Mission Rewards and Three Tomoe (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

[Side Quest: Destroy Iwagakure supply depot and incite chaos among Iwagakure forces completed]

[Calculating rewards]

The next day, inside a desolate cave.

Haori was using medical ninjutsu to heal the wounds on his body when the system's voice echoed in his mind.

Upon hearing this sound, his dust-covered, gloomy face finally relaxed a little.

Yesterday's surprise attack had almost turned into a suicide mission.

Although he had guessed that the warehouse might contain things like explosive tags, he had specifically run away before unleashing his Fire Release.

However, if you walk by the river often enough, how can you not fall into the well?

He truly hadn't expected them to store so much in there!

Even though he had made a run for it early, he was still caught in the blast of that violent explosion, nearly ending up in a mutual destruction with the Iwagakure Ninja in the camp.

If it weren't for the many rewards he had obtained over the years, which allowed him to protect himself during the explosion.

And if Might Guy and Aoba, who had been dazed by the blast, hadn't come back to find him and carried him away.

Otherwise, once the pursuers behind them arrived, he would have become a gift-bearer (Sharingan) delivering warmth to the enemy.

"But the situation is still not looking good."

Under his direction, they were now fleeing in the direction of Kannabi Bridge.

Thanks to Might Guy's physical stamina and Aoba acting as a guide, they had only experienced a few skirmishes before reaching this place to rest.

However, the pursuers behind them were numerous, and one could easily imagine what would happen if they were caught.

The current attitude of Iwagakure toward them, if not exactly "mutual destruction," was at least "irreconcilable."

If caught, they wouldn't even have the chance to imitate the French army; they could even skip the Great Memory Recovery Technique.

They would go straight to the final step—sacrificial flag!

"But at least we made it out, and I'm quite well-rounded."

Watching his wounds gradually heal, Haori nodded inwardly.

Having stayed in the Land of Whirlpools for so many years, he had gained quite a few abilities.

For example, Shiranui Genma's senbon shadow clones, Yuhi Kurenai's talent for genjutsu, Qingcheng Shanye's Yin Release cultivation, and so on.

Coupled with medical ninjutsu and an affinity for Lightning Release, it could be said that these abilities had turned him into an all-around ninja.

"I just wonder what the reward for this mission will be. But compared to this reward, the greatest gain..."

Although Haori was very interested in the reward for this mission, he knew better than anyone that his greatest gain this time was not the reward itself.

It was his eyes!

His two-tomoe Sharingan was already nearing its limit; even without the previous battle, it probably wouldn't have taken much longer.

But the previous battle had accelerated this progress.

Now, he could clearly feel that his eyes had undergone a change, not to mention that his system had provided a prompt!

[Current Sharingan has brought the host's strength to an extreme]

[Activate passive 'Zhuo Er Bu Fan' to upgrade?]

This information was exactly what Haori had hoped to see, and what he was currently longing for!

He had endured for so many years, worked hard for so many years, and finally, there was a result.

"The evolution of the Sharingan is truly not as simple as one imagines."

Although he knew very well how to upgrade the Sharingan, knowing was one thing, and being able to do it was another.

Take the Mangekyo Sharingan, for instance; the high-ranking members of the Uchiha clan probably all knew how to unlock it.

But the degree of stimulation a person's heart can withstand varies; killing one's beloved friends and family might be the most effective method.

But once you know this secret and have made up your mind to do it...

If you already know the result and have convinced yourself, does it really still have an effect?

Clearly, that is impossible; only in a state of complete ignorance can the most extreme pain and stimulation be produced!

"But this also easily creates people like Obito."

At the thought of Obito, Haori couldn't help but shake his head.

Although Obito had been "whitewashed" by the official narrative, just like Uchiha Itachi, Haori really had no fondness for him.

Rin's death was certainly a tragedy, but after she died, he only had one thought in his mind: "I want to create a world with Rin," and he ignored everyone who had ever been kind to him.

How was this any different from that ungrateful wolf Uchiha Itachi?

Namikaze Minato was part of the Hokage faction; it was impossible for him not to know the delicate relationship between the village and the Uchiha.

But he didn't reject Obito just because he was an Uchiha or a "loser"; he still accepted him, likely hoping to change the relationship between the village and the Uchiha.

If one must blame Namikaze Minato for being late, the man was an elite jonin of the village; he had plenty of things to deal with on his own.

Furthermore, the relationship between them was not just that of "master and student," but also "superior and subordinate." How could he possibly protect his subordinate forever?

Uzumaki Kushina was especially caring toward Obito, encouraging him when he felt down, making him rice balls during training, and reminding him to stay safe whenever he went on missions.

Treating him like this, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them family, right?

Yet in the end, he was the one who "drew his sword against his own kin first"?

"That's why it's not easy to upgrade the Sharingan. Forcing the Mangekyo Sharingan to awaken is even riskier; it's easy to end up with ungrateful wretches and lunatics."

Haori looked at his previously injured arm, which had mostly recovered, and promptly ceased his medical ninjutsu.

"Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that. I just need to work hard to accumulate strength!

Activate Zhuo Er Bu Fan, upgrade the Sharingan."

In an instant, Haori felt a surge of power erupting within his body.

This power made his blood feel like it was boiling, and it all converged toward his eyes.

At this moment, he could feel both his body and his eyes undergoing a continuous improvement!

He seemed to sense his speed becoming faster and his chakra control becoming more refined.

His eyes uncontrollably turned a deep crimson, and the original two-tomoe began to spin rapidly.

As they spun, a new tomoe split off from the others, and they arranged themselves in a triangular pattern within his eyes.

In that instant, he felt his vision become clearer, and his strength grew significantly more powerful!

"Is this the power of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan?"

Haori felt this power and was filled with excitement.

Many abilities that he couldn't use with the two-tomoe seemed to be easily accessible now!

[Statistics complete]

[Reward obtained: Might Guy's physical talent]

Guy's physical constitution?

Haori's eyes lit up slightly. He had always felt that Guy's greatest strength was actually his physical constitution!

If his body hadn't been truly durable enough, how could he have withstood that self-torturous training regimen?

How else could he have pushed the Eight Gates to such an extreme and unleashed the Evening Elephant and Night Guy?

Although Haori's goal wasn't to become a muscle-bound man, and he had his own path, he couldn't help but be happy to have such a physical foundation to transition with.

"Haori, are you feeling better?"

Just as Haori was feeling extremely excited, Might Guy suddenly walked in from outside.

He looked a bit disheveled, but he was full of energy, especially since Haori had already treated him.

However, his expression was now somewhat grave, clearly indicating that the situation was not good.

"I'm fine. Have the Iwagakure forces arrived?"

Seeing this, Haori immediately understood what was going on, and Aoba, who had been resting with his eyes closed against the wall, also opened his eyes.

"Yeah, they must have discovered our tracks, though they haven't pinpointed our exact location yet."

Might Guy looked troubled as he spoke in a low voice.

"I'm sorry, I was too careless."

"It has nothing to do with you. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have even made it this far."

Haori shook his head to comfort Might Guy, then looked toward Aoba.

Aoba didn't speak, simply nodding slightly to indicate he was fine.

"Then let's leave here first and look for an opportunity later."

As he spoke, Haori stood up, but before he could finish his sentence, he stared blankly into the distance.

Not only him, but Might Guy and Aoba also turned their gazes toward the distance.

Because in the forest far away, a signal flare was slowly rising into the sky.

At that very moment, the system's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.