Two-Tomoe Sharingan

"Little Brother Nobuhiko, where's Sister Tsunade?"

While Nobuhiko was still sorting through the ninjutsu scrolls alone, Kushina finally arrived.

"Sister Tsunade went to see Lord Hokage. What took you so long, Sister Kushina? Didn't you promise to come early to keep Sister Tsunade company?"

Nobuhiko was in a good mood and, for once, teased Kushina.

"Uh, I was so worried about Sister Tsunade last night that I couldn't sleep, so I slept a little longer this morning. Ahh!"

Kushina yawned as she offered her guilty explanation.

"Thanks for the effort, Sister Kushina."

Nobuhiko struggled to hold back his laughter as he praised Kushina.

"By the way, Little Brother Nobuhiko, why are you sorting through these scrolls out of the blue?"

"Sister Kushina, there's something you need to prepare yourself for."

"What is it? Prepare for what?"

Kushina was somewhat baffled. She had asked a question first, so how had he ended up asking her one instead?

"You know about all the blows Sister Tsunade has suffered these past few years. She's feeling very worn out now and wants to leave the village to clear her head. She might be gone for a long time."

Nobuhiko told Kushina this somewhat somberly.

Although he had previously thought that traveling the Shinobi World with Tsunade would be something to look forward to.

Now that he saw Kushina, however, he suddenly realized that traveling the Shinobi World with Tsunade meant he would not see Kushina for a long time.

What am I supposed to do?

The palm and the back of the hand are both flesh!

Nobuhiko suddenly regretted not choosing Flying Thunder God. Although he most likely would not have been able to learn it, at least there would have been a slim chance!

"Isn't that a good thing? Sister Tsunade asking to go out and clear her head means she isn't as numb as she was yesterday. That's a good thing."

"So what if she's gone a while? With Sister Tsunade's strength, who could do anything to her as long as she doesn't fight her way to another ninja village's gates?"

Kushina was genuinely happy for Tsunade.

"But I'll be going with Sister Tsunade, Sister Kushina!"

"Sister Tsunade is feeling so down right now. Of course she needs someone with her. Isn't it only right for you to go with her to travel the Shinobi World and clear her head, Little Brother Nobuhiko?"

Wait. Kushina suddenly noticed something was wrong.

"Little Brother Nobuhiko, repeat what you just told me!"

"But I'll be going with Sister Tsunade, Sister Kushina!"

???

"How can you go with Sister Tsunade, Little Brother Nobuhiko?"

"Didn't you say it yourself, Sister Kushina? Sister Tsunade is feeling so down right now that she needs someone with her."

Even though Nobuhiko was feeling somewhat melancholy himself, he could not resist teasing Kushina.

"Is that what I just said? Don't lie to me, Little Brother Nobuhiko!"

Kushina found it somewhat hard to believe.

"Yes, Sister Kushina. That's really what you just said."

Hearing Nobuhiko's firm reply, Kushina suddenly realized that a world where she was the only one getting hurt had come to pass!

"Then if you go keep Sister Tsunade company, what am I supposed to do, Little Brother Nobuhiko?"

Kushina felt like crying but had no tears.

"Sigh, that's what I'm worrying about too, Sister Kushina."

The two sat on the sofa like that, staring at each other without saying a word.

At last, Kushina could not stand it anymore.

"Little Brother Nobuhiko, have you thought of a solution yet?"

"Not yet, Sister Kushina. I'm still waiting for you to come up with one."

Hearing that, Kushina grew somewhat irritated and pounded the sofa hard.

"I'll bring Sister Tsunade back to see you often. Would that work, Sister Kushina?"

Nobuhiko had no other ideas either and could only ask Kushina tentatively.

"But I've already gotten used to training with you every day!"

Kushina clearly disagreed.

"But you often slack off while I'm training, Sister Kushina!"

"Do I, Little Brother Nobuhiko?"

Watching Kushina's hair begin moving without any wind again, defying gravity, Nobuhiko was so frightened that his legs trembled.

"No, no, Sister Kushina! I remembered wrong!"

"Hmph, that's more like it. Don't remember wrong again, Little Brother Nobuhiko."

Kushina nodded in satisfaction, raising her fist to threaten Nobuhiko.

"I promise I won't remember wrong again, Sister Kushina."

Nobuhiko wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead and firmly assured Kushina.

"That's more like it!"

Kushina returned to her usual gentle self and lightly patted Nobuhiko's head.

Seeing Kushina turn gentle again, Nobuhiko suddenly felt something stir within him.

"Sister Kushina, let's work hard to get stronger together!"

"Sure, let's work hard together!"

Although Kushina did not know why Nobuhiko had suddenly said that, she still chose to support him.

"Sister Kushina, what I mean is, the reason you can't travel the Shinobi World with us is that we aren't strong enough!"

"You have a point, Little Brother Nobuhiko."

Kushina nodded, seeming to understand a little of what Nobuhiko was trying to say.

"So let's work hard to get stronger together, until we're strong enough to ignore any rules!"

"When that day comes, no one will dare tell us what to do anymore!"

Nobuhiko suddenly clasped Kushina's hand tightly.

Seeing the resolve, confidence, and madness in Nobuhiko's eyes and feeling the warmth coming through his hand, Kushina blushed, her little heart helplessly beating faster. It raced so quickly that she felt a shiver through her soul.

"O-okay, Little Brother Nobuhiko. Let's work hard to get stronger together!"

Kushina stammered slightly.

Seeing that Kushina understood what he meant, Nobuhiko released the hand he had been gripping so tightly.

This was the first time Nobuhiko had realized just how weak he was!

Whether it was Tsunade or Kushina, he could not bear to let either of them get hurt.

But now, Tsunade had lost all hope, and Kushina was deeply upset because he would soon be leaving!

Simply letting Kushina travel with them would solve this problem perfectly.

But clearly, with Kushina being the village's most important "weapon," they could never agree to it!

Get stronger! Get stronger! Get stronger!

Why am I so weak!

At that moment, Nobuhiko suddenly sank into endless self-reproach, completely failing to notice a stream of chakra flowing toward his eyes.

"Kushina, go home for now. We'll talk about this later!"

Returning from outside with several scrolls, Tsunade saw Nobuhiko's clenched fists and contorted face, along with a somewhat dumbfounded Kushina. Realizing something was wrong, she hurriedly sent Kushina away.

Seeing Tsunade's urgency, Kushina also understood that her Little Brother Nobuhiko had secrets the ninja "protecting" her could not be allowed to see, and she hurriedly got up and left.

Tsunade formed hand seals, cutting off any possibility of prying eyes.

After putting those safeguards in place, Tsunade tossed the scrolls onto the table, feeling somewhat curious about what exactly had happened between these two brats.

Suddenly, Nobuhiko's One-Tomoe Sharingan appeared. Then the tomoe began to spin, and as it spun, another black tomoe quietly emerged.

With that, Nobuhiko's Sharingan evolved into the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.