The setting sun was the color of blood, dyeing the training ground's lake a deep crimson.
A gentle breeze passed over it, stirring fine ripples across the surface, which reflected Chiya's solemn face.
He stood at the water's edge, his gaze resting on Uchiha Mikoto beside him.
It had been a week since he returned to Konoha.
During that time, he had come every afternoon to accompany Mikoto in her training.
Mikoto had always been diligent, and by now she had already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Her three-tomoe Sharingan flickered faintly in the fading light, carrying a trace of anticipation and unease.
"Mikoto, have you truly made up your mind?"
Chiya's voice was low and serious.
"Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan requires going through extreme pain. I can use Tsukuyomi to simulate that kind of scenario, but... the feeling will be incredibly real."
Mikoto drew a deep breath. Her slender fingers tightened slightly, her nails nearly pressing into her palms.
She raised her head. A resolute light shone in her eyes.
"Chiya-nii, as long as I can grow stronger and truly be of help to you, I am willing to bear any price."
Chiya looked at her in silence for a moment, then finally nodded.
He raised a hand and swept it out. The Military Police members around them immediately spread out and sealed off the entire training ground.
"Then we begin."
As the words fell, his eyes changed abruptly. The pattern of six blood-red Spider Lily petals bloomed in his pupils, and the overwhelming presence of the Eternal Mangekyō rolled in like a tide.
"Tsukuyomi!"
The world twisted suddenly.
Mikoto snapped her eyes open and found herself standing before the main house of the Uchiha clan district.
The night was deep. A heavy smell of blood hung in the air.
Her heart lurched. She pushed the door open and stepped quickly inside.
"Thud!"
A kunai drove straight through her shoulder in an instant.
"Ugh!"
Mikoto let out a muffled cry and stumbled backward. Blood dripped from her fingertips.
She looked up in disbelief. Her pupils contracted sharply.
Standing before her was a dark-haired, dark-eyed girl whose face bore about a seventy percent resemblance to her own, but with eyes terrifyingly cold.
The girl held a bloodstained short blade in her hand. The corner of her mouth curved into an eerie smile.
"Mother, you are finally home."
The girl said softly. Her voice was sweet, but made the skin crawl.
"You... who are you?!" Mikoto's voice trembled.
The girl tilted her head. Her smile deepened.
"I am your daughter. Have you forgotten?"
A flash of blade light. Mikoto barely twisted aside, but her cheek was still cut open, leaving a line of blood.
She lurched back and slammed into the wall behind her. Her heart pounded wildly.
"Chiya-nii... where is Chiya-nii?!"
She looked around frantically.
"Father?"
The girl tilted her head and suddenly smiled.
"Ah, he died."
Mikoto felt as though she had been struck by lightning. The blood in her body seemed to freeze.
"What... what did you say?!"
The girl slowly raised a hand and pointed toward the end of the corridor.
Mikoto turned her head, her body stiff.
Chiya's body lay quietly in a pool of blood. His chest had been pierced through. His eyes stared hollow at the ceiling.
"No... impossible..."
Mikoto's throat seemed to be gripped by something. Her voice came out hoarse and broken.
She stumbled forward and threw herself down, wrapping her trembling arms around Chiya's cold body. Tears splashed down onto his face.
"Chiya-nii... wake up... please... wake up..."
The girl's laughter sounded from behind her.
"Mother, do not grieve. I will send you to him right now."
"Thud!"
Piercing pain drove through her back and out through her chest. Mikoto slowly looked down and saw the bloody tip of a blade jutting out from her chest.
"Why..."
Her three tomoe spun wildly but could never break through that boundary.
The girl leaned close to her ear and murmured quietly.
"Because... you are too weak."
"Hah!"
The Tsukuyomi world shattered. Mikoto dropped hard to her knees, gasping violently. Cold sweat had soaked through her clothes.
Her three-tomoe Sharingan was still the same, without any change at all.
Chiya frowned and reached out to steady her.
"Mikoto, are you alright?"
Mikoto looked up. Her face was pale as paper. Lingering fear still filled her eyes.
She managed to pull up a faint smile.
"I... I am fine..."
Chiya was silent.
By all logic, experiencing that depth of negative emotion should have been enough to force the Sharingan to evolve. Yet Mikoto's eyes showed no reaction at all.
'Could it be...'
'That this level of pain is not enough?'
He stared at Mikoto and suddenly realized something.
Perhaps for Mikoto, what was more painful than death was losing his love.
"Mikoto, let's try once more."
Chiya's voice was low and firm.
Mikoto's fingers trembled slightly, but she nodded stubbornly.
She met Chiya's eyes.
"Tsukuyomi!"
The world twisted again.
This time, Mikoto stood on the busy streets of Konoha.
The sun was bright. People came and went. Everything felt peaceful.
She looked around in a daze. Then suddenly her gaze locked onto something not far away.
Chiya was walking side by side with Uzumaki Kushina, their fingers intertwined, smiling warmly at each other.
She stepped quickly forward.
"Chiya-nii?"
Chiya turned his head. His eyes were cold and distant.
Mikoto's heart lurched.
"Mikoto? Is something the matter?"
Mikoto stood frozen in place, her voice unsteady.
"Chiya-nii, you... why are you with Kushina..."
Kushina gave a light laugh and wrapped her arm affectionately around Chiya's.
"Miss Mikoto, Chiya-kun is my partner now. Please stop bothering him from now on."
Mikoto felt as if she had plunged into ice. She stared at Chiya in disbelief.
"This... this is not real, is it?"
Chiya's expression showed not a single ripple.
"Mikoto, what we had is already over. The one I love is Kushina. Please do not... appear in front of me again."
When he finished, he wrapped his arm around Kushina and turned away. His retreating figure was absolute and final.
Mikoto stood in place. The world seemed to collapse in an instant.
Her legs gave out. She slowly sank to her knees. Tears slid down in silence.
The searing pain in her heart made it almost impossible to breathe. The three-tomoe Sharingan spun madly. The world in her eyes was dyed blood red.
"Why... why..."
She murmured in a broken voice.
At that very moment.
"Crack!"
As if some shackle had been shattered, her pupils contracted sharply. The three-tomoe pattern twisted, reformed, and finally took on an entirely new shape.
Back in reality, Chiya released Tsukuyomi and saw that Mikoto's eyes had already transformed into a new Mangekyō pattern.
Those Mangekyō eyes spread outward from the center of the pupil like a four-leaf clover, dreamlike and beautiful.
Her tears still clung to her cheeks. As she came back to herself, the pain in her eyes was gradually replaced by shock.
"I... did I succeed?"
She raised a trembling hand and touched her own eyes.
Chiya let out a quiet breath of relief, and a smile of quiet satisfaction appeared.
"Yes. You succeeded."
Mikoto threw herself into his arms and held on tightly. Her voice was choked.
"Chiya-nii... everything just now... it was all false, right? You will not... leave me, will you?"
Chiya gently stroked her hair and said quietly.
"Of course not."
Mikoto's body was still trembling faintly. The Mangekyō pattern slowly turned in her eyes.
She raised her head and suddenly showed a bittersweet smile.
"But that pain... it felt so real..."
Chiya was silent for a moment, then let out a soft sigh and drew her closer.
The sun had fully sunk below the horizon. Darkness settled over the training ground.
In the shadows where no one could see, Mikoto's Mangekyō Sharingan flickered faintly. A deep, dark hue surfaced quietly within it.
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