Chapter 12: Big Brother (Part 2)
"Welcome home, Onii-chan…"
Just as Uchiha Itachi turned around, Sasuke's voice drifted in from outside the room. Itachi looked up—and froze. In an instant, his Sharingan flared to life, blood-red with two black tomoe slowly spinning in each eye.
"S-Sasuke?!"
Sasuke stepped into view, and Uchiha Mikoto—who was holding a plate—stopped dead in her tracks. Even her long-unused three-tomoe Sharingan involuntarily activated from the shock.
"Would you like to eat first, take a bath first… or eat me first?"
Dressed in a full catgirl maid outfit, Sasuke wore white thigh-high stockings, fluffy cat paw gloves, and a black cat tail swaying behind him. Tilting his head with a smile, he recited the lines Sakura had taught him with practiced sweetness.
Clatter—
The chopsticks that Uchiha Fugaku had just picked up slipped from his hands and hit the floor. His Sharingan twitched, nearly morphing into a Mangekyō from sheer emotional damage. But to his credit, Fugaku was a seasoned shinobi. After taking a few heavy breaths, he just barely managed to suppress his eye technique.
"You unfilial son… what the hell did you teach your little brother?!"
Fugaku glared at Itachi, Sharingan still active. He had always placed great expectations on Sasuke, hoping he would grow up to be as talented as his older brother. And now—this? This wasn't "gifted," this was… this was chaos! He'd told Itachi to teach Sasuke about ninjutsu and the shinobi way, not—whatever this was.
But… Sasuke did look… oddly adorable. He looked just like the daughter Fugaku and Mikoto used to imagine they might have one day.
No! No, what am I thinking? He's my son! How can he be dressed like this?!
Fugaku's mind was in turmoil. Meanwhile, Itachi was still in complete shock. How did this happen in just one day?! But… Sasuke was undeniably cute. He kind of wanted to hold him and pat his head.
Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Itachi tried to gather himself to ask what was going on, only to watch his mother cheerfully rush over, pulling Sasuke to sit by the table.
"Mikoto—"
"Dear, don't you think Sasuke looks absolutely adorable like this?" Mikoto interrupted, eyes gleaming with joy. "Remember how you used to say you wished our second child would be a girl?"
"Uhh…" Fugaku didn't respond. Back before Sasuke was born, he'd secretly hoped for a daughter—since they already had a prodigy in Itachi. When Sasuke turned out to be another boy, he was honestly a little disappointed.
"Father, Mother…" Itachi opened his mouth, not sure what to say.
"Onii-chan, do you like me like this?" Sasuke tilted his head and smiled warmly, holding his hands up like Sakura had shown him. The fluffy cat paw gloves added a devastating level of cuteness.
"I… I do…" Itachi blurted out before he could stop himself. The moment he realized what he'd said, his usually stoic face turned beet red.
"That's that, then! If everyone likes it, let's just let Sasuke dress like this more often. It doesn't hurt anyone!" Mikoto declared happily. Deep down, she had always wanted a sweet, obedient daughter. Having a second son had crushed that dream for a while—but now, seeing Sasuke like this felt like a dream come true.
Fugaku and Itachi didn't argue. Itachi was still dazed, overwhelmed by the sheer impact of his brother's transformation. As for Fugaku… well, he was now secretly wondering if he should go shopping with Mikoto later—to pick out a similar outfit for her to wear at home.
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The Next Day
As soon as Sasuke stepped into the shop, Sakura practically tackled him, dragging him off to the side with sparkling eyes.
"Well? What did your brother say?!"
"He seemed really happy. I asked him, and he said he liked seeing me like that. But the one who was really happy was my mom. Even my dad looked like he was kind of into it…"
Sasuke couldn't help but smile as he recalled how Itachi and the others had reacted. His brother actually liked seeing him dressed like that. If that's the case… then maybe he really could win back his brother's attention soon.
"If they like it, then let's double down!" Sakura's lips curled into a mischievous smile, like a devil tempting someone into sin. "How about this—if you agree to work part-time at my shop, I'll make you a few more outfits like that. The sooner you get your brother's attention back, the better, right?!"
"Deal!" Sasuke answered without hesitation. If it meant bringing his brother's gaze back to him, even selling his soul wouldn't be too high a price.
"Perfect." Sakura grinned like a cat who had just caught her prey. Now that Sasuke had willingly stepped into her trap, there was no turning back. And when the time came… if she used the excuse of needing to "check the fit" to snap a few photos, Sasuke probably wouldn't refuse her, right?
While Sakura was gleefully digging pits for Sasuke to fall into, on the other side of the village, the mood in the Hokage's office was grim.
"We just received word from Kumogakure. Their official stance is to completely deny any involvement in the attempted kidnapping of the Hyūga clan head's eldest daughter. Instead, they're accusing us of killing the leader of their diplomatic envoy. And get this—they're demanding that we hand over Hiashi Hyūga's intact corpse, or they'll declare war on Konoha."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was heavy with concern. The Third Shinobi War hadn't ended that long ago. The major villages were all still recovering, especially Konoha. During the war, they had fought on multiple fronts, suffering heavy casualties among the lower-ranked shinobi. Even the upper ranks had taken major hits—the Fourth Hokage, the "Yellow Flash" Minato Namikaze, had died during the Nine-Tails' rampage four years ago, sealing the beast away at the cost of his own life. Among the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru had defected, Tsunade had left the village and gone into seclusion, and Jiraiya had gone wandering after them. As for himself—he was old now, and on top of that, tensions between the village and the Uchiha clan had been rising steadily in recent years.
If war really broke out with Kumogakure… Konoha might not be able to win.
"Kumogakure is being way too arrogant," Danzo declared, the first to speak up. As the leader of the hawkish faction, he practically leapt to his feet. "We must go to war. We need to teach them a lesson they won't forget—show them who really holds the power."