Late at night, inside the Hokage Tower.
The veteran heavy smoker in a helmet finally wrapped up a long day of work.
He stretched lazily — then noticed a tuft of white hair by the window.
"Welcome back, Kakashi."
The fatigue in his eyes eased slightly as he spoke gently.
"You… went to see that child?"
With Kakashi back in the village, Konoha's strength had increased once again.
At least the pressure on his shoulders wasn't as heavy anymore.
"…Mm."
Kakashi waved casually, but instead of mentioning Naruto, he brought up someone else.
"Third Hokage, are you aware of the Uchiha clan leader's younger son?"
"Oh? You mean Itachi?"
The Third Hokage tapped his pipe, rare admiration flickering in his eyes.
"That's a brilliant child. His understanding of the Will of Fire surpasses almost everyone in the village."
He genuinely liked Itachi.
Even though he was an Uchiha, he lacked the clan's usual extremism and stubborn obsession.
Instead, he was calm, wise, and steady.
Kakashi shook his head.
"No. Not Itachi."
"Then… Sasuke? He's still young, but he does seem talented."
"It's Ren."
"Ren?"
The Third Hokage paused slightly.
"That name sounds… familiar…"
His mind spun, trying to form Ren's image — but failed repeatedly.
It felt like rummaging through a forgotten corner of memory, trying to recall something unused for years.
After several attempts, a vague image from four years ago finally surfaced.
Subconsciously, he asked:
"That child… is there something wrong with him?"
"No. Just… a little too talkative."
After hesitating, Kakashi pulled out his notebook.
Dense scribbles filled its pages — records of everything Ren had said.
But the very first page had been torn out.
That page documented Ren's connection with Naruto.
Originally, Kakashi had planned to submit it to the Third Hokage.
But Ren had repeatedly mentioned the Fourth Hokage and his wife.
It kept bringing back memories of Minato-sensei's guidance and Kushina-sensei's kindness.
Maybe it's not such a bad thing for Naruto to have an older brother figure looking after him.
With that thought, Kakashi chose to conceal their connection.
He casually summarized a few harmless points instead and left.
Behind him, the Third Hokage stared at the torn edge of the notebook.
The image of that child from four years ago surfaced again in his mind.
…
Rustle.
Morning mist still lingered when faint scraping sounds came from the wall of the Uchiha estate.
It sounded like a puppy digging.
In reality, it was Sasuke standing on tiptoe, carefully spreading out a stolen blanket.
"Can sunbathing really make you stronger…?"
"It should, right? That guy said sunlight is natural energy that combines with the body to generate chakra…"
He muttered to himself and sneakily glanced toward the house.
After confirming no one was coming out, he flopped down dramatically like Ren always did.
To imitate more accurately, he even stuck a piece of foxtail grass in his mouth, humming lazily in a strange tune.
Creaaak.
The wooden door opened.
An early-rising Fugaku lifted his head — and saw his second son standing at the doorway, seemingly watching something.
Confused, he asked:
"Ren, what are you doing out here?"
"Oh, watching a puppy dig."
"A puppy digging?"
Fugaku froze for a moment, then suddenly tensed.
"Which wall?!"
"Sasuke said the third wall on the left of the gate — the one with the cherry tree beside it."
Thud.
Thud thud thud.
"My secret stash…"
Fugaku's face went pale.
Over the years, money kept mysteriously disappearing from inside the house, so he had started hiding it outside under the wall.
And now—
"Damn it! That brat is getting more and more out of line!"
He stormed off in his wooden sandals.
A moment later, Sasuke's tragic screams echoed from the wall.
Heartbreaking. Absolutely heartwarming screams.
Beneath the wall lay the poor father's carefully hidden savings.
At the same time, the door opened again.
Listening to the screams, Itachi sighed.
"Ren, did you steal Father's money again? What did you use it for this time?"
Everyone in the family knew Ren was usually the culprit — except Fugaku himself.
Sometimes he bought snacks.
Sometimes he paid people just to chat with him.
The reasons were always strange.
So what was it this time?
Itachi sat beside him, curious.
"Oh, nothing special. Just bought some fruit and milk and gave it to a war orphan."
"A war orphan… Ren, you've really grown up."
Itachi's eyes softened.
He instinctively reached out to pinch Ren's cheek.
Missed.
Ren dodged smoothly and grinned.
"Itachi — today—"
Before Ren could finish, Itachi replied reflexively:
"Don't worry. I'll protect you and Sasuke."
"I'll stand on the village's side and do my best to stop the conflict."
"If anyone tries to take Shisui's eyes, I'll kill them."
He paused, then frowned slightly.
"But… why would anyone want Shisui's eyes?"
Shisui had built a great reputation on the battlefield.
He was a hero.
Who would covet a hero's Sharingan?
Unless…
His Mangekyō had just awakened recently?
Tap.
Just then, Shisui flipped over the wall from the neighboring yard.
Dew clung to his hair, dark circles under his eyes from staying up late.
"Itachi! Ren! You're both here! I've got great news!"
His voice wasn't loud, but his grin nearly split his face.
Ren's hand froze against his cheek.
Looking into Shisui's excited eyes, Ren could practically see a one-eyed old man grinning wickedly in the shadows.
"I named it Kotoamatsukami!"
Shisui continued enthusiastically, completely unaware of the changing expressions.
"This eye technique can secretly alter someone's will without them realizing it! The only downside is the long recovery time!"
"I discussed it with the Hokage for over an hour this morning. Elder Danzo even praised me as the hope of the Uchiha!"
He planted his hands on his hips, clearly about to burst into triumphant laughter.
Then—
He was cut off.
"How many people did you tell?"
Itachi finally sensed something was very wrong.
He suddenly understood why Shisui might get his eyes stolen.
Explaining a technique like this in such detail was basically handing out the instruction manual.
If someone didn't steal your eyes after this, whose would they steal?!
"Well… not that many…"
Shisui began counting on his fingers.
"The Third Hokage, the advisors, Elder Danzo, the ANBU strategy unit, Root's sealing division…"
This…
This this this…
In the end, Ren glanced at the failed copy notification, patted this sunny and clueless overconfident boy on the shoulder, and walked away shaking his head.
Someone might ask — how exactly is he overconfident?
Simple.
He trusts literally every man he meets. 😑
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