Chapter 216: Kakashi, Have You Considered the Mangekyō Evolution Isn’t Due to You?

As usual, Uchiha Akira visited Konoha Hospital to check on Hinata's recovery, and he was quite satisfied with the progress.

However, on his way out of the hospital, he happened to spot Kakashi walking by, carrying a bouquet of flowers.

"Huh?" Akira found it strange to see Kakashi holding a bunch of flowers, especially since he didn't appear to be on his way to visit someone in the hospital. It piqued Akira's curiosity.

Could it be that Kakashi, the eternal bachelor, had finally found a girlfriend? This was big news! In the original Naruto story, Kakashi was never shown to have a romantic interest.

Maybe Akira's presence had caused a butterfly effect?

Intrigued, Akira decided to follow Kakashi, curious to find out who the flowers were for. But as he trailed Kakashi, he noticed that Kakashi was heading toward a more secluded area.

No way, Akira thought with amusement. Was Kakashi taking his girlfriend somewhere private early in the morning?

What could he be planning?

Akira chuckled to himself but hesitated. If Kakashi and his date were up to something private, would spying on them be appropriate? After all, Akira wasn't like Jiraiya with such interests.

Just as Akira was debating whether to continue following, he saw Kakashi enter the graveyard.

Realizing his mistake, Akira understood that Kakashi wasn't going on a romantic rendezvous but instead heading to the cemetery to pay his respects to someone who had passed.

Since he was already there, Akira decided to visit Shisui-sensei's grave as well.

Upon reaching Shisui's grave, Akira performed a sealing technique to reinforce the grave's protection.

In the original story, Shisui's body was never recovered, meaning that even Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu) couldn't bring him back. But with Akira's involvement, Shisui had taken his own life, so Akira wanted to ensure that no one could desecrate the grave or attempt to use his body for Edo Tensei.

After sealing the grave and paying his respects, Akira noticed Kakashi still paying tribute at another grave and decided to walk over.

Looking at the name on the tombstone, Akira realized that Kakashi was visiting the grave of Rin Nohara, the girl whose death had triggered Obito Uchiha's descent into darkness.

"Akira, what a coincidence. You're visiting Shisui, I assume?" Kakashi asked, noticing Akira's approach.

"That's right," Akira nodded.

Seeing Rin's grave made Akira's mind stir. He asked, "Kakashi, is Rin Nohara's body really buried here?"

"Where else would she be buried if not in her grave?" Kakashi asked, confused by the question.

"I was just asking casually," Akira replied nonchalantly, but in his heart, he was surprised. He had always assumed that with Obito's obsession with Rin, he would have taken her body for himself rather than leaving it for Kakashi to bring back to Konoha.

But apparently, Obito had left Rin's body behind, allowing Kakashi to return it to Konoha for burial.

"Maybe he believed that Rin would have preferred to rest in Konoha?" Akira mused to himself, thinking about how deeply Obito loved Rin. "If we're talking about the most devoted person in the Naruto world, it's definitely Obito."

Reflecting for a moment, Akira remembered a clue from the original series. During the events of the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, Obito had visited Rin's grave. At that time, Kakashi had also left flowers at her grave, which infuriated Obito, who knocked them away in anger.

If Rin's body had been buried elsewhere, why would Obito visit this grave?

So, it seemed that Rin's body really was here.

The thought stirred something within Akira. Over the past few days, he had been using the life simulation system to master various ninjutsu and forbidden techniques, including Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu). He had been itching to try it out, and Rin seemed like a perfect candidate.

After all, if Akira could use Edo Tensei to resurrect Rin, what would happen if she were to confront Obito the next time they met? Could she convince him to turn away from his dark path?

Given Obito's profound feelings for Rin, it was possible that bringing Rin back could help redeem him and free him from being Uchiha Madara's pawn.

Excited by the thought, Akira considered the idea further. Although he had sealed Shisui's grave to prevent his body from being disturbed, the prospect of using Edo Tensei on Rin seemed like a reasonable action if it could save Obito.

As for whether this was ethical or not, Akira reasoned, "Even if my hands get dirty, as long as my heart stays clean, it's okay, right?"

"Akira? What are you thinking about?" Kakashi asked, waving his hand in front of Akira's face when he noticed him zoning out.

"Oh, I was just lost in thought for a moment, thinking about something important," Akira replied, snapping out of his daze.

"Kakashi, what's on your mind?" Akira asked.

"I've been meaning to find time to talk to you," Kakashi said seriously. "It's about my Sharingan—my Mangekyō Sharingan."

"What about it?" Akira asked, curious about what Kakashi wanted to discuss.

"Well, a few years ago, when my Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyō, it caused quite a stir in Konoha," Kakashi explained, emphasizing the word "Mangekyō."

Without waiting for a response, Kakashi continued, "By all rights, as an outsider to the Uchiha clan, I should never have been able to evolve the Sharingan, let alone achieve the Mangekyō. I should have only been able to use it as it was."

"But somehow, my Sharingan advanced to the Mangekyō without me experiencing the intense emotional trauma that usually triggers such a transformation."

"When it first happened, it caused quite a shock, especially among the Uchiha clan."

"There was even speculation that the Sharingan might evolve more easily when transplanted into non-Uchiha. That theory led to several Uchiha clan members being ambushed and having their eyes stolen while on missions."

"Although the Hokage quickly implemented measures to combat the situation and most of the stolen eyes were recovered, three pairs are still missing."

"In recent years, no further incidents of Sharingan theft have occurred, but it's clear that the reason the situation died down wasn't due to the Hokage's measures. It's because no one who transplanted a Sharingan was able to evolve it into the Mangekyō."

Kakashi explained the situation thoroughly, and Akira listened quietly, not interrupting.

Akira had already heard about this from Orochimaru when he returned from Ryūchi Cave, but now, hearing it directly from Kakashi gave him a deeper understanding of the events.

"Kakashi, you remember when we talked about the Sharingan seven years ago?" Akira asked.

"I remember. You seemed to know a lot about my Mangekyō even back then," Kakashi replied, looking at Akira with a curious gaze. "What do you know? Can you tell me?"

"What about you? Do you have any thoughts on your Mangekyō Sharingan? Why don't you share them with me?" Akira replied with a question.

"I've worked with the Hokage and the Uchiha clan to conduct extensive research on my Mangekyō Sharingan over the years," Kakashi said. "But even with all that research, they couldn't figure out why my Sharingan evolved to the Mangekyō."

"And since you gave me advice about it seven years ago, I feel like you must know something."

Kakashi's response was reasonable. Even the Hokage and the Uchiha clan couldn't explain the evolution, so how could Kakashi be expected to come up with a theory on his own?

"Have you ever considered the possibility that the Mangekyō evolution requires both eyes to evolve at the same time?"

"And that the real reason for the evolution has nothing to do with you?" Akira asked.

"You're saying that Obito's other Sharingan evolved to the Mangekyō, which caused my Sharingan to evolve as well?" Kakashi responded quickly, understanding what Akira was implying.

"That makes sense, doesn't it?" Akira said.

"Yeah, that actually explains a lot!" Kakashi agreed, finding Akira's theory plausible.

"But wait… Obito was buried under all that rubble when he 'died.' How could his Sharingan have evolved?"

"Could it be…?"