Minato Namikaze and Uchiha Fugaku both froze when they heard Ito Hirofumi's words.
Then, Ito laid out his thoughts, no holding back.
"Out of the Konoha 12, the only ones who can power up quickly are Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto," Ito explained. "The others? They don't have any cheats, so they've gotta grind the old-fashioned way. But Naruto and Sasuke? They're on a whole different level. If Naruto can master the Nine-Tails' power, he'll be Hokage-level in no time. Same goes for Sasuke—if he unlocks the Mangekyo Sharingan, he's instantly in that same league."
Ito had been mulling over ways to help those two level up for a while now.
"Uncle Minato, Uncle Fugaku, hear me out," Ito continued. "Naruto's the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki, so that part's straightforward. Fix the Nine-Tails issue, and he'll skyrocket. As for Sasuke… Uncle Fugaku, you know a thing or two about awakening the Sharingan, right? So, I was thinking—what if we use the Mangekyo Sharingan to create an illusion space? Put Sasuke through some intense experiences in there. Couldn't that push him to awaken the Mangekyo under the stress of the illusion?"
Minato nodded, considering it. The half of the Nine-Tails sealed inside his son was definitely causing trouble. Look at his half of the Nine-Tails—completely tamed! If need be, he could ask the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha to have a little "chat" with the fox tomorrow.
Fugaku, though, was stunned, his brain struggling to catch up. Using an illusion to trigger the Sharingan's evolution? What kind of genius idea was that?! Why hadn't he ever thought of it? Sure, the Uchiha's Sharingan had some resistance to genjutsu, even the ability to see through it. But if someone like his ancestor, Madara Uchiha, cast the illusion? Even a Mangekyo user like Fugaku wouldn't break out easily. This plan might actually work!
Plus, it was safe. Any pain Sasuke felt in the illusion would be fake.
"Hirofumi, you little genius!" Fugaku said, nodding. "No one's ever thought to use genjutsu to push the Sharingan's evolution. But now that you mention it… it might just work. Sasuke's only got a single-tomoe Sharingan right now. You've got the Mangekyo, Hirofumi. If you set up the illusion, it could be enough to trigger his awakening!"
Ito grinned, but there was a mischievous glint in his eye. "Uncle Fugaku, Sasuke's not at single-tomoe anymore. A while back, he unlocked the two-tomoe Sharingan!"
"What?!" Fugaku's jaw dropped.
"Two-tomoe already?!" he stammered. "That's awesome, but… how did he pull that off? The Uchiha Sharingan needs intense emotional triggers to evolve—hatred, pain, something big. There's no way Sasuke just randomly awakened the two-tomoe!"
Ito's grin turned downright sneaky as he glanced at Minato. "How'd it happen? Well… let's just say it's thanks to Naruko Uzumaki."
Fugaku blinked, confused. "What do you mean? And why are you looking at Minato like that?"
Ito leaned in. "Uncle Fugaku, why do you think the Sharingan has to be triggered by pain or despair? That's just how it's always been, right? That's what the Uchiha ancestors passed down. War, death, losing loved ones—those things push Uchiha to awaken their eyes because of the emotional intensity."
Fugaku nodded. "Yeah, exactly. That's why the Uchiha got stronger during wars. All that loss and grief fueled the Sharingan."
Ito shook his head. "Uncle Fugaku, I think you've got it wrong. Despair, pain—they're just one kind of emotional trigger. It's all about extreme emotions, period. If despair and hatred can awaken the Sharingan, why not other intense emotions? Like, say… love? Or friendship?"
Fugaku froze again, his mind reeling. He'd never even considered that.
Ito pressed on. "Some people call the Sharingan a cursed eye, but I think it's an eye full of love. It's the most intense, genuine emotions that make an Uchiha stronger."
Fugaku was lost now, trying to wrap his head around it. "Okay, Hirofumi, I hear you. Maybe we can test this stuff later, but seriously—how did Sasuke awaken his two-tomoe Sharingan? Don't tell me it's because of… what, friendship? Love? Is Sasuke dating someone?!"
Minato perked up, suddenly all ears. This was some juicy gossip! Back in his ninja academy days, he'd won over Kushina. These kids were starting to remind him of his younger self. Ito and that Yamanaka girl were always flirting, and now Sasuke was in love? He couldn't help but wonder when his Naruto would find a girl.
Ito was barely holding back laughter now. "Alright, here's how it went down. One day, Naruto invented a new jutsu—the Sexy Technique. He transformed into 'Naruko,' you know, the blonde, twin-tailed bombshell. Sasuke took one look at her, got a nosebleed, and passed out cold. When he woke up? Bam—two-tomoe Sharingan."
Minato and Fugaku's faces were mirror images of shock, their mouths hanging open, eyes twitching like crazy.
Fugaku couldn't believe it. His entire clan was wiped out, he and his wife died right in front of Sasuke, and that only got the kid to single-tomoe. But Naruto turning into a flirty blonde girl pushed Sasuke to two-tomoe?! Was this for real?! Was his son even salvageable at this point? An entire clan's destruction weighed less than a transformed boy?!
Minato, meanwhile, had been gleefully eating up Fugaku's family drama, only to realize the gossip had looped right back to his son.
What the hell?!
---