Chapter 122: The Path of Evolution

The moon sank and the sun rose, heralding the arrival of a new day.

Uchiha Li slept until the afternoon before finally waking. He had been utterly exhausted the night before.

After an entire night of work, he had finally written most of the second volume of *Tales of Terra*.

The basic framework was much the same as in the first volume. It mainly told the story of the Saint Michael’s apostle, with several new tales appended at the end to attract readers.

When he stepped out of his room, Uchiha Li smiled at the meal already prepared on the table.

For someone as indolent in daily life as he was, having a capable younger sister was truly a blessing.

Otherwise, he would probably have had to eat every meal outside.

Without giving it another thought, Uchiha Li sat down at the table and prepared to eat. But just then, he caught sight of the scene outside through the window beside the mountain.

Uchiha Itachi was standing motionless at the entrance to the courtyard beneath the blazing sun.

Itachi also noticed Uchiha Li and fixed his gaze intently upon him.

Seeing Itachi drenched in sweat, Uchiha Li hurried over and ushered him inside.

“Judging by the look of you, you’ve been here for quite some time?”

Uchiha Li focused all his attention on the food, unconsciously ignoring Itachi’s faintly aggrieved expression.

He had not forgotten that he was supposed to begin teaching Itachi today. He simply had not expected the boy to arrive so early.

He had originally planned to look for him in the afternoon or evening.

As for Itachi, he watched Uchiha Li eat at his leisure, pressed his lips together, and replied respectfully, “Yes, Sensei.”

“Very good.”

Seeing the respect in Itachi’s manner, Uchiha Li nodded.

Although he had never held a particularly favorable impression of Itachi, at least the boy’s attitude was excellent at present.

He looked exactly as a student ought to look—flawless, one might say.

At the very least, after being defeated by him the previous day, that barely perceptible arrogance hidden within Itachi had vanished.

With that thought, Uchiha Li said, “Next time, if I haven’t woken up yet, you can call for me.”

Itachi shook his head. “It’s all right, Sensei. I’ll simply come a little later next time.”

After saying this, Itachi paused before continuing, “Sensei, may I ask you for a favor?”

“Go ahead.” Uchiha Li was busy dealing with his meal and answered casually.

Uchiha Itachi drew a deep breath, looked into Uchiha Li’s eyes, and said solemnly, “May I see your eyes?”

At those words, Uchiha Li stopped chewing.

He turned to look at Itachi, but for a moment gave no answer. He merely watched him.

The relaxed atmosphere suddenly grew tense, and under Uchiha Li’s gaze, Itachi felt a chill run through him.

Just as he was about to lower his head instinctively, Uchiha Li smiled faintly and said, “It seems the clan head has already told you.”

Itachi felt a secret breath of relief and quickly replied, “Yes. My father told me.”

After Uchiha Fugaku had informed him the previous night that Uchiha Li possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi had been unable to sleep for the rest of the night.

He had never imagined that his teacher could be so powerful.

His earlier dissatisfaction at having a teacher forcibly assigned to him by his father vanished in an instant.

It was precisely because he understood what the Mangekyo meant to the clan that Itachi reacted this way.

His father was the best example. As a Mangekyo wielder, Fugaku’s prestige within the clan had been rising steadily. He had nearly become a man whose word was law.

Watching the countless expressions pass across Itachi’s face, Uchiha Li withdrew his smile.

The next instant, his eyes began to spin rapidly. A flash of scarlet light gleamed in his pupils, and the Mangekyo appeared.

When Itachi saw those eyes and felt the sudden pressure descend upon him, his entire body instinctively took a step backward.

At the same time, under that crushing pressure, his Sharingan opened of its own accord.

Yet this did nothing to ease the pressure. In fact, after activating his Sharingan, Itachi felt the weight upon him grow even heavier.

The disparity between the Mangekyo and a two-tomoe Sharingan was simply too great.

“What terrifying eyes. Is this the ultimate secret art of our clan?”

Itachi swallowed hard. After staring at Uchiha Li’s eyes for several seconds, he decisively shifted his gaze away.

An unceasing sense of danger stirred within him, warning him not to look any longer.

Seeing Itachi’s reaction, Uchiha Li smiled and closed the Mangekyo.

Although the Mangekyo, strengthened by the First Hokage’s cells, had not advanced in rank, it was far more formidable than an ordinary Mangekyo.

Combined with the fact that he had deliberately released its oppressive force, it was only natural that Itachi could not withstand it.

He had been steadily reinforcing the image of his own might in Itachi’s mind, ensuring that the boy would engrave it deeply into his memory.

After this encounter, Itachi would surely never forget it.

“All right. Is there anything else you want to ask? If not, we’ll begin training.”

A smile once again appeared on Uchiha Li’s face as he asked the question.

Itachi hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth. “Sensei, I want to know how to evolve the Sharingan into the Mangekyo.”

The scene just now had deeply shaken him. Itachi did not want to remain so helpless whenever he faced such a situation. He wanted to make his eyes stronger.

Unfortunately, his father had always been vague regarding the evolution of the Sharingan—especially its transformation into the Mangekyo. It was obvious that Fugaku did not wish to say much.

Thus, Itachi could only seek Uchiha Li’s help. After all, Li happened to be his teacher.

Uchiha Li thought for a moment before saying, “Actually, you probably already have some idea of the answer to that question, don’t you?”

He did not believe that Itachi could have awakened a two-tomoe Sharingan from the very beginning without having experienced some kind of emotional shock.

Even he, despite using Terra’s cheat to bypass the restriction of emotional stimulation, could only progress step by step and accumulate experience when awakening his eyes.

Given Itachi’s intelligence, after experiencing something similar, he should have been able to guess part of the truth.

It was simply that the Itachi of this time did not wish to believe it—or, more accurately, instinctively wanted to ignore it.

“So it really is like that…”

Hearing the implication in Uchiha Li’s words, Itachi’s face revealed both understanding and silence.

He had indeed harbored doubts about certain matters, particularly because he had experienced the death of a comrade shortly before awakening his eyes.

During that incident, he had come to understand something of the meaning of life. The power of that pain had stimulated his eyes.

But if that truly was the case, did it mean he would have to experience something like that again?

And how could he possibly wish for such a thing to happen?

Itachi did not dare continue thinking. He had actually begun to fear his own eyes.

He wanted to become stronger, but not by such means.

After remaining silent for a long while, Itachi finally recovered himself and looked at Uchiha Li.

“Sensei, is there really no other way?”

Uchiha Li tilted his head, puzzled. “What? You’re not satisfied with that method?”

Itachi grew exasperated. “Are you joking? How could I possibly be satisfied with a method like that?”

He could sense Uchiha Li’s faint, intermittent mockery, as though Li believed him to be the sort of person who would accept such a thing.

Itachi truly could not understand it. He could not comprehend why Uchiha Li disliked him.

It had been the same when they first formally met two years ago, and even more so now.

Although Li had never said so outright, Itachi had always been able to feel it…