"[Lacquer Eyes]!"
The best way to dispel doubt is to put undeniable evidence on the table.
Facing Nara Shikadan's pitch-dark eyes and the shadow tentacles writhing beneath his feet, the surprise on Nara Shikano's aged face vanished instantly—replaced by solemn joy.
"Come with me. To the quiet room!"
Inside the quiet room, across the low tea table, the two Nara sat facing each other.
"Your eyes… never mind! Talking is too inefficient."
Nara Shikano waved impatiently.
"Right here. Attack me. Real combat is the only standard for evaluating jutsu!"
Was there such a thing as a free gift from heaven?
Shikadan had been wondering how to guide the clan leader into issuing an S-rank commission.
He hadn't expected the man to serve it up himself.
Raising his eyes, Shikadan triggered the technique without warning—shadows swirling in the depths of his pupils.
[Lacquer Eyes]! [Shadow Seam Technique]!
Chi—!
Without even forming hand seals, two sharpened shadow blades rose up behind him, slicing through the air with a piercing whistle and slashing toward Nara Shikano.
'What?! That casting speed?'
Shikano's pupils shrank.
'This kid… he's already mastered the Shadow Secret Techniques to this extent?'
In that instant, the clan leader brought his hands together into the "Bird" (酉) seal. A thick, elliptical shadow shield surged from beneath his seat and intercepted the shadow blades mid-air.
The Nara clan's defensive secret art—[Shadow Shield Technique]!
Puff!
Blade met shield with a dull thud, the impact vibrating faintly through the room.
At the same moment, a prompt appeared on Shikadan's panel:
[B-Rank Battle Mission Triggered!]
[Mission: The Nara Clan Head]
[...]
'Quick pass! Quick pass!'
Shikadan mentally confirmed the reward without even reading the full mission description.
[B-Rank Mission: The Nara Clan Head – Completed!]
[You have obtained a C-Rank Ninja Secret Scroll!]
Just as the system completed the reward delivery, Nara Shikano spoke up.
"That's enough, Shikadan."
Shikadan halted the [Shadow Seam Technique], keeping only the passive effect of the [Lacquer Eyes] active.
"You cast a B-rank [Shadow Seam Technique] without hand seals."
Shikano dispelled his own technique, rubbing his gray goatee, its tip trembling slightly.
"These eyes are incredible…"
For lower-tier Shadow Techniques like [Shadow Bind] or [Shadow Gather], the Nara clan had long since eliminated the need for hand seals.
But higher-level techniques—like the destructive [Shadow Seam]—still required at least a single Bird seal to maintain stability.
If that step could be removed entirely while preserving the jutsu's integrity?
No Nara could say no.
Hand seals were annoying.
Twisting his beard nearly off, Shikano looked at Shikadan with intense focus.
"Shikadan, can these eyes really completely omit the hand seals for our clan's jutsu?"
"At least in my tests, they remove the need for hand seals for [Shadow Bind], [Shadow Gather], and [Shadow Seam]."
Shikadan offered the scroll for the [Lacquer Eyes] ritual.
"Not only that—they reduce the physical energy cost of all Shadow Techniques."
A second wave of shock hit Shikano.
Reduced body energy consumption meant longer battle stamina, higher chakra reserves, and a massive upgrade to the clan's sustained combat power.
He caressed the scroll surface, visibly moved… but didn't open it right away.
"Shikadan," he said quietly, "as clan leader, I should accept this scroll without hesitation—for the sake of our clan's future."
Then, to Shikadan's surprise, he pushed the scroll back.
"But as a fifty-year-old elder of the Nara clan, I must tell you—this technique… is too good.
So good it exceeds what the clan can absorb right now."
"…The Nara clan has a limit?"
Shikadan frowned.
He looked at the scroll, then at the clan leader.
"But clan leader, you gave me so much help during the development of the [Lacquer Eyes].
Now's the time to return the favor—this scroll belongs to the family."
If he had developed the technique entirely on his own, Shikadan wouldn't have shared it so easily.
But without Shikano's help, it would've taken at least three more years to reach this point.
Shikadan wasn't someone who forgot favors.
"That was nothing."
Shikano waved it off.
"The scrolls I gave you were just theoretical notes—records from our elders who tried to deduce a Yin Release eye based on the Uchiha's Sharingan."
The Nara clan had long pursued Yin Release mastery.
And like any Yin-focused clan, they'd been extremely interested in the Sharingan.
But not in the usual "steal an eyeball" way.
They wanted to recreate the Sharingan's functions through intellect and innovation.
For generations, they'd tried—and failed.
The scrolls Shikano had shared were the remnants of those past efforts.
"I never thought you'd actually finish it…"
His tone softened as he looked at Shikadan with rare warmth.
"Anyway, what I meant was—the clan wants the scroll. We just can't afford it right now."
Shikadan was quiet.
"…So I should take it back?"
"Until the day the clan is ready. Until you can break our limits."
Shikano's gaze held nothing but expectation.
Shikadan slowly accepted the scroll again, feeling… complicated.
He'd intended to trade the [Lacquer Eyes] for an S-rank commission—even if he didn't love the idea of giving away such a precious A-rank technique.
But in exchange for an S-rank Ninja Secret Scroll?
That would've been more than fair.
As for all this talk about "breaking the clan's limits"…
Shikadan wasn't particularly interested.
"Shikadan, you don't look happy?"
"A little bit."
He nodded, then shifted topics.
"I heard something about an S-rank task earlier…"
"Haha!"
Shikano let out a cheerful laugh.
"Developing a ninjutsu this powerful—especially one so tailor-made for our clan—is absolutely worth an S-rank mission!"
He stroked his beard again, thoughtful.
"Let's call it… the [Eye of Shadow]!"
In truth, Shikano had already planned this.
He wanted Shikadan to grow—and had invested heavily in him.
An S-rank mission was the perfect excuse to formalize that investment.
As soon as Shikano said the words S-rank mission, Shikadan's system reacted.
[S-Rank Commission Task Detected]
[S-Rank Mission: Eye of Shadow]
[Mission Objective: Develop an exclusive Yin Release eye for the Nara clan]
[Reward: One S-Rank Ninja Secret Scroll]
Just like that, the long-awaited S-rank mission had landed!
Shikadan's heart soared.
And then—three more prompts appeared on his panel.
[You have submitted the A-rank ritual scroll: Lacquer Eyes!]
[S-Rank Mission "Eye of Shadow" completed!]
[Reward obtained: S-Rank Ninja Secret Scroll!]
It was real.
The S-rank scroll was in hand.
But the rewards weren't done yet.
"Completing an S-rank clan task without reward? Impossible."
Shikano's smile was carefree.
"From today onward, you have unrestricted access to all of the Nara clan's secret techniques and medical research."
Shikadan was stunned by the generosity.
"…Clan leader, shouldn't that kind of decision go through the clan elders?"
"Relax, Shikadan. There may be lazy people in the Nara clan—"
Shikano smiled meaningfully.
"But there are no fools."