Arashi and Shisui walked in companionable silence through the tranquil forest, the setting sun casting long shadows across their path. The air was still, the only sound the gentle rustling of leaves underfoot.
"Arashi, you don't talk to me nowadays," Shisui finally broke the silence, his voice tinged with concern. "How am I supposed to know how to help you? I want to help, I do. But I can't help without understanding what the problem is."
Arashi's brow furrowed. 'He won't understand me. No one does...'
Shisui caught the troubled expression on Arashi's face. Somehow, he knew what the boy was thinking, and he knew exactly what to say.
"Arashi? Do you know what the Mangekyou Sharingan is?"
"Mangekyou Sharingan?" Arashi repeated, his curiosity piqued.
"Yes, do you remember that night at the Naka shrine? Itachi and I took you there to read something. Do you remember the pattern in my eyes?"
Arashi nodded, the memory flashing back. "I've been meaning to ask how you got those eyes?"
"The Mangekyou Sharingan is the next stage of the Sharingan's evolution," Shisui explained. "To gain these eyes, you have to lose someone you love. I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone, not even Itachi..."
'Not even Itachi?' Arashi's gaze sharpened, his attention fully captured. Shisui's eyes shimmered, the intricate Mangekyou pattern swirling within them.
"A long time ago, I met a friend of mine while I was in the academy. He fought alongside me after I became a genin too, on the same team. Back then, he was my best friend. We trusted each other. But..." Shisui's voice trailed off, the weight of the unspoken words hanging heavy in the air.
"That friendship didn't last even a year," Shisui continued, his voice heavy with regret. "This was right after the war ended. Missions were far harsher then than they are now. We were in the middle of a cleanup mission with a few other teams, and we ended up separated, alone in enemy territory."
He paused, his grip tightening on his fist. "Our luck was terrible. We ran into more enemies than we could handle. We were staring death in the face."
"Fortunately, some of the comrades we'd been separated from found us. They saved me, but my friend was slow to run... If I had just reached out to him, he wouldn't have had to die."
Shisui's voice cracked, the memory still raw and painful. "Nii-san, this was just a–" Arashi began, but Shisui cut him off.
"I envied that friend. He was blessed with more talent than me." Shisui's eyes hardened. "I was jealous of him, always running out in front of me. So that time, I could have reached out my hand. But I deliberately didn't... I killed him."
Arashi's eyes widened in shock.
"For several months, I was destroyed by the guilt of killing him. It was then, when I met Itachi. Seeing Itachi, always training, always looking ahead, his dedication drew me to him. Bit by bit, he helped pick me up the more time I spent with him. I'm eternally grateful to Itachi."
Shisui's gaze softened as he looked at Arashi. "You see, the Mangekyou Sharingan awakens after an Uchiha's emotion is dealt a massive blow. Mine was awakened by the regret for killing my friend. Years later, things in the village were heading in a direction of destruction and darkness, Itachi also felt this with me. I felt as if the war was still going on."
"But then, one day, as I came back from a mission, I bumped into a kid who was running away from a prank he and his friend pulled. That kid was you, Arashi. You didn't even notice me; you were too much in a hurry to even look back."
A small smile tugged at Shisui's lips. "I heard about you before that, but I never met you. Itachi told me about a kid who pushed Sasuke further, like a rival. I felt some urge to look after you ever since."
His voice grew firm. "You became my reason to keep going and to keep becoming stronger. I understand how it feels to have a power that you never wanted at all. But I also understand that this power should be used to protect the ones you love."
"But Shisui-Nii-san," Arashi's voice trembled, "I don't have enough power anymore! I can't even beat the people I'm supposed to protect. I'm just useless now..." His head drooped, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"No matter how hard I try, I'm just not as good as I once was... I'm a failure..."
Shisui's gaze intensified. "Arashi... do me a favor."
"A favor?" Arashi looked up, his eyes red-rimmed.
"Yes... Never speak like that again."
Arashi's eyes widened in surprise. "But Shisui-Nii-san–"
"No," Shisui interrupted firmly. "When you try and still fail, the only option you should give yourself is to try again. Forget about the sadness, forget about the pain and humiliation, and just try again. Learn from it and keep trying. True failure is not trying at all."
He placed a hand on Arashi's shoulder, his voice filled with conviction. "You're not a true failure, Arashi. Keep on trying and keep on failing until you don't. I never got here because I was simply talented."
"Talent is nothing without hard work. If I gave up every time I failed, I would've died a long time ago, and I would've become a failure."
Shisui watched as Arashi's gaze remained fixed on the ground, his words echoing in the young boy's mind.
A single tear fell, landing on a dry leaf with a soft plop. 'Talent is nothing without hard work...' Shisui's words reverberated within him.
'Big brother believes in me. But... why don't I believe in myself? Why can't I do it? Either way, I'll have to work harder than ever from now on. I won't fail you, Shisui-Nii-san. I'll never fail you, big brother...'
With newfound determination, Arashi reached for his tanto, his grip firm.
Shisui observed the transformation, a flicker of awe in his eyes. 'Incredible... it's like a fire has sparked within him...'
"Shisui-Nii-san, I understand now," Arashi declared, his voice resolute. "I'll never fail you again, I promise!" He closed his eyes, then with a swift motion, slit his palm with the kunai.
He winced at the sting, but quickly regained his composure. "I'll never give up! That's my nindo, my ninja way!"
As he opened his eyes, a second tomoe had formed within his Sharingan, a testament to his newfound resolve. "Nii-san, I want to take things further than ever from now on. No more holding back in my training."
Shisui's face broke into a relieved grin. "Hahaha! For a second there, I was worried you had lost it." He ruffled Arashi's hair playfully.
"Huh? Lost what, Nii-san?"
"That fire within you." Shisui tapped Arashi's chest lightly. "Your Uchiha spirit."
Arashi smiled back. "I did it again, didn't I, Nii-san?"
"Did what?"
"I got another tomoe. I can feel my power growing."
"That's right, you now have two tomoe. I wonder what kind of ability you have now."
"I'll find out after regaining my ability to use chakra properly. I just hope it's not as painful as the other one."
"Yeah... me too," Shisui agreed with a chuckle.
The next day, Arashi's training intensified. Shisui pushed him harder than ever before, but Arashi embraced the challenge.
He ran laps around the Uchiha compound, each lap followed by carrying a massive boulder on his back, with Shisui adding his own weight on top. They trained relentlessly from sunrise to sunset, ending each day with a shared bowl of ramen.
On their first day, Arashi could barely keep up. He stumbled, fell, and lagged behind, but he refused to give up. He pushed himself, day after day, until he shattered his own limitations.
Tonight, after their usual training and ramen feast, Arashi's determination burned even brighter. Despite his exhaustion, he yearned to continue. Shisui noticed his restlessness and asked, "Arashi, what are you doing? It's too late for training, go to bed and rest. Aren't you tired?"
"It doesn't matter if I am..." Arashi's voice was firm, his resolve unwavering. "I have to get stronger... and faster." He continued walking past Shisui, his determination evident in every step.
Shisui sighed, a fond smile playing on his lips. He knew there was no stopping Arashi now. "Take." He handed Arashi two leg weights and two wrist weights. "These weights will increase the weight the longer you use them, so have fun."
Arashi nodded, a spark of excitement in his eyes. He strapped on the weights and resumed his run, his pace noticeably slower. The added weight was a challenge, but it only fueled his determination.
He ran for hours, the sun beginning to peek over the horizon. Still, he didn't stop.
"Cough! Cough!" A fit of coughing forced him to halt. He doubled over, clutching his knees, gasping for air. Sweat dripped from his brow, his clothes soaked through. "I have... to keep going..."
He pushed his hair back from his face, having lost his headband somewhere along the way.
For weeks, this became his routine. He trained tirelessly in the secluded forest beneath the Hokage Monument, the quiet solitude providing the perfect backdrop for his relentless pursuit of strength.
On that first day, he struggled to keep up with the increasing weight, stumbling and falling countless times. But he persevered, pushing himself beyond his limits, day after day, until he finally broke through them.
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Meanwhile, in the bustling Yamanaka flower shop, a blonde-haired girl with bright blue eyes and a stylish bob haircut carefully carried a vase filled with vibrant blooms. This was Ino Yamanaka, a classmate of Arashi's, delivering the vase to her father.
"Ino? Where's the vase?" Inoichi, her father, called out from the front of the shop.
"I'm coming!" Ino replied, hurrying from the storage room. She had been perched atop a ladder, meticulously sorting through the various vases.
Balancing the chosen vase carefully, Ino stretched on her tiptoes to hand it to her father. Inoichi turned with a warm smile, accepting the vase.
"We're almost done for the day," Inoichi remarked as he descended the ladder.
"You see, Ino, someday you'll–" he began, only to be interrupted by Ino finishing his sentence in unison, "–inherit the Yamanaka flower shop and traditions."
Inoichi chuckled, pleasantly surprised by her response. "Ahahahaha! I've probably repeated that too many times, haven't I?"
Ino giggled. "You tell me this almost every time we leave the store, Dad. I already know."
"Heh, sorry. Your old man's losing his memory already."
Inoichi joined Ino in locking up the storage room. "Alright, let's go home."
"I'll be home in a minute, I have to go see something," Ino said, dashing out of the shop before her father could protest.
"Wait, what time will you be–" Inoichi's words trailed off as he realized it was a futile attempt. 'It's the same routine every single day.' He sighed, shaking his head fondly before closing up the shop and heading home.
(Edited on: 05/10/24)