"I'm coming!"
Shisui's voice came from inside the courtyard, footsteps approaching quickly before the door opened.
When he saw Wen Lan, Shisui froze for a moment, then immediately bowed.
"Third Elder."
Wen Lan nodded slightly.
"Shisui, no need for formalities."
"Please come in, Third Elder."
Wen Lan stepped into the courtyard and saw it packed densely with crows—black feathers fluttering, low caws echoing. Hundreds of dimly glowing eyes all turned toward him at once, yet there was not the slightest hint of chaos.
Standing amid the sea of crows, Wen Lan's clothes stirred faintly in the breeze as his gaze swept across them.
"For so many years, living and sleeping among them… to make hundreds of crows act as one is truly rare."
Shisui stood to the side, head lowered, his voice calm and clear.
"They are summons. They understand human hearts."
As he spoke, a crow flapped down and landed on Wen Lan's shoulder, lightly pecking at his ear as if whispering secrets.
Truthfully, Shisui's reputation within the clan had never been good.
Despite being an Uchiha, he was always close to Hiruzen Sarutobi—
and Sarutobi had spent years suppressing the Uchiha clan.
Over time, Shisui had few friends, leaving these crows as his closest companions.
Wen Lan raised a hand and gently stroked the crow's jet-black feathers. He extended a finger, and the crow hopped onto it, tilting its head as it curiously examined him.
"I like this crow," Wen Lan said softly.
"Can you give it to me as a summoning beast?"
Shisui's eyes lit up in surprise and joy.
"Of course!"
Most Uchiha used ninja cats as summons. Almost no one liked crows.
For Wen Lan to accept a crow as his summoning beast felt like recognition—something that stirred Shisui deeply.
The crow seemed to understand Wen Lan's intent. It let out a soft cry, folded its wings, and spat out a tiny summoning scroll.
"You little fellow, you're quite interesting," Wen Lan chuckled.
He unrolled the scroll, bit his finger, and wrote his name. As blood soaked into the parchment, the contract was instantly formed.
Then Wen Lan suddenly spoke again.
"Shisui, you've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, haven't you?"
Shisui's heart jumped.
He had only told the Third Hokage about this—no one else knew.
How did the Third Elder know?
"Don't be nervous. I'm not here to accuse you," Wen Lan said calmly, turning to face him.
"Kotoamatsukami, right?"
Shisui's pupils shrank violently.
His heart pounded like an emperor's engine, the sound thundering in his ears as if it might burst from his chest.
"I came to ask whether Kotoamatsukami can be transferred to someone else using Transcription Seal."
"It can," Shisui said after taking a deep breath to steady himself.
"But one eye will go blind, and the cooldown period is more than ten years."
"…Then forget it." Wen Lan smacked his lips in disappointment.
"It's not worth it."
Blindness, he could fix.
But cooldown time?
That was a skill CD—something he couldn't cheat.
"Alright, Shisui. There's something I should tell you in advance," Wen Lan said, hands in his pockets.
"The Fourth Hokage is in power now, and I've become the Hokage's Aide.
"I hope you understand clearly which things can be done—and which things absolutely cannot."
The meaning was obvious.
The Uchiha were now aligned with Namikaze Minato.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen was not.
The moment the Fourth Hokage took office, the former Third Hokage lost all real authority.
Shisui broke into a cold sweat, fully aware of the weight behind Wen Lan's words.
He immediately dropped to one knee.
"Please rest assured, Third Elder. Shisui understands how to act."
"Good. I trust you."
Wen Lan patted Shisui lightly on the shoulder and left the courtyard.
Early the next morning, after washing up, Wen Lan headed straight to the Hokage Tower.
Sunlight slanted through the corridor, illuminating the emblem outside the Hokage's office.
He pushed the door open and saw Minato sitting behind the desk, eyes heavy with exhaustion, buried in paperwork—clearly another all-nighter.
"Pulled another all-nighter?" Wen Lan clicked his tongue.
"Being Hokage really is a job even dogs wouldn't want."
"No choice," Minato said, rubbing his tired eyes.
"I've just taken over—there's too much to deal with."
Then he smiled slightly.
"Perfect timing. I'm going back to sleep."
Wen Lan's eyes bulged.
"Hey, hey, hey! Who's the Hokage here? You're leaving me to do this? Aren't you afraid I'll wreck Konoha?"
"Not afraid," Minato said as he stood up.
"And Shikaku will be here soon. You two can handle it together."
With that, he walked out of the office without hesitation.
Wen Lan stared blankly at his retreating back, rubbed his forehead in defeat, and sat down heavily in the chair that symbolized power.
As he flipped through the scrolls, his pen scratching across the paper, he sighed inwardly.
This isn't Hokage's Aide… this is Shadow Hokage.
"Right!" Wen Lan suddenly looked up.
"I almost forgot why I came here."
He raised his voice.
"Someone, come in!"
An ANBU appeared instantly, kneeling on one knee.
"Aide-sama!"
"Call Kakashi."
"Yes!"
The ANBU vanished in a blur.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door.
"Enter."
Kakashi stepped in with his trademark dead-fish eyes and knelt.
"Aide-sama."
Wen Lan set down his pen and looked at him.
"Kakashi, I'll get straight to the point. Do you know Transcription Seal?"
Kakashi raised his head calmly.
"No."
The way he said it was so straightforward, one might have thought he was saying yes.
Wen Lan shook his head.
"I'll teach you. I need you to seal your Mangekyō Sharingan's Kamui into my eye."
Kakashi's pupils tightened slightly.
He had never told anyone about awakening the Mangekyō.
But since Wen Lan already knew, there was no point hiding it.
His expression grew conflicted.
"Relax," Wen Lan said.
"I'm not taking your Sharingan. That eye was left to you by Obito—it belongs to you."
"Thank you, Aide-sama," Kakashi said, exhaling in relief.
Rin was dead.
Obito was dead.
That Sharingan was his last connection to them.
Wen Lan then taught Kakashi Transcription Seal, and Kakashi sealed Kamui into Wen Lan's right eye.
Wen Lan closed his eyes briefly.
A burning sensation surged through his right eye, as if a storm was forming deep within the pupil.
When he opened it, space itself seemed to distort faintly in his vision.
As expected of a space-time dōjutsu.
It can remotely tear off parts of an enemy's body and allows free entry into a separate dimension.
Obito's right eye, on the other hand, can fully absorb enemies into the dimension and grants intangibility.
In simple terms:
Obito's eye:
Absorbs the enemy completely, allows self-phase shifting, leaving a phantom in the real world.
Kakashi's eye:
Can only warp parts of an enemy's body, cannot fully absorb them.
He can enter the dimension himself, but cannot leave behind a phantom.
Wen Lan slowly exhaled.
With this—
His Mangekyō arsenal was finally complete.
—------------------------------
Pat reon Advance Chapters: patreon.com/YonkoSlayer