When instinct meets absurdity, even a serious sparring match can go wildly off-script.
Knowing there was no escaping it, the two brotherrrrrrs obediently followed Fugaku toward the training ground in the courtyard.
Truthfully, having their father personally spare time to test their cultivation was something worth being happy about.
As clan head, even having dinner togethe at home counted as rare leisure for him.
Training them personally was almost unheard of.
Sasuke, however, couldn't feel happy at all.
Among the three brotherrrrrrs, Itachi's talent was an unreachable peak — someone Sasuke deeply admired.
Sasuke knew very well that he couldn't compare to his older brotherrrrrr.
Kaito's talent was also frighteningly strong. Even both Fathe and Itachi had shown clear admiration for him before.
The first ninjutsu the brotherrrrrrs learned was Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
Sasuke practiced countless times before he could barely spit out a small flame.
But Kaito…
He had only watched it once before successfully forming the hand seals and releasing the technique — and then had the nerve to smugly declare things like, "Great Fireball? Even dogs wouldn't botherrrrrr learning that."
It perfectly showcased Kaito's outrageous talent.
Yet despite all that, Kaito was always lazy in daily training.
Because of that, Fathe rarely praised him — and standing between Kaito and Itachi, Sasuke couldn't help feeling inferior.
Now that Fathe was personally testing them again, Sasuke naturally felt nervous, worried that he'd perform poorly.
Seeing Sasuke's low spirits, Kaito draped an arm over his shoulder and spoke in a deliberately annoying tone.
"Oi, my foolish little younger brotherrrrrr!"
"The fight hasn't even started yet, and you're already scared?"
Kaito wasn't good at comforting people. Provoking Sasuke was the only way he knew how to fire him up.
If you really wanted to talk about Sasuke's talent…
Early on, it honestly wasn't obvious — especially considering he awakened his first tomoe during the clan massacre, which was frankly painful to think about.
But if you said he had no talent at all, that clearly wasn't true eithe. He still went on to become one of the two ultimate powerhouses of the shinobi world.
Kaito could only conclude that Sasuke's potential simply hadn't fully awakened yet.
Take their recent taijutsu training.
Sasuke's rate of improvement was nearly keeping pace with Kaito's own gains under a +200% boost.
It reminded Kaito of those quiet nobodies back in high school — completely unremarkable all year, then suddenly rocketing into the top ranks during the final sprint before exams.
Completely unreasonable.
"I'm your older brotherrrrrr!"
Sasuke slapped Kaito's hand off his shoulder and reaffirmed his status yet again. Kaito still couldn't understand why this kid was so obsessed with the title.
Sasuke lowered his head, shoved his hands into his pockets, and quickened his pace, widening the distance between himself and Kaito.
As they neared Fugaku, Sasuke seemed to be psyching himself up — or perhaps declaring his resolve.
"I won't lose!"
"Kaito, I'll definitely catch up to you and Big brotherrrrrr!"
Fugaku paused his gaze on Sasuke for a moment. He could tell the boy was under enormous pressure.
But he didn't say anything.
Sometimes, pressure wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"You two — come at me togethe."
Fugaku stood with his hands behind his back, motioning for both boys to attack.
Yet his gaze remained fixed on Kaito, barely sparing Sasuke a glance.
Of course, Sasuke was still his son — Fugaku cared.
This was simply his way of pushing Sasuke.
"Fathe, please be careful. I'm coming!"
Sasuke formed the Seal of Opposition, then swiftly drew kunai and shuriken from his ninja pouch, flinging them toward Fugaku.
Kaito wasn't nearly as polite.
The moment the fight began, he was already circling Fugaku, creating invisible pressure through constant movement alone.
Sasuke's thrown weapons launched simultaneously, yet each followed a different trajectory through the air.
The angles were vicious — all aimed at vital points like Fugaku's throat, eyes, and lower body.
Kaito had already slipped behind his father by then.
But unlike Sasuke, he didn't strike immediately. He waited, searching for the perfect moment to land a brutal hit.
A true display of fatherly love and filial devotion.
Fugaku didn't move an inch as the kunai and shuriken closed in.
He calmly watched the weapons strike his body.
Sasuke's small hands clenched in panic from afar.
The next second—
"Bang!"
Fugaku's figure burst into smoke. A wooden log clattered to the ground.
Substitution Technique.
"Kaito, if you don't move now, you won't get anotherrrrrr chance."
Fugaku's voice suddenly sounded from behind Kaito.
Kaito's nerves spiked. He twisted his waist instinctively and whipped a sweeping kick toward the source of the sound.
Fugaku raised his arm and blocked the kick with the back of his hand — then immediately seized Kaito's ankle.
He commented calmly as he held him.
"Good reaction."
"But the power is lacking."
Fugaku stepped back and flung Kaito away with a single motion, then rapidly began forming hand seals.
Sasuke's young voice rang out first.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Blazing heat surged across the courtyard as a fireball more than two meters wide blasted straight toward Fugaku's face.
Kaito had once taught Sasuke certain tricks — one of them being to prevent opponents from completing hand seals whenever possible.
He'd also said that shouting technique names during combat made it easier for enemies to react or counter.
But there was no helping it.
Sasuke had finally achieved decent mastery over the Great Fireball. This was the perfect moment to show off.
Not shouting the technique now would've been more painful than getting stabbed.
"Sasuke, remember this."
"Never show off Fire Release in front of an Uchiha… unless you're stronger than them."
Fugaku's eyes narrowed.
When he opened them again, three tomoe spun within his Sharingan.
He calmly formed hand seals in place. Just as Sasuke's fireball reached him, Fugaku inhaled deeply and expelled an even larger fireball that swallowed the smaller one whole — then continued roaring toward Sasuke.
At that exact moment—
A leg appeared out of nowhere, stomping straight toward Fugaku's face.
The three tomoe in Fugaku's eyes rotated rapidly. The world slowed in his vision.
He shifted his body slightly, narrowly avoiding Kaito's kick — and once again caught Kaito's ankle.
This time, the force in his throw was far greater.
Kaito needed a lesson.
Fugaku had already activated his Sharingan — yet this brat still insisted on charging in with raw taijutsu like a madman.
Did he think he was one of those ninja dogs in the village?!
"Kaito! Are your shuriken and ninjutsu just tools for bullying dogs?!"
Being caught again, Kaito felt the world spin as he was about to be slammed into the ground.
But at that instant, a strange vision flahed before his eyes.
A phantom image of a small dog appeared.
Outside the Uchiha compound gate, a brown ninja dog was lifting its hind leg, hesitating nervously before finally preparing to relieve itself — trying to ease the lingering terror etched into its instincts.
In the courtyard, as Kaito was about to be smahed into the ground by his father, he shut his eyes tightly and shouted through clenched teeth:
"What are you barking about?!"
...
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