Sasuke was not a pampered rich kid. In the future, he would burn his mouth trying to master the "Great Fireball Technique" just to gain his father's approval.
But when he tried to train as intensely as Naruto...
It was almost suicidal.
The pain coursing through his body made him question his life!
Lying on the ground, Sasuke's face was twisted in pain. He turned his head to look at Naruto, who was still training hard.
He was puzzled, "How does he keep going?"
He had only tried for a few minutes.
And he was already done.
But Naruto? In Sasuke's view, that guy named Uzumaki Naruto had been training non-stop for almost half an hour.
He could hear Naruto screaming in pain.
It was heartbreaking.
But Naruto never stopped, even though his teeth were almost ground to pieces. He kept pushing himself.
For a five-year-old Sasuke...
It was astonishing.
Born into a prestigious clan and always recognized by many, Sasuke couldn't understand Naruto's heart.
He didn't know how much Naruto wanted to be accepted by others.
Sasuke didn't understand Naruto well enough.
He didn't realize that Naruto swore to become Hokage so that everyone in the village would accept him.
So that he would be welcomed.
So that he would be loved.
To avoid disappointing Whitebeard, Naruto had to become stronger.
This...
This was his ninja way!
...
Time passed.
It was now noon.
Itachi was deep in thought, preparing rice balls with fish flakes for Sasuke. He also brought some fresh tomatoes, slicing them thin with a kunai and stuffing them into the rice balls.
Rice balls and tomatoes are Sasuke's favorite food.
Itachi was preoccupied because Naruto's presence reminded him of some issues within the Uchiha clan.
He was well aware of some people's thoughts in the Uchiha clan.
But seeing Sasuke resting against a tree due to muscle soreness, Itachi set aside his worries and smiled, "Sasuke, feeling better? The rice balls are ready."
"Okay!" Little Sasuke, lacking enthusiasm, took a rice ball and stuffed it into his mouth, looking as if he were chewing wax.
"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Itachi asked with concern.
"Brother, am I not suited to be a ninja?" Young Sasuke, feeling defeated by Naruto's intense training, says, "I can't even compare to half of him."
By "him," Sasuke meant Naruto.
Itachi looked at Naruto.
Naruto was still training hard, though they saw him eyeing their food hungrily.
But due to Whitebeard's intimidation, he had to hold back.
And then continued his grueling training.
"You're different from him."
Itachi said gently, "Everyone has their own 'jade.' 'Jade' can mean many things. Some think it means the younger generation, others think it means belief. I think it means talent."
"Uzumaki Naruto's 'jade' leans more towards physical strength. Our Sasuke's 'jade' might lean towards ninja tools, ninjutsu, or genjutsu. Two different 'jades' can't be compared."
Itachi made a small joke, "After all, you can't have a boy compete with a girl on who can pee farther, right?"
Sasuke's big eyes filled with tears.
"Brother... do you think I look like a girl too?"
"Wait, wait!" Itachi panicked: "Absolutely not! Sasuke, I was just making an analogy. It's a metaphor!"
Sorry, Sasuke, this is your brother's well-intentioned lie.
When you grow up, you'll definitely look like a man.
Itachi silently added these two sentences to his heart.
Suddenly.
Whitebeard's voice caught their attention, "Stupid son! It's lunchtime! Today, we'll eat fish. There's a river right here."
"Yay!!!"
Naruto, looking like a beggar and starving, ran over with tears of joy. He hadn't eaten anything since morning!
He had only drunk river water when he was thirsty.
Besides that.
His stomach had been empty.
Dragging his tired body, Naruto stumbled to Whitebeard's side. With a hopeful look, he saw Whitebeard squatting by the river, dipping half his hand into the water.
Suddenly!
The ground beneath their feet began to tremble slightly!
"What's this? A new type of instant-release ninjutsu?" Itachi, nearby, felt the ground shake and quickly pulled Sasuke into his arms, feeling the tremors.
It felt like an earthquake.
"Brother! Look at the water!" Sasuke pointed at the river in shock, seeing the water surface roiling violently.
High columns of water rose!
It wasn't just water splashes; these were towering water columns, each one shot up tens of meters high, creating an astonishing scene.
Sitting on a thick tree branch, Kakashi, who was reading "Icha Icha Paradise," narrowed his eyes, "That vibration again?"
He had seen Whitebeard use a very strange ninjutsu.
It was a jutsu that could cause vibrations.
And now...
It seemed he saw it again!
The river's water columns splashed around, raining droplets over a radius of several hundred meters, making it look like a heavy downpour, soaking everyone's clothes.
Even Naruto, covered in blood and mud, looked somewhat cleaner now, at least cleaner than before.
After a few seconds.
The vibrations ceased.
The ground was covered with leaves, like a carpet. These were leaves shaken down from the trees.
Thud!
"Ouch!" The stunned Naruto hadn't fully reacted when something hit his head.
Holding his head, he looked down and saw his eyes widen, "Fish! Such big fish!!!"
Thud!
Another big fish fell beside him, followed by a third, a fourth... until it rained fish all around!
Naruto lost count of how many fish there were; he just saw fish everywhere.
All the fish from this stretch of the river were probably here.
"Ouch! It hurts!!" Poor Sasuke, unlucky enough to have a fish land on his big toe, felt tears well up, but his shock remained undiminished.
Itachi removed a river shrimp from his head and examined it: "Knocked out. The power of vibrations? Ninjutsu? Or a kekkei genkai?"
But is there a kekkei genkai of "vibration"? What chakra nature combination or transformation could this kekkei genkai be based on?
He couldn't figure it out.
"Gurararara! Uchiha kid over there, come and light a fire for us. Today's lunch will be a grilled fish feast!"
Itachi: "..."
Does this guy think of our Uchiha clan members as mobile lighters?
...
...