Eyes Open, Double Tomoe!

Izumi wiped the corner of her mouth.

She looked at Uchiha Arashi's arm, where the wound was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, though the area of white spots was expanding in tandem.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry, I went a bit too far just now..."

Izumi said, filled with guilt.

It was supposed to be a friendly spar, and while it was one thing for Uchiha Arashi to get carried away, she was older than him, yet she had lost her composure just the same.

To actually go for a lethal blow during a spar—if Uchiha Arashi hadn't been able to block or dodge it, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Even though they were still inside a genjutsu, Yomotsu Hirasaka was a ninjutsu capable of affecting reality itself. If Uchiha Arashi were to die here, his physical body would die as well, unless he used Izanagi to negate the damage. But doing so would permanently blind one Mangekyo, even with the use of Hashirama Cells.

"Sister Izumi, don't blame yourself."

Uchiha Arashi shook his head.

How could he awaken the Eye of God without fighting for real? Only by applying sufficient pressure could his potential be stimulated to the greatest extent.

"How did you dodge that just now? That strike... I clearly used my full strength."

Izumi walked forward to inspect Uchiha Arashi's wounds and asked.

"I covered the surface of my body with a layer of rock, then detonated that layer the moment the attack arrived, forcing the strike to change trajectory."

Uchiha Arashi explained.

"Just hearing that makes it sound far from simple."

Izumi said in a low voice.

"You also possess an Eye of God; you should know that controlling the relevant elements is as simple as breathing for us. This might be difficult for others, but for me, a single thought is enough. The only challenge is timing the rock's detonation—too early or too late, and it wouldn't work."

Fortunately, he had the Sharingan, which gave him a powerful ability to capture the right moment. If it had been someone without a Sharingan, they truly wouldn't have been able to dodge that blow.

"Alright, the spar is over. I'm going to dispel the ocular jutsu."

Izumi said, shaking her head.

"Right!"

Uchiha Arashi nodded.

The next second, Uchiha Izumi dispelled the genjutsu. The surrounding scene shifted rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, they were back in the Shadow Space.

Everyone's spiritual bodies returned to their respective selves. The younger siblings, certain that the battle was over, immediately swarmed toward them.

"Brother Arashi, show us your Eye of God!"

The little ones weren't particularly worried about Uchiha Arashi's condition. Perhaps it was because they knew too little, but seeing him almost completely unscathed, they assumed he was perfectly fine.

Uchiha Arashi didn't bother explaining. He channeled his chakra, connected with the Eye of God, and controlled the surrounding earth to churn and form into various stone animal statues.

The entire process required no hand seals and no prior preparation; it was purely a matter of a single thought, and the sculptures were complete.

The younger siblings' eyes lit up as they circled the little animals, touching and peering at them from every angle.

Uchiha Arashi left Ayatsuki to look after them and took Izumi back to the outside world.

"Just now, when the Eye of God activated, I felt my eyes burning. Sister Izumi, please perform the surgery for me."

"You've awakened your eyes?"

Izumi immediately understood what he meant.

"Possibly."

Uchiha Arashi didn't know what it felt like for others when they awakened their eyes, and he had never asked.

Izumi immediately began preparing the surgical tools, while sharing the sensation she felt when she had awakened her own eyes.

"...At the time, I felt an itching sensation, and then my vision suddenly became much sharper... As far as I know, the feeling is different for everyone. Aiko, do you remember?"

"I remember. I've seen Sister Aiko twice; she doesn't like me much and ignores me."

Uchiha Aiko, a two-tomoe clan member, had very average talent and strength. Since her relationship with Uchiha Arashi was quite ordinary, he hadn't thought to save her that night.

In fact, he couldn't have saved her anyway, as she was too far away. He lived in the northeast corner of the Uchiha Compound, and she lived in the southwest; the Shadow Space couldn't reach that far.

"Aiko is like that with everyone. She told me that when she awakened her eyes, they felt painful... Depending on one's individual constitution, the sensation during awakening is different for everyone."

Izumi continued to soothe Uchiha Arashi's nerves.

"Don't worry, I won't be disappointed even if I haven't awakened them."

Uchiha Arashi said with a smile.

If he hadn't awakened them, he would certainly be disappointed, but it wouldn't be the end of the world; after all, he still had what he was currently using.

It wouldn't be too late to consider other options once these eyes were no longer usable.

Because she had to perform eye transplants for Uchiha Arashi and frequently heal the younger siblings, Uchiha Izumi's medical ninjutsu skills had progressed by leaps and bounds. At the very least, she had developed many of her own insights regarding treating external wounds and performing eye transplants.

The transplant surgery was a success. Soon, two bloody Mangekyo were dropped into the nutrient solution.

Uchiha Arashi closed his eyes and felt them for a moment, then slowly opened them. His naturally pitch-black pupils flickered, and suddenly, they silently turned red.

"Success!"

Uchiha Izumi jumped up on the spot in excitement.

"This is my Sharingan..."

Uchiha Arashi reached out to cover his right eye.

"That's right, and it awakened as a two-tomoe straight away. Little Arashi, your talent is truly excellent!" Izumi said happily.

The vast majority—no, almost all Uchiha—awaken their Sharingan as a single-tomoe state for the first time. Only a very, very small number of geniuses can jump straight to two-tomoe upon their first awakening, such as Uchiha Itachi.

As for the three-tomoe, it was said to exist, but no one had ever seen it. The records within the clan were vague and ambiguous, and there was reason to believe it was merely a fantasy held by the clansmen.

Moreover, Uchiha Arashi was different from the others. He had already used the Mangekyō Sharingan for a long time before awakening his own. Although they were someone else's eyes, they could still influence his own body, causing his brain to secrete a special type of chakra far exceeding that of an ordinary clansman, which led him to skip the single-tomoe stage entirely during his first awakening.

In any case, starting directly at two-tomoe was a good thing; it saved him a massive amount of time spent on accumulation.

"Alright, Sister Izumi, switch them back for me."

Uchiha Arashi savored the feeling for a long while, smiled in satisfaction, and then lay back down on the bed.

"Huh? You aren't going to use your own eyes?" Izumi looked at him in surprise.

"We still have too much to do, and we are in Konoha; danger surrounds us on all sides. I must maintain sufficient combat power... Rest assured, I know what I am doing." Uchiha Arashi offered a gentle smile, but his tone allowed for no refusal.

Izumi bit her lip. Unable to sway Uchiha Arashi's will, she had no choice but to step forward, reopen the wounds that had just healed, and swap the Mangekyō Sharingan back in.