"Froa."
Froakie had already grown much closer after the morning battle.
The moment it came out—
It leapt straight onto Gu Qiu's shoulder.
"Hungry?"
Gu Qiu smiled.
"Before that… let me introduce you to someone."
A good trainer didn't just train Pokémon.
He managed relationships.
Froakie tilted its head.
Confused.
"Pika-Itachi."
White light flashed.
A small figure appeared.
Red eyes.
Black cloak patterned with crimson clouds.
Cold.
Still.
"Pika."
His tone was calm.
Indifferent.
Froakie froze.
Instinctively stepping back.
Danger.
An overwhelming sense of danger.
When those crimson pupils swept over it—
Froakie felt as though it stood in the dead of winter.
One wrong movement—
Death.
"Alright, Pika-Itachi."
"This is Froakie. Your new partner."
"Let's greet each other properly."
Partner?
Pika-Itachi didn't fully understand the word.
Gu Qiu crouched slightly.
"It means… bond."
Like us.
After more than ten years together—
Gu Qiu's "Pika language" was practically max level.
A glance.
A twitch of ear.
He understood.
Pika-Itachi thought for a moment.
Then nodded faintly.
Bond.
Like what he and Gu Qiu shared.
He withdrew his aura.
Instantly—
Froakie felt as though it had narrowly escaped death.
It quickly hid behind Gu Qiu's leg.
Grabbing his pant hem.
Gu Qiu laughed.
"You scared him."
He took out a Water-type Energy Cube.
Gently stroked Froakie's head.
The small frog hesitantly licked it.
Eyes widened.
Pure energy.
"Go ahead."
"You're still weak."
"We'll need to work harder."
He leaned closer.
"Do you want to become as strong as Pika-Itachi one day?"
Froakie nodded fiercely.
Gu Qiu felt slightly guilty.
Was he tricking a child?
Pika-Itachi shot him a sideways glance.
How childish.
But Froakie was newly born.
It did need guidance.
Care.
Warmth.
As Froakie happily ate—
Pika-Itachi's tail lightly tapped Gu Qiu.
When Gu Qiu looked over—
He turned his head away.
Tsundere.
Gu Qiu burst out laughing.
"Yours too."
He handed over an Energy Cube.
"You arrogant little guy."
Thanks to food—
And patience—
The tension eased.
Froakie no longer trembled near Pika-Itachi.
Gu Qiu exhaled softly.
The power gap was simply too large.
Managing it was necessary.
"Pika-Itachi."
"As the older brother, you have to take care of your little brother."
The moment the words "older brother" landed—
Gu Qiu noticed something shift.
Those red eyes.
Changed.
Wait.
No way.
Did he just trigger… something?
One line flashed through Gu Qiu's mind:
My foolish little brother.
Uchiha Itachi's most important person—
Had always been his younger brother.
Pika-Itachi looked at the Energy Cube in his hand.
His favorite.
Hesitated.
Then—
He pushed it toward Froakie.
Gu Qiu blinked.
Impossible.
In over ten years—
He had never voluntarily shared sweets.
Froakie looked confused.
It didn't like Electric-type flavor.
Gently pushed it back.
Pika-Itachi quietly pulled it back.
Relief almost imperceptible.
When he looked at Froakie again—
The edge in his gaze had softened.
Just slightly.
Gu Qiu stared.
"…You're serious."
So the brother complex was real.
With introductions complete—
Training began.
Gu Qiu opened his custom ninja pack.
Inside—
Three shuriken.
One kunai.
And a short blade.
He had designed them himself.
Refined through over ten iterations.
Nearly identical to those from Naruto.
"Pika-Itachi."
"Try the kunai."
Pika-Itachi weighed it in his paw.
Nodded.
Satisfied.
"And this is the blade you wanted."
Gu Qiu fastened it onto him.
New gear.
He now looked like ANBU Itachi—
Minus the mask.
Froakie stared with sparkling eyes.
For some reason—
As if drawn to the ninja tools.
Perhaps because—
Its final evolution.
Greninja.
Was also a ninja Pokémon.
"You like them too?"
"When you evolve into Frogadier, I'll have a set made for you."
"Froa!"
Froakie rubbed affectionately against him.
Froakie evolved at Level 16.
If he commissioned the gear now—
It might evolve before it was even finished.
Gu Qiu smiled.
"One month."
"Let's build our ninja squad."
And beneath the forest canopy—
Training officially began.