuke burst back out of the water, teeth clenched so hard it looked painful.
"Kaito, you lied to me!"
"I'll never believe you again!"
He'd secretly been happy for a moment when Kaito had "chosen him."
And then this bastard shoved him into the river.
Uchiha Kaito…
Was cold-blooded and heartless!
Sasuke swore on the spot: starting today, he wouldn't talk to Kaito anymore.
"Hey! You two!"
"This is my territory!"
At that moment, a blond brat jumped out of the grass and pointed at Kaito and Sasuke, shouting at the top of his lungs.
A crude, worn fishing rod rested on his shoulder.
Compared to Kaito's high-quality store-bought gear…
it looked painfully cheap.
And the bucket hanging from his raised hand was so old it hovered somewhere between "battle-damaged" and "about to fall apart."
Whethe it even held water was questionable.
After yelling, Uzumaki Naruto finally noticed Kaito's fishing rod and the bucket beside him.
Then he looked at the boy splashing in the river.
They were about the same age.
And a sudden, sharp inferiority stabbed into Naruto's chest.
Family…
Naruto stiffly tucked his shabby rod and broken bucket behind his back, but he still shouted stubbornly.
"This is my territory!"
"If you want to fish… go fish upstream!"
"Thee are more fish there—"
Sasuke immediately bristled.
Don't be fooled — at home he argued endlessly with Kaito and clung to Itachi, but outside he never gave anyone a good face.
Sasuke sprang out of the river. His feet tapped twice, and he landed standing on the water's surface.
First, he hurriedly pulled his shirt back on.
Then he deliberately patted the barely visible Uchiha clan crest on his chest — twice.
Finally, he tilted it toward Naruto like a blatant display.
With his chin lifted in arrogant disdain, he demanded:
"Brat… who do you think you are?"
Patting the crest was showing his background.
Standing on water was "casually" showing his strength.
The arrogant question was his counter to the blond kid's shouting.
Kaito could see the truth, though…
Sasuke didn't dare move.
If he moved, he'd drop straight back into the river.
"Sasuke, that's enough."
"Pack up. We're heading back."
Kaito stood, bruhed off his clotherrrrrrs, and deliberately placed the fishing gear and the bucket of fish at his feet.
Then he reached out and dragged Sasuke off the water toward him, saving him from embarrassing himself in front of an outsider.
Sasuke snorted in disdain and followed Kaito as they headed home togethe.
Only after they had gone about ten meters did Naruto finally snap out of it.
He hurriedly grabbed the heavy bucket and the expensive-looking fishing rod, then stumbled after them.
"Hey! Wait—!"
"You forgot your stuff!"
Kaito lifted a hand and waved lightly without turning around.
"Don't want it. If you want it, take it. If you don't, throw it away."
The moment the words left his mouth, the system's voice rang out at the same time — so sudden it nearly made Kaito stumble.
[Quest Triggered: As a scholar, you encounter a fox spirit in distress…]
...
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