"You, too, want to become Hokage?" Naruto glanced at Sasuke's thin arms and legs as he struggled through his push-ups, observing Sasuke's delicate appearance.
Feeling uncomfortable under Naruto's scrutiny, Sasuke couldn't help but shout, "What do you mean by looking at me like that?"
"You don't look like you have what it takes," Naruto, young as he was, gave his sharp assessment.
Sasuke: "???"
"Grandpa Hokage said that to become a hokage, you first have to embody the Will of Fire in Konoha!" Naruto said earnestly. "Secondly, you need to be a very strong ninja. Thirdly, you need to be loved by many people in Konoha. Only then can you become a hokage."
"I don't know how strong your Will of Fire is, but you look too delicate to be a strong ninja."
Naruto reminisced, "I remember that all ninjas have lots of calluses on their hands. For example, Grandpa Hokage has them."
"And that white-haired ninja too."
He meant Kakashi, though he forgot Kakashi's name.
Naruto added seriously, "You look like you've never trained before. How can you become Hokage? I think you, Shikamaru, and Choji should just be my advisors."
"My father is the Uchiha clan leader!"
"My brother is in the Konoha Anbu!"
Sasuke was immediately agitated. He could tolerate being called girly, but being told he wasn't like a ninja was unacceptable.
That was an insult to him and the Uchiha clan.
To call a Uchiha is not like a ninja.
Isn't that an insult?
Sasuke's face turned red with anger: "You're the one who's not like a ninja! When I awaken my Sharingan, I'll be the strongest ninja! And my brother is already a great ninja. At eleven, he's already the pride of our father!"
Sasuke thought for a moment and then added, "My brother has the three-tomoe Sharingan. Under his guidance, I'll definitely become an excellent Uchiha ninja!"
"Your brother?" a sweaty Naruto glanced at Itachi. He does look more like a man than you."
"But..."
Naruto continued: "Compared to him, my dad is even stronger! Three Uchiha from your clan tried to mess with him the other day, and my dad swatted them away with one hand!"
Sasuke's eyes widened: "You're lying! Why don't I know about this?"
Naruto gave him a sidelong glance: "Because you're not a ninja, so you're not qualified to know about adult matters."
Sasuke found himself unable to argue with Naruto.
He turned to Itachi for help.
Itachi also looked surprised. He hadn't been paying much attention to the clan lately, as the family's troubles had been bothering him. He only knew that three Uchiha were hospitalized.
But he didn't know the details.
And he didn't want to know.
He hadn't expected those hospitalized Uchiha to be connected to Whitebeard, having been injured by him!
"Now you see how strong my dad is!"
Naruto beamed with pride.
Sasuke gritted his teeth: "My brother is the strongest! Last night, he caught a kunai in midair!"
Itachi blinked, then smiled indulgently and rubbed his forehead helplessly.
This kid, Sasuke.
Arguing with Naruto like children playing house, he exaggerated so much that he ended up boasting about Itachi. Last night, it was a wooden kunai, not an iron one.
Naruto retorted: "My dad can catch dozens of kunai!"
Though he hadn't seen Whitebeard catch so many kunai.
But he believed his dad could!
He had unconditional faith in his dad!
"My brother can catch exploding tags with his bare hands!" Sasuke bragged without thinking, not considering the logic.
"My dad can ignore your clan's Fire Release jutsu!"
Naruto's claim was more substantiated.
He had seen it with his own eyes.
"Your... brother, he..."
"Alright, Sasuke." Itachi took the opportunity to walk over, ruffling Sasuke's hair and subtly pulling him aside, away from the dangerous Whitebeard.
Only then did he feel relieved.
He exhaled quietly.
Itachi smiled at Sasuke: "Others may not believe in you, Sasuke, but I do."
Sasuke's mood brightened instantly: "Brother! You're the best!"
"Brother!" Sasuke suddenly said seriously: "You should train me too!"
"Huh?" Itachi was a bit taken aback.
"I can't lose to him!" Sasuke's competitiveness, perhaps present since childhood, surfaced strongly. His serious expression was unwavering: "I have to prove to him that a civilian ninja like him is vastly different from an Uchiha ninja! Brother, didn't you say you'd teach me throwing techniques?"
Itachi didn't want to stay here.
Mainly because of Whitebeard.
He didn't want to put Sasuke in such a dangerous situation.
But he was helpless.
The Jinchuriki had stirred Sasuke's competitive spirit.
Was this good or bad?
He couldn't say.
"...Alright!"
And so.
This area turned into a strange scene: Whitebeard was training Naruto in an almost abusive manner, with Naruto crying out in pain. At the same time, Itachi patiently explained the nuances of kunai throwing to Sasuke, checking on him whenever he nearly pulled a muscle.
The contrast between the two training styles.
Was stark.
As Itachi instructed Sasuke, he occasionally glanced at Naruto, whose screams were too pitiful to ignore.
It was hard not to notice.
"The Jinchuriki is only five years old, right?" Itachi was stunned by Whitebeard's training methods. He looked at the bruised and bloody Naruto, his clothes stained with blood and his head swollen with bumps, in utter shock: "This will kill him, won't it?"
At that moment, he echoed Kakashi's earlier thoughts exactly.
But for some reason.
He noticed that Naruto seemed to be enjoying it.
Despite his agonized cries, he obediently completed each training task.
That kind of perseverance.
That kind of determination.
Could a five-year-old child really possess such qualities?
If it were wartime, it would be understandable.
But this was a time of peace.
What hardships had this five-year-old endured to develop such a steadfast heart?
Unbelievable!
"Brother... are they training as ninjas?" Sasuke asked, glancing at Naruto, whose condition startled him.
"...No." Itachi replied: "For a five-year-old, even ninja training isn't this intense. This is almost as tough as adult training."
"Brother!" Sasuke bit his lip, recalling how Naruto said he looked like a girl.
The skies cleared, the rain stopped, and Sasuke suddenly felt confident.
He looked up at Itachi and said: "Train me like that too!"
Itachi: "..."
He looked at his little brother's delicate arms and legs.
He rubbed Sasuke's head.
His smile stiffened, his tone gentle: "Sasuke, if our father knew I killed you, he'd exile me from the Uchiha clan."
He was very discreet.
In essence...
Sasuke.
You can't handle it!
...
...