As Sasuke walked down the street toward home, he noticed how bustling the village was, filled with shops and people, bathed in the soft light of the setting sun. The villagers' faces were lit with joyful smiles. This was Konoha under the veil of peace, seemingly a pure land. Yet Sasuke knew the darkness that lurked within the village's leadership, a reality hidden from these oblivious villagers who still believed Konoha remained as prosperous as ever. To Sasuke, the village appeared like an aging elder, slowly inching toward death.

Sasuke found himself increasingly drawn to the feeling of knowing everything while others remained in the dark. A growing sense of superiority swelled within him, a solitary clarity in a world of ignorance. But there were times when knowing too much was a curse, like the knowledge that three years from now, the Uchiha clan would be wiped out, and he would be powerless to stop it. He could only watch as the inevitable unfolded, unable to change it. The thought of his helplessness stirred a deep dissatisfaction within him. "Itachi should be back today," Sasuke thought, turning his gaze away from the street and heading toward the Uchiha compound. "It's time to have him help me train."

In this lifetime, Sasuke felt little attachment to the Uchiha clan or to Fugaku. He had no desire to form deep bonds with anyone in the Uchiha household. Yet Mikoto's selfless love and constant care since his childhood had slowly thawed the ice in his heart. Inwardly, Sasuke made a firm decision...

When Sasuke arrived home, he saw Itachi, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, finally return, looking utterly exhausted. "It seems the mission Itachi was on wasn’t an easy one," Sasuke mused.

"Sasuke, you're back. Where did you go today?" Itachi asked, waving to his brother with a smile despite his fatigue.

"I just wandered around," Sasuke replied nonchalantly. No one knew that Sasuke had been refining his chakra. Every time he went out to train, he used the excuse of going out to play. As they walked inside, Sasuke noticed that Itachi had returned to his usual expressionless demeanor. Ever since joining the Anbu three months ago, Itachi's expressions had grown increasingly scarce.

"Brother, I'm already three years old. Can you start training me to become a ninja?" Sasuke asked hopefully, turning his head to look at Itachi walking behind him.

"Oh? So Sasuke wants to work hard too," Itachi replied with a smile. Hearing Itachi's response, Sasuke's face immediately turned dark. It seemed that using play as an excuse every time he went out had made Itachi think of him as a playful child. Sasuke felt utterly speechless.

"Brother, will you agree or not?" Sasuke asked again.

"If Sasuke wants to be a ninja, how could I, as your brother, not support you? But I wonder if you'll be able to handle it—I intend to be very strict," Itachi teased.

"Yes!" Sasuke couldn't help but cheer inwardly when Itachi agreed. Seeing Sasuke's joyful reaction, a small smile tugged at the corner of Itachi's lips, as if his own happiness was tied to Sasuke's.

"Itachi, Sasuke, wash your hands and come eat," came their mother's voice from inside the house.

"Yes, mother." "Yes, mother," they replied simultaneously, their voices blending into one.

The next morning, Sasuke was jolted awake by the noisy alarm clock. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and glanced out the window to find the sky already lightening. He quickly got out of bed and hurriedly finished his morning routine. Today was the first day he would learn powerful ninjutsu, and he didn’t want to give Itachi any reason to look down on him.

As Sasuke left his bedroom and entered the living room, he saw his mother preparing breakfast in the kitchen while Itachi sat on the sofa, engrossed in a scroll. It was clear that Itachi's strength was no accident.

"Ah, Sasuke, I didn't expect you to wake up so early," Itachi teased. Sasuke shot him a glare before breaking into a smile.

"Since we still have some time, let me explain what chakra is," Itachi said, glancing at their mother in the kitchen and noting that breakfast was still some time away. He gestured for Sasuke to sit beside him.

"Brother, I already know what chakra is. There's no need to explain," Sasuke replied.

"Then tell me, what is chakra?" Itachi asked, turning to face Sasuke, still somewhat skeptical that his younger brother could grasp the concept.

"Chakra is..." Sasuke recited everything he knew.

"Well, if you already know that, then I'll go straight to teaching you how to refine chakra," Itachi said, preparing to explain the process when Sasuke interrupted him again.

"Brother, I've already refined chakra," Sasuke said, channeling chakra to his hand for Itachi to see.

"What? That’s real chakra," Itachi thought, astonished, though he maintained a calm exterior. "Then I'll teach you the three basic techniques," he began, only to be interrupted once more.

"Brother, I already know the three basic techniques," Sasuke said, and immediately demonstrated them.

"Then I'll teach you..." Itachi tried again.

"Brother, I can already walk on trees, walk on water, and my chakra nature is both fire and lightning," Sasuke said, listing everything he had learned. Finally, Itachi's face showed a rare expression of shock.

"Sasuke, tell me honestly, who taught you all this?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke eventually told him everything. The memory of Itachi's wide-eyed, slack-jawed expression at hearing that Sasuke had taught himself still made Sasuke want to laugh. It was almost comical to see the normally composed Itachi so stunned.

"Sasuke, since you’ve mastered the basics, I'll go ahead and teach you ninjutsu," Itachi said, standing in the Uchiha training ground across from Sasuke. He took out two scrolls from his ninja pouch, and Sasuke's eyes gleamed with excitement as he looked at them, knowing they held the ninjutsu he had dreamed of learning. The thought of mastering such powerful and dazzling techniques sent a thrill through his heart.

Itachi pointed to the scrolls and said, "Since your chakra nature is fire and lightning, I’ll teach you one jutsu from each nature. They are 'Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu' and 'Lightning Style: Ground Walk.'"