Black flames emerged from the jar, engulfing the sky as they descended upon Ishihara. Around Susanoo, a defensive circle of black flames formed.
"With these black flames, how do you plan to get close to me?!"
Fugaku sneered inwardly, raising his bow to prepare for an attack. But Ishihara suddenly slammed his hands onto the ground.
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Divide!"
Rumble, rumble!
The ground trembled, cracked, and overturned. The black flames' defensive circle was effortlessly torn apart, revealing several menacing ravines around Susanoo.
Zzzp!
Ishihara moved like lightning, quickly relocating to a ravine behind Susanoo and instantly passing through it to appear behind the colossus.
He placed his hand on it and carefully sensed its properties.
"This thing is rather strange. Without the Mangekyō Sharingan, it would probably be very difficult to develop it."
Ishihara quickly shook his head.
With his current level of knowledge, just a brief analysis was enough for him to make a basic judgment.
So, for now, he decided to set it aside and wait until he unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan before studying it further.
Boom!
Susanoo abruptly turned and threw a punch, forcing Ishihara to retreat rapidly.
Fugaku glared at him in anger. "If you've got the guts, stop running!"
"Hmph, you're overestimating yourself!"
Hearing this, Ishihara's expression turned cold. With a cruel smile, he suddenly charged forward and unleashed a punch.
Susanoo's massive fist collided with Ishihara's, and for a brief moment, the terrifying impact caused a split-second standstill.
Boom!!!
In Fugaku's horrified gaze, Susanoo's arm shattered!
His pupils suddenly contracted as he watched Ishihara, who was preparing to punch again.
"This is bad!"
But it was too late.
Ishihara's eyes locked onto him with an icy gaze as he threw another punch.
Bang!
Susanoo shattered once more!
This time, Ishihara didn't give Fugaku any more chances. He instantly appeared in front of Fugaku and landed a vicious punch to his stomach.
"Wah!"
Fugaku's entire body curled up like a boiled shrimp, his eyes bulging as he spat out blood.
Thud!
Ishihara casually tossed him to the ground, looking down at him with a cold and indifferent expression.
"I'm curious, what made you think you could match me in strength?"
"The Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
Fugaku lay on the ground in agony, not just from Ishihara's punch but also from the side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan, which made it almost impossible for him to stand.
His eyes had reverted to their normal black color, the whites of his eyes filled with blood vessels as his hands clawed at the ground, his whole body trembling.
"Damn it! Damn it!!!"
"Why?! Why can't even the Mangekyō Sharingan defeat you?!"
Hearing this, Ishihara couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not that the Mangekyō Sharingan can't defeat me; it's that you're too weak!"
In the end, the Mangekyō Sharingan is just a tool, and the effectiveness of a tool depends on the user's ability.
"I'm too weak?!"
"No, it's not that I'm too weak—you're just too strong, you monster!!!"
Fugaku chuckled self-deprecatingly, then resolutely shook his head, gritting his teeth as he looked at Ishihara.
He had great confidence in his own strength.
······
Perhaps he wasn't the strongest person in the ninja world, but he was certainly one of the top contenders.
But Ishihara was simply too strong, far beyond the level of an ordinary ninja.
"Enough with the nonsense. Next, I'll study your Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Ishihara stared at him coldly as he spoke in a deep voice.
Although the recent battle had provided him with some information about the Mangekyō Sharingan, it was far from enough.
He needed a more detailed analysis!
Hearing this, Fugaku's face turned pale with fear. "What are you planning to do?!"
Ishihara replied calmly, "Didn't I already say? I'm going to study your Mangekyō."
"I..."
Fugaku hesitated, conflicted.
Before coming here, he had indeed prepared himself to let Ishihara study his Mangekyō.
But not now—he had planned for it to happen after their cooperation was complete.
And in the current situation, could he still negotiate terms?
More importantly, even though the predicted outcome suggested that Ishihara's research wouldn't harm his Mangekyō, he no longer dared to trust that treacherous dōjutsu!
"Why did I bring myself here?!"
Seeing the eager look in Ishihara's eyes, Fugaku felt like crying.
This time, he had truly lost everything!
Seeing Fugaku still hesitating, Ishihara couldn't help but sneer.
"What? Do you still plan to resist?"
"It doesn't matter. I can still study your Mangekyō after I kill you!"
As the chilling killing intent emanated from Ishihara, Fugaku's entire body shuddered. "Wait!"
"I... I agree!"
Fugaku's face turned beet red, and he lowered his head in shame, his whole body trembling.
Damn it!
He was the proud head of the Uchiha clan, the most powerful clan in the ninja world, yet he was about to become someone else's research subject!
It was an utter humiliation!
A disgrace!
And the most humiliating part was that he had brought it upon himself!
Fugaku was so ashamed he wished he could die.
"No, I can't die yet. I need to take this information and re-evaluate Ishihara's future!"
"I still need to lead the Uchiha clan through this crisis!"
"Besides, even if I die, he can still study my Mangekyō."
Ishihara didn't care about Fugaku's thoughts.
He led Fugaku to a small wooden hut nearby and began his preparations.
The Mangekyō Sharingan experiment was something he had been looking forward to for a long time.
Soon, after everything was ready, Ishihara stood behind Fugaku and said coldly:
"Now, activate your Mangekyō Sharingan, and don't say a word!"
At the same time, he also activated his Byakugan and Clear Sight.
Fugaku took a deep breath. Since he couldn't resist, he had no choice but to comply.
"Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Buzz—
His pupils gradually turned into three tomoe, which then spun and transformed into a three-pronged pattern.
Throughout the entire process, the room remained deathly quiet.
Ishihara focused intently on the changes happening in Fugaku's eyes and was soon surprised.
"Huh?"
Fugaku's heart skipped a beat, and he became tense.
"Strange, your brain structure is somewhat different from Itachi's. Could this be the source of the Sharingan's mutation?"
"I need to observe a few more Uchiha to confirm this!"
Before Fugaku could respond, Ishihara suddenly vanished from his spot.
But it didn't take long for Ishihara to return, and this time, he was carrying three people.
"Tetsuka, Inaho, Yashiro?!"
Fugaku was shocked to see the three and quickly pleaded, "They are members of our clan. Please don't hurt them!"
"Shut up!"
Ishihara waved his hand dismissively and, after confirming their identities, began examining the brain structures of the three men. His eyes lit up.
"Sure enough, after the Mangekyō is awakened, this area of the brain undergoes mutation!"
With the Byakugan's vision, he easily identified the differences in the brain structures of Fugaku and the other three.
It was an area deep within the brain.
Whenever they used their Sharingan, this area would produce a special chakra that flowed into the Sharingan.
The size of this organ varied, and the nature of the chakra it produced was also different.
After pondering for a moment, Ishihara had Fugaku and the three others, who were under a genjutsu, activate and deactivate their Sharingan several times.
Soon, he made even more discoveries.
"Interesting. If my hypothesis is correct..."
"The Sharingan evolves into the Mangekyō under extreme emotional stimuli, what Tobirama Senju referred to as 'going berserk.'"
"Emotions are related to Yin Release chakra, and during an emotional outburst, the Yin chakra undergoes some kind of transformation."
"This transformed Yin chakra stimulates the organ's mutation, which seems to be directed!"
"And the chakra extracted from this mutated organ becomes different from other chakras as well!"
"Is this what is known as the Mangekyō's ocular power?!"
[You have studied the Uchiha clan's body structure and hypothesized the evolution path of the Mangekyō Sharingan, developing a Mangekyō Sharingan training method.]
[Mangekyō Sharingan Training Method: Once mastered, it enables the awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan!]