Chapter 71: Graduation Season

To Aoba, the Sharingan held countless mysteries to explore.

Aside from the burst in ocular power from emotional fluctuations that triggers its awakening, once the Mangekyo Sharingan is achieved, even more incredible changes occur.

Leaving aside the Mangekyo abilities, there's the issue of ocular power.

The Mangekyo can't be used frequently because its ocular power is finite and can't regenerate. When it's depleted, blindness occurs—a defining feature of the Mangekyo.

But here's the question: why, after going blind, does transplanting a relative's Mangekyo grant the Eternal Mangekyo?

If the concept is that combining ocular powers leads to a qualitative change, the Mangekyo's ocular power should have been used up already, so where does the power come from?

Even if there's residual ocular power, it resides in the eyes. Transplanting them shouldn't lead to an increase in power.

And even if it did combine, one plus one equals two, not infinity. Why, then, does the Eternal Mangekyo no longer fear depletion?

Unfortunately, in Uchiha history, Mangekyo users were extremely rare. Even the Uchiha likely never fully understood the Sharingan's mysteries.

Madara pushed the Sharingan to its limits, but diving deep into its intricacies didn't fit his style.

These are questions about the Sharingan that Aoba wants to answer. However, with only one Mangekyo, some experiments can't be conducted, so he decided to focus on artificially synthesizing ocular power for now.

However, it wasn't clearly a simple task, and he didn't expect quick results.

So, Aoba began dividing his time between training to adapt to his Flying Thunder God technique and patiently researching further.

After Kakashi's recent update on Karin's placement, he realized graduation season was approaching.

This meant Naruto, Sasuke, and the renowned "Konoha Twelve" are about to leave the academy and start their ninja careers.

With the plot officially beginning, he found himself feeling oddly unaffected. Perhaps he'd already grown accustomed to this world. While the main story appears unchanged, much of it has already diverged dramatically.

He no longer blindly relies on what he knows about the plot but now, writing a new story of his own.

After discussing with Yumi, the two agreed to let Karin graduate early. Karin was ecstatic about the decision. Thanks to her robust physical abilities and Aoba's guidance, she's now far ahead of her classmates in strength. Apart from her limited life-or-death experience, she could easily pass the Chunin Exams right now.

Keeping her in school felt like a form of torture. Hearing she could graduate early had her so excited she couldn't sleep for days.

Aoba's research into deciphering the Sharingan's ocular power has not been going smoothly. If it were simple, the Uchiha wouldn't have ended up in their current state.

Meanwhile, Hidan's Hashirama cell fusion is progressing well.

He's gone from complete rejection to partial rejection, simply enduring bit by bit with his undying body until now, where actual fusion has begun.

For anyone else, this process would have meant dying at least thirty times. But Hidan is still up and running, demonstrating the absurd durability of his immortality.

Now that the fusion has started, the remaining issues are minor, though it will still take time. Aoba estimates it will be about a month before Hidan fully integrates with the Hashirama cells.

This fusion isn't supported by any advanced techniques; he's simply pushing through by relying on his immortality.

It makes one quite curious about what Hidan will become after the fusion.

For now, he's done all he can. Leaving a shadow clone to administer nutrients regularly, all that's left is to wait.

With Karin's graduation approaching, Aoba intensified her combat training.

In battle, he became cold and ruthless, often leaving Karin battered and bruised, much to Yumi's dismay. She couldn't bear to watch and would take it out on him later in the evening.

Aoba's own physique had become quite impressive, but Yumi's was closest in nature to Hashirama's Sage Body in today's shinobi world.

The result? Aoba often found himself having to steady himself against walls afterward...

Konoha's brief period of peace ended as graduation season finally arrived.

In the original story, graduation was marked by a farce. Naruto couldn't perform the Clone Technique and failed to graduate, leading him to be tricked by Mizuki into stealing the Scroll of Seals.

However, thanks to Aoba's early intervention, Naruto's chakra control was decent, and the Clone Technique was no longer an issue. So, this farce never occurred.

Instead, Konoha's leadership altered the plot slightly. Mizuki, the rogue ninja, steals the Scroll of Seals and attempts to escape, with Naruto assigned to pursue him.

Mizuki, a chunin of average ability, had once worked under Orochimaru. But the fact that Orochimaru didn't take him along and rarely contacted him shows how unimpressive Mizuki was.

Although Naruto had only just graduated, after years of sparring with Sasuke and practicing chakra control techniques like tree climbing and water walking, his control was now far superior to his original timeline.

After a grueling fight, he managed to wear Mizuki down.

In recognition of his efforts in retrieving the Scroll of Seals, the Konoha higher-ups rewarded Naruto by teaching him the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.

Aoba didn't interfere with this decision. The Multi-Shadow Clone Technique isn't something just anyone can use freely.

He also knew the Shadow Clone Technique. He used clones frequently to assist in his research.

But he never used more than five.

When a shadow clone disperses, its memories are instantly transferred to the original. This creates a rapid clash of memories in a short period, which is why the technique is classified as forbidden.

If too many clones experience complex events, a flood of memories returns to the user, causing mental strain, and potentially even resulting in brain damage.

Even Aoba, with his abnormally strong mental resilience, couldn't handle such intense feedback frequently and wouldn't risk it. Usually, he only used two or three clones.

In all of Konoha, and possibly the entire shinobi world, only someone like Naruto—who was a jinchuriki with vast chakra, a strong physique, and a straightforward mindset—could use the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique without restraint.

So, he had no objections to Konoha's decision. Those old higher-ups didn't accomplish much, but they occasionally proved useful.

However, with graduation season underway, he saw their usefulness gradually diminishing.

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Currently on Chapter 111/112 - The Sannin Reunite/ A Proactive Deal