The Eyes Open, Two Tomoe!

Izumi wiped the corner of her mouth.

She looked at Uchiha Arashi's arm. The wound there was healing at a visible rate, but the area of white patches was growing too.

"Are you okay? Sorry, I got a little carried away..."

Izumi said guiltily.

They had only meant to spar. It was one thing for Uchiha Arashi to get caught up in the fight, but she was older than him, and she'd lost herself in it too.

She had actually tried to kill him during a spar. If Uchiha Arashi hadn't been able to block or dodge, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Even though they were still in a genjutsu, Yomotsu Hirasaka was a ninjutsu that could affect reality. If Uchiha Arashi died there, his real body would die too, unless he used Izanagi to avoid the damage. But doing that would permanently blind one Mangekyō Sharingan, even with Hashirama Cells.

"Sis Izumi, it's not your fault."

Uchiha Arashi shook his head.

How could he awaken the Eye of God if he didn't fight for real? Only by putting enough pressure on himself could he bring out his potential to the fullest.

"How did you dodge that just now? That attack...I was already using all my strength."

Izumi stepped closer to examine Uchiha Arashi's wound and asked.

"I covered the surface of my body with a layer of rock, then deliberately blew it apart the instant your attack arrived, forcing the attack to change direction."

Uchiha Arashi explained.

"Just hearing about it makes it sound difficult."

Izumi said softly.

"You have the Eye of God too, so you should know that controlling the elements associated with it is as easy for us as breathing. It might be hard for someone else, but for me, all it takes is a thought. I just have to get the timing right when I blow up the rock. Too early or too late, and it won't work."

Fortunately, he had the Sharingan, which gave him a keen sense of timing. Someone without it wouldn't have been able to dodge that attack.

"All right, the spar is over. I'm going to end the genjutsu."

Izumi shook her head.

"Okay!"

Uchiha Arashi nodded.

The next moment, Uchiha Izumi released the genjutsu. The surroundings shifted rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, they were back in Shadow Space.

Everyone's spirits returned to their bodies. Once his younger siblings were sure the fight was over, they rushed over in a swarm.

"Arashi, show us your Eye of God!"

The kids weren't too worried about Uchiha Arashi. Perhaps they simply didn't know enough to understand the danger. Seeing that he looked almost unharmed, they assumed there was nothing wrong with him.

Uchiha Arashi didn't bother explaining. He channeled chakra, connected with the Eye of God, and made the surrounding earth roll and shift into little animal statues made of rock.

He didn't need Hand Seals or any preparation. He only had to will the sculptures into existence.

His younger siblings' eyes lit up. They crowded around the little animals, touching and inspecting them.

Uchiha Arashi left Ayatsuki to look after them, then took Izumi back outside.

"When the Eye of God activated just now, my eyes started to feel hot. Sis Izumi, help me with the surgery."

"Did your eyes awaken?"

Izumi immediately understood what he meant.

"Maybe."

Uchiha Arashi had no idea what it felt like when other people's eyes awakened. He had never asked.

Izumi immediately started preparing the surgical instruments, while telling Uchiha Arashi what it had felt like when her own eyes awakened.

"...I remember feeling a little itchy, and then my vision suddenly got much sharper...As far as I know, everyone feels something different when their eyes awaken. Aiko, do you remember what it was like?"

"I remember. I've met Aiko twice. She doesn't like me very much and barely pays me any attention."

Uchiha Aiko was a two-Tomoe clan member with fairly average talent and strength. Uchiha Arashi had never been very close to her, so he hadn't tried to save her that night.

In truth, he couldn't have saved her anyway. She was too far away. He lived in the northeastern corner of the Uchiha Compound, while she lived in the southwest, beyond the reach of Shadow Space.

"Aiko acts that way with everyone. She told me that when her eyes awakened, they hurt a little...It feels different for everyone, depending on their constitution."

Izumi continued to reassure Uchiha Arashi.

"Don't worry. I won't be disappointed if my eyes haven't awakened."

Uchiha Arashi said with a smile.

If they hadn't awakened, he would definitely be disappointed, but it wasn't a big deal. He still had his current eyes to use.

He could worry about what to do once these eyes stopped working.

Between replacing Uchiha Arashi's eyes and frequently treating his younger siblings' injuries, Uchiha Izumi's Medical Ninjutsu skills had improved by leaps and bounds. At the very least, she had developed plenty of expertise in treating external injuries and performing eye transplants.

The transplant went smoothly. Before long, the two bloodied Mangekyō Sharingan had been placed in a nutrient solution.

Uchiha Arashi kept his eyes closed for a moment, sensing the changes. Then he slowly opened them. His own dark eyes quivered and silently turned red.

"It worked!"

Uchiha Izumi jumped excitedly in place.

"So these are my Sharingan..."

Uchiha Arashi raised a hand to cover his right eye.

"That's right! And you awakened with two Tomoe, Arashi. You have incredible talent!"

Izumi said happily.

Most—no, almost all—Uchiha awakened their Sharingan with a single Tomoe. Only an extremely, extremely rare few geniuses managed to awaken with two Tomoe right from the start. Uchiha Itachi was one example.

As for three Tomoe, there were supposedly cases, but no one had ever seen one. The clan records were vague, too, so there was reason to believe it was only a fantasy among clan members.

And Uchiha Arashi was different from everyone else. He had used the Mangekyō for a long time before his own eyes awakened. They might have belonged to someone else, but they could still have influenced him, causing his brain to produce far more of the special chakra than an ordinary clan member. That might have let him skip straight past the single Tomoe when his eyes first awakened.

In any case, starting with two Tomoe was a good thing. It would save him a great deal of time.

"All right, Sis Izumi, switch them back for me."

After trying out his new eyes for a while, Uchiha Arashi smiled with satisfaction, then lay back down on the bed.

"Huh? You don't want to use your own eyes?"

Izumi looked at him in surprise.

"We still have too much to do, and this is Konoha. There are dangers all around us. I have to keep my fighting strength up...Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Uchiha Arashi gave her a gentle smile, but his tone left no room for argument.

Izumi bit her lip. Unable to change Uchiha Arashi's mind, she stepped forward, reopened the wound she had just healed, and replaced the eyes with the Mangekyō Sharingan again.