My Promise to Conduct a Thorough Investigation with Koharu (Please Read On, Monthly Tickets)

After that, Kagami Uchiha did as he'd promised. He awakened his Sharingan in front of Sou and personally taught him how to use it and the secrets to improving it.

It turned out that once you overcame the emotional hurdle, advancing from a Single Tomoe to a Three Tomoe was much simpler. At this stage, emotional stimulation was no longer necessary; the Sharingan advanced alongside the user's abilities as a Ninja.

But the standard for measuring those abilities was quite mysterious. No one knew exactly what it represented.

According to Kagami, many members of the clan had awakened the Sharingan, but very few had advanced to the Three Tomoe. Only Setsuna, the Police Force's squad leader, and a few others, including the Clan Head, had reached that stage.

So talented Uchiha clan members simply developed their abilities in every area. They learned every Ninjutsu, Dojutsu, and Genjutsu passed down by the Uchiha Clan that they could, and their Sharingan naturally evolved into the Three Tomoe.

Of course, the difficulty of doing that increased exponentially.

That was why so few people in the entire clan had awakened the Three Tomoe. Not everyone had the same all-around talent as those few.

"But..."

At this, Kagami Uchiha gave Sou a mysterious smile. "Over the years, I've figured out a few things. If you specialize in just one field, you might be able to evolve your Sharingan into the Three Tomoe within a few years."

"Which field?" Sou asked, playing along.

"Dojutsu!"

Kagami began to explain the reasoning behind his theory.

"According to some of the clan's ancient records, the force that truly drives our clan's Sharingan is a kind of Spiritual Energy known as Yin-Attribute Mental Energy.

The evolution of the Tomoe comes from the transformation of that Spiritual Energy. I remember that my eyes had just evolved to the Two Tomoe that year. Over the next six months, I trained in Dojutsu until I'd mastered most of it, and my Sharingan immediately became the Three Tomoe.

"So I suspect that Dojutsu might be the best way to train this power."

"I see..."

Sou pondered Kagami's words. "Dojutsu... Spiritual Energy..."

He already had a general understanding of the Sharingan.

In the ancient era of the original story, Indra, the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths, inherited his father's Yin Release. That power was later passed down through Indra's descendants, the Uchiha Clan, along with the Sharingan, which was activated through Spiritual Energy.

Sou knew that much, but Kagami, who had trained in Dojutsu himself, understood it far better than he did. That was why it hadn't occurred to Sou before. Now, though, Kagami's explanation did make sense.

"But... as far as I know, the Uchiha Clan also developed many Genjutsu based on the Sharingan. If I learn those, I think I can awaken the Three Tomoe even faster."

With that thought, he began looking through the scroll Kagami had given him. Besides some ordinary Dojutsu and Genjutsu, it even contained instructions for learning Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique, which Itachi had used in the original story, and Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change.

Sou was overjoyed.

"These two Genjutsu really are made for the Sharingan. I remember Itachi using Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique to defeat Orochimaru at the height of his power. If I learn it, then as long as my Dojutsu Power is strong enough, even if I'm nowhere near as strong as Itachi, an ordinary Jonin probably won't be able to beat me if they're caught off guard."

But...

As if something had just occurred to him, he looked up at Kagami, who was slurping down his noodles, and asked:

"Brother, if you just give me these Genjutsu, won't the Clan Head have a problem with it?"

After all, powerful Ninjutsu like these must have cost Brother Jing countless dangerous missions and contributions to obtain from the clan.

If Sou didn't use them, there was no problem. But if he did and someone found out, it might cause Brother Jing—already a member of the Dove Faction—to be ostracized even more by the clan.

"Hmph!"

Kagami Uchiha slapped his chopsticks down and snorted. "If he doesn't come to me, I'll have to go to him. Before I went to the front lines this time, I told him not to send you into danger there if he could help it.

"He broke his promise first, so he's the one in the wrong. I'll talk to him later and have him count these as your reward for this mission."

"That's a relief."

Only then did Sou relax. He told Kagami about some of the useful intelligence he'd brought back from the Land of Lightning, hoping it might help with Kagami's later defensive missions.

In the meantime, he took the opportunity to learn some basic Genjutsu from the scroll. Whenever he ran into something he didn't understand, Kagami was always able to answer his questions.

Sou stayed at the defensive base for another three or four days. Once Kagami had fully recovered, he finally announced that he was leaving.

His Genjutsu had improved greatly over the past few days. Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique and Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change had both been added to his skill list, and he was steadily learning the rest of the Genjutsu and Dojutsu.

He estimated that in actual combat, ordinary Jonin would no longer pose much of a threat to him.

After seeing Sou's talent for Genjutsu, Kagami was still a little worried, but he didn't try to stop him from leaving.

The front lines weren't somewhere to stay for long. Sou's strength had improved tremendously, but he still lacked combat experience. If he wanted to improve and consolidate his skills, returning to the village and taking on some basic missions was the better choice.

But the group that had come to see him off was far larger than Sou had expected.

"Sou, you worked hard on this reconnaissance mission! I've already reported the completion of your assignment to the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed past Kagami, whose face was full of concern, and patted Sou's shoulder warmly. His expression was sincere. "Be careful on the way. When I return to the village next time to hand over my duties, I'll definitely find you so we can have a good drink!"

"Go on, get out of here! All you ever think about is drinking!"

Utatane Koharu, who had also learned some of the inside details, had changed her attitude toward Sou. She kicked Hiruzen aside, then blinked at him with sparkling eyes.

"Handsome little Sou, wait for me to get back to the village. My husband died young. Maybe you and I can have a thorough investigation together sometime."

"Uh..."

Sou stared at her bright, beautiful face, then thought of her old face from the original story. For a moment, he didn't know what to say, so he could only manage a stiff reply.

"Thanks, Sister Koharu. Maybe next time!"

As for investigating together, he'd rather go straight in and uncover something interesting.

After that, some of the Ninjas who were close to Kagami also came over to say goodbye to Sou. The lively scene was almost like a send-off for an old friend.

Danzo, watching quietly from the side, was so furious he nearly ground his teeth to dust.

"He's just a useless Chunin! What gives him the right? Even Koharu and the others..."

"Weren't we the ones who studied under the Teacher together?"

And when Danzo was punished this time, not a single person had been willing to speak up for him. Tobirama had even temporarily stripped him of his post as Jonin squad leader on the front lines.

Of course, the main reason he'd been replaced was the Chunin. As soon as they heard they'd be assigned to serve under Danzo, some threatened to commit seppuku, while others camped outside Hiruzen's door every day, begging to be reassigned.

They weren't fools. After seeing what had happened to the people before them, who would want a commander like Danzo?

"Sou Uchiha..."

For a moment, Danzo hated him just as much as he hated Kagami Uchiha.

"The Uchiha! The Uchiha again! Damn the Uchiha Clan! Once I'm in power, I'll kill every last one of you!"

As Sou said his goodbyes, he naturally noticed the "rat" hiding in the shadows and grinding his teeth in fury. But he couldn't be bothered with him. The two of them were bound to fight sooner or later.

Better to make an enemy sooner than later.

Once Sou was strong enough, he'd kick Danzo to death and be done with having him around.

Ignoring Danzo, he suddenly noticed a gentle gaze coming from outside one of the tents at the base.

He turned to look.

The gaze belonged to a beautiful woman with a curvy figure.

"Senju Rinon? It's her?"

As Sou dealt with Brother Jing, who was fussing like a mother hen and reminding him to stay safe on the road, he thought with a bemused expression.

She'd avoided him for the past few days, and he'd assumed his blunt, forward approach the other day had made her dislike him.

So he'd stopped pursuing her. After all, you couldn't force someone to like you.

He hadn't expected that she cared about him so much.

"Ah, a good character model really does make picking up women easy!"

Sou sighed with heartfelt admiration once more. Then he gave Senju Rinon a warm smile. She was peeking at him out of the corner of her eye while reading a medical book.

(￣▽￣)~*

The young woman immediately blushed and hid her face completely behind her book.

"Hahaha..."

Sou burst out laughing. He casually clamped a hand over Brother Jing's mouth to stop him from chattering on, then waved goodbye to everyone.

"Goodbye, everyone!

"Next time we meet, I, Sou Uchiha, will truly stand shoulder to shoulder with you in battle!"