Chapter 134: The Evolution of the Sharingan – Awakening the Mangekyō

"If I didn't think he wouldn't be able to move tomorrow, I'd probably have gone even harder on him."

Getting beaten up really does build experience—it's no joke, it's the truth. The only downside is that the growth process can be a bit painful.

Nawaki's biggest flaws were his tendency to lose focus and let his guard down. The guy would literally space out during a fight! Takuya was determined to drill that out of him. In training, getting distracted just meant more hits or getting yelled at. But on the battlefield? That kind of carelessness could get you killed.

In the original story, wasn't Nawaki blown up because he stepped on an explosive tag? And it happened right in front of Orochimaru. One second, Orochimaru warned him to be careful, and the next, boom—he was dead.

"Yeah, you're right," Minato agreed after thinking about it. "If Nawaki doesn't fix these bad habits, he's going to get into real trouble eventually."

"Tomorrow, you're training him," Takuya said.

"Deal!" Minato responded, grinning. His eyes lit up with excitement—finally, he wasn't going to be the punching bag for once!

When Takuya got home, something strange happened as he was washing up. His vision blurred when he looked in the mirror, and everything started to go fuzzy.

"Uh... what?" Takuya thought, confused. "Is my eyesight getting worse or something?"

It didn't make sense. There was no way his body was breaking down, and it's not like he had some kind of illness. Plus, his Sharingan was still only at the three-tomoe stage, nowhere near the overuse of the Mangekyō level.

"Master, the Yin chakra in your brain is becoming more active," a voice suddenly said.

It was Snowy, his companion, offering a helpful reminder.

"Wait... are my eyes evolving?" Takuya suddenly realized.

The blur wasn't a problem—it was the precursor to the evolution of his Sharingan.

"Damn, that freaked me out."

Knowing that his eyes were about to evolve, Takuya calmed down. After finishing up, he skipped dinner and went straight to bed, throwing a towel over his eyes.

The thing about the Sharingan is that it's cool and all, but when it evolves, it makes your eyes bleed. Not exactly the most pleasant experience.

As Takuya lay down, Snowy curled up beside him, staying alert and ready to protect him. No one would be allowed to get near Takuya during this crucial moment—not even Kushina, Mikoto, or Minato. Snowy's only priority was Takuya's safety.

A tingling sensation crept over Takuya's body as the evolution process began. He was excited—awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan was a big deal.

Because of his game-like character system, Takuya already knew what abilities his Mangekyō would grant him. Back when he played the game, he had spent plenty of money trying to unlock new skills. Of course, like any good cash-grab, the game would only give you basic abilities like Amaterasu unless you paid extra to unlock better ones. And even then, they were randomly assigned, designed to make you spend more.

Once the evolution was complete, Takuya's power would take a huge leap. It wasn't just a small step—this was a massive upgrade.

His Mangekyō's design was similar to Shisui Uchiha's, but instead of four hooked points, his had six.

"If I had a choice, I'd have preferred something like Sasuke's or Itachi's design," Takuya thought with a sigh. Unfortunately, the shape of the Mangekyō determined the abilities that came with it. So, Takuya was stuck with this flashy pinwheel design.

In gamer terms, it looked "extra as hell."

Still, if the design was showy, at least the abilities were powerful.

The evolution process took longer than expected. The towel covering Takuya's eyes gradually turned crimson, soaked with blood. Bleeding eyes had practically become a signature move of the Uchiha clan at this point.

After what felt like ages, the evolution finally completed. Takuya pulled off the bloodied towel and headed to the bathroom.

In the mirror, his Mangekyō Sharingan gleamed with a sinister red light, its six hooked points glowing ominously.

"My second unique ability has arrived," Takuya said, raising his hand. A ball of lightning-based chakra formed in his palm.

The orb looked a bit like a Rasengan, but it wasn't. It was just a sphere of concentrated lightning chakra—a skill known as Lightning Burst.

When thrown, it explodes with incredible power. In the game, it was one of the higher-damage skills, especially for area attacks.

"Damn, evolving the Sharingan really takes it out of you," Takuya groaned, rubbing his temples as a wave of dizziness hit him. The evolution had drained his mental energy. Shaking his head to clear the fog, he deactivated his Sharingan and collapsed onto his bed.

Testing out his new Mangekyō abilities would have to wait—he was too exhausted.

Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain, Tsunade angrily slammed a scroll down on her desk.

"Why am I the one who has to handle this?!" she fumed. "Just because we're shorthanded doesn't mean I should have to go negotiate!"

Tsunade was furious. Jiraiya wasn't lifting a finger, and Orochimaru didn't care either. Why did she always have to be the one to deal with these problems? It was completely unfair.

Jiraiya, who had just come by to chat and maybe try to ease the tension, immediately regretted it. Seeing Tsunade's wrath, he shivered in fear. He had the sinking feeling that if he said the wrong thing, he might actually die.

"Uh… how about this?" Jiraiya suggested nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Why not send Takuya with you? You've always said he's sharp-tongued and good at arguing. Perfect for negotiating, right?"

"Shut up!" Tsunade glared at him, making Jiraiya shrink back.

"Uh, I just remembered—I have something I need to talk to Orochimaru about! Gotta go!" Jiraiya mumbled before bolting out of the room.

"GET OUT!!" Tsunade roared after him, watching as Jiraiya ran for his life.

"Seriously, he thinks I should take Takuya to negotiate?" she muttered to herself. "He's gotta be kidding."

Jiraiya yelled back as he ran: "C'mon, Tsunade! The kid's got the skills and the talent! He's got a silver tongue, too! Perfect for this job!"

"If the old man gave him a special rank assessment, promoting him to jonin, it wouldn't be an embarrassment for Konoha, right?" Jiraiya shouted from a distance.

Takuya had the strength. The only thing he lacked was the official rank.

But did that really matter? One wave of the Third Hokage's hand, and the promotion could be done in an instant. Takuya wouldn't even need to take a formal test. And even if there was a test, with his abilities, it'd be a cakewalk.

So why not let him handle the negotiations? Was it just because he was young?

"..."

As Jiraiya's voice faded into the distance, Tsunade couldn't help but pause. He… kind of had a point. When it came to debating and making arguments, Takuya was far better than she was. He always left her speechless, unable to argue back, even when she was furious.

The only thing Tsunade feared was that Takuya might embarrass her in public again, like he did with the whole "pole-dancing" thing. He claimed he only suggested it to humiliate the Third Kazekage, but still—when you're under someone's control, you don't get to choose what kind of dance you end up doing.

That's why Tsunade was careful to keep her interactions with Takuya civil—she didn't want to risk her reputation.

If that ever happened in front of a crowd, she'd have to leave the village in shame.

"Alright, old man," Tsunade grumbled, grabbing a scroll and writing her response. "If you want me to handle this, then you're going to promote Takuya to jonin, or you can handle it yourself."

With that, she sent the message back to the village.

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Sorry for the mistake in Chapter 133. I've fixed it. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

Note: If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 230+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters