Seven years after the moonfall incident.
Under the leadership of Kirigakure and the Fourth Mizukage, Rei Kaguya, the new order of the shinobi world gradually flourished, spreading branches and leaves.
It was just like when the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, pacified the chaotic world and established the shinobi world's first ninja village—Konoha—in the Land of Fire.
The new order swept across the length and breadth of the shinobi world like a fresh spring breeze.
Even forces that had once harbored grudges against Kirigakure had no choice but to calm their hearts and work hard to learn the path to strength in the new era from Kirigakure's daily changes.
Even those who still possessed ambition under the situation where Rei Kaguya suppressed the entire age alone had to absorb strength from his boundless, imaginative ideas in order to realize those ambitions.
Not everyone was willing to accept the brand-new order he had shaped.
But no one could deny that, under his will, the shinobi world had already entered a new era utterly different from the shinobi village era that had inherited many customs from the Warring States Period.
…
"Nii-san~"
"Oh, is that you, Sasuke?"
Looking at his younger brother, who pounced into his arms like a cheerful puppy, Itachi Uchiha, who had just completed his graduation assessment and returned from Kirigakure, smiled and lifted Sasuke Uchiha into his arms.
Looking at his younger brother's bright, sunny smile, he gently raised his hand and poked Sasuke's forehead.
"Compared to when I left, have you grown a little taller again, Sasuke?"
"Of course!"
Sasuke Uchiha narrowed his eyes with pride and comfort.
"In order not to lose to that Neji from the Hyuga clan in the competition for the top student of our year, I have been properly drinking more milk and eating more eggs every day, working hard to grow taller and stronger!"
"Oh~ Even with Father personally training with you, the competition between you and Neji for the top student of your year still has not been decided?"
A slightly surprised expression appeared on Itachi Uchiha's face.
"If that is the case, then the distinction between the main family and branch family of the Hyuga clan has probably indeed begun to collapse…"
"Main family and branch family? What is that?"
Sasuke Uchiha looked up eagerly at Itachi Uchiha, who wore a pair of plain glasses without prescription lenses and exuded the bookish air known as "scholar" from head to toe, asking curiously.
"It was an outdated system that once played a positive role in preserving and passing down the Hyuga clan during a specific historical stage, but gradually corrupted and degenerated over time into a means of protecting privilege and oppressing clansmen. If Sasuke is interested, I can take some time to properly explain the historical background behind it, as well as the evaluation of the merits and faults of the main family and branch family system…"
Itachi Uchiha, already quite used to immersing himself in historical texts and materials, and using the historical evidence gradually organized into a clear thread to analyze matters from multiple angles, pushed up his glasses and spoke to Sasuke Uchiha with great interest.
"Uwaaah, Nii-san is starting again!"
As if remembering something terrifying, Sasuke Uchiha's expression instantly became far less happy.
Originally, he had wanted nothing more than to press his forehead against his brother's and let his brother hold him a little longer. But now, he could not help looking left and right, searching for an excuse that would let him escape as quickly as possible.
Seeing this, Itachi Uchiha could not help giving a bitter smile and shaking his head.
As he put Sasuke Uchiha down, he casually asked, "Then, aside from you and Neji competing for the top student of your year, did anything interesting happen in the village, Sasuke?"
"Something interesting…"
Sasuke Uchiha frowned and thought hard for a while. Then he suddenly clapped his hands and said to Itachi Uchiha with a smile, "Then does Naruto getting zero marks in every subject during the first exam after entering school count as interesting?"
"Cough, cough, cough…"
Itachi Uchiha was so shocked by this news, which should not have happened no matter how he thought about it, that he coughed several times.
After finally catching his breath, he asked with a face full of surprise.
"That should not be possible, should it? Although Naruto is a mischievous child, with Lady Kushina and Lord Minato's family discipline, they should never allow Naruto to do something like that, right?"
"Who knows what the exact reason was?"
Sasuke Uchiha shrugged and said with schadenfreude, "Anyway, I heard that on the day Naruto took his report card home, Lady Kushina's roar almost made the Anbu patrolling nearby think someone was recklessly using one of Kirigakure's newly released high-level sonic ninjutsu inside the village…"
Itachi Uchiha recalled the scenes of sonic ninjutsu development he had witnessed while in Kirigakure.
In an instant, he gained a rough understanding of just how angry Kushina Uzumaki must have been.
After silently mourning for Naruto Namikaze in his heart for a moment, he took out the gift he had specially brought back for Sasuke from the package he carried with him, very naturally shifting the topic between the two of them away once again.
"By the way, Sasuke, this is the souvenir I brought back for you from Kirigakure. A ninja blade modeled after Shisui's tachi, Remnant Flame. Although it has not yet been sharpened, it should be enough to assist you somewhat in your Fire Release training…"
Looking at the short blade Itachi Uchiha took out, wrapped in a dark scabbard, Sasuke Uchiha's eyes quickly began to shine.
He received the ninja blade, whose format had been modified with his body size in mind, and drew it from its sheath.
Looking at the dark red flame patterns on it, the small crimson sparks that naturally scattered as the blade was unsheathed, and the hilt that had clearly been customized almost entirely according to his preferences, Sasuke instantly fell in love with this ninja blade that carried his brother's feelings.
"Thank you, Nii-san!"
"As long as you like it, Sasuke… By the way, is Father home today?"
"He should be, right? After all, Nii-san, you said before that you would come back today. Recently, there has not been anything especially important in the clan that Father needs to personally handle either… Is something wrong, Nii-san?"
"Mm. This time, the Fourth Mizukage has already given me a passing evaluation. After returning, I have officially graduated from the Ninja Academy. Regarding my future employment, I want to hear more of Father's opinion."
"That sounds like a really troublesome topic."
Sasuke Uchiha shook his head with a face full of disinterest.
"If Nii-san had just attended the Konoha Ninja Academy normally, you would not have this kind of problem… Like everyone else at the Ninja Academy, you could just become a genin registered in the village first, then consider your specific development direction afterward, right?"
"That is also an option. But in my case, I somewhat want to try a path different from everyone else."
"Mm, anyway, Nii-san is a genius recognized by everyone. Being a little willful should not be a problem…"
"You cannot always think of yourself as a child who is allowed to act willfully, Sasuke."
As the two brothers chatted about these light and not-so-light topics, they walked toward the Uchiha clan's new compound.
And in a small alley they did not notice, where shadows overlapped and few people ever passed through, a man dressed in black, blood streaming from his left eye, fell out of the void that rippled like water.
An object resembling a turtle was also flung out as he fell, sliding all the way toward the other end of the alley.
"Huh? What is this thing? A turtle?"
A blond boy who happened to pass by picked up that object from the ground.
Then, following the path it had slid along, he instinctively cast a curious gaze into the alley.