"Itachi and Sasuke... it's so late already, why aren't they home yet... Ah! They're back!"
Just as the Uchiha brothers were returning home with Naruto in tow, Mikoto Uchiha stood outside the door before night had fully fallen, worried sick over her sons being out late.
Her hands clutched the hem of her clothing, brows slightly furrowed as she anxiously scanned the surroundings.
When she finally spotted Sasuke and the others rounding the corner, she breathed a sigh of relief.
In an instant, she composed herself, letting her anxious expression melt into a gentle, doting smile.
She raised a hand and waved cheerfully as they drew closer.
"Ah! Brother, look! It's Mom! She's waiting for us at the door! Let's walk faster!"
"Yeah, but—wait wait wait! Sasuke! Aren't you being a little too eager? Slow down! Watch your step!"
"Okay, I knoooow!"
Seeing his mother waiting patiently in the cold wind and snow filled little Sasuke's heart with warmth. He quickly tossed a few playful words behind him and took off with his short legs, running straight into her open arms.
"Itachi! Sasuke! Thank goodness you're finally home safe... I was starting to think you two weren't planning on coming back for dinner!" Mikoto paused mid-sentence when she saw her younger son wobbling unsteadily as he ran toward her.
She quickly stepped forward, crouching down with open arms and an increasingly tender smile, ready to catch her beloved son as he jumped into her embrace. "Slow down, Sasuke, slow down! Don't trip..."
'This kid… still way too clingy, huh.'
Watching his little brother abandon all dignity and run into their mother's arms, Itachi shrugged helplessly. But the fondness in his eyes only deepened.
After a moment, he glanced sideways at Naruto—who, despite being the same age as Sasuke, was watching the scene with just as much affection—and smiled gently.
"Come on. Let's catch up to Sasuke."
"Huh? Oh—yeah, right."
Naruto blinked in surprise, glancing around to confirm Itachi was speaking to him. The uncharacteristically mature fondness in his eyes disappeared in an instant.
Grinning as usual, he clasped his hands behind his head and answered with a laugh,
"Man, running that fast in this kind of snow... If no one's watching him, he could easily take a nasty spill."
"You're absolutely right, Naruto-kun. So then..."
Itachi's smile widened, a flicker of meaning behind his words as he added softly,
"I'll be counting on you to look after Sasuke."
He spoke as if in passing, but his tone hinted at something deeper.
"We can't let anything happen to him, okay?"
"Heh... Why so serious all of a sudden, Itachi-san?"
Naruto blinked, scratching the back of his head as if pretending not to understand. After a moment, he grinned again, thumping a hand against his chest.
"Of course! Sasuke's my best friend—I'll definitely take care of him! I'm going after him right now!"
"Hey! Sasuke! Wait up!"
As he spoke, Naruto pulled his feet from under the snow and stumbled clumsily forward, trying to catch up while shouting in his usual childlike voice for Sasuke to slow down.
"Hey, Naruto..."
Just as Naruto was wobbling dangerously through the snow, Kurama's serious voice echoed in his mind.
"Looks like your praise for that little brat wasn't totally baseless. If I'm not wrong, that kid... has probably already sensed your act, hasn't he?"
Kurama's words mirrored Naruto's own thoughts.
Though Itachi still wore the gentle smile of a big brother, Naruto—who had grown up reading between the lines of people's behavior—clearly noticed the doubt, and maybe even a trace of hope, hidden in those dark eyes.
'Yeah... you're right, Kurama. He's definitely noticed. No—he's already figured out what we're planning.'
Naruto subtly adjusted his pace so that he appeared to be chasing Sasuke but never quite catching up. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he recalled Itachi's earlier words.
'The speed of his insight is surprising... but fitting for someone called a genius. What concerns me more is—just how much does he know about us? For him to say something like "Don't let anything happen to Sasuke"… Does that mean he already knows enough to override my plans? Itachi... he's a wild card I really can't predict or control.'
"Tch. So what if he realized you're not just here for dinner?"
Kurama huffed in annoyance.
"You're overthinking it. If he's figured you out, shouldn't you be thinking about changing the plan—or canceling it altogether? He's the target of this whole operation, after all. The eldest son of Uchiha Fugaku… If he resents the Hidden Leaf just like his father, then with the right push, you might as well be a rice ball tossed to the dogs—gone for good."
'Yeah, if it were anyone else, I'd totally agree with you…'
Naruto turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of Itachi smiling behind him.
'But if the one who found out is Itachi? That changes everything. In fact, he might even help us. Sure, he's Fugaku's son… but his loyalty to the village far outweighs his loyalty to the Uchiha Clan. He's a true ninja… one worthy of the word hero.'
'If we ranked the new generation of the Hidden Leaf Village by their love and loyalty to the village, and Itachi Uchiha chose to take second place…'
A tall, noble figure came to Naruto's mind—someone who walked alone through the darkness, shouldering the name of a traitor, hated by the brother he loved most, and yet never once hesitated to protect the village and that very brother until the bitter end. He smiled as he faced death.
After a brief pause, Naruto's expression turned solemn as he continued:
"Then no one… would be worthy of claiming first."