As evening approached, Uchiha Ao sat at the table, gazing at the five bottles before him.
The setting sun slanted through the window lattice, casting dappled shadows across the wooden table.
He had no idea what had gotten into Sister Izumi tonight. For once, she hadn't come running over to cling to him—instead, she'd gone out to train.
Fortunately, Sister Izumi was training within the clan compound and hadn't gone anywhere else.
Otherwise, he would've put off fusing Shisui's bloodline tonight and secretly followed her to keep her safe.
"This is it!" The simplest way to fuse bloodlines was to swallow the blood directly.
"Gulp."
As Shisui's blood slid down his throat, a gentle warmth rose from his stomach, like a warm current slowly flowing through his chakra pathways.
He could clearly feel Shisui's power melding with the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline within him, like a drop of ink seeping into clear water, gradually spreading and permeating it.
A faint light glimmered in Uchiha Ao's eyes as the patterns of his Sharingan began to change.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly revolved, its light growing brighter as the patterns between the tomoe grew increasingly intricate.
[ DING! Otsutsuki Bloodline progress: 11/100 ] [ DING! Otsutsuki Bloodline progress: 12/100 ] ...
As the system notifications rang out one after another, the Otsutsuki Bloodline progress bar kept climbing. Uchiha Ao felt an invisible power swelling within him.
His skin visibly turned as pale as snow, utterly drained of color, as if every trace of vitality had been sucked away. He now bore the distinctive, icy quality of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
"Phew. What a shame. I'm still just a little short." Uchiha Ao panted softly and wiped the sweat from his brow. He'd thought fusing Shisui's bloodline would awaken his Mangekyo, but he'd still fallen just short.
Could I be missing Sasuke's bloodline? No, Indra's, to be precise, Uchiha Ao mused.
If one had to name the progenitor of the Uchiha Clan, it would surely be Indra, the first man Black Zetsu had manipulated, and one of the Sage of Six Paths' sons.
Looks like I'll have to find a way to get Sasuke's blood.
As he pondered, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door.
A faint click followed, then an excited voice rang out behind him.
"Little brother! Come give your big sister a hug!"
Uchiha Izumi burst into the room, still radiating heat from her training, tiny beads of sweat clinging to the ends of her hair.
Oh no! Uchiha Ao thought. He knew exactly what had happened to his body. Looking like this would probably worry Sister Izumi.
Damn it, couldn't he change back?
Uchiha Ao screamed frantically in his mind.
He immediately thought of using the Transformation Technique to fool Sister Izumi, but before he could try, his skin returned to normal in an instant.
"Little brother, big sister's so tired. Come give me a hug." Completely unaware, Uchiha Izumi pounced on him and buried her face in Ao's shoulder.
Uchiha Ao stiffened for a moment. Feeling Izumi's arms tighten around his waist, he slowly relaxed, though his heart still pounded fiercely in his chest.
"Sister Izumi, take a bath before you hug me! I just got out of the bath, and now you've gotten me dirty again." Since Sister Izumi hadn't noticed his transformation, he no longer had anything to worry about. He tried to push her away, sounding a little put out.
But Sister Izumi didn't respond.
"Hm?" Uchiha Ao turned in confusion, only to see her hair hanging over her face. The weight against his shoulder made him realize something was wrong.
He carefully supported Izumi's back and gently straightened her up. Only then did he see the undried tears clinging to her lashes and the unnatural flush on her damp cheeks. Her breathing was faint and rapid. She had clearly fallen fast asleep, utterly exhausted.
Uchiha Ao gently wiped the tears from Sister Izumi's face, then carried her to his bed.
After settling Izumi down, he hesitated for a moment before crouching to remove her dusty training shoes.
Beneath them, her pale ankles were slightly red, clearly from a long session of strenuous training.
Uchiha Ao's throat felt tight, and his palms grew damp with sweat. He only meant to check whether she was hurt, but his gaze kept wandering uncontrollably over her toes.
"Little brother, hug me..." Uchiha Izumi murmured in her sleep, still calling for him.
Uchiha Ao snapped back to his senses, then hurriedly pulled the blanket over Izumi, tucking her in completely and leaving only her head uncovered.
After that, he went to the bathroom to take a bath.
Once he'd washed, Uchiha Ao quickly dried himself and changed into clean clothes.
When he returned to the room, he found Sister Izumi sleeping peacefully. Her steady breathing drifted softly through the quiet room.
Uchiha Ao's tense heart eased a little, but then he remembered that Sister Izumi had been crying.
He felt furious all over again.
Damn it, I've never even made Sister Izumi cry. Which little bastard dared treat her like this?!
Hmph, Itachi, Obito—you're finished!
After adding the two of them to his mental list of grudges, Uchiha Ao felt much better, both in body and mind.
He tiptoed out of his room, quietly pulled the door shut, and stood in the hallway, looking around in a daze.
There was one problem: where was he supposed to sleep tonight?
After standing in the hallway for a long while, Uchiha Ao decided to go to Sister Izumi's room.
He pushed open Sister Izumi's door, and a faint, pleasant scent wafted over him.
It was a distinctive fragrance, clean and fresh, like honeysuckle kissed by the morning dew.
The furnishings were almost bare: a hard bed took up most of the room, its bedding folded into a neat square, with a gleaming kunai tucked against one corner.
One thing caught his attention: Sister Izumi's bed was covered in pictures of him.
Uchiha Ao casually picked up a few. He'd only meant to look at what he'd been like before, but instead he discovered another secret.
Well, well, well. So Sister Izumi had been following me around all this time.
The angles in the pictures were absurdly tricky. He couldn't help wondering if Sister Izumi had practiced taking them.
After gathering all the pictures to one side, Uchiha Ao lay down on the bed.
The scent of honeysuckle around him grew clearer, but for some reason, however pleasant and delicate it was, it still couldn't compare to the much stronger scent lingering on his own bed.
Uchiha Ao's lips twitched.
Good grief. Sister Izumi had probably spent more time sleeping in his bed than in her own!
That was what he thought, but he still burrowed farther under the covers. With Sister Izumi's familiar scent around him, Uchiha Ao slowly closed his eyes, his breathing growing longer and steadier.
In the middle of the night, Uchiha Izumi sleepily rolled over and reached out by habit, only to find nothing there.
She jolted awake, her Three-Tomoe Sharingan instantly glowing crimson in the darkness. To everyone's surprise, the patterns between the tomoe began to twist and rearrange, and the scarlet light grew ever more intense.
A powerful ocular force burst from her.
Before you continue