A puff of dust rose from the ground. The bruised and swollen blond kid fell to the ground, but his azure pupils showed no sign of dejection. He stared fixedly at the black-haired, black-eyed youth before him.
"Damn it! Sasuke, you just wait! I'll defeat you someday!"
"Tch!"
Sasuke scoffed, his dirty little face filled with disdain. "You? Naruto Uzumaki, listen carefully to me!"
"I, Sasuke Uchiha, will always be above you! You'll never stand up!"
"Damn it!"
Naruto punched the ground, unwillingly saying, "Let's fight again tomorrow! Tomorrow, I'll definitely beat you down!"
"Tch!"
Sasuke glanced at the sky. The moon had already appeared in a crescent shape. He quickly brushed the dust off his clothes and waved at Naruto, "Idiot Naruto, I'm leaving. You can't possibly beat me!"
"Wait a moment!"
Naruto struggled to get up, patted his clothes, and said sheepishly, "Do you have time tonight? I want to treat you to a meal!"
"Huh?"
Sasuke's mouth dropped open in surprise. He remembered beating Naruto up just now. Now Naruto wanted to treat him to a meal? Had his head been damaged by my beating?
Naruto pouted and said, "My dad took me to a really delicious ramen shop last time. The ramen there is truly super delicious, especially..."
Naruto's eyes lit up as he spoke, his mouth almost watering. Sasuke quickly interrupted him, "So? I don't really like ramen!"
"My dad also said that if I ever make a friend, I must take them there to eat ramen. So I..."
Naruto looked at the still acting cool Sasuke, scratched his head, and giggled, "We're friends now, aren't we?"
"Tch!"
Sasuke's eyes flickered. Then, he turned around潇洒ly and waved his hand, "I'm not interested in that kind of place!"
"Is that so..." Naruto's eyes dimmed slightly.
"Idiot! How can I go like this? I need to go back and take a bath and change my clothes at the very least."
Although Sasuke scolded him again, Naruto jumped up excitedly. He finally had his first friend!
"I'll come to your house to find you, Sasuke!"
Sasuke, in the distance, waved his hand and also ran towards home. It was evident that Sasuke's heart was also in turmoil.
...
"Heh heh heh~"
Sasuke returned home in a good mood, humming a tune. He was genuinely in high spirits today.
Not only did he beat up the idiot Naruto, but the other party also invited him to a meal. He felt quite proud, but he couldn't show it in front of Naruto. He was a proud Uchiha!
"Oniisan, I'm back!"
Sasuke bounced into the house. Only in front of his brother would Sasuke completely unleash his childlike nature.
"Oniisan~"
"Not at home?"
Sasuke went to the kitchen to check and found no sign of Itachi. He immediately felt displeased. His brother must have gone out gallivanting again!
How outrageous!
"Never mind, I'll change my clothes and go find the idiot Naruto for dinner!"
Just as Sasuke was about to return to his room, a dark figure leaped in through the window. The person grabbed Sasuke from behind, covering his mouth and nose to prevent him from making any sound.
"Shut up! Or I'll kill you!"
"Mmmph... Mmph!"
Sasuke was terrified. Who was this person? Was he trying to kidnap him?
How could this be possible! This was the home of the Uchiha clan head. How could someone get in so easily?!
Sasuke immediately thought of his father, who was recovering in the hospital. Most of the Uchiha guards were stationed there, and even his mother was there.
Now, this huge mansion was empty except for him!
No, I have to find a way to save myself!
But just as Sasuke was about to do something, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, and his consciousness went blank. His struggling hands fell, knocking over bottles and cans nearby.
"Damn it!"
The Cloud Ninja cursed as he saw the various seasonings staining his shoes.
"Hurry up! It's just one little kid, why is it taking so long?"
The Cloud Ninja waiting outside outside grew impatient. If this dragged on any longer, they might be discovered by Uchiha ninja, which would be disastrous.
According to the intelligence they had gathered over the past few days, the Uchiha clan head was recuperating in the hospital, and most of the clan guards had left the mansion, leaving only two brothers.
The elder son, Itachi Uchiha, though hailed as a genius, had only graduated from the ninja academy a year ago and wasn't even a Chunin yet, posing no threat.
Their target was only the three-year-old Sasuke Uchiha. Yes, their target was not the Byakugan, but the Sharingan!
The reason was simple: their Fourth Raikage had been severely beaten by the Sharingan before, so they desperately wished for this power to be possessed by the Hidden Cloud Village.
And bloodline limits highly valued bloodline purity. The clan head's son was undoubtedly the purest. The chance of a genius emerging from collateral branches was one in a million, unreplicable.
Originally, Itachi Uchiha was also part of their plan, but considering this was an abduction within the Uchiha territory, any unusual combat fluctuations would alert the Uchiha. Thus, the Cloud Ninjas focused their target on Sasuke Uchiha.
"It's fine, this brat knocked over the seasoning, staining my shoes everywhere."
The waiting Cloud Ninja glanced at Sasuke and sternly ordered, "Take off your shoes and clothes! Leave no trace!"
"What a pain!"
"Hurry up! We can't hold on much longer over there. Let's quickly go to the agreed meeting point!"
The Cloud Ninja inside the house quickly took off his shoes and clothes. Then, with a flash of lightning in his hand, they turned into charcoal. He then picked up the unconscious Sasuke and fled out the window.
He didn't notice that a drop of blood mixed with vinegar dripped from Sasuke's palm.
...
"Really, why is Sasuke so slow!"
Naruto, wearing goggles on his head, muttered to himself while kicking pebbles on the roadside. For this treat, he had taken out all his savings!
Fearing it wouldn't be enough, he even secretly took out his dad's private stash. If that Sasuke dared to stand him up, Naruto Uzumaki would never forgive him!
"What if something happened?"
Naruto loitered in front of the Uchiha compound, and thinking of something, he took off running towards Sasuke's house.
That Sasuke! Could he have... already started eating?
Soon, Naruto arrived at Sasuke's house. Looking at the house, which was dozens of times larger than his own, Naruto knocked on the door with a series of thuds.
"Sasuke, Sasuke! Open the door quickly! Are you going to stand me up?!"
"Sasuke, open the door quickly! I'm treating you to ramen with extra char siu ribs!"
Damn it! Sasuke must have already started eating!
Naruto's anger grew the more he thought about it. He agilely leaped over the wall and landed in the courtyard. He sniffed the air and then ran towards the kitchen.
"Sasuke! I smell the aroma, you actually..."
*Slam!*
Naruto pulled open the kitchen door, only to see a mess everywhere: seasonings spilled on the ground, and a pile of charred remains on the floor.
"Not here?"
Just as Naruto was about to turn away, his eyes accidentally caught sight of a drop of blood on the windowsill. He leaned closer and sniffed. Was it vinegar? Or blood?
"Could something have happened to Sasuke?"
The late arrival, the spilled seasonings, the unexplained blood – all these told Naruto that something might have happened to Sasuke!
"I have to go save Sasuke. He's my good friend!"