Chapter 74: Brothers' Late-Night Conversation
After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Douhuan led Sasuke to the study, pulled out a scroll, tore off a small section, and handed it to him.
"What's this?" Sasuke asked, puzzled by Douhuan's actions.
"This is a body movement Taijutsu technique I created when I was ten," Douhuan explained. "It's called Step of Thunder Instant Movement. It also serves as the entry-level technique for my self-developed Lightning Chakra Mode."
"The first part is pure Taijutsu—you can practice that for now," he continued. "It's nothing special, but should be more than enough for you to dominate the ninja academy. Also, keep practicing with the lightning spheres."
"What about the rest?" Sasuke looked at the half-scroll in his hand, confused.
"You're not ready for the latter part yet," Douhuan replied. "When you can control four lightning spheres at once the way you did just now, then I'll teach you the rest."
"Okay," Sasuke nodded and carefully put the scroll away.
"All right, it's getting late—time to head home," Douhuan said as he walked Sasuke to the door. But just as he opened it, he saw someone waiting outside—Uchiha Itachi.
"Brother!" Sasuke immediately ran toward the figure he hadn't seen in so long.
Itachi caught him in his arms and gently ruffled his hair with doting eyes.
"You're back from your mission, huh?" Douhuan leaned against the doorframe, smiling. "You two brothers sure are close—rushing over to pick him up the moment you return."
"Mm." Itachi nodded. But when he looked at Douhuan, his gaze was anything but friendly.
Seeing this, Douhuan remained completely unfazed and said with a chuckle, "Since you're here, that saves me the trouble of walking him back. Sasuke, go with your brother."
"Yes, sir!" Sasuke called out happily as he clung to Itachi's back. "Bye, sensei!"
"Bye," Douhuan waved at him with a grin and closed the door.
On the way home, Sasuke—being carried piggyback by Itachi—talked non-stop.
"Big brother, Sensei is amazing! The jutsu he taught me took me a long time to master just to get it close to his level!"
"Really? Clan Leader Douhuan is a genius of our clan, after all. If you can learn his jutsu, that means you've got talent too," Itachi replied, keeping a calm tone despite his storming thoughts.
After a while, Itachi asked, "Sasuke, aside from teaching you jutsu, has your teacher taught you anything else?"
This question came with a hint of anxiety—Itachi was genuinely afraid Douhuan had been instilling his own ambitions into his dear little brother.
"He has!" Sasuke answered, proudly like he was showing off a new toy to someone he trusted most. "He's told me all kinds of interesting stories and taught me a lot about how to be a good person too!"
Itachi's heart clenched hearing that. Could it be... my precious brother has already been influenced by Douhuan's ideology...?
"What exactly has he been teaching you?" Itachi asked quickly.
"Well, it's hard to explain," Sasuke said, tilting his head. "Some things he said I don't really understand yet. But there are some things I think make a lot of sense."
Itachi wanted to press further, but they had already arrived at home. Sasuke said, "Let's talk more after dinner, okay?"
"Sure." Itachi nodded and entered the house with him.
"I'm home!" Sasuke called out energetically as they entered.
"Welcome back, Sasuke! Hurry and wash up for dinner," Mikoto greeted them warmly. "And you too, Itachi—wash your hands."
"Okay." The brothers headed toward the bathroom. On the way past the dining room, Itachi noticed Fugaku wasn't there and asked, "Mother, Father hasn't come home yet?"
"No, the Police Force is dealing with a big case. Your father said he probably won't be back for dinner the next few days," Mikoto explained as she filled their bowls.
Sasuke quickly wolfed down his food—it seemed showing off to his teacher had taken a toll on his chakra reserves, and now he was famished.
"Slow down, Sasuke." Mikoto chuckled as she filled another bowl for him.
"Hehe, Mom's cooking is the best!" Sasuke grinned. "Even Naruto said so after eating your bento!"
"Really?" Mikoto smiled. "Then I'd better make extras for him tomorrow. Do you know what dishes he likes?"
"Mom, I'm your son, right? Aren't you supposed to ask me that first?" Sasuke pouted.
"Haha, Sasuke, are you getting jealous?" Mikoto laughed, clearly amused.
"I am not!" Sasuke huffed, puffing up his cheeks.
Their conversation triggered waves in Itachi's heart. He knew full well who Naruto was. Has the clan started openly interacting with the Jinchūriki now...?
Staggered by one revelation after another, Itachi barely touched his food and quickly finished dinner. Afterward, Sasuke clung to his hand, eyes full of hope.
"Brother, can I sleep with you tonight? I want to tell you the stories Sensei shared with me!"
"Okay," Itachi nodded.
Back in their room, Sasuke pulled out a textbook Douhuan had written and began explaining its content enthusiastically.
Itachi listened patiently as Sasuke carefully explained the lessons within.
From "Human nature is inherently good" to "To learn and review regularly is a joy", the more Itachi listened, the more confused he became. Not because anything was wrong—on the contrary, the content was so good that if Sasuke truly lived by these teachings, he would undoubtedly grow into a model shinobi who embodied the Will of Fire.
And that completely contradicted Itachi's view of Douhuan as a scheming conspirator.
Thinking about this, Itachi cautiously tested the waters: "All right, Sasuke, let's stop there for now. Do you know what happened in the village a few days ago?"
"Yeah," Sasuke blinked.
"So… what's your opinion on it?" Itachi asked.
"The Police Force did great!" Sasuke said firmly. "It was clearly the villagers who did wrong. The Police Force just made sure they got what they deserved."
Just as I thought—Douhuan's teachings are problematic! Itachi frowned internally, growing more uneasy.
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