After activating the Sharingan, Natsuro frowned slightly.
He realized that using the Sharingan wasn't as easy as he had anticipated, likely due to the fact that this was only his first time using it.
But there was no helping it, he couldn't frequently take over Sasuke's body.
Not only would Sasuke likely refuse, but he himself wouldn't do such a thing. It wouldn't be good for either of them.
Taking a deep breath, Natsuro focused his mind once more, trying to grasp the power of the Sharingan.
Seeing Natsuro struggle, Sasuke quickly caught on and began offering guidance from the side.
After a long while, 'Sasuke's' three-tomoe Sharingan finally evolved into a six-pointed star Mangekyō Sharingan.
However…
Natsuro could tell that this was his limit for now. If he wanted to further utilize the power of the Mangekyō, he would need to familiarize himself with it more.
Currently, he was brute-forcing the Sharingan's activation with sheer spiritual power, which wasted a significant amount of energy.
If he had the opportunity to spend more time in Sasuke's body, he would eventually learn to activate the Mangekyō with much less effort, practice makes perfect.
"Natsuro, maybe we should stop here for today. If you ever need to try again, you can always come to the Uchiha district and find me," Sasuke suggested.
Natsuro's eyes sharpened. Sasuke's proposal was indeed an option, but not the best one.
Since he couldn't master the process through practice, he decided to take a different approach, overpower the obstacle with even greater spiritual force!
"Just wait a moment," Natsuro said, making his decision.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office…
At this moment, Shikaku had returned and was assisting with paperwork.
Natsuro's Spirit Transformation clone furrowed his brow.
He hadn't expected the Mangekyō Sharingan to be this difficult to use.
While the Mangekyō was indeed one of the most powerful forces in this world, he was already at a level beyond it.
Moreover, spiritual power had always been his strong suit, so he hadn't expected to struggle at all.
Yet, the reality was proving otherwise.
"Shikaku, I need to step out for a bit. Handle the remaining tasks for now, and if there's anything that requires my decision, wait until I return," Natsuro instructed.
"Understood." Shikaku didn't ask any questions.
By now, he had long since realized that Natsuro was nothing like Tsunade, who constantly tried to slack off and needed Shizune to keep her in check.
So, if Natsuro said he had something important to do, it really was important, there was no reason to question it.
With a nod, Natsuro vanished using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Technically, he could have just dispelled his Shadow Clone, which would have transferred all the knowledge back to his real body instantly.
However…
It wouldn't be ideal for people to find out that the Hokage they saw working all day was just a shadow clone.
At the very least, he had to wait until no one was around before dispelling it.
.....
Natsuro's Spirit Transformation clone arrived back at Shikkotsu Forest, where he and 'Sasuke' locked eyes, both now possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan.
They nodded simultaneously.
At that moment, Natsuro's Spirit Transformation clone dissipated, and in the next instant, a second portion of Natsuro's soul merged into Sasuke's body.
"What the…?"
Sasuke stared in shock as another soul fragment of Natsuro emerged.
He had another one?
How was this even possible?
Though this second Natsuro wasn't as strong as the first, his spiritual power was still far from weak, and they could even fuse together?!
At that moment, Sasuke finally understood why Natsuro's shadow clone was so special.
That clone wasn't just a simple clone, aside from not having physical flesh, it could essentially be treated as another true body of Natsuro!
As Sasuke watched Natsuro's merged soul, he could sense an overwhelming increase in spiritual power, leaving him in awe.
Natsuro noticed Sasuke's astonishment and chuckled.
"This is one of my biggest secrets. Since childhood, I've always had two souls connected by consciousness," Natsuro explained.
Sasuke nodded, finally realizing the reason behind his abnormal growth.
So that's why he learned so fast?
It made perfect sense, if a person was already talented and could essentially function as two minds, how could they not improve at an insane rate?
Not only did this explain his rapid progress, but it also made Sasuke feel like this was simply an unfair advantage.
Still, he knew there was no point in being envious, this was just his natural talent.
On the bright side, Sasuke felt a sense of joy at learning one of his secrets.
It made him feel closer to Natsuro, which he actually appreciated.
Natsuro didn't dwell on the matter further.
Instead, he immediately began utilizing his newfound spiritual strength to further explore the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Even with his second soul fused in, it was impossible to master something completely unfamiliar in an instant.
Luckily, Sasuke was still there to act as a guide.
After a long period of experimentation, asurge of purple chakra erupted around 'Sasuke'.
It was the embryonic form of Susanoo.
However, Natsuro didn't rush to fully form it.
His goal wasn't to use Susanoo's power, it was to carefully observe and analyze the process of its formation.
At this moment, through Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan, Natsuro fully immersed himself in the depths of Yin Release.
This experience was far more profound than anything he had gained from using illusion techniques or the Spirit Transformation Technique!
In fact, he could already tell that after this session, his control over the Spirit Transformation Technique would see significant improvements.
For example, if he were to take control of Kisame again, Kisame wouldn't even have a chance to struggle this time.
Had he done this back then, Itachi would have died instantly, never even getting the chance to fight Sasuke.
After a long silence...
A massive presence stirred within Shikkotsu Forest.
The Slug Sage slowly opened its enormous eyes, gazing at 'Sasuke'.
Its attention was particularly drawn to the purple chakra surrounding his body.
For a moment, even the ancient sage was astonished.
It had been a long, long time since it had last seen such a power.
As it watched, the chakra began condensing into a skeletal frame, it was the first stage of Susanoo.
Compared to the massive size of the Slug Sage, Susanoo, which was only a few dozen meters tall, wasn't actually that impressive.
"The power of Indra's descendant… still as formidable as ever."
The Slug Sage murmured this to itself before returning to its slumber.
After all, it was Natsuro doing his own thing, and as long as he wasn't destroying its habitat, it didn't really care. Even if he did wreck the place, the sage could always just find a new home.
Natsuro could do whatever he wanted.
"So this is… Susanoo?"
At this moment, Natsuro gazed at the skeletal frame of purple chakra surrounding him, a look of amazement on his face.
"That's right. This is Susanoo," Sasuke confirmed.
He, too, observed the chakra skeleton, feeling awe and shock.
What stunned him was that Natsuro had actually managed to activate this power through his body, even though Sasuke himself couldn't summon Susanoo so easily.
This only reaffirmed Sasuke's thoughts, if he truly had Uchiha blood, then unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan would have been effortless for him.
And once he had the Mangekyō, he wouldn't struggle with using its abilities at all.
In fact, given Natsuro's immense spiritual power, his Susanoo might even be stronger than Sasuke's, perhaps even capable of reaching its Perfect Form.
Natsuro nodded before deactivating Susanoo.
Though he would have liked to test it out a bit longer, he was fully aware that using Susanoo consumed Sasuke's Mangekyō chakra.
Since he had already analyzed the entire formation process and experienced the skeletal form, there was no reason to drain Sasuke's eyes any further.
However, instead of immediately ending the Spirit Transformation Technique, he decided to channel a portion of Sage Chakra from the Ryūchi Cave Cursed Seal.
While this wasn't pure Sage Chakra, it was sufficient for his purposes.
By now, he had already perfected Mount Myōboku's Sage Mode and had nearly perfected Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode.
With these experiences, mastering Ryūchi Cave's perfect Sage Mode would be even faster.
Finally, he released the Spirit Transformation Technique, returning to his own body.
At the same time, both Natsuro and Sasuke opened their eyes.
They exchanged a glance, then both smiled.
It was clear that they had both gained something valuable.
Natsuro had successfully grasped the essence of Yin Release, while Sasuke had made discoveries of his own.
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