Chapter 38: Awakening!
If one could continuously feel the process of chakra nature transformation, it would undoubtedly accelerate their understanding of elemental chakra.
"Mm."
Rin nodded softly.
Seiji then began refining his chakra, converting it into Lightning-natured chakra. The energy flowed from his palm into Rin's hand.
The technique Lightning Style: Iron Block required chakra to be refined just beneath the surface of the skin, extremely close to the meridians atop the skin cells—making it perfect for allowing Rin to feel the process of neutral chakra being transformed into Lightning chakra.
"Mmm…"
Rin felt a tingling sensation in her palm—like a faint electric current dancing across her skin.
But she still didn't feel anything truly different.
---
Uchiha District
Obito dragged his tired body through the village.
"Back so late, Obito?"
"Hungry? Grandma's got a pancake for you."
An elderly couple who ran the Uchiha street food stall greeted him warmly.
Uchiha Gen took out a hot, steaming pancake and wrapped it in oiled paper.
"Granny Gen, I don't have any money," Obito said quickly, waving his hands.
Both his parents were gone, and the only one left at home was his aging grandmother.
If not for the survivor's pension his parents had left behind, things would've been much tighter financially.
He tried to be as frugal as possible.
"It's fine—Grandma's treating you," Gen replied with a kind smile, handing him the food.
"Thank you."
Unable to refuse any further, Obito accepted the pancake.
He had just returned from training.
Part of him had hoped Rin would show up at the Third Training Ground like she used to.
But she never came.
"Haha, kids these days are too polite," said Uchiha Teshou with a grin.
"By the way, Obito, how's that new clansman doing in your class? You all aren't excluding him, right?" Teshou asked.
He had grown up during the early years of Konoha, when different clans from all over were still getting used to one another.
Having seen the struggles of that transitional period, Teshou wasn't biased against Seiji, even if he came from another country.
After all, it had only been a few decades since Konoha formed—and weren't they all originally foreigners from different regions?
Obito almost choked on his pancake at the question.
After coughing a few times, he replied, "Excluded? Not even close—he's actually pretty popular."
He pouted.
Forget Rin for a moment—Yūhi Kurenai seemed to constantly look for excuses to talk to Uchiha Seiji.
Even the usually shy Shizune once came up during recess to ask if Seiji trained especially hard at the Uchiha compound.
It was honestly eye-opening.
Was being a foreign transfer student that appealing?
"Haha, that's good. We're all Uchiha; we should stick together. Glad to hear he's adjusting well," Teshou chuckled.
"Yeah, some little girl even came earlier asking where he lived," added Gen, picking up the thread.
She shared a similar outlook to her husband.
"Who?" Obito asked casually while finishing half the pancake.
"A cute little girl with purple markings on her face," Gen said.
Obito froze.
Purple markings.
A little girl.
Could it be… Rin?
Why would Rin go looking for Seiji?
Obito's brow furrowed.
He quickly shoved the rest of the pancake into his mouth, hurriedly thanked the couple, and dashed off toward Seiji's home.
"Rin's never even come to my house this late before…"
A strange anxiety welled up in Obito's chest, and he picked up speed.
---
Streetlamps lit the path ahead with a dim, flickering glow.
Back at Seiji's home, Rin lowered her head, visibly dejected.
"Maybe… I'm just not cut out for this," she murmured.
Even now, she couldn't feel anything resembling Lightning chakra.
It seemed her hope to help Kakashi might've been in vain.
"It's alright," Seiji said gently, still holding her hand. "If it doesn't work the first time, we'll try again. Next time, let's expand the contact area a bit."
Rin bit her lip softly—but didn't pull away.
Just as they were about to proceed with Seiji's suggestion to increase the contact area, a sudden voice rang out—
"Uchiha Seiji! What are you doing?!"
Obito burst into the room.
His face was a mix of shock and disbelief.
He hadn't expected much when he came running over—
But now that he saw it with his own eyes, he was utterly stunned.
He vaulted over the low wall surrounding Seiji's modest home and slipped through the half-open paper sliding door—only to see Uchiha Seiji holding Rin Nohara's hand.
And he was leaning in, as if about to do something more.
"Obito?! What are you doing at Seiji's house?" Rin jumped, startled by his sudden appearance.
"Rin, I knew this guy was no good! Was he just harassing you?!" Obito burst out, his anger flaring.
Rin's soft, delicate hands—he hadn't even held them himself.
And this guy, Seiji, had gotten there first?
"You've misunderstood, Obito." Seiji calmly withdrew his hand, halting the chakra transformation.
The faint electric current dancing over Rin's skin slowly faded.
"Obito," Rin said, frowning, "I remember we closed the front door, didn't we?"
She usually tolerated Obito's antics—he was always mischievous, always childish.
But this was going too far. It was like he would never grow up.
His mindset was more immature and self-centered than most their age.
"No, Rin, I—I did this for you!" Obito stammered, thrown off by the disapproval in Rin's voice. She clearly wasn't happy.
He didn't want her to hate him. So he tried to explain.
If Granny Gen hadn't mentioned that Rin had gone to Seiji's place… he probably would've never set foot here in his life.
"For me?"
Rin felt emotionally exhausted.
She was already worried sick over Kakashi, and now her attempts to learn Lightning Style had been completely unproductive.
The pressure had been building inside her for days.
And now Obito was still acting like an impulsive child.
"Sorry for wasting your time, Seiji," Rin said apologetically.
"No worries. Rin, you've taught me plenty too, haven't you?" Seiji replied with a gentle smile.
Watching Obito desperately trying to explain and Rin clearly at her limit…
All Seiji could feel was—a rush.
The room was dark.
Only faint shafts of light filtered in through the outer screen.
Shadows veiled Seiji's face.
In that dim, colorless world—a veil of red settled over his vision.
A warm, spiraling sensation welled up from deep within.
It was different from the first time his Sharingan awakened—this was something more.
Because only when both eyes were awakened… did the Sharingan's true power begin to manifest.
Like a sudden beam of light splitting the darkness, his vision surged into focus.
As the red haze lifted, Seiji saw a world sharper and clearer than ever before.
His ocular power surged.
No longer a single-eye Sharingan—
This was the dual-eye Sharingan!
Seiji's world had changed.
Distant objects were no longer blurry.
Details hidden in the shadows stood out with terrifying clarity.
Nothing could escape these eyes now.
---