As Itachi scolded Sasuke sternly,
Mikoto hurried over and placed herself between them.
"Itachi! What are you doing?!"
"He's your younger brother! Aren't you always so fond of him? What's gotten into you today?!"
Faced with Mikoto's interference,
Itachi had no choice but to stop.
Seeing his mother stand up for him,
Sasuke immediately felt emboldened.
"I just don't like that Sarutobi Hakuto Sarutobi!"
"He's just the Hokage's grandson! So what?!"
"Others might be afraid of him, but I, Sasuke Uchiha, am not!"
Hearing Sasuke boast so recklessly,
Itachi almost laughed in disbelief.
Sarutobi Hakuto was only a year older,
yet his power could casually wield Tailed Beasts as weapons,
and he had effortlessly captured two Tailed Beast hosts from the Cloud Village.
And here was this little brat playing at ninja school like a child.
As the saying goes, "Compare yourself to others, and you feel your worthlessness; compare goods, and you find what's disposable."
By comparison,
Itachi suddenly felt that his little brother had no filter,
and everything about him seemed irritating.
"You little brat! How dare you spout nonsense!!!"
"Do you think Young Master Sarutobi Hakuto is someone you can mess with?!"
Without another word,
Itachi was about to act.
After catching the gist of the situation,
Mikoto finally understood why.
Seeing this, she stepped back and allowed Itachi to act.
"Let him have it!"
"Let your brother teach you a proper lesson!"
"So that when you go out, you won't spout nonsense and bring trouble to the Uchiha clan!"
Mikoto knew full well how carefully her husband treated Sarutobi Hakuto.
The future of the Uchiha clan rested on him.
Now that the Uchiha were gradually leaving their precarious state behind,
it was all thanks to Sarutobi Hakuto Sarutobi.
Seeing that even his own mother no longer protected him,
Sasuke was completely dumbfounded.
Before he could try to escape,
Itachi simply lifted him up.
Struggling in Itachi's grip,
Sasuke was tied to a large tree in the yard with a rope.
Itachi then removed his equipment,
picked up a whip, and approached Sasuke.
"Sasuke! Today you'll learn your lesson!"
"You will never be disrespectful to Young Master Sarutobi Hakuto again!"
With that,
the whip lashed down on Sasuke with terrifying force.
The first strike made him wail in pain.
"Smack!!"
"Ahh!!"
"Ahhh!!"
Sasuke's cries echoed throughout the Uchiha compound.
All of this was being observed by Hiruzen Sarutobi through his crystal ball.
Seeing the scene, Hiruzen smiled helplessly.
Itachi was perhaps a bit excessive,
but Hiruzen was extremely satisfied with Itachi's attitude.
This was a true Konoha ninja!
This was a proper Uchiha.
After a few lashes,
Sasuke fainted from the pain.
Though Itachi felt some pity,
he understood that without this lesson,
Sasuke would only bring disaster if he ever crossed Sarutobi Hakuto.
Itachi gently lowered Sasuke from the tree and carried him indoors.
Unbeknownst to Itachi,
even as Sasuke passed out,
his mind was plotting revenge against Sarutobi Hakuto,
blaming all his suffering on him.
"That inherently evil Sarutobi Hakuto Sarutobi!"
"It's all your fault! Father dislikes me, and even my brother doesn't care for me!"
"You deserve to die!!!"
"Just wait! When you come back to school, I'll make you regret it!"
Meanwhile, in a luxurious apartment,
since Sarutobi Hakuto had taken Naruto under his wing,
he naturally wouldn't allow Naruto to continue living in that small, run-down building, eating nearly expired or even expired food.
Sarutobi Hakuto arranged for Naruto to move closer to the Sarutobi estate,
and instructed local shopkeepers along the commercial street
to improve Naruto's living conditions.
When Itachi's squad returned to Konoha with the prisoners,
Naruto watched everything intently.
Hearing the villagers cheer the heroes,
Naruto's admiration grew.
In his heart, he thought:
"Dad, when will I become a hero?"
"To be recognized by the villagers!"
Hiruzen thought for a moment and smiled:
"When you've learned everything I can teach you~"
"Then you'll be ready to become a hero~"
Naruto's fighting spirit surged upon hearing this.
Under Hiruzen's guidance these days,
Naruto's skills had grown rapidly.
Moreover, Kunikina had stayed to teach him the secret techniques of the Uzumaki clan.
While learning and spending time with Naruto,
the family of three appeared truly happy.
Naruto,
eager to help Sarutobi Hakuto as soon as possible
and to earn the villagers' recognition,
studied diligently.
After all,
he had witnessed firsthand how his life had improved,
and how merchants now treated him differently.
Naruto was deeply grateful to Sarutobi Hakuto,
his first true friend.
If he weren't a boy,
he might have given himself to him already.
"Come on, Dad! Let's continue!"
Seeing Naruto's renewed determination,
Hiruzen smiled and encouraged him.
And so, a new round of training began.
"Keep it up!!!"
Meanwhile, unlike Konoha's peaceful scenery,
the Land of Earth's border, not far away,
was under a looming storm.
The ground trembled as a massive force quietly infiltrated the Land of Earth.
Seeing the inactivity of the country,
the Fourth Raikage let out a cold laugh.
As expected,
everyone had been using the Cloud Village as a pawn.
Seeing this,
the Fourth Raikage no longer held back and ordered a full-scale assault.
Small countries weren't worth the effort.
Among the major nations, only the Land of Earth was nearby.
The Land of Water was still across the sea,
and the isolationist nations had nothing of value.
Thus,
they struck the Land of Earth first.
At his command,
the army launched a massive invasion.
The border towns,
facing the Cloud Village's sudden assault,
had no ability to resist and were overtaken immediately.
The unexpected attack shattered the peace within the Land of Earth.
With the Cloud Village's overwhelming invasion,
the entire border began to collapse.
After all,
resisting a group of brutes only meant getting crushed.
"Hahaha, useless fools of the Land of Earth!!!"
"Brothers! Charge!!!"
"Old grudges, new grudges, settle them all!!!"
The Cloud ninja, previously humbled by Konoha,
now regained their confidence on the Land of Earth battlefield.
It wasn't that they were weak,
it was that Konoha was just too strong.
Soon, the entire eastern border of the Land of Earth
was engulfed in flames,
and the Cloud Village's swords pointed straight at Iwagakure.
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