Fugaku is Pleased, Mikoto Has Matured

Little Izumi watched Itachi's retreating back, cheering herself on in her heart.

A moment later, she walked the path home all by herself.

The duel, which had begun at dusk, was nearing nightfall, and a few wisps of evening breeze drifted by.

Fugaku's expression was solemn as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The skeletal phantom of his Susanoo was covered in cracks.

As Fugaku increased his ocular power to coat the skeleton in a layer of muscle fibers, a violent pain surged through his eyes, forcing him to cease the output of his chakra.

"You... you actually mastered this power?"

Fugaku clutched one eye, his eyes regressing from the Mangekyo state back to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Having not utilized the power of the Mangekyo for so long, he felt incredibly unaccustomed to it.

Standing opposite him, Shimizu bore numerous wounds on his body.

White steam swirled around him, and his injuries were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"You aren't the only one who can read the Uchiha Stone Tablet."

Shimizu flapped his wings and descended from mid-air.

He had stacked various states earlier, keeping Fugaku on the defensive.

The wounds on his body were actually the result of using both Lightning Style: Regenerative Body Refinement and the Formation of the Eight Inner Gates simultaneously.

Unless Fugaku utilized a half-body Susanoo, or even employed some of the unique abilities inherent to the Susanoo, he would have struggled to inflict any injuries on Shimizu at all.

"The legend of the Sage of Six Paths is undoubtedly a true story; the ancestors of the Uchiha Clan were capable of controlling Susanoo with only a Three-Tomoe Sharingan."

Shimizu said indifferently.

Neither side had truly fought to the death; if Fugaku had used his eyes recklessly like Sasuke,