Uchiha Mikoto awakening her three tomoe Sharingan was beyond Haruki's expectations.
He originally thought it was impressive enough that she could awaken her Sharingan.
But to his surprise, it directly reached the three tomoe stage.
Thinking about it carefully, it seemed reasonable.
What Uchiha Mikoto experienced in the illusion was extremely tragic.
In the original story, there was still a glimmer of hope left.
But in this altered plot, even Uchiha Sasuke did not survive.
In other words, Uchiha Mikoto lost everyone she loved and cared about.
And the one who did it was Uchiha Itachi.
Even a saint would go mad after experiencing something like this.
Let alone her.
But such an illusion obviously couldn't happen a second time.
Now that Uchiha Mikoto had the Sharingan, she was naturally resistant to illusions.
Haruki wrote down the results in the Sharingan experiment documentation.
Then at the beginning of the second group, he wrote down three names:
Haruki, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki.
To further evolve the Sharingan, he might have to start with his companions.
Based on what Haruki knew, everyone who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan had done so after witnessing the death of a dear friend or loved one.
Itachi awakened it after seeing Shisui Uchiha commit suicide by jumping off a cliff.
Obito awakened it after witnessing Rin Nohara's death.
Sasuke awakened it after witnessing his brother's death.
Of course, Haruki wouldn't resort to such extreme methods.
Besides, their bonds weren't that deep yet.
For now, the Sharingan experiments were put on hold.
Haruki turned off the computer.
He walked toward the underground room he had renovated the previous day.
As the metal door opened, a silver hall came into view.
In the center was the main control room.
It was composed of dozens of computers.
Around it were passages leading to secret laboratories.
The deepest one was being used by Orochimaru.
His experiments violated Konoha's rules and couldn't be discovered by anyone.
On the surface, everything seemed safe.
Currently, there were two main categories of research: technology centered on electricity and ninja tools/ninjutsu centered on chakra.
There weren't many ninjas at the moment.
Only thirty-four.
But the number of ordinary people engaged in research was considerable.
The world of Naruto didn't value science and technology.
But it still had things like computers, refrigerators, radios, and movies.
This indicated that there were many researchers among ordinary people.
Haruki gathered them from all over the Land of Fire, forming a research group of nearly five hundred people with the lure of money.
Unfortunately, the results so far were minimal.
Using the radio, Haruki called Nagata Teru.
He had been monitoring Hiashi Hyuga.
Because of the Byakugan, it was difficult to conduct close surveillance on the Hyuga clan.
But the research group developed an enhanced telescope that could observe the Hyuga clan's courtyard from a distance.
"Has Hiashi made any moves in the past two days?" Haruki asked directly.
"No," Nagata Teru shook his head.
"I see."
Haruki waved his hand, and Nagata Teru immediately left.
He wasn't very surprised.
Hiashi Hyuga didn't seem like a decisive person.
Moreover, he currently didn't have a high enough status within the Hyuga clan.
"Then, let's execute the backup plan."
Haruki shook his head expressionlessly.
The large-scale attack by the Sand Village, although accidental, was beneficial to his plan.
He left the research institute.
Looking at the time, the sun was already at its peak.
"I wonder how those three kids are doing with their training?"
Thinking this, Haruki arrived at the third training ground, only to be puzzled by what he saw.
He saw Minato Namikaze eating grilled fish with tears streaming down his face.
But Uchiha Mikoto wasn't eating.
"Sensei."
Haruki didn't hide his presence.
Uchiha Mikoto was the first to notice him.
The activation of her Sharingan had greatly enhanced her abilities.
"This is Kushina's grilled fish?"
Haruki smelled a burnt odor.
"Yes, Sensei, would you like to try some?" Uchiha Mikoto handed over a skewer of grilled fish, but Kushina Uzumaki quickly snatched it away in the next moment.
"Sensei, my cooking skills aren't very good. Maybe you can try it another time!" She hastily hid the grilled fish.
Minato Namikaze: ???
That's not what you said earlier.
You even threatened that if I didn't finish it, I wouldn't be considered a teammate.
Haruki couldn't help but laugh at Minato's expression.
"Minato, Sensei hasn't had lunch yet. Go catch a few more fish, and I'll grill them."
"Got it!"
Minato Namikaze instantly wiped away his tears and used the Body Flicker Technique to dash away.
Kushina Uzumaki pouted.
Hmph, men!
After a while, Haruki started grilling.
Uchiha Mikoto hadn't known about Haruki's cooking skills.
But after tasting it, her eyes lit up.
She found it to be the best food she had ever eaten.
Haruki nodded in satisfaction.
To win someone's heart, you have to win their stomach.
Kushina and Minato were already won over, and Mikoto would be no exception.
The main reason was that the food in the Naruto world wasn't that great.
It couldn't compare to the vast culinary tradition of a certain County.
Even just Sichuan cuisine had many variations.
After lunch, Haruki supervised the three of them in their training.
Fortunately, all three were diligent.
They were far more hardworking than he had ever been.
Among them, the one who progressed the fastest was Uchiha Mikoto.
Perhaps the earlier illusion had deeply affected her, making her work tirelessly to train so she could someday lecture her son.
Time passed quickly.
A week later.
On an open plain.
Uchiha Mikoto and Minato Namikaze stood three meters apart, facing each other.
"Mikoto, be careful."
Minato Namikaze formed the Rat hand seal and leaned forward, suddenly rushing towards Uchiha Mikoto.
Three shurikens flew out.
Uchiha Mikoto stood still, her three tomoe Sharingan spinning. She slightly tilted her body, easily dodging the shurikens.
She formed hand seals.
A giant fireball shot out of her mouth.
Minato Namikaze abruptly stopped.
He felt the intense heat wave.
He couldn't help but be impressed.
Such fast hand seals!
But his movements were quick too. He jumped nearly four meters high and, in mid-air, swung his hands, throwing all the shurikens from his pouch.
Uchiha Mikoto's response was simple.
She left a log in place.
Her body appeared on the other side, forming hand seals again. It was the C-rank Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.
A straight-line fire dragon appeared.
But the next moment, she jumped back.
The fire dragon, lacking sustained chakra, significantly weakened.
Uchiha Mikoto forcibly twisted her body, holding a kunai, clashing with the pursuing shurikens.
The shurikens, manipulated by Minato Namikaze with steel wires, continued to attack.
She neither dodged nor blocked, with sparks flying from the clashing kunai.
At that moment, she released chakra from her left hand to grab one of the steel wires.
Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique.
Intense flames spread along the steel wire.
Minato Namikaze immediately let go.
As he retreated, countless fireballs rained down.
Their rapid speed forced him to keep dodging.
But after a few seconds, he realized something was wrong.
The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, while a C-rank ninjutsu, was never this overwhelming in number.
"Genjutsu?"
Minato Namikaze bit his tongue hard, blood spraying, the intense pain bringing him back to clarity.
Heat waves filled the air.
Three magma-like fire dragons roared into the sky.
The brilliance of the flames completely engulfed him.
B-rank ninjutsu.
Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique.
"Cough, cough!"
The expected pain didn't come.
Seeing Haruki in front of him, Minato Namikaze said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Sensei. I lost."
"Losing to a teammate isn't important, nor do you need to apologize to me."
Haruki casually healed his tongue injury.
"Instead, you should be happy for your teammate's progress and strive to catch up. What are teammates? They push each other to improve, support each other, and can trust one another with their backs."
"I understand!" Minato Namikaze nodded vigorously.
Haruki looked up.
The effect seemed good.
He then turned to Kushina and Mikoto, saying seriously, "I hope you remember, no matter what happens in the future, you must trust each other."