Let's call Chapter 2 Uchiha Kokusatsu.
The next day at dawn.
Morning light streamed through the washi paper sliding doors, casting a soft glow on the tatami mats. Uchiha Kaori leaned against the cushions, her pale face finally regaining some color. She looked down at the sleeping baby in her arms, her fingertips gently tracing his barely visible eyebrows.
"Madam, young master Madara and young master Izuna have arrived," a maid whispered from outside the door.
Kaori looked up, her brows relaxing. "Let them in."
The paper door was carefully pulled open. Ten-year-old Uchiha Madara walked in front, with eight-year-old Uchiha Izuna following closely behind. Both of them walked quietly, afraid of disturbing their mother's rest. Madara was holding a bunch of wildflowers covered with morning dew, while Izuna was clutching a small, hand-sewn cloth doll.
"Mother, are you feeling better?" Izuna knelt on the edge of the tatami mat, his voice very soft. His gaze fell on the swaddled baby in his mother's arms, his eyes full of curiosity and anticipation.
Kaori smiled and nodded, "Yes, it's much better now." Then, she turned to the side so that her two sons could see the newborn, "Come on, look at your little brother."
Ban cautiously crawled forward a few steps on his knees and placed the bouquet beside his mother's pillow. His movements were so light that they betrayed none of the fierceness he displayed in battle. When he looked down at the baby, his eyes, sharp as blades, softened.
"...So tiny." Ban's voice unconsciously softened, as if afraid of waking the one-day-old baby.
Izuna also came over and placed the doll next to his younger brother: "I asked Aoi-nee to teach me how to make this. It's a bit ugly..." His ears turned slightly red, "but I heard that children like this."
Kaori reached out and stroked the two children's hair with a sense of relief: "You are both good children."
***
Kokushibo was already awake. He could feel the warmth of the body beside him, smell the faint fragrance of flowers, and hear the soft, careful breathing so close to his face.
But he didn't open his eyes; he just observed quietly.
Ban hesitated for a moment, then took out a small amulet from his pocket: "I got this from a shrine that is said to be very effective, after I heard that my mother was pregnant." He tucked the amulet into the edge of the swaddling clothes, "May it bless my little brother to be healthy and grow up safely."
Izuna blinked: "Madara-nii actually believes this?"
Ban's ears turned red instantly. "No! I just..."
"Thank you, Madara." Kaori gently interrupted his hesitation, then looked at Izuna, "Thank you for the gift, Izuna too."
Kokushibo finally couldn't help but open his eyes, meeting three similar pairs of eyes filled with worry and expectation.
Are these his family in this life? Then these two boys must be his brothers?
...Brother.
Kokushibo couldn't help but recall the child locked in the small courtyard, silent and withdrawn, with vacant eyes, a tiny bundle that looked pitiful and helpless. Back then, he genuinely wanted to protect this frail younger brother; he brought him snacks, taught him to hold a wooden sword, and even stood in front of his father when they discovered them.
But what happened next?
Yoriichi's talent was as dazzling as the sun. He could master swordsmanship without being taught and surpass everyone without effort.
As for Kokushibo, as the heir to the kingdom and the elder brother, he was left behind, only able to watch his younger brother's back and watch the gap between them widen in despair.
Then he finally realized that Yoriichi never needed his protection.
Thinking of Yoriichi, Kokushibo fell into emo again.
Ban noticed he was awake and his expression immediately became tense: "Mother, my brother is awake. Is he hungry?"
Izuna immediately turned around: "I'll go call the wet nurse!"
"Wait a minute." Kaori called to him, looking down to check on the baby. "He's just awake." She gently rocked the swaddled baby. "Look, how well-behaved he is."
Hearing this, Madara and Izuna moved closer, their similarly shaped eyes filled with curiosity. Madara extended his index finger and gently touched his younger brother's small hand. When his brother instinctively grasped his finger, the future ninja world's shrew couldn't help but reveal a gentle and pure smile.
“Mother,” Madara suddenly said seriously, “I will become stronger.”
Izuna chimed in from the side, "Me too!"
“In this way…” Madara looked at his younger brother, his voice firm, “no one can hurt him now.”
Kokushibo was stunned because of the baby's body's instinct to sulk (referring to grabbing Madara's hand).
Protect...him?
That's really strange.
In his past life, he was a protector, but... the person he tried his best to protect eventually became a silhouette he could never catch up with.
Kokushibo is emo again.
Kaori placed the three children's hands together and whispered, "You must protect each other."
Kokushibo regained his senses, his heart remaining completely unmoved.
Ha, how weak is his body in this life? Protect him? He'll be lucky to survive.
"By the way, Mother," Izuna asked, "has your younger brother's name been decided?"
A smile appeared on Kaori's pale face, which had not yet fully regained its color: "I was just about to discuss this with you."
As soon as the words were spoken, an autumn breeze swept through the room, rustling the century-old maple tree outside the paper door. A crimson maple leaf drifted into the room and landed squarely on the baby's chest.
The three of them instinctively turned their heads to look. Madara and Izuna didn't see anything, but Kaori saw a blurry figure standing under the maple tree in the morning light—a figure in a crimson sword robe, with white hair like frost, a pair of sun-shaped earrings hanging from his earlobes, and a katana at his waist reflecting a dazzling cold light.
The figure looked up and met her gaze, then vanished like morning dew.
The next second, Kaori hugged the baby tightly in a daze: "Yan Sheng..." She looked down at the child in her arms, "Let's name him Uchiha Yan Sheng."
“Yan – taken from being strict with oneself, Sheng – meaning victory on the battlefield.” Ban said thoughtfully, “It’s a very good name.”
Coming to her senses and forgetting something, Kaori heard her eldest son's words: "Hmm? Madara must have already decided on a name from the beginning, right? Otherwise, he wouldn't have given an answer so quickly. Let's call him Mikuroku!"
Izuna gently touched her younger brother's little hand: "Yan Sheng... grow up quickly."
Kokushibo, who learned that he was still named Mikushibo after his reincarnation: = =
It's still the same name.
Oh, by the way, his name in his previous life as a human was Kokushibo. Kokushibo, the Tsugikuni.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Brother X, who gets depressed just thinking about his brother
Please save this post for comments! QAQ Playing single-player is so lonely, sob sob [crying emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
