A change in demeanor

The technique in her right eye was "Kotoamatsukami."

The technique in her left eye was "Replication."

Unlike an ordinary Sharingan's copying ability, the power of her left eye allowed Chinatsu to replicate even S-Rank Forbidden Techniques, Kekkei Genkai, and more.

The only price was that casting them cost several times the chakra. Although this technique was not a particularly good fit for Chinatsu, whose chakra reserves were only equivalent to three or four Kakashis, it undoubtedly had considerable potential.

Before Chinatsu could find someone to test the power of her Mangekyō Sharingan on, it deactivated on its own.

Chinatsu closed her eyes and gasped for breath. Awakening her Mangekyō Sharingan for the first time had consumed an incredible amount of chakra. Supporting herself against the wall, she made her way back to the living room sofa and collapsed onto the floor with a thud.

Judging by the results, this had truly been a huge windfall.

"But I need to find a way to deal with my lack of chakra... A tailed beast? Senjutsu? Forget the toads." Lying on the sofa, Chinatsu raised a hand to her forehead and murmured softly.

There were only a handful of effective ways to increase chakra, and the most useful were "tailed beasts" and "Senjutsu."

Having a tailed beast was like having a chakra power bank, and it could quickly raise a jinchūriki's strength beyond Kage Level.

As for Senjutsu... there were three confirmed sources: Mount Myōboku, the toads' sacred land; Ryūchi Cave, where the Snake Sage lived; and Shikkotsu Forest, home to the slug Sage.

Toads, snakes, slugs...

Chinatsu covered her cheek with one hand, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. To be honest, she did not particularly want to form a contract with any of the three...

If she absolutely had to choose, Chinatsu would pick snakes, but considering her future development, slugs would be better.

"Enough thinking about that. At least today was a huge success. If I ran into Shimura Danzō again now, I'd at least have a chance of winning." Chinatsu muttered to herself, then climbed off the sofa.

Was there anything else to do next?

Chinatsu gave it some thought. Although she could certainly find a way to make use of this time if she wanted to, she needed a little rest as well.

"I'll go take a bath."

Feeling a little sleepy, Chinatsu yawned. As the home of Konoha's foremost clan, the Uchiha Residence naturally had every facility one could need.

According to her memories, the previous Chinatsu had not been allowed to use the bathhouse. Even if everyone inside was female, she still had to bathe alone.

How traditional.

Chinatsu returned to her room, grabbed a bathrobe, and headed to the Uchiha Clan's bathhouse.

It was a small indoor hot spring. The instant Chinatsu's foot touched the water, her entire expression softened.

This feels so good~

Chinatsu sank limply into the hot spring. To make the experience as enjoyable as possible, she even took out a bottle of red wine that some old geezer in the clan had stashed away.

Pop!

Once the bottle was open, Chinatsu elegantly poured the red wine into a glass. In the past, she had always poured it to toast others; this time, she would drink it herself.

Gulp, gulp, gulp... ah~

Chinatsu drained the glass of red wine in one go. At first, she thought it was nothing special, but within ten seconds, she realized she had underestimated it. Everything spun around her, and she even felt as though the hot spring water had defied the laws of physics and flown upward.

"Hic~ Hic..."

Chinatsu's dazed body swayed in the hot spring. After a few hiccups, her head tipped back, and she fell asleep amid bubbling sounds.

Twenty minutes later.

Naruto and Sasuke came home from the Ninja Academy as usual. The moment they stepped through the door, they shouted, "Sis!!!" But there was no reply.

"Where did Sis go this time?"

"A mission? Didn't she only just get back?"

Unconvinced, Naruto and Sasuke began searching the house for Chinatsu. The living room, the kitchen, the rooms on the first floor-but they could not find her anywhere.

"Is Sis really not here?"

Sasuke frowned slightly in confusion, almost convinced that Chinatsu was not home. Beside him, however, Naruto suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He solemnly raised one finger and said, "No! There's one place we haven't searched!"

"Where?"

"The! Bathhouse!"

"..."

Sasuke froze for a moment, then his expression lit up as if to say, "Oh, right!" But he quickly realized something was wrong.

"Wait, if Sis really is in the bathhouse, we can't check."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Of course we can~"

Naruto smiled and wagged his raised finger. Sasuke's eyes immediately widened. Thinking Naruto had suddenly gotten lecherous ideas, he whipped his fist up.

Seeing this, Naruto hurriedly waved both hands and explained, "Sasuke, what are you thinking? Of course we can't look, but can't we just listen?"

A ninja's dynamic vision and hearing far surpassed those of ordinary people. Couldn't they simply press an ear to the bathhouse door and listen? If they heard even the slightest unusual sound, wouldn't that confirm Chinatsu was home?

Understanding dawned on Sasuke's face. Beside him, Naruto snickered, as if to say that Sasuke really was such a pervert.

The two bickered as they hurried toward the bathhouse inside the residence.

Just as they each extended a hand, intending to decide who would eavesdrop with a game of rock-paper-scissors, footsteps came from inside the bathhouse, loud enough to hear without pressing an ear to the door.

A few seconds later, Chinatsu emerged from the bathhouse, properly dressed and leaving absolutely no room for any fan service. Even so, Sasuke and Naruto were stunned at the sight of her.

Their sister's demeanor... had changed again.

She had not been like this yesterday. How had such a change happened in just one day? Naruto and Sasuke both stared blankly, with Sasuke being affected more deeply.

He gazed into Chinatsu's ordinary eyes, her Sharingan inactive. Perhaps because they shared the same blood, he could already vaguely sense something.

Before Sasuke could ask anything, however, Chinatsu planted both her Tathagata Palms on their heads.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was not something Sasuke should know about yet, especially since he still only had a pair of one-tomoe Sharingan...

I can't take it anymore, I really can't. I was fine yesterday, but when I woke up today, I suddenly had a headache and my legs felt weak. Unless I'm mistaken, I've probably tested positive for COVID. That's hardly surprising, though, since my mom and dad both have it too. It was only a matter of time before I caught it.

Sleep for an hour, write for ten minutes-that's how today went. I heard the symptoms will get worse tomorrow, with a fever and everything. I'll take it one step at a time. Hopefully I'll recover soon.