Seiichi was brimming with excitement. He felt as though he could see the Uchiha Clan's glorious future.
As the Uchiha Clan's future leader, he naturally hoped the clan would grow as strong as possible.
However, he also understood that possessing the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan was not everything. They still needed to keep honing and improving their strength.
"We can't rely solely on the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan," Seiichi told Shisui and Itachi. "We also need to focus on our own training and growth. Only by becoming truly strong can we better protect our clan."
Fugaku nodded in wholehearted agreement. He gazed at his sons, his eyes full of hope.
"You're all the hope of the Uchiha Clan. Make good use of this power, strive to awaken your Mangekyō Sharingan soon, and bring honor to the clan."
Mikoto watched the scene before her with a smile, her heart filled with pride and satisfaction.
She knew well that the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan would bring enormous changes to the clan, but she also hoped the children could stay true to themselves as they grew.
Over the following days, Seiichi and the others immersed themselves in their respective training.
While familiarizing herself with her Mangekyō Sharingan, Mikoto discovered that although it had not reached the level of Seiichi's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan,
her eye power could recover, and the recovery rate was not particularly slow.
When Seiichi learned of this, he said it was normal.
Mikoto's Mangekyō Sharingan was also in the process of evolving, so it was no surprise that her eye power was constantly being replenished.
She could afford to use it a little more freely now. He estimated that as long as she did not activate Perfect Susanoo outright, using the skeletal Susanoo on a regular basis should not pose much of a problem.
Still, to err on the side of caution, anyone without the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was better off stopping at Susanoo's third stage, the half-bodied tengu stage.
They should not casually attempt a full-bodied Susanoo, much less think about the Perfect Susanoo that could cleave mountains and seas.
Speaking of Susanoo, neither Seiichi nor Mikoto had ever used it, nor had Fugaku, who had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan long ago.
So, choosing an auspicious day, Seiichi secretly took Fugaku, Mikoto, and his two little brothers out of Konoha, using his right eye's spatial ability to teleport repeatedly.
They arrived not far from the ruins of the former Land of Whirlpools, now a desolate, uninhabited wasteland.
The group spread out to survey their surroundings, and once they confirmed no one was there,
"All right, Father, Mother. We can test it freely here. Who wants to go first?"
"I'll go first. I'm the weakest here," Mikoto said with a smile.
Shisui and Itachi exchanged looks of blank dismay, neither daring to say a word.
Mikoto was not some helpless housewife. Before marrying Fugaku, she had been an elite Jonin with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
She had been on plenty of battlefields in the past. At the very least, her combat experience was far richer than Seiichi's, despite him currently being the strongest.
(Seiichi's response: If an Iron-ranked Nasus like me, at level 18 with six full items and fully stacked Q, goes up against a Challenger-ranked Nasus at level 1 with five health potions in a mid-lane duel, what experience do I need for such a one-sided stomp? I can just steamroll right over his face.)
Mikoto's Mangekyō Sharingan began spinning furiously. A mass of purplish-red energy materialized around her, with a vague, enormous skeleton inside it enclosing her.
This was Susanoo's initial stage.
Then the skeleton gradually took shape.
Ribs, hand bones, complete arms, and finally a skull.
And so, Susanoo's first stage, a gigantic purplish-red skeletal upper body, appeared before them.
Mikoto did not stop channeling her eye power.
As she supplied more eye power, flesh gradually appeared over the skeleton.
It soon reached Susanoo's second stage.
Now possessing flesh and wearing simple clothing, the half-bodied giant's defense and attack power increased significantly.
A short spear also appeared in its hand, giving it a weapon.
Then the purplish-red energy surrounding Mikoto expanded in an instant.
Armor began appearing piece by piece over the half-bodied giant's simple clothing.
Finally, a purplish-red half-bodied giant, clad in Tengu Armor and standing dozens of meters tall, came into full view before them.
One hand held a short spear. Both its defense and attack power looked decent.
"Seiichi, this should be my limit for now. I feel like my eyes will get a little uncomfortable if I take it any further."
"Mother, let's leave it at that, then. You can test Susanoo's various capabilities."
Mikoto nodded, then began running.
She was not slow. Susanoo swung its two short spears with simple movements, cleaving through every tree and rock in its path with a single blow.
Then Mikoto made her Susanoo perform a throwing motion and hurled the short spear in its hand.
The short spear plunged into a nearby mountain.
Mikoto raised her right hand, forming a sword-finger gesture. A thunderous boom came from the distant mountain as the short spear exploded.
That made sense. After all, the short spear was a mass of Mikoto's chakra, so it was perfectly normal for her to control it.
It was understandable.
Mikoto had Fugaku help test her Susanoo's defenses.
They were pretty good. At the very least, none of the several A-Rank Ninjutsu Fugaku used could break through the defenses of Susanoo at this stage.
Mikoto dispelled Susanoo and let out a long breath.
"Are you all right?" Fugaku hurried over to support his beloved wife.
"I'm fine, Fugaku." Mikoto gave him a gentle smile.
"Father, it's your turn." Seiichi and the others could not stand their lovey-dovey display and hurriedly interrupted.
Fugaku nodded to Mikoto, then ran a little farther away.
Of course, since even the weakest people present possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, that little distance was hardly any different from having it right in their faces.
Fugaku followed the same steps as Mikoto, except his Susanoo was an extremely dark blackish-red.
He could advance one stage beyond Mikoto, to the fourth stage.
Susanoo's fourth form could be considered an improvement and continuation of its second form. Its upper body retained the characteristics of the second stage, with complete muscles and a network of meridians.
It did away with the third stage's Tengu Armor, instead protecting the previously undefended area beneath its feet.
In other words, Susanoo in this state had legs. At this point, the caster could move to Susanoo's head.
However, judging by the look of Fugaku's fourth stage, it seemed barely over a hundred meters tall, looking a little underdeveloped.
Fugaku's Susanoo wielded a conventional Japanese naginata, though four-pointed shuriken were clearly visible at its waist.
Not bad, either. It had both close-combat and ranged capabilities.
Fugaku began testing his Susanoo's abilities.
This was Fugaku's first time using a large weapon like a naginata. He was not very practiced with it and could only make simple, broad swings.
Still, given its size and sharpness, its destructive power was certainly impressive.
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