Two Kindred Spirits

While Itachi Uchiha and Izumi Uchiha were talking about Zhang Miao, Fugaku Uchiha, who had just returned home from work, asked his wife, Mikoto Uchiha, about him as well.

"Mikoto, has Ryunosuke come by?"

Mikoto Uchiha was helping young Sasuke play. Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's question, she immediately smiled and shook her head.

"Not yet, but I think he was planning to wait until Itachi got out of school. He should be here soon."

As she spoke, Mikoto Uchiha set Sasuke down on a cushion, then went to make Fugaku Uchiha a cup of tea. Handing it to him, she smiled. "Are you hoping Ryunosuke will come, dear?"

"Mm, I suppose."

Fugaku Uchiha took the tea and had a sip, but before he could set the cup down, a loud cry came from the entrance.

"Baa..."

"Pfft..."

At the sound of that bleat, Fugaku Uchiha immediately sprayed out the tea he had yet to swallow, scattering it all over the floor.

Seeing this, Mikoto Uchiha cried out, "Oh dear!" Then she quickly grabbed a towel and stepped forward to wipe the tea from Fugaku Uchiha's clothes.

"Dear, how could you be so careless? Did you burn yourself?"

"I'm fine!"

Seeing the concern on Mikoto Uchiha's face, Fugaku Uchiha immediately shook his head and pointed outside.

"Don't worry about me. Go open the door. That brat Ryunosuke is here!"

"Ryunosuke is here?"

Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's words, Mikoto Uchiha showed a surprised expression.

"How do you know? And nobody knocked on the door."

As soon as Mikoto Uchiha finished speaking, another sheep's bleat came from the entrance.

"Baa..."

"Cough, cough, cough..." Hearing that bleat, Fugaku Uchiha immediately coughed twice, then waved helplessly at Mikoto Uchiha with a bitter smile.

"Don't worry about that right now. He's here. That sheep sound just now was made by him!"

"Huh?" Mikoto Uchiha's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that so? But why would he imitate a sheep?"

Fugaku Uchiha: "..."

Of course Fugaku Uchiha knew why Zhang Miao was imitating a sheep. It was nothing more than an attempt to annoy him!

But he could not tell Mikoto Uchiha that reason. If he did, she would definitely keep asking questions, and things would only become more complicated.

Thus, seeing Mikoto Uchiha's puzzled face, Fugaku Uchiha could only wave his hand at her again.

"That doesn't matter. Just go open the door for that brat first. Don't make him wait too long!"

Fugaku Uchiha was not merely being polite. He was genuinely afraid that if Zhang Miao got tired of waiting, he would keep bleating like a sheep until even tea lost its flavor.

Mikoto Uchiha did not know any of this. Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's words, she immediately nodded.

"Right, right, right! I'll go open the door for him now. Dear, watch Sasuke for a moment!"

With that, Mikoto Uchiha turned and left the room, hurrying to open the door.

The moment she opened it, she found Zhang Miao standing outside. She froze for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed.

"Giggle... So it really is Ryunosuke. When your Uncle Fugaku said you were here, I didn't believe him. All right, come in quickly. I've already prepared some snacks for you!"

"Hehe! Thank you, Aunt Mikoto!" Zhang Miao thanked Mikoto Uchiha, then walked inside with a grin. "Aunt Mikoto, is Itachi back yet?"

"Not yet, but he should be back soon!"

As she spoke, Mikoto Uchiha suddenly remembered something and immediately asked Zhang Miao a question.

"By the way, Ryunosuke, when Fugaku heard you bleating like a sheep just now, his reaction was especially intense. I asked him about it, but he refused to tell me. What exactly is going on?"

"Well..."

Hearing Mikoto Uchiha's question, Zhang Miao immediately gave her a mysterious smile.

"That's a secret between Uncle Fugaku and me. If you want to know, ask him yourself. Aunt Mikoto, I'm going to chat with Uncle Fugaku!"

With that, Zhang Miao turned and ran toward the room. Seeing this, Mikoto Uchiha could not help laughing again.

"A secret, huh? Still, now that I think about it, Fugaku and Ryunosuke really do seem to get along especially well!"

Mikoto Uchiha did not know that the two people she thought "got along especially well" were currently staring each other down in the room.

Fugaku Uchiha glared at Zhang Miao, the dissatisfaction in his eyes almost tangible. Any normal person could have seen it, yet Zhang Miao acted as though he had not noticed a thing and instead wore a cheeky grin.

"Hehe, Uncle Fugaku, don't look so fierce. Come on, smile for me. Or you could give us a 'baa' instead!"

Fugaku Uchiha: "..."

Baa your damn head!

After giving Zhang Miao another irritated glare, Fugaku Uchiha finally spoke with an unhappy expression.

"Don't forget what you promised me yesterday!"

"What I promised you?" Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's words, Zhang Miao immediately looked utterly baffled. "What did I promise you? How come I don't remember?"

"You!"

Seeing Zhang Miao deny it, Fugaku Uchiha shot to his feet. But before he could speak, Zhang Miao slapped his forehead and put on an expression of sudden realization.

"Oh, I remember now. You mean what happened after Madara Uchiha obtained the First Hokage's flesh and blood, right?"

As he said this, Zhang Miao immediately rolled his eyes at Fugaku Uchiha.

"So that's what this was all about? You should've said so earlier! If you'd said so earlier, wouldn't I have told you? Why didn't you say so earlier? Say it earlier—why didn't you say so earlier? Say it earlier..."

Watching Zhang Miao ramble on without end, Fugaku Uchiha's eye twitched again. In the end, he could no longer endure it and slammed his hand on the table.

"Spit it out!"

"Alright!"

Seeing that Fugaku Uchiha had been pushed to the brink of exploding, Zhang Miao promptly stopped while he was ahead, then spoke to him with a serious expression.

"After Madara Uchiha obtained the First Hokage's flesh and blood, he fused it with his own body, causing his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to evolve once more. Answer complete!"

Fugaku Uchiha: "..."

Seeing Zhang Miao suddenly answer his question so obediently, Fugaku Uchiha felt as though he had punched a wad of cotton.

However, Zhang Miao's answer truly shocked Fugaku Uchiha. More importantly, just as he had suspected, the answer was indeed connected to the Uchiha clan.

But what exactly was the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?

Before awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, Fugaku Uchiha had believed that the Three Tomoe was the endpoint of the Sharingan.

However, after awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan by chance, he had seen part of the information on the Uchiha Stone Tablet. That made him realize that there seemed to be an even higher level beyond the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Now, after hearing Zhang Miao's words, he finally understood.

"So the level above the Mangekyo Sharingan is the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan!"

From Zhang Miao's earlier words, Fugaku Uchiha also realized that the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan did not seem to be the endpoint of the Sharingan either. Beyond it, there was an even higher level!

And Madara Uchiha had attacked Konoha precisely to make the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan evolve again, successfully obtaining the First Hokage's flesh and blood!

From this perspective, although the First Hokage appeared to be the victor in the Battle of the End Valley, Madara Uchiha, who had achieved his objective, was the true beneficiary!

Then what exactly lay beyond the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?

Thinking of this, Fugaku Uchiha could not help asking Zhang Miao.

"What exactly is the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan? What was the Sharingan that man ultimately evolved after going to such lengths to obtain the First Hokage's flesh and blood?"

Seeing the intense thirst for knowledge on Fugaku Uchiha's face, Zhang Miao's lips curled up again.

"Heh heh, you want to know? That's easy. Just bleat once, and I'll tell you!"

Fugaku Uchiha: "..."