The training arena buzzed with energy, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the dusty ground as the two boys stepped into the ring. One with bright golden hair and an unshakable grin, the other with dark eyes like obsidian, his expression unreadable.
Whispers grew into shouts from the gathered students.
"Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke!"
The Uchiha prodigy stood silently, arms crossed, unbothered by the praise.
Salaar, now living as Naruto Uzumaki, rolled his shoulders lightly. His blue eyes scanned Sasuke with quiet focus—not just the surface, but something deeper. Something… familiar.
Before the match could begin, Iruka stepped forward, hands raised.
"Quiet down, everyone." The crowd fell silent. "Konoha has a tradition. Before any friendly duel, students must perform the Seal of Friendship—a reminder that, win or lose, you are comrades."
Iruka demonstrated the hand sign.
Salaar blinked. "The Seal of Friendship?"
He hadn't remembered this detail from his fragmented memories of Naruto's early days. Still, he extended a hand, smiling.
"Let's do it, Sasuke."
Sasuke glanced down at the offered hand with hesitation, his face stony. The crowd's eyes were on him, yet he hesitated as though something within him was resisting. Finally, with a reluctant sigh, he clasped Naruto's hand.
Salaar's grin widened, but Sasuke averted his eyes, muttering under his breath, "Tch… annoying."
The Uchiha's hand was ice cold—tightly wound, full of tension. Yet Salaar's was warm, calm, alive.
For the briefest moment, Sasuke's mind flickered—Itachi. That same gentle warmth in his brother's hand when they trained together. That smile. That unbearable, understanding smile that had once given him peace… before it became a curse.
He let go first.
Iruka nodded. "Begin!"
Sasuke stood still, relaxed but alert.
Salaar bent into a low stance, kunai in hand. He could feel his instincts sharpening. Not just from his time in this world, but from the echoes of a life long gone—his past as Salaar, an older brother.
"Deva…"
The name echoed in his heart like a fading whisper. His younger brother. His pride. His burden. His failure. A boy full of hope, now only a memory that haunted the edges of Salaar's mind like mist.
Looking at Sasuke now—cold, distant, burdened by pain—Salaar saw him.
Deva.
"He even stands like him… always pushing people away. Always shouldering everything alone."
It was strange. He hadn't met Sasuke before today. Yet something about this boy—the loneliness in his eyes, the strength behind his silence—it pierced him deeply.
"This world is cruel to children like him."
A flicker of fierce protectiveness ignited within Salaar. He wouldn't lose another brother. Not again.
But before he could finish the thought, Sasuke moved.
Fast.
A blur of motion, almost too fast to track. Salaar barely raised his arms in time to block a punch aimed at his ribs.
Crack.
Pain lanced up his arm. Damn, this kid hit hard.
Sasuke didn't stop—his body was fluid, efficient. He struck again: a knee to the gut, a sweeping leg to the side of Naruto's head. Salaar stumbled back, narrowly blocking the worst of it.
Around them, classmates cheered for Sasuke, the top student.
"Whoa! Did you see that combo?"
"Crane-tail Naruto's done for!"
Salaar's breath caught in his throat. Sasuke's strength was undeniable—precise, unrelenting, and beautiful in a tragic way.
And yet… his eyes.
Sasuke wasn't fighting to win. He was fighting to bury something. Like he was punching through a ghost.
"That smile of his… I hate it."
That thought lingered in Sasuke's mind, unspoken.
Naruto's grin—it reminded him too much of Itachi. That gentle, knowing smile. The smile Sasuke could no longer understand. That grin mocked him. It whispered lies of peace, of hope.
"Don't smile at me like that… not you too."
But Salaar's smile wasn't fake. It wasn't naive. It was a scarred man's defiance against darkness—a reminder that light could return.
As Sasuke came in with another flurry of strikes, Salaar let him. Let the boy empty himself. Blow after blow, Salaar defended, deflected, endured.
Thud!
A final kick caught his ribs and knocked him down. Dust billowed as Salaar hit the ground with a grunt. His limbs screamed with pain.
Around them, the class roared.
"Sasuke wins again!"
"Crane tail got demolished!"
Iruka stepped forward, but Salaar raised his hand, breathing hard.
"I admit defeat," he said simply.
Sasuke stared down at him, breath heavy.
"Trash," he muttered.
Salaar didn't flinch. Slowly, he stood, brushing the dirt off his clothes. He grinned—not mocking, not angry.
"Maybe," he said softly. "But even trash has its pride. And I don't break that easily."
Sasuke's brow twitched. That damn smile again…
Why couldn't he hate him?
Why did it make him feel… small?
As Salaar turned away, Sasuke watched in silence. He didn't understand it. But a strange feeling stirred in his chest. Something almost like…
Regret.
—
Later, in the woods behind the school, Hinata found Naruto sitting under a tree, cradling a bruised rib.
"N-Naruto-kun… a-are you okay?" she asked nervously.
He opened his eyes and smiled, though it was a bit forced.
"Hey, Hinata. I'm fine. Just bruised."
He looked up at the sky.
"I couldn't go all out. Not yet. Not here."
He clenched a fist softly, his thoughts still swirling with images of Sasuke.
"That kid's carrying something dark… like Deva used to. That look in his eyes… it's the same pain. The same silence. I couldn't save Deva from it. But maybe…"
Salaar shut his eyes.
"Maybe I can save Sasuke."
Hinata sat beside him, quietly, her face flushed.
"Naruto-kun… are you… upset that you lost?"
He blinked and then chuckled. "Nah. I learned what I needed."
Hinata tilted her head.
"Today… wasn't about winning," Salaar murmured. "It was about seeing how far I've come… and how far I still need to go."
And as the wind rustled through the leaves, Salaar swore silently to himself:
"I couldn't protect my real brother. But this time… this time I will."
Even if Sasuke hated him for it.
Even if he had to endure a thousand cold stares.
Even if that smile of his reminded Sasuke of the very thing he wanted to forget.
He'd protect him anyway.
Because that's what big brothers do.