Awakened Eyes!

If someone continuously experienced the process of chakra nature transformation, it would undoubtedly accelerate their understanding of chakra natures.

"Mm."

Rin Nohara nodded gently.

Then Kiyoshi refined his chakra, transforming its nature into Lightning Release chakra and extending it from his palm onto Rin Nohara's hand.

"Lightning Release: Iron Skin" involved refining chakra near the surface of the skin, close to the meridian system above the skin cells, allowing Rin Nohara's hand to experience the process of attribute-less chakra becoming Lightning Release chakra.

"Mmm..."

Rin Nohara felt a slight prickling in her palm, as though an electric current were passing over it.

But she still did not seem to sense any change.

Uchiha Compound.

Obito dragged his exhausted body over.

"Obito, you're back so late?"

"You must be hungry. Grandma will give you a pancake."

The couple who ran the Uchiha Pancake Shop greeted Obito.

Uchiha Kome took out a warm pancake and wrapped it in oil paper.

"Grandma Kome, I don't have any money."

Obito hurriedly waved his hands.

With both parents gone, only his fifty-something grandmother remained to raise him.

If not for the compensation his parents had left behind, the family's finances would have been extremely tight.

That was why Obito was usually very frugal.

"It's all right. Grandma's giving it to you."

Uchiha Kome smiled kindly and handed him the pancake.

"Thank you."

Unable to refuse, Obito accepted the pancake.

He had just returned from training outside.

He had been somewhat hoping Rin Nohara would come to Training Ground Three, where they used to train often, but he had waited without seeing her.

"Haha, young people these days are just too polite."

Uchiha Tesho said with a smile.

"By the way, Obito, how is the new clansman doing in class? You haven't been isolating him, have you?"

Uchiha Tesho asked.

He had been born not long after Konoha was founded, during the period when ninja clans from all corners were still adjusting to one another.

Having grown up through those experiences, Uchiha Tesho did not feel any resistance toward Kiyoshi coming from another country.

Everyone had gathered together to form a nation, and then a village. How many decades had it even been?

Strictly speaking, everyone had once been foreigners from different lands.

Uchiha Tesho's question nearly made Obito choke on his pancake.

He coughed several times before saying:

"He isn't being isolated at all. A lot of people actually like him."

Obito curled his lip.

Never mind Rin Nohara—Kurenai Yuhi was always finding reasons to go looking for Kiyoshi Uchiha.

And during one break between classes, even Shizune, who had always kept a low profile, came to ask whether Kiyoshi Uchiha trained hard in the clan!

That had really opened Obito's eyes.

Was the identity of a foreign transfer student really that attractive?

"Haha, everyone is Uchiha. You should stand united. As long as he can settle in, that's good. A little girl just came by to ask for his address too."

Uchiha Kome picked up the conversation.

She and her husband shared similar views.

"Who was it?"

Obito had eaten half the pancake and asked casually.

"A very cute little girl with purple markings on her face."

Uchiha Kome said.

Obito froze instantly.

Purple markings, little girl.

Could it have been Rin?

What was Rin looking for Kiyoshi for?

Obito furrowed his brows. Forgetting about the pancake, he hurriedly bade the couple farewell and ran toward Kiyoshi's house.

Rin has never gone to my house this late.

A vague sense of unease rose in Obito's heart, and he quickened his pace toward that direction.

The streetlights on both sides of the road lit up one after another, casting dim light.

"Do I not have any talent for this?"

Rin Nohara asked despondently.

Even now, she had not sensed the so-called "Lightning Release chakra."

It seemed her wish to help Kakashi would come to nothing.

"It's fine. If once doesn't work, then try again. Next time, we can try increasing the area of contact."

Kiyoshi comforted her, still holding Rin Nohara's hand.

Rin Nohara lightly pressed her lower lip between her teeth, but she did not stop him.

Just as they were about to follow Kiyoshi's suggestion and increase the contact area, a startled cry suddenly rang out.

"Kiyoshi Uchiha, what are you doing?!"

Obito ran in.

His face was filled with disbelief.

He had not known until he looked, but one look gave him a fright.

He had climbed over the crude wall around Kiyoshi's house and, through the open paper sliding door, seen Kiyoshi Uchiha holding Rin Nohara's hand.

He was even leaning forward, and who knew what he had been about to do next.

"Obito, why are you at Kiyoshi's house?"

Rin Nohara was nearly startled by Obito's sudden appearance.

"Rin, I knew Kiyoshi wasn't a good person. Was he taking advantage of you just now?"

The thought made Obito's anger flare.

Even he had never held Rin's soft, fragrant little hand like that.

Yet Kiyoshi had gotten there first.

"You misunderstood, Obito."

Kiyoshi withdrew his hand and stopped changing the nature of his chakra.

The faint electric stimulation lingering around Rin Nohara's skin gradually faded.

"Obito, I remember the door outside was locked, wasn't it?"

Rin Nohara frowned deeply.

Obito was always mischievous, and she had always tolerated him.

But this was going too far. He was practically like a child who would never grow up.

His mentality was more childish and self-centered than that of others his age.

"No... Rin, I did this for you."

Hearing the faint reproach in Rin Nohara's voice, Obito did not understand why she seemed unhappy.

But he did not want Rin Nohara to dislike him, so he hurriedly explained.

If Grandma Kome had not said that Rin might be here, he might never have come to Kiyoshi Uchiha's house for the rest of his life.

"For me?"

Rin Nohara only felt exhausted.

She had already been troubled and worried over Kakashi's situation, and her progress in learning Lightning Release had remained at zero.

A layer of pressure hung over her heart.

And now Obito was still being this unreliable.

"Sorry for wasting your time, Kiyoshi."

Rin Nohara said apologetically.

"It's nothing. Rin Nohara, you've taught me many things too, haven't you?"

Kiyoshi smiled.

Watching Obito desperately explain himself and Rin Nohara's weary expression—

It was simply... thrilling!

No lights were on in the inner room.

Only a few faint rays of light shone in from outside.

Shadows covered Kiyoshi's face.

The dim world before his eyes was veiled in red.

A surge of heat began to whirl within him.

This was an even more extraordinary feeling than when he had first awakened his eyes.

Because only when both Sharingan were present could the Sharingan's abilities truly be unleashed.

It was like a beam of light suddenly emerging from long-silent darkness, tearing apart the night.

As the red veil faded, Kiyoshi saw a world more real than ever before.

His Eye Power was rapidly surging.

No longer was it the Sharingan in its "single-eye" state. This time, it was a "two-eyed" Sharingan!

Kiyoshi's world had changed.

The distant scenery was no longer blurry, and every detail hidden in the darkness was exposed before his eyes.