Mito Uzumaki looked at the smiling Chinatsu and knew—just like before—she wouldn't be able to talk her out of it.
She sighed and stepped in front of her, gazing into her eyes.
"This old lady's era is over. But yours is just beginning."
"If you change your mind later, come talk to me."
With that, Mito Uzumaki took Tsunade by the hand and headed into the inner room, while Chinatsu quietly left the area once they were out of sight.
Chinatsu might be stubborn, but when it came to Lady Mito's requests, she always did her best to fulfill them perfectly.
She understood Mito Uzumaki's character well—knew that she wasn't someone who played favorites.
Even an adopted child would be treated no differently.
So when Lady Mito asked her to tidy up the house, she intended to give it the same level of care Tsunade would receive.
After leading Tsunade into the inner room, Mito raised her hand and flicked her forehead.
"Ouch!"
Tsunade clutched her reddening forehead, utterly confused as she looked at Mito Uzumaki.
"Little Tsunade, your ability to keep a straight face still needs work. That 'internal suffering' look of yours was actually kind of funny."
Tsunade felt a little guilty but still tried to act tough.
"What's the big deal? Grandma's so old, and she's still picking on kids..."
She hadn't finished when her face froze—'Crap,' she thought. She instinctively hugged her head, shut her eyes, and braced for the oncoming storm.
But nothing happened for a while.
Tsunade cautiously opened her eyes and saw Mito Uzumaki glaring at her without much amusement.
"Alright, hands down. I have something serious to discuss with you."
Relieved that she'd dodged a bullet, Tsunade obediently lowered her hands and sat up straight.
"I didn't adopt that child today just so you could raise him as a future husband, Tsunade. As the next head of the Senju line, you can't afford to be so naive."
"Now tell me—what do you think my real reason was for adopting him?"
To be someone who eventually becomes the Fifth Hokage, sneaks off to drink, and still keeps the village running without a hitch—Tsunade's intelligence was never in doubt. Even though she was still a new academy student, the brutality of the shinobi world made children mature quickly.
Thanks to Mito Uzumaki's reminder, Tsunade finally snapped out of it.
"Uchiha Hikaru is without a doubt from the Uchiha clan, and he's also an orphan. Did you adopt him because of his Uchiha bloodline, Grandma?"
Mito Uzumaki looked at Tsunade with approval and nodded.
"As expected of my granddaughter. That's right—because he's from the Uchiha."
"Right now, the village is rejecting the Uchiha. If that problem isn't solved, it'll be a huge mess for future generations."
"By taking the lead in adopting an Uchiha child, I'm sending a message to the village—to change its stance on the Uchiha."
"This village was Hashirama's life's work. I won't let all his efforts go to waste."
Just as Tsunade was starting to feel proud from the praise, Mito suddenly switched tones—saying something that immediately made her regret not escaping earlier.
"Since you're so clever, come study sealing techniques with me this afternoon."
Any happiness Tsunade felt evaporated instantly.
Her talent was undeniable—destined to become a Kage-level powerhouse. Learning basic sealing techniques wouldn't be a problem at all.
But the reason she hated it was because sealing arts were painfully dull. The advanced ones were like trying to read ancient tomes.
And let's not forget the grumpy teacher—who also happened to be your grandma. If you didn't learn properly, she'd hang you up with a Diamond Sealing Lock.
Mito Uzumaki didn't care about Tsunade's expression. It wasn't like sealing arts were harmful.
Besides, whether it was at BBQ Q or with Chinatsu, she'd seen everything Tsunade did.
Tsunade thought she'd gotten away with it—but Mito Uzumaki had been saving up a big one.
...
Time passed in their studies. The next morning, Uchiha Hikaru was jolted awake by changes in his body.
He felt a surge of immense power coursing through him—like thousands of tiny threads rushing through his meridians.
His breathing grew steady and powerful, and his heart raced as though it were about to leap out of his chest.
His muscles felt infused with endless energy, tense and coiled like a drawn bow.
He could feel every subtle shift in his muscles, bones, meridians, and even his internal organs. It was like being reborn.
At that moment, his eyes involuntarily activated the Sharingan.
A cool sensation swept across his eyes, sharpening his vision. Every breath, every tiny movement around him became vividly perceptible.
The transformation lasted for about an hour before subsiding.
As soon as it ended, Uchiha Hikaru pulled up his system panel.
[Host: Uchiha Hikaru]
Skills:
Two-Tomoe Sharingan (Green) Lv9
Indra Bloodline {Fragment} (Blue) Lv1
Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu (Green)
Fire Style: Phoenix Fire Jutsu (Green)
Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu (Green)
Cooking (White)
Idle Slots:
Empty
Indra Bloodline {Fragment} (Blue) Lv1
Two-Tomoe Sharingan (Green) Lv9
Combat Power: 150
(So power jumps mean I'm cheating, huh? You're not wrong. I totally am.)
Note: Host's ability has improved. Combat power is for reference only—do not rely on it excessively.
The system was still as snarky as ever, but it had clearly evolved.
First of all, it now had an extra idle slot—without hesitation, Uchiha Hikaru tossed Fireball Jutsu into it.
Then there was a new function: Note.
At first glance it didn't seem like much, but Uchiha Hikaru could feel the system becoming more advanced.
Previously, the system only gave power-level jokes and acted like a lifeless machine.
Now, with the addition of a Note function, it meant the system itself could evolve.
The bloodline upgrade had caused his Sharingan to evolve too. Though it was still a green-tier skill, it had advanced from One-Tomoe to Two-Tomoe.
Its level had gone from Lv8 to Lv9—a clear sign.
Even without a full breakthrough, leveling up brought tangible benefits.
What excited Uchiha Hikaru the most, however, was this: even a blue-grade ability could reach the level of Indra.
By that logic, upgrading the Sharingan to blue would lead to the Mangekyō Sharingan, and purple would mean the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Sure, the Uchiha were descendants of Indra, but their talents varied greatly.
Only Indra's reincarnations were true prodigies. For most other Uchihas, awakening the Mangekyō was next to impossible.
And as for the Eternal Mangekyō—a Mangekyō with no side effects—that was practically unheard of.
In the story, it's mentioned that Indra's Mangekyō had no side effects from the moment it awakened.
So really, calling Naruto a tale about the Ōtsutsuki clan and eye powers? Not wrong at all.