"Shisui-ge, so you can pilot a Gundam now?"
Kai's eyes lit up.
Susanoo had three stages—each one taller and more terrifying than the last.
If he could get his hands on Susanoo and add a fox's tails on top of it…
Wouldn't that be an instant takeoff?
A fox-clad Susanoo strutting around the battlefield—tell me that isn't terrifying.
And later, if he picked up Wood Release?
Susanoo. Fox. Buddha statue.
Even Madara would have to stand there and dance.
Across from him, Shisui's mysterious smile froze solid.
He didn't know what a "Gundam" was—but his new ocular power was tall, massive, and overwhelming.
Kai…
Shisui suddenly turned his head and stared straight at Kai, shock written all over his face.
He never expected that at such a young age, Kai would already know about something as secret as Susanoo.
He himself had only understood its existence after awakening the Mangekyō.
"Don't tell me you also…"
All of a sudden, Shisui's entire body trembled.
A massive wave of disbelief surged through his mind.
Mangekyō.
Could it be that Kai had awakened the Mangekyō as well?!
Otherwise—how could he know such secrets?
The thought was absurd, yet the moment it appeared, it completely took over Shisui's mind.
But Kai had no attention to spare for him now.
The instant the system prompt appeared, Kai felt like a man entering sage mode—
his mind eerily calm.
Until—
The information on the tag finally surfaced.
[Target defeated: Uchiha Shisui. Attempting to copy a trait.]
[Copy successful. Congratulations, host has obtained Epic Trait: Phantom Body Flicker (Purple).]
Phantom Body Flicker (Purple):
Uses the Sharingan to create multiple phantoms that attack alongside the main body. These phantoms do not vanish under normal attacks.
Phantom Body Flicker.
Staring at the newly acquired trait, Kai let out a long breath.
Two years of grinding this boss—finally paid off.
To be precise, two and a half years.
Shisui hadn't even obtained this trait until half a year ago.
From that point on, Kai had tried talking to him every single day.
The occasional copied traits were either White or basic Green—
all of them ended up being fed into Flying Thunder God.
The one thing he actually wanted?
Not a single hit.
Even after Shisui awakened the Mangekyō, copying still failed.
Kai never coveted Shisui's Mangekyō.
Kotoamatsukami was powerful, sure—but that cooldown was ridiculous.
Use it once and wait a decade.
How was that any different from going blind?
Phantom Body Flicker, on the other hand—
With this, he wouldn't need to keep hiding Flying Thunder God anymore.
"I just have a longer Body Flicker. What about it?"
Naruto made four or five variations out of one Rasengan.
Having a longer-range Body Flicker was totally reasonable.
Slowly, Kai covered his face and burst out laughing.
So loud that a flock of crows took off in panic.
"Kai? Kai? What are you laughing at?"
Shisui's concerned voice came from across the river. He even reached out to touch Kai's forehead.
"No fever… why are you suddenly laughing like a madman?"
"I'm fine. I just wanted to ask you something, Shisui-ge."
"Hm?"
"If one day, Itachi and I end up standing against the village… what would you do?"
Shisui's raised arm froze midair.
He looked at the boy in front of him—still shorter than himself.
Scenes flashed through his mind.
The irreparable rift between the Uchiha and the village…
After a moment of silence, his gaze hardened.
"I won't let anything happen to you or Itachi."
Then, as if remembering something, he added quickly,
"And that includes Sasuke."
"What a good brother."
Kai shook his head lightly, then added,
"Then, Shisui-ge, you'd better protect yourself too."
"Me? Relax. For the foreseeable future, I'll be staying inside the village."
Shisui waved it off, clearly convinced Konoha was the safest place there was.
Ironically—
the village was the most dangerous place of all.
On the battlefield, Shisui was sharp as a blade.
In politics?
He was even more naive than Sasuke.
Thinking of this, Kai could only sigh.
"I mean—watch out for Danzo."
"That guy might gouge your—"
"Alright, alright, I got it."
Seeing how serious Kai looked, Shisui laughed and headed off.
"Come on. Today's Sasuke's first day at the Academy. Let's walk him there."
"Hopefully he won't pull the same trick you and Itachi did—sending a clone."
At the word clone, Kai smiled faintly.
He'd learned that from Itachi.
A year ago, after Fugaku noticed his hidden stash of money shrinking again, he finally snapped and sent Kai to the Ninja Academy.
Official reason: he'd reached the age.
And then—
Kai followed Itachi's example and sent a shadow clone to school every day.
No ambition.
Just one goal—
Blend in and coast.
As for the real him?
Either lying down sunbathing…
or face-down sunbathing.
Thinking about Sasuke starting school, another thought surfaced.
"This time… the Konoha Twelve should finally be complete."
Everyone's here now.
Which meant—
I can start copying.
…
Soon enough, on the street in front of the Ninja Academy.
Four figures walked side by side.
From left to right: Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Kai, and Uchiha Sasuke.
Their heights descended in order.
Their moods too.
Shisui laughed loudly.
Itachi smiled with narrowed eyes.
Kai didn't smile.
Sasuke—had a face like someone owed him money.
The Uchiha F4—prototype version.
"Sasuke! You're here too!"
A cheerful voice suddenly rang out.
An orange blur rushed in—
And forcibly wedged itself into the group.
Left hand grabbing Kai.
Right arm hooking an unwilling Sasuke.
"Let go of me!"
Sasuke yanked once—didn't break free.
His face darkened instantly.
With so many eyes around, even his ears started to burn.
Humiliating.
Public hand-holding—
with another guy.
He struggled again.
Still didn't get free.
In fact, the grip tightened.
"…Was he stimulated by this?"
Seeing all the other kids being led by parents and family, Kai tilted his head slightly toward Uzumaki Naruto.
There was a smile in his eyes—
And a trace of loneliness beneath it.
Was Naruto affected by the crowd?
Loneliness itself wasn't scary.
But loneliness among happiness felt especially out of place.
Fortunately, two and a half years ago—
Thanks to Kai's deliberate meddling, Naruto and Sasuke had already gotten to know each other early.
With that thought, Kai casually ruffled Naruto's hair.
"Behave yourself at school, Naruto. And if Sasuke messes up, keep an eye on him for me."
"Leave it to me, boss!"
Naruto puffed out his chest proudly.
"Who needs him watching me?!" Sasuke snapped. "I can take care of myself!"
No one paid him any attention.
Shisui and Itachi smiled as they watched the kids squabble.
Kai, meanwhile, was busy farming Naruto's traits…
Sasuke's mood darkened even further.
Three minutes later, Kai's vision shifted.
Naruto's traits finally became clearer.
[Interaction target: Uzumaki Naruto.]
[Analyzing traits… Currently copyable traits:
Talk-no-Jutsu (Black), Child of Destiny (Rainbow), Nine-Tails Power (Gold), Chakra Monster (Gold),
Dango Affinity (Green), Self-Healing (Blue), Agile (White)]
Not much different from last time.
Until—
Ten minutes passed.
And the trait he copied made Kai freeze in place.
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