Three-Tomoe

The figure that entered his field of vision caused Uchiha Chen's pupils to constrict sharply. It was another Uchiha Izumi!

He could never have imagined that two identical Uchiha Izumi would appear before him.

The only difference was that one of them was gripping a blood-dripping long blade tightly in her hand.

Seeing this, every detail of the past month spent with Uchiha Izumi flashed through Uchiha Chen's mind.

Throughout their time together, she had always addressed him as "Senior," so... the one who had been holding him must be the real Uchiha Izumi, while the one he had protected all this way—the one he had even been stabbed by—was undoubtedly an impostor!

Recalling the various anomalies along the journey, the anger in Uchiha Chen's heart surged, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his presence growing weaker and weaker.

"Tap! Tap! Tap!"

The death-knell footsteps, accompanied by the approaching figure, reached deep into Uchiha Izumi's soul, and the entire atmosphere froze instantly.

Yet, strangely, there was not a shred of killing intent to be felt in the surroundings.

This extreme contrast made Uchiha Izumi's heart race; a wave of intense fear surged like a tide, and she couldn't help but retch.

Watching the figure gradually approach, her eyes were filled with despair and helplessness, as if the light within them had been completely stripped away.

Just then, Uchiha Chen's weak voice sounded in her ear: "I'll hold her off for a moment, you run!"

Suddenly, a powerful force struck; the surrounding darkness dissipated rapidly as Uchiha Chen shoved her away hard, then charged resolutely toward the impostor.

At that very moment, a surge of power erupted from somewhere within Uchiha Izumi, and she grabbed Uchiha Chen's hand tightly!

"I will never let Senior die!"

She declared firmly, then took two steps past Uchiha Chen, her hands moving in a rapid, practiced sequence of seals, unleashing the results of her month of training to the fullest.

A massive fireball rushed toward the impostor like a burning meteor.

At the same time, she gripped her Kunai, its sharp edge glinting with a cold light, as if waiting for the moment the enemy dodged to pierce through their chest in one strike.

However, a crisp sound of a blade ringing out suddenly echoed across the sky.

Unexpectedly, the massive fireball was cleaved in two by a single strike!

This sudden turn of events caused Uchiha Izumi to hesitate for a split second, and the next moment, the Kunai in her hand, along with her own body, was sent flying backward, leaving only a figure standing on one leg in mid-air.

Severely wounded, Uchiha Izumi could only collapse to the ground in agony.

After all, she was not yet a formal ninja!

Even as a genius of the Uchiha clan, she was nothing more than a helpless victim to be instantly killed by a meticulously trained assassin.

Thinking of the Senior who was about to be killed, she felt an overwhelming sense of frustration at her own weakness. Coupled with the sight of the Senior who had done his best to help her over the past month now facing mortal danger while she remained powerless, this deep sense of helplessness caused Uchiha Izumi's eyes to emit an eerie red glow due to her intense emotional turmoil.

Two pitch-black tomoe swam within her eyes like fish.

At this critical juncture, Uchiha Izumi successfully awakened the Sharingan, and it was a Two-Tomoe Sharingan right from the start!

Yet, Uchiha Izumi had no time to concern herself with the strange changes occurring in her body. Once the pain subsided slightly, she struggled to stand up and looked straight toward the two figures, desperate to know what had become of Senior.

On the other side, witnessing Uchiha Izumi being knocked away, Uchiha Chen felt a sudden sense of relief; he had been terrified that the frail girl would charge in recklessly and be stabbed to death by the opponent.

Now, only he and the impostor remained.

Just then, a shrill sound of something piercing the air reached his ears. The assassin, whose face had been expressionless, finally revealed a trace of twisted pleasure as she saw she was about to successfully execute Uchiha Chen.

However, when she saw the strange transformation in his eyes, a moment of doubt flickered in her heart.

She had never heard of Uchiha Chen's Sharingan having any form other than the Three-Tomoe!

But this thought only flashed for a second before she buried the doubt deep within her heart.

At this moment, she gripped the long blade even tighter, knowing full well that once Uchiha Chen was dead, his changes would be meaningless.

Suddenly, a scorching heat struck, as if it were melting the hand holding the blade.

Pitch-black flames, like those of a demon, instantly melted the long blade and spread rapidly along her arm to her entire body. The assassin, who had never revealed her true face, was gradually burned into a charred corpse amidst the raging flames of Amaterasu.

The surroundings were deathly silent, as if even the air feared the terrifying black fire. At this moment, Uchiha Izumi, who had just managed to stand, witnessed this hair-raising scene.

Having drained his last bit of chakra, Uchiha Chen's body went limp like a puppet with cut strings, falling straight backward.

Uchiha Izumi finally snapped out of her trance, her eyes filled with panic and terror, and she rushed toward Uchiha Chen without hesitation.

She reached out her arms, holding Uchiha Chen's weak body tightly, as if trying to use her own strength to support his collapsing life.

Uchiha Chen used his last ounce of strength to tremblingly tuck the Daisy he had been carefully protecting into Uchiha Izumi's hair. His face revealed an indescribable tenderness, his lips curling slightly as he let out a faint laugh: "So beautiful..."

Hearing these words, Uchiha Izumi's tears gushed out like a broken dam, her sobbing heart-wrenching.

"Senior, hold on! I'll take you to the hospital right now, you'll be fine..."

As she spoke, she tried to lift Uchiha Chen, but he stopped her.

He slowly pulled a bag of Three-Color Dango, now stained with blood, from his chest, and said weakly: "This is your favorite... it's a pity I couldn't protect it..."

Facing the tear-streaked Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Chen tried to squeeze out a smile, comforting her: "Don't worry, I'll be fine... it's just, I still don't know if you like me too..."

However, before he could finish, he was interrupted by Uchiha Izumi, who was already sobbing uncontrollably. She replied firmly through her tears: "I like you, Senior... in this month we've spent together, I've fallen deeply in love with you..."

Then, as if hearing a satisfactory answer, Uchiha Chen's presence began to fade away.

Even with a Sage Body, it could not save the life of Uchiha Chen, whose heart had been pierced.

The exhaustion of the journey and the attack she had just suffered pushed Uchiha Izumi's body and mind to their absolute limit; Uchiha Chen's death became the final straw that broke her spirit.

Finally, unable to bear the pain any longer, her vision went black, and she collapsed onto Uchiha Chen's corpse.

Before losing consciousness, her Sharingan spun rapidly, flashing with a dazzling light. As three tomoe emerged and slowly stopped spinning, her consciousness sank into an endless darkness.