Konoha, Autumn of Year 54.
A gentle breeze drifted through the air, sunlight warm and mild.
In the backyard of the Uchiha compound, maple leaves burned crimson as if set aflame, swaying softly in the wind.
At that moment, three-and-a-half-year-old Uchiha Sasuke was imitating his older brother's movements, hurling a shuriken forward with all his strength.
Whoosh!
Clack.
The shuriken struck the center of the target—
But failed to pierce it, clattering to the ground instead.
The aim was there.
The power wasn't.
Drip.
Drip.
Sweat slid down his cheeks, gathered at his chin, and finally dropped onto the collar embroidered with the Uchiha fan crest.
"Haa… I'm exhausted."
He steadied his breathing and turned, planning to wash his face.
But when his eyes landed on the lazy figure sprawled atop the courtyard wall, his brows furrowed uncontrollably.
"Hey!" Sasuke shook his sore wrist and snapped irritably. "The sun's almost down. How long are you planning to lie there?"
"Until the sun sets—"
"Or until One-Hit-Seven comes back with dango."
Hearing that, Uchiha Kai rolled over, poking half his face out from under a thin blanket.
Sunlight filtered through the maple leaves outside the wall, scattering mottled light across his face.
Four years had passed.
The tiny child from before now carried the outline of a youth.
His brows and eyes had sharpened, his features growing more defined.
The only thing that hadn't changed—
Was that utterly lazy aura.
"Don't call him One-Hit-Seven! Call him big brother!"
The nickname instantly made Sasuke even more irritated. Veins popped on his forehead.
"Do you know this?! Big brother graduated first in the entire academy today!"
If Itachi was Sasuke's idol—
Then the second brother lying on the wall was nothing but a parasite in his eyes.
Lazy.
Annoyingly talkative.
That was Sasuke's entire impression of Kai.
For four whole years, every time he saw this brother, he was either sunbathing on the wall or wandering the village chatting aimlessly!
Every exam result barely scraped past the passing line!
Dead last.
A textbook dead last!
And yet—
No matter how angry Sasuke got, Kai didn't argue.
He actually smiled.
That smile snapped something inside Sasuke.
Grabbing a training shuriken, he barked like a puppy denied milk:
"Uchiha Kai! You're disgracing the Uchiha name! I'm challenging you to a duel—"
"Shh."
Kai suddenly raised a finger.
"Listen."
"The sky's clear. The rain's stopped."
The seriousness on his face made Sasuke pause instinctively.
He held his breath.
All he heard was the rustling of maple leaves in the wind.
Nothing else.
No rain.
That damn Kai—he tricked me again!
Sasuke was just about to explode—
But he didn't notice that Kai's smile this time was genuine.
Because right in front of Kai's eyes, prompts were flooding in.
[Conversation Target: Uchiha Sasuke]
[Copyable Traits: Brother Complex (Black), Gets Stronger When Beaten (Black), Child of Destiny (Colorless), Lightning Release Mastery (Purple), Tsundere (White), Shuriken Familiarity (White), Loud Voice (White).]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, host has obtained Common Trait: Shuriken Familiarity (White).]
This wasn't the first time Kai had seen Sasuke's traits.
But every time he did, he couldn't help sighing.
As expected—brother complexes really did run in the family.
Tsundere, showing up before the kid even fully understood things.
As for Gets Stronger When Beaten?
Kai felt that was deeply tied to Sasuke's personality.
There was an old saying—
The sky clears, the rain stops, and the second pillar thinks he's invincible again.
Every time Sasuke got stronger, he was either getting beaten—
Or on his way to get beaten.
And he always insisted on challenging others in the exact areas they excelled in.
Wasn't that just pure illness?
Of course, after all these years, Kai was used to it.
The reason he was smiling wasn't because of Sasuke—
But because of a new system notification.
[Ding. Congratulations to host for sunbathing for 108 minutes. Chakra +108.]
[Ding. Current Chakra: 1,000,000!]
[Chakra capacity has exceeded one million.]
[Conversation-based trait copy success rate: 5% → 10%.]
[Defeat-based trait copy success rate: 50% → 75%.]
[Corpse-plunder trait count: 1 → 1–2.]
That—
That was why Kai was smiling.
System evolution.
More precisely—
System growth.
Especially the conversation copy rate.
Crossing from single digits into double digits wasn't just a "+5%."
The impact was massive.
And the defeat-based rate?
Seventy-five percent was practically guaranteed.
At that thought, Kai glanced sideways at Sasuke.
Right here—
Wasn't there a perfect test subject?
Meanwhile, Sasuke knew nothing.
He stood there with a kunai in hand, glaring coldly at Kai.
"Hmph! Idiot Uchiha Kai! I, Uchiha Sasuke, challenge you to a duel!"
Kai waved his hand casually and chuckled.
"Sasuke… have you ever lost?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Sasuke froze, frowning in confusion.
Swish!
At that exact moment, Kai casually tossed out a single shuriken.
Sasuke's veins bulged again.
"You're looking down on me! I'll make you regret this!"
But just as he was about to move—
His vision blurred.
The single shuriken split—
Into twelve.
They shot toward him from impossibly twisted angles!
Clash—clash—clash!
Sasuke's pupils shrank violently.
The trajectories were changing midair!
In the end, the shuriken pinned him perfectly in place—
Clothes, hair tips, even the seams under his arms were nailed by cold metal—
Yet not a single blade touched his skin.
Drip.
A drop slid down his cheek.
Cold sweat?
Hot sweat?
He couldn't tell.
Sasuke stood frozen, staring blankly ahead.
A ridiculous thought surfaced in his mind—
Does… sunbathing really make you stronger?