Itachi watched as Sasuke's chin lifted again, that small neck straight as a stubborn green shoot. The little guy's black pupils burned with fire, even the tip of his nose flushed with excitement.
Seeing this, the gentleness in Itachi's eyes quietly mixed with a touch of complexity, like a night sprinkled with crushed stars.
His fingers paused for a moment in Sasuke's black hair, but in the end, he just rubbed more vigorously, turning the spiky hair into a bird's nest.
He didn't utter a single discouraging word.
Itachi understood better than anyone that calling Makoto the future of the Uchiha Clan was no empty praise.
His mouth could easily turn white into black, leave the Hokage Advisor, Danzo, speechless, and even con one of the Sannin, Orochimaru, out of his money.
His talent was monstrous, awakening the Two Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age, much earlier than Itachi himself, and seemingly without any physical discomfort.
One must know that awakening the Sharingan too early often placed a great strain on the body, yet Makoto appeared completely unaffected.
Even their father, who Makoto often argued with, usually referred to him as 'the future of the Uchiha Clan', with unconcealable joy hidden in his eyes.
As the lively welcoming ceremony ended and the Kumogakure's envoy entered the specially prepared meeting room in Konoha, the streets, previously packed solid, emptied out like a receding tide.
Scattered colored paper was swept into spirals by the evening wind, some sticking to the soles of the Police Force members' shoes, some caught in the treetops along the street, like tired butterflies.
Konoha, noisy for most of the day, finally slowly settled down. Even the air felt sluggish after the relaxation, like a fully drawn bow suddenly released.
The setting sun stretched the shadow of the Hokage Rock long, from the statue of Hiruzen all the way to the village's main gate.
Half the sky faded from orange-red to deep purple, finally being invaded bit by bit by ink-black. The night sky, like a cloth soaked in thick ink, silently descended.
Stars blinked in the sky. The moon, half-hidden by thin clouds, shed silvery light over the roofs of the Uchiha Clan's compound, casting mottled shadows on the moss in the corners.
Makoto had gotten a good sleep during the day. Now, standing by the courtyard wall, he pinched a freshly fallen dead leaf between his fingers.
The serrated tip scratched his fingertip, feeling a bit itchy. Makoto gazed at the half-veiled moon in the sky, a smile of indescribable meaning curling his lips as he mused inwardly.
'Tonight is destined not to be a peaceful one.'
'But that's fine. After all, chaos is the best ladder for progress.'
Makoto lightly tapped the wall with the tip of his foot, about to vault over, when a sulky voice came from behind, like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on.
"Makoto, I want to spar with you!"
Sasuke stood in the moonlight, small fists clenched, the ends of his black hair damp, the strands hanging over his forehead unable to hide the confidence in his eyes.
The little guy's cheeks were flushed, whether from running or excitement wasn't clear.
Though his confidence seemed a bit lacking, he deliberately held his chin high, as if to add a bit more imposingness.
Seeing this, Makoto raised an eyebrow, glancing extremely puzzled at the moon in the sky.
'It's not even sunny today?'
'How has Sunny Pillar regained his fighting spirit? Did someone feed him some super motivational soup?'
Makoto turned around and poked Sasuke firmly on the forehead with his finger.
His fingertip made a dull 'thud' on Sasuke's smooth forehead, immediately reddening a small spot.
"Sasuke, I really have things to do," Makoto deliberately drew out his tone, imitating Itachi's manner of speaking, the trailing tone lifting slightly. "Forgive me, this surely won't be the last time."
The red mark on his forehead was as vivid as a birthmark. Usually, Sasuke would have cried out in pain by now, but today he was exceptionally tough, not making a sound.
He just let out a light snort through his nose, his eyes burning with fierce fighting spirit, as if he had suddenly grown up in these past few days.
"Right now!"
Sasuke knew Makoto was never interested in things that held no benefit for him. He clenched his fists, pressed his lips together, and said: "If you win, I'll listen to you in everything from now on!"
"Whatever I have, if you want it, you can take it anytime! No second thoughts."
Sasuke paused, his voice carrying a bit of burn-the-boats determination, as if he had made a huge resolution. "I bet everything I have to spar with you!"
"And if you lose, you don't have to pay any price."
Hearing this, Makoto was momentarily stunned. He didn't possess Itachi's almost miraculous skill of 'holding back immensely'.
In the mid-part of the original work, Uchiha Itachi, with his Mangekyo Sharingan, was defeated by Sasuke, who only had the Three Tomoe Sharingan. That performance was the ultimate pull and push.
A bit more force would cause injury, a bit less would seem fake. If he lost control even slightly, Sasuke would be done for right there.
Dragging his critically ill body, he ultimately exhausted Sasuke's Chakra completely, conveniently sealing Orochimaru away for him.
With Makoto's current strength, if he didn't control himself carefully, he could easily make Sasuke doubt his own life.
But looking at the 'confidence' written all over Sasuke's eyes, Makoto raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching upwards uncontrollably.
"My foolish little brother," Makoto deliberately lowered his voice, imitating the tone he remembered from Itachi back then, the trailing tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of laughter.
"If you want to surpass me, then hate me! Detest me!"
"Come challenge me again when you possess the same eyes as me!"
As the words fell, two crimson tomoe suddenly rose in Makoto's eyes. The two tomoe spun eerily under the moonlight, red as tempered blood, casting a strange warmth on half his face.
Then, without waiting for Sasuke's reaction, he turned and left.
His steps were light as the wind, his black figure sweeping past the shadows in the corner, disappearing around the bend of the alley in the blink of an eye, leaving only a stirred locust leaf slowly drifting to the ground.
Sasuke stood in place, staring in the direction Makoto had vanished, his mouth puffed up like a pufferfish. The red mark on his forehead still felt hot, like a small, burning brand.
"Just you wait!"
Sasuke shouted towards the empty alley, his voice carrying a childish stubbornness, like a small pebble pushing through the soil.
"I'll prove to you sooner or later that even without the Sharingan, I can defeat you with your Two Tomoe Sharingan!"
The evening wind carried his words away, bumping against the quiet clan compound, startling a few barks from dogs. Sasuke picked up the small white dog and went back to his room to sleep.
The moonlight on the eaves was like crushed silver foil, flowing down the curve of the tiles, accumulating into a pool of shimmering light on the bluestone.
In the shadows, Itachi stood for a long time. He watched Sasuke's small, straight-backed figure, the complexity in his eyes deepening.
Looking at Makoto's retreating back as he left the compound, he realized that neither of his younger brothers was easy to handle...
But thinking of their smiles, the corners of Itachi's mouth couldn't help but lift slightly again. He let out a soft sigh, the white mist dissipating quickly in the cold air.
The night was still long.
Unable to sleep, Itachi used a few Body Flickers to find his good friend, Shisui.
…
Makoto stepped onto the cobblestone path of the Hyuga Clan's compound, the light 'click-clack' sounds unmuffled, not concealing his presence at all.
Because the entire Hyuga Clan was already immersed in their own little world, completely disregarding the face of the entire Konoha's leadership.
On this special occasion, after completing the ceremony with the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family, they began widely inviting the heads of various clans to attend the birthday celebration of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family's heiress, Hyuga Hinata. They even invited the Kumogakure's envoy.
This move clearly told the Konoha's leadership that the Hyuga Clan's ceremonies and affairs were more precious than the village's life-and-death alliance.
The Hyuga Clan's political wisdom could only make a dog shake its head in disbelief.
Of course, it was also possible that the noble Hyuga needed no comrades.
The entire Hyuga Clan was decorated with lanterns and streamers. Lanterns hung from the compound entrance all the way to the Main Family courtyard. Paper lanterns embroidered with the Hyuga Clan's crest bulged in the wind, like strings of wide-open eyeballs.
But this liveliness carried an indescribable strangeness, like serving a wedding feast at a funeral… it just felt wrong no matter how you looked at it.
Not a single member of the Konoha's leadership attended in person, only sending simple gifts via messengers.
The Blame Kage, Danzo, was even more extreme, not even bothering with superficial courtesy… he didn't send so much as a blade of grass. He was in his dark, damp Root's base, scheming how to use this incident to suppress the Hyuga Clan.
The current heads of the various clans also didn't attend in person, only sending random representatives.
The proud Uchiha Clan didn't even bother sending a perfunctory representative.
At the entire banquet, apart from the Hyuga themselves, the guests with the highest status were actually the Kumogakure's envoys...
Those people in the Kumogakure's envoy group all had their own little schemes hidden in their eyes.
Makoto didn't enter. Instead, he stood at a high point, observing everything around him.
Just then, the Main Family's door was slid open with a 'whoosh'. The current Head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi, led a small figure out.
It was a little girl wearing a kimono embroidered with various flowers, a bow tied at the collar, the ribbon ends dangling on her chest, swaying gently with her movements.
Her hair was styled into two round buns, hanging on either side of her shoulders, the ends tied with pink tassels that brushed against her chubby cheeks in the wind.
Her face was like a freshly peeled soft-boiled egg, glowing with a healthy pink.
Pure white pupils hid under long eyelashes, blinking timidly. The corners of her eyes drooped slightly, like a frightened fawn.
Her small hands clutched Hiashi's kimono tightly, knuckles white, her body trembling slightly, yet she still made an effort to lift her little face and greet the people in the courtyard, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz: "Th-thank you, everyone…"
It was Hyuga Hinata.
Her shy demeanor softened hearts, far more endearing than the bunch of old fogies in the Hyuga Clan.
Makoto raised an eyebrow, withdrawing his gaze, but his eyes swept slowly over the bustling crowd at the periphery. Suddenly, his movement halted.
Amidst the lively crowd, Makoto spotted two people whose attire was completely different from Konoha's villagers.
In fact, these two people weren't from the Shinobi World at all.