Mastering or Merging?

The next day.

The village had once again become a small construction site. Large amounts of rubble were cleared away, truckloads of trash were hauled out, and truckloads of building materials were brought in.

Rumors about the previous night had also begun circulating through the streets, prompting everyone to discuss them animatedly.

Shinji went downstairs for breakfast as usual.

"Did you hear? The one who stopped the Nine-Tails yesterday was that young master of the Uchiha Clan."

"Gasp, isn't he only seven?"

"So what if he's seven? With a pair of Sharingan, he subdued the Nine-Tails completely! Plenty of people saw it with their own eyes!"

"Tsk, tsk, the Uchiha Clan really is full of geniuses!"

Listening to the discussions around him, Shinji's expression grew rather strange.

No wonder I haven't sensed anyone monitoring me since last night. The village thinks Sasuke was the one who subdued the Nine-Tails!

He suddenly felt like laughing. Sasuke had somehow taken the blame for him.

Given Konoha's current situation, being associated with the Uchiha, the Sharingan, and the like was no good thing. So at a time like this, the more attention an Uchiha survivor attracted, the more likely he was to be targeted.

Still, Shinji had saved Sasuke's life yesterday, so it wasn't entirely unfair for Sasuke to take the blame for him.

Besides, unlike Shinji, who was completely alone, Sasuke still had Itachi Uchiha protecting him. If the village wanted to harm Sasuke, it would have to think twice.

Then he remembered that he had stolen Fugaku Uchiha's Sharingan from Danzo.

Given Danzo's personality, he would probably settle this account with Sasuke as well. After all, in terms of motive, Sasuke—the man's son—was the one who most wanted to reclaim his father's Sharingan.

"Uh, take care."

Shinji silently offered Sasuke his blessing.

Although it was all a misunderstanding, and Sasuke was taking the blame for him,

Shinji actually knew that, with the Uchiha Clan having just been wiped out, only Sasuke, another Uchiha survivor, could help draw this fire away from him.

After filling his stomach, he began jogging around the village under the pretext of exercising.

As he ran, he arrived at the Forest of Death, located in one corner of the village.

Because of the sudden incident the previous night, today's Chunin Ninja Exams had been postponed. Thus, the Forest of Death, one of the examination grounds, was completely deserted.

Seizing the opportunity, he climbed over the wire fence and infiltrated the Forest of Death.

Although he had obtained Fugaku's pair of Mangekyō Sharingan the previous night, he first had to activate Susanoo if he wanted to master those eyes.

Doing that in the small apartment arranged by the village was clearly unsafe.

That was why he had thought of the Forest of Death.

The Forest of Death was a primeval forest with a radius of ten kilometers. Aside from the tower in the central area, there had been little human modification inside it. Its purpose was to create a practical combat environment close to a real forest.

Therefore, it was the most secluded place Shinji could think of.

Walking through the Forest of Death, where the canopy blotted out the sky and sun, he marveled at the wonders of creation as he searched for a suitable location. Giant reptiles crawled through the undergrowth, while towering trees stood so broad that several people could not have encircled them with their arms.

After a long while, he found a secluded cavern.

He inspected every inch of it, and only after confirming that there were no surveillance devices inside did he take the nutrient container holding Fugaku Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan from his pouch.

Drawing a deep breath, he activated his own Mangekyō Sharingan and, enduring the stabbing pain, activated Susanoo.

After the previous night, his eyes had begun to ache intermittently, and his vision had clearly deteriorated.

In an instant,

a yellow phantom projected from his body and transformed into a half-bodied skeleton that enveloped him.

"Not enough!"

Covering his eyes, he endured the pain and continued channeling his Dojutsu.

Under the infusion of Dojutsu, the yellow skeletal phantom gradually solidified. Muscles appeared over the bones, followed by skin, and finally a layer of armor.

The contours of the skeleton's face also grew clearer.

Brilliant light shone from within its two eye sockets. Like Gods, it gazed at the cavern before it with calm indifference.

Huff, huff.

Shinji began breathing heavily.

This was the strongest form of Susanoo his current Dojutsu could maintain—the half-bodied armored Susanoo.

It was also more or less the limit that all Mangekyō-wielding Uchiha could reach.

Beyond this was the true Complete Body Susanoo, a form that required Dojutsu surpassing that of an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan to activate.

After catching his breath, Shinji dared not waste time. He immediately activated his unique Mangekyo Dojutsu, Susanoo Lamp.

"Roar!"

In an instant, his Susanoo let out a furious roar!

Immediately afterward, a crack split open in the forehead above Susanoo's eye sockets, revealing a pair of empty sockets!

"Ah!"

Maintaining two Mangekyo Dojutsu at once, Shinji felt as though his Mangekyō Sharingan were about to split apart. The pain made him cry out involuntarily.

But having reached this point, he had to grit his teeth and persevere.

So he hurriedly opened the nutrient container in his hand and took out Fugaku's pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.

Holding the pair of eyes in his palms, he activated Susanoo Lamp.

In an instant,

his God-like Susanoo moved. Two beams of light projected from the newly appeared empty sockets and seized the pair of eyes resting in his palms.

Then the two eyes flew separately into the two empty sockets, transforming into two balls of light!

"Roar!"

Susanoo roared once again!

Accompanying that roar, which seemed capable of shaking the soul, Susanoo's form became even more solid, and its body visibly grew larger.

Even more strikingly, two pairs of open eyes appeared on Susanoo's head!

In the blink of an eye,

the intense pain in Shinji's eyes vanished. It happened so quickly that even he failed to react, and his expression briefly turned blank.

"It doesn't hurt anymore!?"

He gently shook his head.

At that moment, he felt better than ever. Not only had the pain in his eyes disappeared, but the dizziness that had frequently plagued him before had vanished as well.

He was maintaining Susanoo and Susanoo Lamp, two Mangekyo Dojutsu, at the same time.

Just moments ago, the pain had nearly made him pass out. Now, he could maintain them effortlessly, as if he were merely using Dojutsu normally.

"My condition has recovered? No, my Dojutsu is recovering!"

He immediately analyzed his condition and instinctively surveyed his surroundings.

Sure enough, the vision that had clearly deteriorated earlier had now recovered. His powers of observation had even improved slightly over before!

"So this is the ability of Susanoo Lamp?"

Although he had made all sorts of guesses beforehand, he still could not help feeling pleasantly surprised when those guesses became reality.

At that moment, while still maintaining Susanoo Lamp, he gained more information about its abilities. Among them was one that appeared directly before him.

New eyes.

Was it mastering them—or merging them?

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