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 Cats, the second most popular pet in human history after dogs, have seen a steady increase in ownership in recent years. As populations grow and individual living spaces shrink, owning a detached house is no longer the norm. Coupled with dogs' tendency to bark and cause disputes with neighbors, more people are turning to felines. Cats are more independent than dogs; as long as owners prepare food, water, a clean litter box, and toys before heading to work, cats generally do just fine. This is unlike some pet dogs raised by humans from a young age, which can suffer from separation anxiety when their owners are away—mild cases involve excessive barking, while severe cases can result in self-mutilation, leaving their owners@ with no peace of mind at work.@

As an authority on genetic technology, Orochimaru accepted a request from the mayor of Konoha to develop a unique new breed of cat. Orochimaru named this breed "Uchiha." Outwardly, they feature black fur, white paws, and a white chest and belly—identical in coat pattern to a typical tuxedo cat. Their defining characteristic is their @deep, obsidian-like eyes d@uring infancy. Once they reach three months of age, their eyes undergo a transformation: when emotionally agitated, their black pupils turn red, patterned with three tomoe. After puberty, some Uchiha cats' red eye patterns might even evolve into bizarre shapes like stars, shurikens, or suns, changing like a kaleidoscope. During an interview with reporters, Orochimaru jokingly referred to the Uchiha cat's red eyes as the "eyes that reflect the heart," noting that their eyes turn red when they see their favorite food or get highly excited during play.

The mayor of Konoha adopted over twenty Uchiha cats as a tourist attraction. Visitors to Konoha's municipal cafe can spend money to interact with these rare, naturally tuxedo-clad felines. The Uchiha cat is a rare breed; a female cat can only give birth to one kitten per litter and a maximum of five in her lifetime, making mass breeding impossible. Consequently, Uchiha cats are incredibly expensive. Only wealthy, upper-class families can afford to buy one, leaving ordinary people with no choice but to visit the Konoha cafe if they wish to catch a glimpse of an Uchiha cat's charm.

As the developer of the breed, Orochimaru also kept two as pets. The first two cats were named Fugaku and Mikoto. They were deeply attached to each other and often curled up together to bask in the sun. Mikoto gave birth to her first kitten, whom Orochimaru named Itachi and @doted on affectionately. @The following year, Mikoto gave birth to a second kitten, named Sasuke. Tragically, Mikoto was left weakened after the pregnancy, and she passed away from illness when Sasuke was just two months old. After that, @the already quiet@ Fugaku became even more silent. He barely ate and often stared blankly at the cat bed where Mikoto used to lie. Not long after, Fugaku died of malnutrition.

The only Uchiha cats Orochimaru had left were Itachi and Sasuke. Itachi was a calm adult cat who would help @groom his younger brother, @but he couldn't produce milk, so the heavy burden of feeding Sasuke fell to Orochimaru. As an authority on genetic technology, Orochimaru sometimes needed to travel out of town for lectures or academic conferences. Whenever he went away on overnight trips, he entrusted the care of the two cats to Suigetsu and Karin, @two former students of his,@ who lived nearby, asking them to take turns watching over the felines.

Upon seeing the two strangers for the first time, Itachi's immediate reaction was to shield his brother Sasuke behind him. He arched his back and hissed at Suigetsu and Karin, his eyes turning red with agitation, looking ready for a fight. Orochimaru had warned them that Itachi, acting as a surrogate mother, was full of wariness toward any living creature that approached Sasuke. He had told them to simply place Sasuke's milk on the floor; the kitten would drink it himself when hungry. @Under no circumstances were they to get too close, or Itachi would attack.@

At less than three months old, Sasuke had not yet developed a sense of territory. Unsure of how to react, he simply mimicked his older brother. Seeing Itachi act fiercely toward Suigetsu and Karin, Sasuke also tried to hiss, puffing his entire tiny body into a fuzzy ball. This sight was so incredibly adorable that Karin was overjoyed and immediately pulled out her phone to take pictures.

Compared to the puffed-up kitten, Suigetsu was far more interested in @the patterns in Itachi's eyes.@ While Karin frantically snapped photos of Sasuke, Suigetsu tried to get a clear shot of Itachi's eyes, noting that the pattern resembled a four-leaf windmill or a shuriken. Because Orochimaru frequently held up similar rectangular objects to take pictures of Itachi and Sasuke, seeing the strangers perform this familiar action caused Itachi to reel in his hostility slightly. He sat down to observe the two of them. Sasuke followed suit, sitting down and tilting his head to stare at the unfamiliar humans. Seeing this, Karin exclaimed that Sasuke was a copycat.

Karin prepared some kitten formula and placed it in Sasuke's designated bowl. Sasuke walked over to the bowl, sniffed the milk to confirm it was his usual food, and only then dared to lap it up. After a full meal, Sasuke busied himself with washing his face. A second later, he did something else that Karin found utterly endearing: he slowly ambled over to Itachi, began kneading his brother's belly with his paws, and started nursing. Karin picked up her phone to take photos again, while Suigetsu looked somewhat confused. "Is Sasuke not full? Karin, did you not make enough milk?"

She retorted defensively, "I followed the instructions on the formula can! There's no mistake!" Hearing this, Suigetsu stared at the spherical objects behind the large cat and quipped, "Sasuke, Itachi is a male cat, he doesn't have any milk! Are you unsatisfied in your oral stage?"

"Suigetsu, you read too much psychology! Sasuke is just acting spoiled with his brother!" Karin put her phone away after finishing her photos and turned to the kitchen to grab some cake to eat.

Sasuke fell asleep while nursing on his brother. Crouching nearby and observing the two cats, Suigetsu suddenly felt that Karin's explanation was right. Entangled by his younger brother, Itachi let out a yawn and closed his eyes to doze, but he didn't fall into a deep sleep. He maintained a certain level of vigilance, keeping one ear swiveled toward the kitchen, using his hearing to monitor Suigetsu and Karin's movements.

Karin sat at the dining table reading a book, while Suigetsu enjoyed his own slice of cake. Only after finishing did Suigetsu remember he hadn't yet fed Itachi his kibble. He asked Karin, "Should I wake the big one up to eat?"

"They're still sleeping, @just wait until Itachi wakes up to feed him!@ Adult cats are different from kittens; they can tolerate hunger better. If you wake him up and get scratched, I'm not helping you!" Karin answered absentmindedly, turning the page to continue reading. With his cake finished and nothing to do, Suigetsu propped up his chin and spaced out.

Suddenly, Itachi darted into the kitchen, letting out urgent meows as if asking for help. Karin and Suigetsu followed him out and discovered that Sasuke's left claw was tangled in the living room curtains. He looked just like a bus passenger holding onto a hand strap. Suigetsu chuckled at the comical scene, while Karin immediately helped untangle Sasuke from the fabric. Regaining his freedom, Sasuke ran over to rub against his brother for comfort. Itachi's eyes looked somewhat exasperated; this wasn't the first time Sasuke's claws had gotten caught in the curtains. Kittens are full of curiosity about the world and want to bat at anything they find interesting. Itachi secretly wondered when his brother would learn his lesson and stop provoking the trap known as the curtain. Itachi's deeply thoughtful expression resembled that of a philosopher, and paired with his tuxedo coat, it added an air of intellect. Suigetsu couldn't help but marvel, "As expected of Professor Orochimaru's cat." Karin smacked Suigetsu, scolding him, "All you do is gloat! Go prepare Itachi's food! I'm the one doing everything. You ate the cake the Professor provided, so you need to help take care of them too!"

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" Suigetsu replied dismissively. He fetched the kibble and poured it into Itachi's bowl. The two of them still kept a distance from the cats. While eating, Itachi kept a watchful eye on Sasuke, terrified he might run off to play with the curtains again. As he swallowed his food, Itachi pinned his brother down with a paw, signaling that he was forbidden from getting anywhere near the curtains.

Watching Itachi's awkward eating posture, Suigetsu shook his head and sighed, "It seems adult cats raising kittens is just as exhausting as humans raising kids."

Internet rumors claim that black-and-white cats come with a built-in chaotic streak. For tuxedo cats, midnight zoomies are a daily routine; opening doors, drawers, and cabinets is just par for the course. If you don't want them wreaking havoc in the middle of the night, it's best to play games with them and burn off their excess energy.

After cleaning the litter boxes and pouring in fresh litter, Karin and Suigetsu grabbed a cat wand and a ball to coax Sasuke and Itachi into exercising. Since Karin had helped free Sasuke from the curtain, Itachi deemed her trustworthy and allowed her to get close to the kitten. Karin gently rolled the small ball back and forth in front of Sasuke, who chased after it, having the time of his life. Eventually, Sasuke and Karin started a game of pass. Itachi, on the other hand, aggressively pounced on the cat wand Suigetsu was waving around, getting so excited that his eyes turned red, seemingly treating the wand's feathers as live prey.

After playing for quite a while, Sasuke and Itachi grew tired, hopped into their cat bed, and fell asleep pressed tightly against each other.

Karin had taken numerous photos of Sasuke and Itachi and swiped through them one by one on her phone. The adorable cats in the pictures filled her with satisfaction; she wouldn't mind at all if the Professor asked her to help cat-sit again during his next overnight trip. Suigetsu, however, had only been lured in by the high-end desserts the Professor provided; seeing the Uchiha cats was just a bonus.@ He was nowhere near as enthusiastic as Karin about taking care of Itachi and Sasuke.@

Cats are very sensitive to human emotions. During Orochimaru's absence, Sasuke and Itachi clearly preferred getting close to Karin. They had established a bond of trust with her, and Itachi even allowed Karin to pet Sasuke. When Orochimaru returned home, he was quite surprised that Itachi was willing to let a human other than himself touch Sasuke. Karin was obviously a competent cat sitter, and he decided she would be his first choice to watch over Itachi and Sasuke whenever he had to travel far from home.

Sasuke gradually grew into an adult cat. Under his older brother's guidance, he learned which things were dangerous and shouldn't be swatted at. He no longer played with the curtains; instead, he would simply stroll to the window when he heard birds chirping, observing the untouchable prey through the glass. As they aged, Sasuke and Itachi grew increasingly similar in appearance, looking like twins. Outsiders found it difficult to tell which was Itachi and which was Sasuke, and only Karin could distinguish the two large felines based on their behavior. As an adult, Sasuke became less inclined to act affectionately with humans. When meeting acquaintances, he would at most rub against their legs a couple of times as a greeting. Even when a can of his favorite tuna was opened, he wouldn't rush into the kitchen to check. It wasn't until a human served the tuna right in front of him that Sasuke's eyes would turn red with excitement, manifesting the six-pointed star pattern.

The one thing about Sasuke that never changed from kittenhood to adulthood was how much he loved@ sticking by his brother.@ They would groom each other and squeeze into the same cat bed to sleep (whenever there was a new cardboard box in the house, they would also try to cram themselves inside together, occasionally crushing the box out of shape). Sasuke and Itachi were practically inseparable. Watching the two brothers curled up sleeping, Orochimaru couldn't help but be reminded of Fugaku and Mikoto. Life fades, and life is born; all living species pass their genes down from generation to generation through bloodlines. Orochimaru began to seriously consider whether he should@ find them mates to leave behind offspring. @However, it was common for new and old cats to not get along. Just last year, the Konoha municipal cafe had been thrown into total chaos because the new and old cats didn't mix well. Thinking of this, Orochimaru abandoned the idea of adopting two more female cats. Besides, the two fiercely bonded male cats in his home probably wouldn't be too thrilled by the addition of newcomers anyway.

Orochimaru flipped open his schedule. The day after next, he had to attend an academic seminar at a university in a neighboring town. He called Karin to ask her to come take care of Itachi and Sasuke. Karin happily accepted the mission and excitedly packed her bags, already planning which games she would play with Sasuke and Itachi during this stay at the Professor's house, and@ making a mental note to buy ingredients on the way to cook boiled chicken for them.@