Hiashi stood silently at the village gate, watching until most of Konoha's shinobi had dispersed.
The Hyūga clan members remained nearby, exchanging uneasy looks.
"Clan Head… should we pursue them?" one finally asked.
Pursue?
Hiashi almost laughed bitterly.
With only the Hyūga clan's strength, how were they supposed to take Hinata back from Shigure and a squad of elite Mist shinobi?
They couldn't.
And now the truth became painfully clear: Hinata wasn't just a hostage to secure Shigure's exit — she was a safeguard. A deterrent.
Konoha and Kirigakure were inevitably heading toward conflict. When that time came, there would be strong voices within Konoha calling for war against the Mist. But as long as Hinata remained in Kirigakure's hands, such proposals would be far harder to justify.
Hinata had unknowingly become a diplomatic keystone — a political hostage.
The realization left Hiashi light-headed.
He knew Hinata wasn't suited to inherit the clan. He knew politics could be cruel.
But he never imagined his daughter would be taken away like this… with no promise of return.
His only small comfort: Shigure had once been her classmate. He wasn't cruel. Even Sasuke, despite Shigure's cold demeanor, was treated with a rough sort of respect. Hinata… at the very least… would not be harmed.
But the thought that he might never see her again tightened around his chest like a vice.
"No pursuit," Hiashi finally declared, voice heavy with resignation.
The clan members widened their eyes.
"But Clan Head—!"
"Even if we can't confront them directly, we could send a secret squad—"
"If they lower their guard, we could—"
Hiashi spun back toward them, anger flickering beneath his stoic exterior.
"Enough! Did you not hear my command?"
They stiffened.
"This is no longer just a Hyūga matter," Hiashi continued, fists trembling at his sides. "This concerns two Hidden Villages. Any rash action could spark war."
Silence fell over the clan. All they could do now… was watch their heiress disappear into the distance.
At that same moment — far from the village walls —
Shigure was already leading the Mist forces away from Konoha. He turned to Ao and the others.
"All of you, return to Kirigakure as quickly as possible. I'll go ahead and wait for you at the village."
Ao nodded, and the group accelerated into the forest.
Shigure, meanwhile, kicked off the ground and leapt onto the Flying Nimbus, still holding Hinata in his arms as they rose into the sky.
Hinata's eyes widened in wonder.
"S-Shigure-kun… what kind of ninjutsu is this? We're flying!"
Shigure smiled faintly and helped her stand on the cloud. The wind whipped through her hair as she steadied herself, her pale eyes sparkling with excitement.
This freedom — weightless, soaring above the treetops — exhilarated her.
Seeing her joy, Shigure remained silent and let her enjoy the moment. He slowed their pace intentionally, letting Hinata take in the view.
Then he sat cross-legged upon the cloud, closing his eyes.
It was time to focus.
The Sharingan.
After absorbing Shisui's eyes, he had finally obtained the true Uchiha kekkei genkai — not just a pair of transplanted eyes, but the very essence of the bloodline itself.
He could feel it.
A new power unfurling in the depths of his soul…
As one of the most abnormal powers in the shinobi world, the Sharingan was an outright cheat.
Aside from Naruto's absurd power, the Sharingan was probably the most terrifying ability of all.
Right now, Shigure was quietly feeling out the depths of that power.
Once the Sharingan activated, his chakra underwent a subtle but undeniable change. Normally, physical energy and spiritual energy existed in a balanced 1:1 ratio.
But with the Sharingan active, that ratio shifted to 1 : 1.05. The increase in spiritual energy wasn't huge, but it was enough to drastically affect how ninjutsu behaved.
Techniques became easier to control.
The scale of released ninjutsu could be expanded.
Precision, manipulation, and power — all improved.
This was also the real reason the Sharingan was needed to properly use Raikiri, or Chidori.
Controlling such highly concentrated Lightning Release chakra in one hand didn't just require excellent chakra control — the key was the boosted spiritual energy. That higher proportion of spiritual power made Lightning Release easier to manipulate.
And that ratio wasn't something a person could just consciously adjust.
Without the Sharingan's bloodline, this change simply wasn't possible.
A transformation brought about by a special constitution — a true kekkei genkai.
A one-tomoe Sharingan already has this kind of boost… then what happens at two tomoe? At three?
As that thought formed, Shigure asked the Great Sage in his mind:
How does the Sharingan evolve?
[Great Sage: Analyzing and calculating.]
[Two-tomoe Sharingan awakening: 1%]
[2%]
Huh? It's awakening directly?
As expected of the Great Sage.
At the same time, Shigure could feel his chakra surging, continuously washing over his Sharingan, pushing it toward the two-tomoe state.
Before long, he abruptly opened his eyes.
At some point, Hinata had leaned against his leg and fallen asleep. After the initial excitement of flying on the Flying Nimbus, drowsiness finally caught up with her, and she had dozed off resting against his thigh.
Shigure shifted his attention inward again, examining the heightened state of his eyes.
The two-tomoe Sharingan—sharper perception, clearer insight, stronger power.
Good… keep going. Push for three tomoe.
Right now, Shigure was extremely excited. If all it took to strengthen the Sharingan was consuming his own chakra…
Then it didn't matter how much he used.
If there was one thing Shigure had in abundance, it was chakra.
[Great Sage: Three-tomoe Sharingan awakening in progress.]
[1%]
[1.5%]
[2%]
As the Great Sage assisted in evolving his eyes toward three tomoe, Shigure posed another question:
Can the Mangekyō be awakened?
[Great Sage: Of course.]
[However, the host currently has two options.]
[First option: Awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan by integrating the devoured Uchiha Shisui's genjutsu, "Kotoamatsukami," and using this skill as a base to calculate and evolve a new genjutsu.]
[Second option: Completely devour Shisui's Sharingan, inherit Shisui's full genjutsu capability, and transform Kotoamatsukami directly into the host's Mangekyō Sharingan ability, thereby awakening the Mangekyō.]
Two paths.
The first was equivalent to developing an original Mangekyō technique.
The second was inheriting Shisui's power outright — gaining the complete Kotoamatsukami.
How would the genjutsu you calculate compare to Kotoamatsukami? Shigure asked.
[Great Sage: …]
No response.
Even the Great Sage didn't dare claim it could surpass Kotoamatsukami. It seemed Mangekyō genjutsu was not something to be taken lightly.
Inherit, or create something new—
Shigure would have to choose carefully.
...
TN:
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