Seeing that his number of lottery draws had finally increased, Seisui couldn't help the surge of excitement in his chest.
The Mangekyo… it's finally within reach!
With that thought, Seisui focused his mind and summoned the ninja templates whose fragments were already over halfway complete.
[Uchiha Sasuke (Eternal Mangekyo) 54/100]
[Uchiha Itachi (Mangekyo Sharingan) 39/40]
[Prismatic Stones ×4]
[High-Rank Summon Scrolls ×10]
That was his current collection of near-complete ninja templates—
and they were strong.
While Seisui was reviewing his templates, Minato stood nearby, watching him with a pitiful, almost resentful look.
Uchiha Haru, however, was staring at the two with growing suspicion.
They just went into the duel arena together—so why does Minato look like some abandoned wife from a romance play?
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious her gaze became. Subtly, she stepped between them, blocking Minato's line of sight.
I knew it! That blond hedgehog has impure thoughts!
Minato, completely oblivious to her inner accusations, finally spoke.
"Seisui, where on earth do those powers of yours come from?"
He had seen everything after his own death in the duel—thanks to the god's-eye perspective, he had clearly witnessed the massive blast radius.
Minato had no doubt: if Seisui unleashed that chakra cannon in the center of the village, Konoha would be reduced to ashes.
That level of jutsu had far surpassed anything ranked S-class; it was pure, terrifying destruction.
Seisui, pulled back from his joy, looked at Minato and smiled faintly.
"Minato," he said solemnly, "to see me is like beholding a mountain."
Oh, we're doing this again, huh?
He'd only asked a simple question, and somehow Seisui managed to turn it into a chance to boast!
"You'll regret treating me like this someday!" Minato huffed, deciding he no longer cared about Seisui's powers, and turned to leave.
Bang!
The door slammed shut behind him.
Seisui rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Minato's getting more and more like Elder Danzo… Hopefully, he stays sunny for a while longer."
Haru frowned. "You keep mentioning Elder Danzo. What exactly happened with him?"
"Nothing much," Seisui said lightly. "Just… a man who loved but could never obtain."
Danzo had craved the Hokage title his whole life—only for it to go to his best friend. When he finally became acting Hokage, Sasuke killed him before he could even warm the chair.
If that wasn't love and loss, what was?
Haru blinked, momentarily stunned. Then, her wariness toward Minato grew even deeper.
Grandma Mito really was wise, she thought. She warned me and Kushina to be cautious… telling us about the First Hokage and that old Uchiha Madara.
When Minato was gone, the house felt a bit too empty.
Seisui scratched his head and turned to Haru. "Hey, Haru, can you help me buy some furniture?"
She looked around the bare house and nodded in agreement.
Seeing her nod, Seisui pressed his hands together in a seal. Instantly, three human-sized panda youths appeared before them.
The panda trio looked at Seisui with bright eyes since they weren't allowed to fight lately, being summoned could only mean work… or food.
"Alright, here's the deal," Seisui said with a smile. "I just moved in. It's pretty empty here, so I'll need you guys to help me move my stuff from the old place."
"Leave it to us, Seisui-sama!" the leading panda said, thumping his chest. "If it can be moved, we'll move it! Everything, right?"
Seisui nodded. "That's right. Everything that can be carried—bring it."
"No problem! We're on it!"
They worked until late that night. Seisui and Haru also went out to buy new furniture.
After paying the pandas with a mountain of food, he dismissed them. Haru, having helped pick out furniture, returned home soon after.
Now alone in his room, Seisui stared at the glowing summon interface before him.
"It's time to see what the Mangekyo can do."
"Tenfold summon—start!"
As he activated the draw, ten rewards appeared on the interface.
[Uchiha Sasuke (Eternal Mangekyo) Fragment ×5]
[Uchiha Sasuke (Shippuden) Fragment ×1]
[Uzumaki Naruto (Shippuden) Fragment ×1]
[Tenten (Fourth War) Fragment ×1]
[Might Guy (Eight Gates Released) Fragment ×1]
[Gaara (Fourth War) Fragment ×1]
[Prismatic Stones ×5]
[Uchiha Sasuke (Eternal Mangekyo) 59/100]
[Uchiha Itachi (Mangekyo Sharingan) 39/40]
[Prismatic Stones ×9]
[High-Rank Scrolls ×0]
Looking at the results, Seisui was pleasantly surprised.
No full cards this time, but four more fragments for Eternal Sasuke—that was solid progress toward another powerful trump card.
"Exchange one Uchiha Itachi (Mangekyo Sharingan) fragment!"
[Uchiha Itachi (Mangekyo Sharingan) 40/40]
[Recruitment successful!]
[Uchiha Itachi (Mangekyo Sharingan)]
Skills: Amaterasu, Clone Explosion, Tsukuyomi!
Why so weak? Because your hatred is not enough!"
Amaterasu: Cast a genjutsu using the Mangekyo to paralyze the enemy, then burn them to ash with black flames.
Clone Explosion: Sends a shadow clone charging forward that detonates upon contact while the user remains mobile.
Tsukuyomi: Traps the target in an illusionary world where seventy-two hours pass in the blink of an eye in reality.
The moment the description finished, the Itachi template turned into a streak of white light that merged into Seisui's body.
His 2.5-tomoe Sharingan shimmered, absorbing the Mangekyo's chakra as nourishment.
2.5 tomoe… 3 tomoe.
Then, the three tomoe began to spin, stretching and splitting—dividing his pupils into three curved segments, each marked by a dark dot at its center.
Feeling the transformation, Seisui walked to a mirror. His eyes now held a unique pattern—completely different from Itachi's.
"So it really turned out like this," he murmured softly.
He had long suspected that recruiting Itachi's Mangekyo template would bring an unexpected reward—but this went beyond expectation.
When he'd drawn Uchiha Obito's Sharingan template before, he had gained the Sharingan bloodline itself.
Now, instead of overwriting his old eyes, Itachi's template had become nourishment—awakening a Mangekyo that was truly his own.
This Mangekyo didn't belong to anyone else—it was born from him, shaped by his own heart.
And the template's skills—Amaterasu, Clone Explosion, and Tsukuyomi—remained intact.
That meant his Mangekyo now carried four powers.
"Stronger and stronger, huh…" Seisui clenched his fists, feeling the energy coursing through him.
It felt incredible.
He tried probing deeper into his new eyes—only to pause.
He could sense Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi clearly, but the other two abilities were still faint, half-formed.
Still developing?
"Wait, aren't Mangekyo powers supposed to be usable right away?!" he muttered, dumbfounded.
Obito had unlocked his Mangekyo the moment the boulder crushed him, instantly awakening Kamui through instinct.
But him? Nothing.
Ridiculous!
Seisui sighed, half-amused, half-irritated.
"Maybe it's because I wasn't emotionally traumatized enough?"
It wasn't the most convincing explanation, but he decided to accept it.
Disappointing as it was, it wasn't all bad—he still had Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, plus two more powers waiting to mature.
And, of course, Susanoo.
Having once used Susanoo before, Seisui could feel the faint connection to a colossal avatar in another realm—but with his ocular powers still stabilizing, it wasn't ready to manifest.
He couldn't help wondering what his own Susanoo would look like.
After all, every Susanoo was unique.
Itachi's wielded the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror—offense and defense incarnate.
Shisui's used the Tanto, spinning and launching chakra senbon.
Madara's possessed four long swords that could unleash titanic slashes.
Obito's (or Kakashi's) hurled massive shuriken.
Sasuke's used a spiritual bow.
If his turned out to be bare-handed…
Even if it was still strong, the image alone would be mortifying.
Everyone else gets a divine weapon, and mine's just out here throwing punches… yeah, no thanks.
As he thought about it, another idea surfaced.
Come to think of it, I've never seen Haru's Susanoo before.
"I wonder what hers looks like," Seisui mused aloud, his Mangekyo glimmering faintly as he sank into thought.