What Lies Ahead

Shisui Uchiha stared silently at Uchiha Sou's scarlet Sharingan, looking a little dazed.

He had awakened his Mangekyō six months ago, so he knew all too well how terrifying the power of these eyes could be.

Though he had never used them openly, he understood the abilities they had granted him and the changes they had brought about in him better than anyone.

He was simply curious about when Uchiha Sou had obtained these eyes, and whether he knew more about them.

Though he possessed them himself, his understanding of these eyes was far too limited!

Under normal circumstances, if Uchiha Sou hadn't inexplicably intervened, Uchiha Shizuka would already be dead, and Shisui would have made it back to the Konoha camp safely.

Once back, he would naturally have told his clan about the changes in his eyes and learned more about them.

But things hadn't gone according to plan. He knew nothing about his eyes—he hadn't even realized that the Three Tomoe weren't the Sharingan's limit!

Now that he saw Uchiha Sou's eyes, he felt as if he'd found someone like himself, and his desire to learn more surged.

But he didn't know when Uchiha Sou had obtained those eyes, and that left him unsure of how to bring it up.

"What's wrong? You look like you have a lot of questions."

Uchiha Sou watched Shisui's conflicted expression as he hesitated to speak. He slowly deactivated his Mangekyō, then asked with some curiosity.

"Captain, about these eyes..." Shisui thought for a moment before asking, "Do you know anything about them?"

Know anything?

Uchiha Sou immediately understood what Shisui meant. He knew more than a little about these eyes. When it came to theory, even Uchiha Madara might not know as much as he did!

Awakening the Mangekyō was unimaginably difficult. It required not only considerable talent but also an intense emotional shock, one so powerful it was almost impossible to endure.

Honestly, without the proficiency the system had granted him, he figured he never would have awakened these eyes!

He'd never been able to relate to people his own age. A mature soul found it hard to play house with a bunch of kids, and even pretending, he could never form much affection or a strong bond with them.

As for his family, his Inu-chichi had raised them according to the old Uchiha tradition of waving the Gunbai around to keep the household in line. Needless to say, their relationship was quite "harmonious."

Of course, Uchiha Sou wasn't entirely without affection for them. He couldn't forget all those years they'd spent raising him.

But he understood one thing very clearly: knowing exactly what to do and deliberately doing it could never affect the heart as deeply as doing something unconsciously.

He didn't believe the Uchiha Clan had never conducted similar experiments. After all, these were the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Yet the result was that these eyes had practically become a clan taboo. Ordinary clan members didn't even know they existed.

That, too, suggested that every one of those experiments had failed.

Uchiha Sou had no intention of going into all this with Shisui, though. His Inu-chichi had never told him anything like that, and he didn't want to give himself away.

Still, he ought to warn him. With that in mind, Uchiha Sou said, "The clan never told me about these eyes. You'll have to ask them when you get back. But there's one thing I need to warn you about."

"Please, go ahead." Shisui nodded, his expression turning serious.

"You'd better not let anyone else know you have these eyes," Uchiha Sou said in a lowered voice. "You can feel their power, and they also grant you special abilities. If the wrong people take advantage of that..."

Uchiha Sou stopped there. It was better to leave it at that.

Unless something unexpected happened, he figured Shisui's ocular technique would still be Kotoamatsukami.

He knew all too well how insidious Kotoamatsukami was. Even he had to be careful not to fall under its influence. Fortunately, Shisui was a man with principles.

He also placed the village and the clan on equal footing. Even in the worst-case scenario, he planned to seek permission before using Kotoamatsukami on anyone.

That was why Uchiha Sou had decided to warn the young man—to at least plant a seed of caution.

Don't be an idiot and tell the Konoha High Command that you have the Mangekyō and explain all its abilities.

That isn't how you earn their trust. It's how you get yourself killed!

Once those people in the Konoha High Command knew what you could do, wouldn't they wonder whether you might use that power against them?

That was why Uchiha Sou had always thought that the Shisui Uchiha in the original story really had no sense.

"I understand, Senior Sou." Shisui nodded earnestly. "I trust your judgment. You've never been wrong."

Uchiha Sou didn't know what to say. He suddenly realized that Shisui seemed to trust him a great deal.

Still, that was a good thing. He hadn't figured out what to do in the future yet, but gathering capable people was a must!

"Senior, I won't keep you from resting." Shisui thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go check on that Juzo Biwa fellow."

"Oh?" Uchiha Sou looked surprised. "He's still alive?"

"Yes, Senior." Shisui nodded. "He's alive, but Raiga Kurosuki is dead."

Uchiha Sou nodded. Both men had been run through the chest by him, so their deaths were hardly surprising.

Come to think of it, his ocular techniques were quite interesting. Like Uchiha Obito's, they were space-time techniques.

The ability in his left eye was called Ame-no-Iwato. It was somewhat like Amenotejikara, but also quite different.

It allowed him to teleport instantly to anywhere within his field of vision, without needing to swap places with anything!

The drawback was that the farther he traveled, the more ocular power and chakra it consumed.

The ability in his right eye was called Yomotsu-Hirasaka. It let him directly warp and manipulate the space around him. The wider the area, the more forcefully he could distort it—and the greater the cost.

Together, the two techniques did bear some resemblance to Uchiha Obito's abilities, but there were also major differences.

For one thing, his technique didn't give him access to a vast pocket dimension, and he couldn't use it to take refuge in another space.

Overall, though, the two techniques suited Uchiha Sou perfectly—or, rather, they matched everything he'd wanted when facing Juzo Biwa and Raiga Kurosuki.

The Eye of Heart Reflection truly lived up to its name!

Relying on those eyes, Uchiha Sou had warped space at the instant Juzo Biwa's strike was about to hit him.

Juzo Biwa's sword seemed to strike him directly, but the warped space had turned the blade aside at a fatal angle, and it slammed hard into the ground instead.

Uchiha Sou had then pulled out a kunai and plunged it into Juzo Biwa's chest. After that, he used Ame-no-Iwato to appear in front of Raiga Kurosuki with another kunai and drove it into the man's chest!

"But... what should I do next?"

After the joy of obtaining the Mangekyō faded, Uchiha Sou suddenly realized he had another problem to solve.

Namely, how could he strengthen his Mangekyō?

Even after awakening, the Mangekyō consumed ocular power. The amount was small, but it was still a drain—and using its techniques consumed an outrageous amount.

After getting the Mangekyō, Uchiha Sasuke had used his abilities recklessly and gone blind in less than a month.

But he'd had Uchiha Itachi's eyes as a backup. Uchiha Sou had no such luxury.

He needed to think carefully about what path he should take.