Chapter 282: Threshold

Chapter 282: Chapter 282: Threshold

Itachi instinctively activated his Sharingan, three tomoe beginning to revolve within his scarlet eyes.

Under his careful observation, he noticed that the newcomer appeared to be a woman. Yet whether it was her footsteps or her mannerisms, neither seemed particularly feminine, giving her an inexplicably mysterious air.

Faced with this sudden stranger, Itachi raised his guard and asked, "Who are you?"

The other party replied calmly, "You’re Uchiha Itachi, right?"

Itachi nodded, but his vigilance did not lessen in the slightest.

Uchiha Hiiragi’s recent disappearance had left many within the Uchiha Clan feeling uneasy.

After all, if even an Uchiha jōnin who had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan could disappear without rhyme or reason, then there were very few people within the Uchiha Clan who could truly guarantee their own safety.

Therefore, if it hadn’t been for Hyuga Kagami’s invitation, the naturally cautious Itachi would never have casually left the village.

The other party continued, "I’m your competitor. You can call me ’En.’ Whoever wins between us will earn the title of ’Homura’!"

Without a doubt, the newcomer was none other than Hyuga Kagami, using his Fire Release clone.

Accelerating his synchronization with the Fire Release clone required combat experience, and Itachi was an excellent sparring partner in virtually every respect.

At the same time, Hyuga Kagami could use this opportunity to train Itachi and help him grow stronger more quickly, allowing him to better adapt to the complicated and ever-changing situation they now faced.

Itachi was somewhat dumbfounded. "Doesn’t the title ’Homura’ already belong to someone?"

Worried that the other party might deliberately be trying to trick him into revealing something, Itachi did not directly mention Shisui’s name. However, the confusion written all over his face was impossible to conceal.

"Who told you there can only be one ’Homura’?" After a brief pause, Hyuga Kagami continued, "Shisui is ’Homura,’ but ’Homura’ isn’t just Shisui!"

Hearing Hyuga Kagami openly mention Shisui, Itachi relaxed his guard slightly. Then, somewhat speechlessly, he asked, "Just how many ’Homura’ are there in Kamigami?"

Hyuga Kagami shrugged. "If only one of us passes the assessment, then including Shisui, there’ll be two ’Homura.’ If both of us pass, then there’ll be three. As for the future, there might even be a fourth, a fifth... Who knows! In short, the number of ’Homura’ depends entirely on how many suitable candidates there are. And the standard is that you must, at the very least, be capable of activating Susanoo!"

Itachi was startled. "What? You have to be able to activate Susanoo just to join Kamigami?"

As Uchiha clansmen such as Shisui and Shinichi, both of whom had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, continued to make spectacular names for themselves throughout the shinobi world, Susanoo—the dōjutsu that represented the Mangekyō Sharingan—had once again become a major focus of attention throughout the shinobi world.

And as the eldest son of the Uchiha Clan Head, Itachi was naturally even more familiar with it.

Hyuga Kagami’s words therefore came as an enormous surprise to him.

Itachi had never imagined that Kamigami’s minimum requirement for recruiting new members would actually be Susanoo—the dōjutsu of the Mangekyō Sharingan, the ultimate symbol of the Uchiha Clan’s ocular power.

Hyuga Kagami said calmly, "What’s so strange about that?"

Itachi’s expression darkened. "You’re messing with me, aren’t you?"

The idea that even an Uchiha who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan would only barely meet the minimum requirement for joining Kamigami was simply too absurd for Itachi to accept!

Hyuga Kagami said nothing.

Instead, beneath his mask, the ordinary black eyes within his sockets transformed into the intricate pattern of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, with interwoven diamonds and triangles.

At the same time, a golden phantom projected outward from his body.

Staring at the golden apparition before him, which consisted of little more than half a skeletal frame, Itachi stumbled several steps backward in shock and murmured, "You... You have the Mangekyō Sharingan too?!"

Although it was merely a partial skeletal manifestation, that did nothing to prevent Itachi from immediately recognizing the golden phantom before him as Susanoo—the symbol of the Uchiha Clan’s highest ocular power.

Dispelling his Susanoo, Hyuga Kagami said, "That’s right. Unfortunately, Lord Kagami hasn’t acknowledged me, so for now, I’m still only an outer member of Kamigami."

Itachi looked somewhat dejected. "Is joining Kamigami really that difficult?"

After seeing Hyuga Kagami activate Susanoo with his own eyes, Itachi finally believed what he had been told.

Hyuga Kagami nodded. "Very difficult. The Mangekyō Sharingan is merely the threshold. Unless you’re a true powerhouse standing at the pinnacle, you aren’t qualified to become a codename-bearing member of Kamigami. But considering that you’ve already caught Lord Kagami’s attention at your age and even become an outer member, I think you should feel honored!"

After hearing Hyuga Kagami’s words, Itachi’s mood improved somewhat.

After all, even the Mangekyō Sharingan wielder standing before him was merely an outer member of Kamigami. Yet he had actually hoped to become a full-fledged member of Kamigami right away. Thinking about it now, Itachi realized that he had indeed been a little too presumptuous.

At the same time, as he looked at the woman before him, many of the doubts in Itachi’s heart were finally answered.

Before this, Itachi had always wondered who had impersonated ’Homura’ and cleared Shisui of suspicion.

After all, many Uchiha clansmen and Konoha shinobi had personally witnessed the battle between two Susanoo at the time. That was something that could not possibly have been faked. Because of this, Itachi had long suspected that Kamigami possessed another Mangekyō Sharingan wielder.

Thinking about it now, the Mangekyō Sharingan wielder who had helped clear Shisui of suspicion must have been this outer member of Kamigami standing before him—the woman named ’En.’

After calming himself, Itachi said, "En-senpai, I’m no match for you. But for the sake of saving the Uchiha Clan, I’m willing to do everything I can and give it a try!"

Hyuga Kagami replied, "Good. Then let me see what you’re capable of. I’m curious myself—just what did you do to impress Lord Kagami enough to become an outer member of Kamigami?"

In an instant, the two assumed their fighting stances...

......

Back in the village, before the Memorial Stone.

Kakashi gazed at the Memorial Stone before him and said, "Sensei, our team is responsible for Naruto’s safety now. I promise you, I’ll protect him and make sure he grows up safe and sound."

Whenever he had free time, Kakashi would invariably find himself coming here without even realizing it.

Sometimes, he would say a few words to Obito and Rin. Other times, he would speak to his sensei, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

There were even times when he would simply stand before the Memorial Stone, lost in thought for an entire day.

From within the bushes in the distance, Obito silently watched Kakashi standing before the Memorial Stone and thought, "So ANBU Team 11 is responsible for protecting Naruto now? This might be an opportunity!"

Just like Kakashi, Obito would also come here from time to time, so he often happened to encounter Kakashi at this place.

In fact, it was only because Kakashi had inadvertently mentioned Kushina’s delivery date while speaking at the Memorial Stone that Obito had learned that secret in the first place.

If not for that coincidence, it was difficult to say whether the Nine-Tails’ attack would have ever happened at all...