Shisui: "..."
Itachi: "..."
The smiles on their faces stiffened for a moment before they had to cut their brief reunion short.
Shisui chuckled and said,
"I've got a lot to handle at the tutoring center. Let's talk next time."
"Alright."
Itachi knew that "next time" could be a long wait.
Shisui was now fully dedicated to his work at the tutoring center, barely even taking on clan missions anymore.
Leaving early, coming home late—it made their chances to meet even rarer.
But was Itachi any different?
That thought crossed his mind, and the smile on his lips turned a little helpless.
After waving goodbye to Shisui, he pushed aside those thoughts, took a deep breath, and knocked on the office door.
"Come in."
Only after hearing permission did Itachi open the door, step inside, and bow respectfully.
"Elder."
The moment Itachi spoke, Yan knew he was here for Sasuke.
If it were for official business, Itachi would have addressed him as "Advisor." Calling him "Elder" meant this was a personal matter. And when it came to personal matters, the only thing Itachi ever talked to him about was Sasuke.
"You're here about Sasuke, aren't you?"
"Yes."
Itachi lifted his head and respectfully said,
"I came to see you at the Hokage Office not just for Sasuke's teacher but also for a personal matter of my own."
"Oh?"
You have a personal matter to discuss with me?
Could it be that you've changed your mind? That you no longer want to be a sacrifice for the clan's interests?
Yan glanced at him with interest.
He had to admit, at fourteen or fifteen, Itachi's looks were truly exceptional—almost rivaling his own.
After observing Itachi for a few moments, Yan spoke frankly.
"Regarding Sasuke's teacher being Orochimaru, there's no need for you to say anything more. I'm well aware of what kind of person Orochimaru is.
The reason I had him take Sasuke as a disciple was for Sasuke's own good. You don't have to worry—Orochimaru won't do anything bad to him. On the contrary, he'll take good care of him and train him carefully."
"It might be a bit extreme, but it's all happening under my guidance, so you don't have to worry."
"Extreme?"
What kind of training would be considered extreme?
Itachi suddenly had a bad feeling.
Yan's next words confirmed it.
"Sasuke's talent is better than most in the clan. That much I can say for sure.
But because of his family and clan environment, his growth has been a little slow. So I sent him to Orochimaru. Orochimaru knows how to train him."
"Orochimaru may be crazy, but as long as you can control him, he can be a useful ally.
If you don't trust him, do you at least trust me?"
"Sasuke has awakened his Sharingan. This is the perfect time for specialized training, so I sent him to Orochimaru."
"Sasuke has awakened his Sharingan?"
Itachi was stunned. Sasuke hadn't mentioned that when they were at home.
He had rushed over immediately out of fear that Orochimaru might harm Sasuke, so he hadn't had the chance to hear about it from Sasuke himself.
"Yes, he has."
The way Sasuke awakened his Sharingan almost made Yan laugh.
"He turned down a girl from school, Sakura, when she invited him to lunch. Naruto happens to like this girl, and when he saw her looking upset, he got mad and started provoking Sasuke.
After being provoked several times, Sasuke finally lost his temper and fought him."
"They fought right in the classroom. Sasuke knocked Naruto down again and again, but Naruto kept getting back up. In the end, Naruto won.
Maybe Sasuke couldn't accept losing like that, so the mental shock triggered his Sharingan."
"You could say he lost a fight, got mad, and boom—Sharingan activated. Something like that."
"Hahaha..."
Yan couldn't hold back his laughter.
Itachi's expression turned odd. It was true that strong emotional shock could trigger the Sharingan or even evolve it.
But wasn't Sasuke's reason a little... silly?
Wait, how did I awaken my Sharingan again...?
Thinking back to his own experience, Itachi suddenly had nothing to say.
Sasuke's awakening was ridiculous. His own was painfully uneventful.
"Sorry, sorry. I shouldn't be laughing, but it's just too funny. I couldn't help it."
"..."
Please, just stop explaining.
Itachi could only sigh in frustration.
After a while, Yan stopped laughing. Mocking someone's younger brother in front of an overprotective older brother wasn't the best idea.
"Anyway, this was my decision, and there's no changing it. You don't have to worry about Sasuke's safety—Orochimaru wouldn't dare lay a hand on him.
In fact, he'll do everything he can to train Sasuke."
"Understood."
Itachi didn't trust that snake, Orochimaru. But he trusted Yan.
Yan had already reassured him multiple times, yet Itachi still wouldn't let it go. If that was the case, then Itachi was just being unreasonable.
"Now that we're done talking about Sasuke, what about you?"
Yan was curious about what personal matter Itachi wanted to discuss with him.
Itachi didn't answer. He simply closed his eyes.
No way.
Seeing this, Yan's heart skipped a beat. Was he about to awaken the Mangekyō?
That didn't make sense. Shisui was alive and well, and Itachi hadn't gone through any extreme emotional shock. How could he just randomly awaken the Mangekyō?
Was this what it meant to be naturally gifted? Just unlocking abilities whenever you felt like it?
Now that he thought about it, even Shisui's Mangekyō awakening had been pretty strange.
From what Shisui described, he had felt a little frustrated, his eyes started bleeding, and then—bam—the Mangekyō appeared.
Yan compared it to his own experience and found that he simply had no words.
The gap between people was just way too big.
Good thing he was already ridiculously overpowered himself. Otherwise, there would be no way to compete with these absurdly talented people.
A few seconds felt like an eternity. Then, as soon as Itachi opened his eyes, the Mangekyō Sharingan appeared.
It was the same design as in the original story, but whether the abilities were the same was another question.
After observing closely, Yan spoke.
"When did you awaken it? How many people know?"
"Five nights ago. So far, only the elder knows."
Even after gaining the Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi hadn't told anyone. Yan was the first to find out—before even Fugaku and Shisui.
Looks like all that effort in training this little wolf pup hadn't gone to waste.
For some reason, Yan suddenly felt a sense of pride.
"My Mangekyō abilities are Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. Tsukuyomi is somewhat similar to the elder's eye technique…"
Itachi openly shared all the details about his Mangekyō without hiding anything from Yan.
His abilities were exactly the same as in the original story, without any changes.
"Good."
Nodding calmly, Yan gave Itachi a reminder.
"When you get back, tell your father about this. And another thing—avoid using the Mangekyō unless absolutely necessary.
The more you use it, the more your vision will deteriorate. If you overuse it, you'll go blind.
Also… never mind. That's enough for now. Just spend more time talking with your father. His eyesight isn't doing too well."
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