Chapter 23 – The Two Tomoe Sharingan
"Izaya, I must admit, you are quite something."
After listening to Izaya's plan, the curious expression on Uchiha Itachi's face deepened. Initially, Uchiha Itachi had only thought Izaya was a talented youth. Later, his outstanding combat skills and mysterious Fire Release Kekkei Genkai made Uchiha Itachi notice his uniqueness. But… Uchiha Itachi truly hadn't expected Izaya to even understand his identity!
Thinking back on the plan Izaya had devised, Uchiha Itachi was shocked. He never imagined the youth before him, younger than himself, could be so meticulous…
"Perhaps this is what a true genius is like?" Looking at the still youthful and handsome Izaya, Uchiha Itachi felt a glimmer of inexplicable anticipation. He wanted to see just how far this young man could grow!
"Hey, I'm not that impressive. It's just that the method mentioned earlier is indeed the best option we have right now." Faced with Uchiha Itachi's praise, a trace of embarrassment flashed across Izaya's face. In truth, Izaya didn't particularly like dealing with strategies and plans. Overwhelming force was the solution he most desired. But… helplessly… Izaya couldn't do that.
Even if you included Uchiha Sasuke, who was still playing in the mud, and little Tenten next door, the only combat power available were Uchiha Itachi and himself. Compared to Danzō and the Root organization he led… the disparity in power between the two sides was simply immense…
Therefore, in this situation, Izaya could only reluctantly choose this method to resolve the problem.
"Brother!" Just as Izaya and Uchiha Itachi had roughly finalized their discussion, Uchiha Sasuke, still a young boy, happened to appear in the distant clearing.
"It's Sasuke." Seeing Uchiha Sasuke running towards Uchiha Itachi, Izaya reminded him.
"I see." Uchiha Itachi concealed the earlier conflict in his heart, an inexplicable smile appearing on his handsome cheeks. Then, while walking towards Uchiha Sasuke, he said to Izaya, "Let's settle on the plan for now. I'll head back first. If anything comes up, you can come directly to the Uchiha compound to find me."
"Alright. It just so happens I need to think things through carefully myself…" As Uchiha Itachi spoke, Izaya agreed. Then, before leaving, Izaya added, "Sometimes, facing everything with ease is better than bearing it silently."
With that, Izaya headed straight down the mountain…
"This guy… he's really something else…" After silently pondering Izaya's parting words, Uchiha Itachi suddenly smiled, then said no more. Instead, he directly took Uchiha Sasuke back to the clan residence…
"Brother, is Big Brother Izaya your friend?"
"Yeah, why do you ask, Sasuke?"
"Nothing… I'm just really happy. This is the first time I've seen my brother's friend…"
"Is that so…"
"..."
The lonely setting sun cast its red glow. Under the crimson dusk, Uchiha Itachi held Uchiha Sasuke's small hand and watched Izaya's retreating figure under the sunset's radiance, an inexplicable look on his face.
Melancholy…
Conflict…
And a hint of hope…
"Let's go, Sasuke. Your brother today…"
"Is very happy…"
…
"System, receive the Sharingan reward!"
On Izaya's end, after parting with Uchiha Itachi, he didn't go anywhere else. Instead, he went straight back home. After a quick search confirmed no one was surveilling him, Izaya directly chose to receive the Two Tomoe Sharingan reward he had obtained earlier!
"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a pair of Two Tomoe Sharingan. Reception successful. Begin fusion immediately?"
"Yes!" Upon hearing the system's prompt, Izaya decisively chose to fuse immediately.
No sooner had he spoken than a pair of dark red pupils instantly materialized before Izaya from the system space. Then, as a soft, light yellow glow enveloped Izaya's eyes, the Sharingan suspended in the air slowly drifted towards them.
"What the…?!" Seeing this, Izaya was somewhat astonished. He hadn't expected the system's fusion method to be so fantastical.
"What trick is the system pulling now?" Just as Izaya sighed in wonder, the floating Sharingan suddenly stopped moving. Instantly, an eerie atmosphere filled the room… A pair of dark red Sharingan floating mid-air, and… a youth with a light yellow halo over his head…
"System?" After a few seconds with no response, Izaya tentatively called out to his system. Simultaneously, a bad feeling instantly arose in his heart. Remembering the system's previous unreliability, Izaya thought inwardly, 'Damn, the system isn't going to crash at this critical moment, is it?!'
"Ding! Unknown error detected. Please remain calm and do not panic…"
"Ding! System restarting…"
"Ding! As the Host already possesses the One Tomoe Sharingan, the Two Tomoe Sharingan cannot be transplanted normally. Enabling Forced Fusion Mode…"
"Damn, it really crashed?!" Izaya hadn't expected his words to come true—this cheat-like system had actually encountered an error. Thinking this, he immediately asked, "System, what is Forced Fusion?!"
But faced with Izaya's question, the system showed no intention of explaining… Instead, it issued another notification…
"Ding! Initiating Forced Fusion Mode…"
"Fusion Success Rate: 50% Success, 50% Failure."
"Damn!" Seeing the system prompt before his eyes, Izaya, who had been slightly nervous before, finally lost his composure! He hadn't expected failure to be a possibility even after starting Forced Fusion. Considering the consequences of failure, Izaya immediately said, "Cancel the fusion!"
But…
"Ding! Forced Fusion initiated. Cannot be canceled…"
As soon as the system's words fell, a light yellow halo appeared again between Izaya and the Sharingan. But this time, the light yellow halo didn't cover Izaya or the Sharingan. Instead… it transformed into a yellow thread, connecting Izaya and the floating Sharingan…
"Damn, what is this?!" Seeing this, Izaya was utterly confused.
The moment he was connected to the Sharingan, an inexplicable power slowly emanated from Izaya… Simultaneously, Izaya's eyes automatically activated the Sharingan, accompanied by a slight stinging sensation…
"Ah!" Before Izaya could fully adapt to the stinging, a sudden, sharper pain shot through his eyes… The stinging carried a burning sensation, and a blood-red aura slowly began to rise from Izaya…
(Everyone can guess what this thing is!)