**Chapter 8**

*What's going on? Why is he looking at me like that?*

Satoru immediately sensed something was off when he saw Sasuke's surprised, almost pitying expression. The smug grin on his face faltered as he stiffened slightly and turned to look behind him.

*Six Eyes* had already told him who was there.

*Oh no, this isn't good! I got careless!* 

Uchiha Itachi's silhouette loomed behind him, his face unreadable and dark. His voice, however, was calm and deliberate.

"Satoru Uchiha," Itachi said, each word wrapped in quiet intensity. "You're quite something."

"Getting Sasuke involved in your antics now, too?"

"It seems you have too much free time if you're up to mischief. I'll suggest to Father that we increase your training regimen."

*Training increase?* Satoru's eyes lit up slightly, a mischievous thought almost tugging the corners of his mouth upward.

Sasuke, sensing the shift in conversation, chimed in without hesitation, "Second brother doesn't train. Extra training won't mean anything to him."

*Not training?* Satoru felt the sting of unjust accusation. *I do train!* With *Six Eyes*, he could replicate any jutsu perfectly after seeing it once and even optimize it. His training was focused on building mana reserves, which could power ninjutsu more effectively than chakra.

The problem was, he wasn't adept at genjutsu, which required Sharingan proficiency, and he avoided close combat—physical combat just wasn't his thing.

"I'll also ask Mother to put away your limited-edition dango until you complete your training. Sweets are bad for your teeth," Itachi added.

*Sweets confiscated?* Satoru's expression fell. This was serious.

"Sasuke," Itachi continued, turning to his younger brother, "it seems my own physical training has been lacking. I didn't even sense you coming. We'll double your training as well."

"Okay, big brother," Sasuke muttered, slightly resigned.

Satoru sighed, feeling the loss of his prized dango.

Suddenly, a familiar, loud voice called out, "Big brother! Big brother!" A whirlwind of yellow barreled toward them.

*It's Naruto Uzumaki.*

The trio—Itachi, Satoru, and Sasuke—turned their attention to the boy. Even Kakashi, perched silently in the nearby trees, narrowed his eye. The sight of Naruto approaching an Uchiha group was enough to make him tense.

*Oh boy, this could get complicated,* Kakashi thought. *How did they end up together?*

"Yo, isn't this Naruto?" Satoru greeted, his smile rekindling.

"Big brother, we're meeting again! By the way, you still haven't told me your name," Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear. There wasn't a trace of his usual loneliness in sight.

"My name's Satoru Uchiha, and this," Satoru gestured to his left, "is Itachi Uchiha."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Second brother, are you forgetting someone?"

Satoru feigned surprise. "Oh, was there someone else here?" He leaned down dramatically. "The altitude is too low—I must've missed it!"

Sasuke's cheeks flushed with indignation, his baby-fat face scrunching up in irritation.

"What do you mean by 'the altitude is too low'?" Naruto echoed, puzzled.

Satoru's grin broadened. "It's the distance from sea level—a fancy way to talk about height," he explained, delighting in the explanation as he compared the heights of Sasuke and Naruto, adopting the air of a patient teacher.

Itachi and Sasuke exchanged glances, their eyes silently conveying a mutual exasperation with the antics of their sibling.

"Oh, I get it, big brother!" Naruto said, nodding eagerly. "You're saying this guy here is short!"

"Who are you calling short?!" Sasuke shouted, his face turning red. "And I'm not 'that guy'; I'm Sasuke Uchiha!"

*I'm not short!*

>>>>>

Up to Chapter 20 available on Patreon.com/c/GGFanfiction :)

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