"What did you talk about with Sister Izumi earlier, Shisui?" the Shadow Clone asked.
He didn't reveal what he was really thinking. Instead, he turned the conversation to Sister Izumi.
"Earlier?" Shisui paused, then remembered how he'd used genjutsu on Ao-kun's sister a few days ago and driven her to the brink of despair.
Shisui's mouth twitched. His one arm instinctively rose to rub the tip of his nose.
Could Ao-kun have come to get revenge for his sister?
Should I put on a show before I kneel, or just kneel right away?
As Shisui wrestled with whether to "put on a show before kneeling" or "give in immediately," the Shadow Clone suddenly chuckled. "With that look on your face, Shisui, did you think I came here to call you to account?"
"Actually, I should be thanking you." The Shadow Clone didn't wait for Shisui to respond before continuing. "If you hadn't provoked Sister Izumi, she might not have awakened her Mangekyō Sharingan."
Hearing Ao-kun's words, Shisui froze. His one arm hung rigidly in the air like a statue, and his ears rang.
Wait, she awakened the Mangekyō just like that?
Then what did his own awakening count for?
Remembering how he'd awakened his Mangekyō only after witnessing the deaths of his dear friend and family, Shisui suddenly felt the injustice of the world keenly.
"Come on, Shisui, stop spacing out." The Shadow Clone waved a hand before his eyes. "I brought up Sister Izumi because I'm thinking of having her join us, too."
Any Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan underwent a monumental change.
Take Obito, for example—the guy who wandered around the Shinobi World all day wearing a mask.
Before awakening his Mangekyō, he'd been a complete dead last.
The Shadow Clone figured that, given Obito's talent, if he hadn't gone through what he did, he probably couldn't even have beaten Naruto Uzumaki at the time.
"Think about it. Once Sister Izumi joins us, we'll have two Mangekyō users on our side. You can handle Itachi, while Sister Izumi controls those stubborn elders." The Shadow Clone plucked a maple leaf and deftly flipped it between his fingers. Sunlight scattered into tiny flecks across its surface.
"I've experienced Sister Izumi's Mangekyō ability before. It should be similar to your Kotoamatsukami, though it might not be as powerful. But its cooldown is shorter, so it's perfect for dealing with those old men who are weak-willed. All she has to do is use it while they're giving speeches at the clan meeting..."
The Shadow Clone left the rest unsaid, confident that Shisui understood what he meant.
"Hmm..." Shisui murmured, rubbing the weathered marks on the tree trunk with his one hand.
It had already been beyond his expectations that Ao-kun's sister had awakened the Mangekyō. He hadn't expected her ocular ability to be so powerful, too.
"But if she uses her ocular ability too often, your sister might not be able to handle the strain, Ao-kun." Shisui furrowed his brow. He had a Mangekyō himself, so he knew its side effects well.
That was why he believed in using that power as little as possible.
"Don't worry. I can take care of that."
The Uchiha Clan's bloodline could be traced back to Indra a thousand years ago. As the Sage of Six Paths' son, Indra naturally had a rich inheritance of Otsutsuki blood.
On the day Indra and his brother Asura fought their final battle, Indra had summoned a Perfect Susanoo.
And summoning a Perfect Susanoo required the Eternal Mangekyo.
To evolve from the Mangekyō to the Eternal Mangekyo, one had to fuse their eyes with those of a close relative.
Apart from the Sage of Six Paths and Asura, did Indra have any close relatives in the Shinobi World?
Black Zetsu didn't count.
As for why Kakashi could summon a Perfect Susanoo after Obito gave him his eyes...
Uchiha Ao suspected it was because he had once been a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
His eyes had transformed the moment he reached the Six Paths level.
After all, what kind of Mangekyō could cross the boundary between life and death and send its eyes to someone else?
So Uchiha Ao's theory was this:
The reason the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyō users gradually lost their eyesight was simple.
As time passed, the Otsutsuki blood within the Uchiha Clan grew thinner and thinner.
But he had pure Otsutsuki blood. Restoring Sister Izumi's bloodline in the future would be a piece of cake.
"Fine." Shisui let out a long sigh. "Since you've got a plan, I'll do everything I can to help."
"All right, that's pretty much it. Once the clan meeting starts, just watch my hand signals and act accordingly." The Shadow Clone crushed the last maple leaf, and the fragments drifted away on the wind.
"Okay." Shisui nodded. "I'll get going, then."
He started to leap down from the branch.
"Whoa, wait! Don't rush off!" Uchiha Ao called out quickly.
They'd finished discussing business, but he hadn't yet wrung every last bit of help out of Shisui.
"Ao-kun, could you please tell me everything at once next time?" Shisui said helplessly.
How many times had Ao stopped him now?
The time before last, he'd asked Shisui to teach his Shadow Clone. Last time, he'd asked him for a blood transfusion. What did he want this time?
Seeing Shisui's mournful expression, the Shadow Clone sheepishly rubbed the tip of his nose. "Ahem. It's just that you're so useful, Shisui... I mean, you're so capable and experienced!"
"Ao-kun, I heard that." Shisui looked even more helpless. He propped his one hand against his forehead, and even his Sharingan seemed veiled in a layer of sorrow. "Keep taking advantage of me like this, and I'll spank you the next time I see your real body."
He deliberately put on a stern face, but the twitching at the corner of his mouth betrayed his helpless amusement.
The Shadow Clone grinned. He wholeheartedly approved of Shisui wanting to spank his real body. "That'd be great, Shisui. I've wanted to teach the real me a lesson for ages."
Shisui froze, nearly falling off the branch. His one hand grabbed the trunk in a flash.
Then he turned to look at Ao-kun's Shadow Clone beside him, utterly at a loss.
If even the clone was like this, wouldn't the real one be even more of a headache?
Shisui suddenly felt that the future of the Uchiha Clan rested on his shoulders.
Despite his exasperation, Shisui patiently continued teaching the Shadow Clone.
By the time the setting sun had dyed the clouds crimson, he'd taught it just about everything he could.
"Ao-kun, you've wrung me dry..." Shisui slumped weakly against the tree trunk, his one arm resting on his knee.
He watched the Shadow Clone continue merging chakra with unflagging enthusiasm. His Sharingan looked ready to brim with tears. "Ao-kun, you promised me Ichiraku Ramen. If we don't eat soon, I'm going to waste away into a mummy."
At that, the Shadow Clone stopped as if someone had hit pause and immediately hurried over to Shisui. "Come on, let's go! I'll take you there right now."
By the time the two of them landed in front of Ichiraku Ramen Shop, the wind had mussed Shisui's hair. Before he could even steady himself, the Shadow Clone dragged him inside. "Uncle Ichiraku! One extra-extra-large Tonkotsu Ramen! Pile on the char siu! And add two more soft-boiled eggs!"
As he called out, the Shadow Clone hopped onto a stool with practiced ease and patted the empty seat beside him, signaling for Shisui to sit there.
"Aren't you going to order something for yourself?" Shisui walked over and sat down.
"Shisui, do you hear yourself? I'm just a Shadow Clone."
Before you continue