Testing the Mangekyō Sharingan

Tsunade stood quietly at the edge of the training ground, noticing the change in Uchiha Gōka's eyes:

"Could that be..."

"The Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"Karmic Fire, did he break through?"

Shock showed on Tsunade's face, and her emotions were difficult to calm.

Yesterday, in Tsunade's eyes, Uchiha Gōka had still been nothing more than a commoner, not even qualified to become a genin.

Today, she had discovered that Karmic Fire had actually broken through the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Then she recalled those mysterious questions Karmic Fire had revealed to Madara Uchiha.

Tsunade sighed inwardly. That guy Karmic Fire has far too many secrets hidden on him!

However, upon closer inspection, Tsunade discovered something.

Uchiha Gōka's eyes kept shifting back and forth between the "nine-tomoe vortex and three tomoe" patterns.

"Could it be that Karmic Fire's Sharingan is still unstable after evolving?"

A hint of tension and worry appeared on Tsunade's face. Would something go wrong when Karmic Fire awakened the "Nine-Tomoe Mangekyo Sharingan"?

His eyes kept switching between the "Mangekyō" and "three-tomoe" forms, clearly unstable.

Uchiha Gōka slowly closed his eyes and quietly sensed the changes in his ocular powers.

He sat quietly where he was, feeling the changes brought about by awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan...

Another half hour passed.

The sky was dim in the evening twilight.

Suddenly, Uchiha Gōka opened his eyes again. They were no longer the blood-red Nine-Tomoe Sharingan, but ordinary Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

His eyes finally stabilized in the Three-Tomoe Sharingan form.

Uchiha Gōka rose to his feet and walked toward Tsunade, who was not far away.

Tsunade hurried over to meet him.

"Karmic Fire, it seemed like you had just broken through..."

Uchiha Gōka gently shook his head. "Mm... I've found the opportunity for a breakthrough."

"But last night, I expended too much physical and spiritual energy, and this is my first time experiencing it."

"Although I've touched the threshold of a breakthrough, I still can't stabilize the Mangekyō Sharingan's state."

Tsunade furrowed her delicate brows, a trace of regret on her face. "Ah! What a pity!"

A smile appeared at the corner of Uchiha Gōka's lips. "Hehe! Everything takes time."

"Sometimes, pursuing speed too much isn't necessarily a good thing."

Tsunade nodded.

Feeling the exhaustion in his body, Uchiha Gōka said, "Let's go home now."

Under the evening darkness, Tsunade followed Uchiha Gōka through the forest behind the mountain.

Tsunade's face was filled with a young girl's happiness.

It seemed that Tsunade greatly enjoyed this wonderful moment of walking through the woods with him.

Walking beside Uchiha Gōka gave her an inexplicable sense of fondness...

As they walked, the two emerged from the forest.

Tsunade felt a slight resentment in her heart, resenting the forest for being too small and the time she spent with Uchiha Gōka for being too brief.

In the village, the two arrived at a fork in the road.

Without realizing it, Tsunade followed Uchiha Gōka in the direction of his home.

It seemed perfectly natural for her to follow Uchiha Gōka home.

They had not gone far along the village road.

Tsunade's brows furrowed slightly as she suddenly realized that her home was in the other direction.

At once, Tsunade felt somewhat flustered.

Why am I following Karmic Fire to his house tonight?

She seemed unable to think of any suitable reason.

Uchiha Gōka seemed to have noticed the hesitation in Tsunade's heart.

"Tonight..."

The two stopped walking.

Tsunade looked somewhat bashful. "Mm... How is your body feeling now?"

Uchiha Gōka looked at Tsunade from close range. "Uh... I've mostly recovered."

In an instant, Tsunade waged an intense inner struggle. "Since you're all right, then I..."

"I should go back tonight."

In truth, Tsunade knew that when she had followed Karmic Fire home yesterday evening,

she had drawn many strange looks from the Uchiha clan members.

If she followed Karmic Fire home again tonight, it might cause an even greater misunderstanding.

As the two turned to part ways,

Tsunade suddenly felt empty inside.

Only then did Tsunade realize that the relationship between herself and Uchiha Gōka seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

Their relationship seemed closer than before, as though it had taken another step forward.

Back to back, the two slowly walked away from one another.

Tsunade returned home.

Not long after arriving home,

she suddenly heard knocking at the door.

When she opened it, she found Jiraiya, Senju Chengshui, and several idle busybodies outside.

When Jiraiya and Senju Chengshui asked whether she had spent the night with Karmic Fire,

Tsunade could not be bothered to respond. She shut the door directly, leaving them all outside.

On the other side,

after Uchiha Gōka returned home and rested for a while,

he continued to close his eyes and focus, using Madara Uchiha's insights and experience along with his own understanding to deduce the Sharingan's evolution.

After several hours, Uchiha Gōka suddenly opened his eyes.

The black vortexes in his pupils and the nine tomoe spun at high speed...

A moment later, Uchiha Gōka's Sharingan finally stabilized.

It stabilized in the "Nine-Tomoe Mangekyō Sharingan" state.

"I broke through!"

At the instant of his breakthrough, Uchiha Gōka suddenly discovered a powerful surge of energy erupting within his body.

The Nine-Tomoe Sharingan housed uniquely powerful ocular techniques.

Clenching his fists, he felt an impatient urge to test this power.

He looked out the window.

Outside, a heavy rain was falling.

It was already deep into the night.

"Mm... It should be the latter half of the night now."

Deducing and breaking through to the Mangekyō Sharingan had taken a great toll on Uchiha Gōka's mind.

At this moment, Uchiha Gōka looked exhausted.

Yet the awakening of the "Nine-Tomoe Mangekyō" Sharingan's ocular powers left Uchiha Gōka feeling somewhat excited.

Uchiha Gōka put on a raincoat, tidied himself up, and headed straight for Konoha's back mountain...

After traveling for some time through the pitch-black night and torrential rain,

Uchiha Gōka arrived at Konoha's back mountain—the abandoned training ground.

After a brief period of sensing,

Uchiha Gōka discovered that he possessed the unique Mangekyō Sharingan abilities of everyone, including Itachi and Shisui.

Perhaps it had something to do with his reincarnation from his previous life into this world.

Uchiha Gōka cast "Kotoamatsukami" on a tree.

[Kotoamatsukami—It can directly invade the target's brain without being noticed, permanently and completely altering the target's will. This technique is "the eye that governs will, turning everyone the caster sees into their puppet."]

Uchiha Gōka's Kotoamatsukami genjutsu had no cooldown at all, eliminating the weakness of Shisui's Kotoamatsukami.

Then, Uchiha Gōka activated his Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Amaterasu!"

A patch of black flames immediately appeared before him.

They blazed fiercely amid the heavy rain.

A vast stretch of forest was burned away.

Uchiha Gōka summoned the power of Susanoo, which resided within the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Suddenly, a translucent green giant enveloped Uchiha Gōka at the center of its body, holding a green sword in one hand and a shield in the other.

[Susanoo—This is an ultimate ninjutsu combining offense and defense. It possesses absolute defense while also wielding unparalleled offensive power.]

"Mm? My Susanoo is green too, just like Shisui's."

Uchiha Gōka curiously observed the form of his Susanoo.

Then, the sword in Susanoo's hand swept out.

A vast stretch of forest ahead was instantly cut clean away.

Another slash struck the ground, causing the earth to shake violently and split apart...

"What incredible power!"

Uchiha Gōka marveled inwardly.

The black pupil vortexes and nine tomoe in his eyes spun at high speed.

Suddenly, the green giant hurled nine clusters of green, meteor-like flames into the distance...

Those nine meteor-like clusters of green flame were the "Nine-Slope Tomoe"!

[Nine-Slope Tomoe—Tomoe resembling the Sharingan pattern are thrown like shuriken. This is a powerful long-range technique.]

Nine enormous green tomoe shot into the distance...

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

Nine violent explosions rang out in the distance.

Several towering hills in the distance were instantly blasted flat!