Once desires arise, they're difficult to suppress.
Eventually, Shimoku still took out 888 coins.
Giving in to temptation once again.
Unfortunately, this time he still didn't receive personal favor from that certain goddess.
The ten-turn gacha prizes were also ordinary.
Only one [Outstanding Crimson Soul Ring] could be considered somewhat valuable.
The rest were mostly Pills, Scrolls, Kunai, and such.
Mostly just filler items.
Overall, it wasn't even worth the base guarantee...
Such terrible luck.
It was like a bucket of cold water, dousing Shimoku's lottery excitement...
Better wait a bit longer.
Wait until his luck improves, then continue pulling.
Luck isn't something you can push around!
Shimoku continued soaking in the bath calmly, easing the physical fatigue.
So much so that he took another nap, soaking for two full hours before finally getting out.
Dressed properly, Shimoku stood up and went to the living room to rest.
Currently, Shinyu and her daughter, along with the Ryuzetsu trio, were all arranged inside the house on Shimoku's right side.
They were being trained intensively by Nonou.
Kurotsuchi had also been dragged away by Quan sister, currently doing a 'costume show' at Aunt Hazuki's place.
As for Kurenai Yuhi, she was assisting with the upgrade work of the Sharingan Camera at Orochimaru's location.
Konan was still en route.
Therefore, within this large house, only Shimoku remained alone.
"A bit boring..."
Shimoku sighed slightly.
"Ah well, let's go pick on Sasuke for a while."
Might as well check how Itachi's [Tsukuyomi Card bug] experiment is going.
The next moment,
Flying Thunder God activated, and Shimoku instantly disappeared from the room.
Several minutes later,
At the east side of the village, inside Fugaku Uchiha's new residence—the former Great Clan Leader's mansion.
A boy pushed open the door and rushed out, bruised and battered looking, yet very happy.
He tightly held onto 500 gold pieces as he ran toward the toy store.
Obviously experiencing pain mixed with happiness...
Inside the courtyard,
Shimoku, who'd just finished moving around, seemed rather pleased too.
Picking on Sasuke really was quite entertaining.
Meanwhile inside the room,
Sitting there with his eyes closed, sipping tea, Itachi remained completely unmoved throughout.
Clearly, he understood.
That Shimoku never truly wanted to harm Sasuke.
Besides, letting someone else appropriately train his younger brother could indeed benefit his overall development.
Otherwise, for his beloved brother's sake, he would've already fought Shimoku head-on long ago.
Of course, he was certain.
Even if he did fight, he probably wouldn't win against current Shimoku—his cousin.
...
"Worried I'll cripple dear cousin Sasuke?"
Seated facing Itachi, Shimoku poured himself a glass of cold drink and teased.
"It's under control..."
Tsk tsk tsk...
"Where are Uncle Fugaku and Lady Mikoto?"
"The mother went to help at Aunt Hazuki's home."
"The father? He made plans with Tō Uncle and Hachidai—they're playing cards together..."
"They're not home."
Itachi paused momentarily, truthfully responding.
Ever since a few days ago when Fugaku learned how to play poker from Tō Uchiha,
He got totally hooked.
Nowadays, whenever he had free time, he'd gather a few people and head to the teahouse down the street for a game of cards.
He'd practically turned into quite the gambling nut!
But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
For a former clan head who had already stepped down and never really had ambitions in the first place,
This leisurely and enjoyable pastime suited him perfectly.
If he was actually busting his ass trying to climb back up the village's political ladder—that'd be really worrying!
Good food, good drinks, fun activities—
The family of four lived harmoniously and happily.
Right now, things were going quite well indeed,
Much less stressful than when Fugaku was still serving as clan leader.
So much that even his once-intimidating stare had mellowed out recently.
...
Since there were no bystanders around, Shimoku skipped the small talk and went straight to the point:
"How's [The Tsukuyomi Project] coming along?"
"I've stabilized my control over Tsukuyomi. It should be mostly safe now."
After several days of testing, aided by those test subjects Orochimaru provided,
Itachi's mastery over Tsukuyomi had significantly improved.
At the very least, it was rare now for the target's mind to be completely shattered during its use.
They could consider this as having met the preliminary criteria for launching the plan.
"Great! Then we can officially begin [The Tsukuyomi Project]!"
Shimoku said excitedly.
If this plan succeeded, genuinely awakening and enhancing the Sharingan among clan members,
That would be extremely significant for the Uchiha Clan as a whole!
Just thinking about it was enough to get one excited!
"You really intend to start experimenting on actual clan members?"
"There's no creation without destruction. Sometimes you gotta take bold steps. Besides, as long as I'm here, I won't let any test subject come to real harm!"
Shimoku assured confidently.
Itachi hesitated briefly before nodding.
Clearly, he too looked forward to this project.
"So, who will be the first official test subject?"
Shimoku: "How about your little brother, Sasuke?"
Itachi: "..."
Shimoku: "I specially designed a Tsukuyomi scenario tailored just for Sasuke. Guaranteed to provoke intense hatred and trigger his Sharingan activation. You can take a look first."
Itachi: "..."
Shimoku: "It goes something like this: You use Tsukuyomi to stage an illusion—the night we (the Uchiha) defected. Except this time, we tweak the story. Instead of defecting, we're slaughtered by you, and coincidentally, Sasuke witnesses the whole thing. With that…"
Itachi: "..."
Shimoku: "Don't go silent on me! What do you think? Spill it already!"
Itachi stared silently at Shimoku, his eyes filled with subtle resentment.
It looked exactly like the face of someone thinking, *[You're targeting me again]*.
After a long silence,
Itachi finally spoke up in a dry, resentful tone: "Cousin Shimoku, you've gone too far!"
Shimoku chuckled, continuing to tease:
"What? Not suitable?"
"I think this script is great! And Sasuke fits perfectly too!"
"Isn't this exactly what you want—to help him grow up?"
"When it comes to my beloved younger brother, I really can't hold back anymore," Itachi finally said firmly.
He could only respond firmly:
"It's absolutely impossible! Sasuke is still too young. He mustn't be involved in this now..."
"Hahaha!"
Shimoku laughed heartily, clearly amused.
It's not every day you see the usually composed Itachi getting worked up like this.
Looks like the best approach here is still Sasuke!
The so-called "Motoi" between these two brothers really makes people shake their heads in disbelief.
"Alright, alright, I'm just kidding."
"The first official test subject won't be Sasuke. He's indeed too young; it's not the best timing for his Sharingan awakening yet."
"Plus, for safety reasons, the first official experiment will select someone from our clan who has already awakened their Sharingan."
"After all, it's much easier and more stable to slightly increase the tomoe in an already awakened Sharingan through Genjutsu stimulation than to try triggering the initial awakening."
"It's also safer that way."
"One step at a time! Even I wouldn't aim to make a giant leap overnight."
Hearing this, Itachi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Sasuke wouldn't be harmed, everything else could be discussed.
Of course, considering the current situation of the Uchiha Clan and his cousin Shimoku's terrifying power,
Unless he had no other choice, he would never choose to oppose his cousin Shimoku.
After all, that would basically be no different from signing a death wish.
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