Itachi's Mangekyō

After a night of focused study, Jin had mastered quite a few things. His excitement left him with no desire to sleep at all. Sasuke had already returned to his room to rest, while Itachi had gone to the ANBU. Jin headed to the training grounds and ordered the servants not to disturb him. Alone, he began reviewing what he had learned the previous night. One useful ninjutsu after another came forth, linked together so smoothly that even Itachi could not have done it so well. Jin's hand speed was simply too fast—twice Itachi's speed! And he was forming seals one-handed! In other words, Jin's hand speed had already reached the pinnacle of the ninja world. Aside from instant-cast ninjutsu, no one was faster than him. Of course, Jin had long mastered the powerful Rasengan and had even developed it into the Super Big Ball Rasengan, though its preparation time was a little longer. If this seal-less ninjutsu struck a Kage-level expert, it could inflict severe injuries. But the problem was that Jin had no way of getting close to a Kage-level expert. Against the endless stream of ninjutsu wielded by such opponents, Jin's combat experience was far too lacking. One careless mistake might get him killed.

Jin's small figure trained in the training grounds. As the sun set, a full day of training left him utterly exhausted. Still, his gains had been considerable. That night, Jin went alone to Itachi's room.

"Teach me how to use genjutsu already! I can't wait any longer!" Jin urged Itachi.

"Let me see how much you actually learned yesterday. Show me a Great Fireball Technique." Itachi tested Jin.

"Fire Style! Great Fireball Technique!" Jin launched a Great Fireball Technique at a speed of three hand seals per second.

"Amazing! You can already form three seals per second at only three years old! And you learned the Great Fireball Technique overnight." Itachi praised him. But inwardly, he thought, Is Jin an idiot or a genius? Forget it, I'll teach him genjutsu and see. If he can learn genjutsu quickly, then he's definitely a genius! A genius even greater than Sasuke—even greater than me!

As Itachi explained, he activated his Sharingan and cast genjutsu on Jin, allowing him to experience it for himself.

"Alright, I'm going to try something. This time, look at my Sharingan! Remember, you're not allowed to break it." Jin spoke innocently to Itachi.

"Sure! Begin! I'll be your training target!" Itachi smiled happily.

The next moment, Itachi appeared within Jin's genjutsu.

Itachi saw sunlike Jin and cheerful Sasuke playing together. Then the three of them headed toward a barbecue restaurant, where they ran into Naruto along the way. Immediately afterward, a voice said to Itachi, "Something happened to the clan!" Itachi told the three kids to go home by themselves later, then rushed toward the clan alone. When he reached the entrance, he saw his mother cut in half with a single strike by a black-robed man wielding the Decapitating Sword. His father stepped forward and tried to pull her away, but failed. Then the Decapitating Sword split Uchiha Fuchiu's body apart as well. The blood of his clansmen was everywhere around Itachi, and familiar faces lay one after another in pools of blood. Itachi was enraged! The Sharingan in his eyes began to change, transforming into—the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Seeing Itachi's transformation, Jin hurriedly changed his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan into a single-tomoe Sharingan and dispelled the genjutsu. Then he put on a surprised expression and shouted at Itachi, "Brother Itachi, what happened to your eyes?! Is something wrong?"

Itachi had begun to cry. He stared blankly at his hands, feeling the newly born power within him, and said to Jin, "This is an advanced form of the Sharingan—the Mangekyō Sharingan. I never thought I would awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan under these circumstances. Thank you, Jin."

Jin smiled awkwardly and pretended to say, "I thought I'd caused trouble again! Who knew I'd actually help you awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan? Then make sure you practice your new abilities a lot, teach Sasuke and me afterward, and treat us to barbecue!"

Itachi smiled and rubbed Jin's head. "No problem! It's getting late. Go to sleep early!"

Jin left happily. Alone in the room, Itachi recalled what had just happened and said in surprise, "Jin really is a genius! In such a short time, he learned simple genjutsu and even used his Sharingan to deceive me. No, that's not right! My Sharingan is more advanced than his! Before I awakened, I remember that my Mangekyō Sharingan had already opened. Logically, I should have immediately broken free from the genjutsu. Why did I remain trapped for that extra second? Could Jin's Sharingan ability be to strengthen genjutsu? No, I need to ask him right away!"

Humming a little tune, Jin happily headed toward his room, thinking with delight, Hehehe, I wonder whether Itachi with the Mangekyō Sharingan can stand against the Akatsuki.

"Jin, come back to the room. I have something to ask you!" Itachi rushed over and scooped Jin up. Jin thought gloomily, Why is my detection range only a pathetic ten meters?

"What is your Sharingan ability? Do you know?" Itachi asked urgently.

Itachi's question made Jin think of the issue as well. He pondered to himself, What is my Sharingan ability? I still haven't discovered it. The Sharingan can amplify genjutsu one to five times, grant genjutsu immunity, mark chakra points, and so on. Could those be my abilities? That's way too many! How am I supposed to answer this? Jin did not know what to do for a moment.

"Is your Sharingan ability to strengthen genjutsu?" Itachi asked in a leading manner.

Jin was worrying over how to answer, so he nodded. "I think so? I'm not really sure."

After considering it carefully, Itachi said with certainty, "Jin, you need to practice genjutsu more in the future. This is your ability. If you use it well, no one will be your match! I'll report this to Father. You need to work harder!"

Watching Itachi's retreating back, Jin silently prayed to some great god in the heavens. Is genjutsu really my Sharingan ability? Maybe. When I have time later, I definitely need to study it properly. But now isn't the time to sleep. Lately, I keep feeling like something is about to happen. I should check what Danzo is doing. That old bastard never lets anyone rest easy. Hehehe, a Kage-level expert, huh? But last time, I stood not far from him using the Gale Technique, and he didn't notice me at all. Looks like as long as I don't make any major movements, he can't detect me. This Gale Technique is really useful! I wonder if the world of Naruto has anti-stealth methods!

"Byakugan!" Hinata was diligently practicing her clan's eye technique. Her father, Hiashi Hyuga, stood beside her.

"Not bad! Hinata, you've improved again! It's getting late. You should rest now!" Hiashi Hyuga said with a pleased smile.

"I know, Father. I want to protect Brother Jin. I'm fine, and it's still early." Hinata's face turned red.

Ah! I really don't know whether my decision back then was right or wrong. Hinata is too obsessed. It seems necessary to have another child, Hiashi Hyuga thought.

"Gale Technique!" Jin concealed himself and raced toward the canyon where Danzo lived in seclusion.