Kill Shisui, Help You Awaken Your Mangekyo

"Wonderful. Are you really only ten years old? I'd love to cut you open and take a look inside!"

Orochimaru's golden slit pupils stared fixedly at the boy before him. The amazement on his face was utterly undisguised, and because of that, the greed in his eyes stood out all the more.

Although he had now completely gained the upper hand, the scenes from their recent battle still echoed through Orochimaru's mind. Orochimaru himself was a genius, but only now did he understand what a true genius was.

"So this is the power of the Sharingan—the Uchiha bloodline that countless ordinary ninja could never surpass, no matter how hard they worked! I think I understand why Danzo is so obsessed with these eyes!"

Orochimaru licked the corner of his lips again, his greedy gaze falling upon Uchiha Mo—or, more precisely, upon those indifferent eyes.

"Big brother!"

At the side, Shisui immediately looked anxious when he saw Uchiha Mo captured by Orochimaru. He placed a hand on the hilt of the short sword on his back and charged toward Orochimaru.

"Big brother! Don't worry, I'll save you!"

Orochimaru glanced at the young Uchiha child, looking bored. But when he turned and saw the ever-expressionless Uchiha Mo faintly furrow his brow, a cruel smile suddenly appeared on his face.

His lips curled, and his hoarse voice brimmed with anticipation.

"I've read some records. Three tomoe don't seem to be the limit of the Sharingan. Legend has it that an even more powerful Sharingan exists beyond it!"

"..."

"Mo-kun... With your talent, if I kill your little brother, do you think you'll be able to evolve that legendary Sharingan?"

As his words fell, Orochimaru could clearly sense, through the python tightly coiled around Uchiha Mo, that the boy's breath had caught before growing heavier. His entire body had stiffened as well.

Staring at Mo's calm face, Orochimaru grinned.

The method of awakening the Sharingan was no secret. Although Uchiha Mo had remained expressionless, that seemed more like an attempt to deceive Orochimaru and protect Shisui. His instinctive physical reaction had already exposed his true emotions.

Combined with the talent Uchiha Mo had displayed, Orochimaru was certain: if the Sharingan truly possessed a more powerful evolved form, then after he killed Shisui, Uchiha Mo would definitely be able to unlock it!

As he thought, the sound of Shisui's rushing footsteps had already drawn close.

Orochimaru's tongue swept over the corner of his mouth. Scarlet light suddenly flashed through his eyes, and then, grinning, he raised his ninja blade and spun around, slashing at Shisui like lightning!

Whoosh!

Clang—!

"What?!!!"

Sparks flew as the ninja blade was firmly blocked. Under Orochimaru's astonished gaze, the Shisui before him suddenly exploded into a cloud of smoke, transforming into an Uchiha Orochimaru knew even better!

Uchiha Mo wore a mocking smile. With one hand, he held a kunai against Orochimaru's slash. The tomoe in his eyes spun rapidly as he suddenly thrust the other hand—which had been hidden behind his back due to his sword-drawing stance—toward Orochimaru!

Fire Style: Scarlet Scorch!

It was not over. At that very instant, a dazzling bolt of lightning burst from the earth behind Orochimaru, accompanied by the cry of a thousand birds!

Screee—!

Chidori!

In that instant, Orochimaru had one Uchiha Mo in his right hand, while the ninja blade in his left hand was locked against a kunai. At the same time, two deadly ninjutsu struck from his side and behind!

Even Orochimaru, one of the Three Ninja, completely panicked in the face of such a situation. He hurriedly opened his mouth, wanting to do something.

But at that very moment! The "Uchiha Mo" restrained by Hidden Shadow Multiple Snake Hands suddenly curled his lips into a mocking smile.

Then, Orochimaru felt his right hand go empty. That "Uchiha Mo" instantly transformed into a mass of lightning and surged onto his body.

Lightning Release: Shadow Clone!

"Arghhh..."

Violent lightning danced wildly across Orochimaru's body like mad serpents. Orochimaru screamed as his body began to convulse!

Compared to the explosion of a Crow Clone, a lightning clone did not deal much damage. Its strength, however, lay in its exceptionally powerful paralysis effect!

Orochimaru's movements were forcibly interrupted. The paralysis left him unable to mount any effective resistance, and Scarlet Scorch and Chidori struck his body at the same time.

Boom—!

Screee—!

Time rewound to before Uchiha Mo and Uchiha Shisui entered the forest.

"Big brother, it's already been a month. We don't need to be this on edge, do we?"

Although Shisui had been especially happy about the far greater attention his older brother had shown him lately, a month had already passed, yet Mo was still acting so guarded. Shisui could not help worrying about his mental state.

"Danzo Shimura is an elder of the village, after all. He has plenty to do. Maybe he forgot about us long ago?"

Mo held Shisui back with one hand. His eyes narrowed slightly in concentration as he activated Clairvoyance and carefully scanned the forest.

Since he had discovered that Danzo had contacted Orochimaru after resolving their conflict, Mo naturally could not lower his guard so easily.

Though he did not have Clairaudience and thus did not know exactly what they had discussed, the worst-case scenario was undoubtedly that the two had joined forces to make a move against him.

And if that was the case, then even inside the village was not safe at all.

As a senior advisory elder, Danzo could easily use his authority to create a "loophole" somewhere within the Hidden Leaf, allowing Orochimaru to enter and end the fight swiftly.

Moreover, Mo knew that the best choice for this place was the Naka River, where the two brothers came almost every day without fail!

Sure enough! Not long after the thought crossed his mind, Mo spotted four figures in black robes crouching motionlessly on tree branches amid the woods!

His gaze sharpened as he looked upward. On an exceptionally high branch stood a pale-skinned man with an eerie face, dressed in a jonin flak jacket... It was Orochimaru!

Mo's pupils contracted. He withdrew his gaze and turned to Shisui.

"Shisui, go home."

"What?" Shisui tilted his head in confusion.

"Go home," Mo repeated calmly.

Shisui looked toward the woods, then at his expressionless older brother, seemingly realizing something.

"What about you? Can't we just avoid them?" He knew his brother possessed a powerful sensory ninjutsu, so he immediately guessed the reason.

Mo shook his head. "We can't hide forever. Since they've come, we need to find a way to deal with them. Running away isn't the Uchiha Clan's way."

As he spoke, he formed a cross-shaped hand seal.

Bang!

Smoke burst forth, and a Lightning Clone appeared beside him. Mo then handed Futsunomitama to it, created a Shadow Clone, and used the Transformation Technique to turn himself into Shisui.

It was not that Mo did not want to use two Lightning Clones; Lightning Clones consumed a great deal of chakra. This allocation was the only way to keep his main body's combat strength from being affected too severely.