Shimizu's Choice

Hatake Style Kenjutsu came in the form of a scroll. If Shimizu chose it, he wouldn't be able to pick it up right away like Fire Body Flicker; he'd have to study it on his own.

How long it would take him to learn, though, was anyone's guess.

In the Simulator, he'd only managed to learn it by watching Kakashi fight countless times, which proved it wasn't easy.

And once he learned Hatake Style Kenjutsu, his progress developing Fire Body Flicker would speed up considerably. It was like getting an extra, hidden bonus: accelerated research into Fire Body Flicker.

"Hatake Style Kenjutsu is tempting, Simulator, but I choose the Byakugan."

Shimizu chose the Kekkei Genkai!

Both Fire Body Flicker and Hatake Style Kenjutsu could be studied through effort, and either would take no more than a year.

But to obtain a Kekkei Genkai like the Byakugan, he'd have to get it transplanted.

If Shimizu had the Byakugan transplanted, he'd have to grit his teeth and remove one of his Sharingan.

But only when he had both Sharingan could he unleash their true power: Complete Body Susanoo.

Removing one would weaken his Susanoo, and he'd also lose one of his Mangekyo abilities.

[Byakugan granted...]

When the mechanical voice faded, cool fluid seemed to flow through Shimizu's eyes.

His dark pupils turned scarlet against his will, and two Tomoe emerged.

He'd obtained his Two-Tomoe Sharingan as a reward in a simulation, half a year after awakening his One-Tomoe Sharingan.

"That hurts a bit."

As he watched the world slow around him, his vision suddenly blurred. It was like taking off his glasses when he was nearsighted: beyond ten meters, people and animals were indistinguishable.

He braced one hand against the wall to keep himself from falling.

"Coo, coo!"

The White Dove, dozing nearby, saw how much pain Shimizu was in and anxiously flapped her wings in front of him.

She quickly flew beneath the bed, then returned with a small scroll tied to her leg.

"I'm fine. Don't go out and send a message."

Shimizu stopped the White Dove.

He'd trained her to send out a message to the Uchiha whenever he was in danger.

"Coo."

The White Dove stared intently at Shimizu with her beady eyes.

With her limited intelligence, she was giving the matter a thorough think.

Her master was clearly in pain. According to their agreement, she should go out and send a message—but now he was stopping her.

"I'm just a little unwell. I'll be fine in a moment."

A hint of white appeared in Shimizu's scarlet eyes.

Gradually, the white spread, standing against the scarlet as the two colors intertwined.

The scarlet seemed displeased with the intruding white and fought hard to hold it back.

The two Tomoe spun wildly, and a third was forced out between them.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan!

The two colors overlapped and intertwined, as if they were about to give birth to a new one.

But something seemed to be missing, and they failed to merge.

The white completely covered the scarlet. When Shimizu looked again, his eyes were pure white.

His vision pierced through the courtyard wall, allowing him to see Uchiha Tekka passing by.

Uchiha Tekka was happily eating Three-Color Dango. Shimizu could see the chewed-up dango sliding down his red throat and into his stomach.

He could also see countless vessel-like lines throughout the Uchiha's body: the chakra network!

To perform ninjutsu, a ninja had to circulate chakra through this network.

Everyone in this world had a chakra network, just as they were born with blood vessels. It spread through every corner of the body and contained three hundred and sixty-one chakra points.

Things he'd never been able to see before were now laid bare before Shimizu's eyes.

"The Byakugan really is something."

Shimizu marveled.

With this ability, he'd be far better at learning Medical Ninjutsu and treating the injured.

Even the Sharingan, with its incredibly powerful insight, could only observe the flow of chakra.

It couldn't see the structure of the human body. Only the Byakugan could see through it.

"Let's try this."

Shimizu tried to control the Byakugan, wondering if he could see through clothing alone, without seeing the skin.

After several attempts, he found that no matter what he did, he could only see straight through to the body's structure: the muscle fibers, bones, nerves, organs, and more.

"Neji was a pervert in the world of Limited Tsukuyomi."

In the original Road to Ninja movie, Neji Hyuga had used the Byakugan to peep at women.

Unlike what Shimizu had imagined, the Byakugan only showed him a pair of eerie human organs and the chakra network. Neji must have been a real hero to find that interesting.

Shimizu picked up a mirror. His handsome face was reflected in it, framed by a pair of pure white eyes.

When Shimizu channeled his ocular power, his pure white eyes turned scarlet again, with three Tomoe embedded in them.

"Can I only use one at a time?"

Shimizu deactivated both his Sharingan and Byakugan, and his pupils returned to their normal black.

A moment ago, he'd clearly sensed that their powers were on the verge of merging, since the Byakugan and Sharingan came from the same source.

Unfortunately, something was missing, and they hadn't managed to fuse.

Still, Shimizu wasn't bothered. If they couldn't merge at the Three-Tomoe stage, he'd try again with the Mangekyo. If that didn't work, he'd try the Eternal Mangekyo.

He had plenty of paths to explore; there was no need to rush.

His Sharingan had advanced from Two-Tomoe to Three-Tomoe, which was an unexpected bonus.

Shimizu could feel the power of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan changing his body, raising his limits and potential once again.

He didn't know whether it was because of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan or the Byakugan.

Shimizu felt that even his ordinary eyesight had improved. From beneath the eaves, he could make out the patterns on the leaves of a large tree.

"You're saying Shimizu's coming too?"

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Asuma Sarutobi, who was standing at the door, and asked in confusion.

"Yeah. We can go find him now."

"Why did you suddenly invite us to dinner?"

"Uh... well..."

Asuma Sarutobi scratched the back of his head. He couldn't exactly say that his old man wanted him to sound Shimizu out about his Will of Fire, while he also wanted to have a meal with Kurenai Yuhi.

So he'd decided to take care of both things at once. That way, there was no conflict.

Seeing Asuma Sarutobi stammer and fail to get a single word out, Kurenai Yuhi decided not to press him.

"I heard Shimizu's applying to graduate."

Kurenai Yuhi remembered her first spar with Uchiha Shimizu.

She'd lost to him that time, and if she wanted a rematch, she'd have to wear a pink dress.

"How could I possibly do that?"

Kurenai Yuhi murmured under her breath.

"Hm? Do what?"

Asuma Sarutobi thought he'd heard Kurenai Yuhi muttering, but she'd been too quiet for him to make out the words.

"Nothing."

Kurenai Yuhi shook her head, wondering whether she should go or not.