[Side mission: Destroy the Iwagakure supply depot and incite unrest in Iwagakure — complete] [Calculating rewards]
The next day, in a desolate cave.
Haori was using Medical Ninjutsu to heal the wounds on his body when the system's voice rang in his mind.
Hearing it, his dusty, dejected face finally relaxed a little.
Yesterday's raid had nearly turned into a suicide attack.
He'd guessed that the warehouse might contain Explosive Tags and the like, so he'd made a point of running before using Fire Release.
But if you walked by the river often enough, sooner or later you'd fall in.
He really hadn't expected them to have so many!
Even though he'd made a run for it in advance, he'd still been caught in the blast. He'd nearly gone down with the Iwa shinobi in the camp.
If he hadn't received plenty of rewards over the years, which had let him protect himself in the explosion—
And if the dazed Might Guy and Aoba hadn't come back to find him and dragged him away—
He would've been caught by the pursuers right behind them, and ended up delivering a generous gift—his Sharingan—to the enemy.
"But things still don't look good."
Under his command, they were now fleeing toward Kannabi Bridge.
Thanks to Guy's good physical condition and Aoba's guidance, they'd made it this far with only a few skirmishes, giving them a chance to rest.
But there were plenty of pursuers on their trail, too. It was easy to imagine what would happen if they were caught.
Iwagakure's attitude toward them now wasn't exactly one of mutual support. If anything, they were sworn enemies.
If they were caught, they wouldn't even get the chance to imitate the French army. They could skip the Great Memory Recovery Technique altogether.
They'd go straight to the last step—being made an example of!
"But at least we made it out, and I'm pretty well-rounded, too."
Watching the wounds on his body steadily heal, Haori nodded to himself.
He'd gained plenty of abilities during all those years in the Land of Whirlpools.
For example, Shiranui Genma's Senbon Clone, Yuhi Kurenai's talent for genjutsu, and Qingcheng Shanye's training in Yin Release.
He'd also gained Medical Ninjutsu and a talent for Lightning Release. Those abilities had practically made him a well-rounded shinobi.
"I wonder what the reward for this mission will be. But compared to the reward, my biggest gain this time..."
Haori was curious about the reward, but he knew perfectly well that it wasn't what he'd gained most from this mission.
It was his eyes!
His Two-Tomoe Sharingan had already been nearing its limit. Even without the battle, it probably wouldn't have taken much longer.
But the battle had sped up the process.
Now he could clearly feel that his eyes had changed. Besides, his system had given him a notification!
[The current Sharingan has brought the host's strength to its utmost limit] [Would you like to activate the passive ability 'Zhuo Er Bu Fan' to improve it?]
This was the message Haori had been hoping to see most—the very thing he longed for right now!
He'd endured and worked hard for so many years. At last, it had paid off.
"Evolving the Sharingan really isn't as simple as people imagine."
He knew how the Sharingan improved, but knowing was one thing. Being able to do it was another.
Take the Mangekyo Sharingan, for example. The Uchiha elders probably all knew what it took to awaken it.
But people differed in how much emotional trauma they could withstand. Killing one's beloved friends and family might be the most effective method.
But once you knew the secret and made up your mind to do it...
If you already knew what would happen and had convinced yourself to go through with it, would it really have the same effect?
Obviously not. Only when you were completely unaware could you feel that most intense pain and shock!
"But that can easily create people like Obito."
At the thought of Obito, Haori couldn't help shaking his head.
Obito might have been given an official redemption, but just like Uchiha Itachi, Haori had no fondness for him.
Rin's death had been a tragedy, of course. But afterward, the only thing on Obito's mind had been, "I'll create a world with Rin," and he'd ignored everyone who'd ever cared about him.
How was that any different from that ungrateful Uchiha Itachi?
Namikaze Minato was part of the Hokage faction. He couldn't have been unaware of the delicate relationship between the village and the Uchiha.
But he hadn't refused to take Obito on as his student just because he was an Uchiha and a dead last. He'd accepted him all the same, probably hoping to change the relationship between the village and the Uchiha.
If you really wanted to blame Namikaze Minato for being late, he was an elite jonin of the village, and he already had plenty to do.
Besides, their relationship wasn't just "teacher and student," but also "superior and subordinate." How could he protect his subordinate all the time?
Uzumaki Kushina had looked after Obito, too. She'd encouraged him when he was feeling down, made him rice balls during training, and reminded him to be careful whenever he went on a mission.
She'd treated him so well that she might as well have been family.
And yet in the end, he'd gone with, "First blade after going rogue, cut down your own kin"?
"So the Sharingan is hard to improve. Forcing an awakening of the Mangekyo is even riskier—it can turn you into an ungrateful wretch or a lunatic."
Haori looked at his injured arm. It had nearly healed, so he stopped using Medical Ninjutsu.
"Good thing I don't have to worry about that. I just need to keep building up my strength!
Activate 'Zhuo Er Bu Fan' and improve my Sharingan."
In an instant, Haori felt a surge of power erupt inside him.
The power made his blood feel as if it were boiling, and it gathered in his eyes.
At that moment, he felt both his body and his eyes growing stronger!
He could almost feel himself getting faster and his chakra control becoming more precise.
His eyes turned crimson against his will, and the two tomoe in each began to spin rapidly.
As they spun, another tomoe split off from each pair, forming a triangular pattern in his eyes.
In that instant, everything seemed clearer, and his strength grew even greater!
"So this is the power of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan?"
Feeling this power, Haori was thrilled.
Abilities he hadn't been able to use with the Two-Tomoe Sharingan now seemed easy to use!
[Calculation complete] [Reward acquired: Might Guy's physical prowess talent]
Guy's physical prowess?
Haori's eyes lit up. He'd always felt that Guy's greatest strength was his physical prowess!
If his body hadn't been tough enough to take it, how could he have endured that set of practically self-torturous training methods?
And how could he have pushed the Eight Gates to such extremes, then used the Evening Elephant and Night Guy?
Haori didn't aim to become a muscle-bound man, and he had his own goals.
But why wouldn't he be happy to have such a physique to tide him over for now?
"Haori, are you feeling better?"
Just as Haori was at his most excited, Guy suddenly walked in from outside.
He still looked a little worse for wear, but his spirits were high. After all, Haori had already treated him.
But his expression was grave now. Clearly, the situation wasn't good.
"I'm fine. Have the Iwa shinobi arrived?"
Seeing him, Haori immediately understood what was going on. Aoba, who'd been resting with his eyes closed against the wall, opened his eyes, too.
"Yeah. They've probably found our trail, but they haven't pinned down our location."
Guy looked troubled as he spoke in a low voice.
"Sorry. I wasn't careful enough."
"It's not your fault. Without you, we might not even have made it this far."
Haori shook his head and reassured Guy, then looked toward Aoba.
Aoba didn't say anything. He simply nodded to show that he was fine.
"Then let's leave here first and look for an opportunity later."
As he spoke, Haori got to his feet, but he stopped mid-sentence and stared into the distance.
Guy and Aoba looked that way, too.
A signal flare was rising over the distant forest.
Just then, the system's voice suddenly rang in his mind.