Chapter 234: Blade Sphere and Izumi

The Uchiha were a clan of profound sensitivity and emotional depth.

When a member of this clan learned to love, they would love unreservedly, with every fiber of their being. However, such intense love concealed the potential for a catastrophic downfall.

Once an Uchiha lost a cherished love, a unique chakra would surge within their brain, affecting their optic nerves and transforming their eyes.

These were the eyes that mirrored the soul—the Sharingan.

The deeper the love, the more potent the hatred upon loss, and the awakened Sharingan would be correspondingly powerful.

Now, witnessing Itachi's death firsthand, Uchiha Izumi was subjected to a tremendous emotional shock.

She had always been protected by Itachi, from the Nine-Tails' attack to the Great Ninja War, and even in the recent skirmish with the Leaf's Anbu Black Ops. It was always Itachi who shielded her.

If she hadn't been a burden, if he hadn't needed to save her, Itachi wouldn't have died.

Guilt, sorrow, hatred, despair... Various intense negative emotions stimulated her brain, continuously generating a special chakra that acted upon her eyes.

Swish.

Her three-tomoe Sharingan, after a moment of spinning and transformation, eventually took on the shape of a cloverleaf.

"Is that... the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"

The Anbu captain, Tora, was taken aback upon seeing Izumi's eyes.

From the perspective of the Leaf's Anbu Black Ops...

They were in the midst of fiercely attacking Uchiha Itachi when Izumi, off to the side, suddenly clutched her head, crying out in a heart-wrenching wail, as if seized by a mental breakdown.

Then, she awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

It was almost unbelievable.

However, although they were unclear about Izumi's situation, her awakening was witnessed by all.

The strength of a Mangekyō Uchiha was well-known to these Anbu members.

If they were only facing Uchiha Itachi, they might have been able to defeat him by leveraging their numerical advantage and well-devised tactics. But facing two Mangekyō at once, the scales of victory might tip in the enemy's favor.

Realizing this, Tora immediately bellowed:

"Quick, take her down before she gets used to the power of the Mangekyō!"

No sooner had he spoken than two Anbu members, like arrows released from their bows, charged towards Izumi.

These two, one from the Hyūga and the other from the Yamanaka clan, were experts in taijutsu and were formidable when coordinating their attacks, making them difficult to fend off.

From the get-go, they launched a fierce assault on Izumi, not giving her a chance to get accustomed to the Mangekyō Sharingan.

This is bad.

Facing the enemy's onslaught, especially the Gentle Fist technique of the Hyūga Anbu, Izumi had to dodge and weave, finding herself in a precarious situation for a moment.

Fortunately, the Mangekyō's techniques did not require hand seals.

During this process...

Izumi's right eye spun, and the power of the Mangekyō was subtly activated without her realizing it.

Huh?

She suddenly discovered, to her astonishment, that the movements of the two Leaf Anbu in front of her had slowed down significantly. Moreover, a series of afterimages, revealing their subsequent actions, appeared in a continuous trajectory.

The afterimages indicated—

Their next move was a feint, aiming to divert Izumi's attention, allowing the Hyūga Anbu to launch a sneak attack from her side-rear, aiming to drive his Gentle Fist chakra into her heart.

If she were to be hit by this strike, Izumi would be critically wounded, if not killed, losing her combat capabilities on the spot.

This sensation was utterly extraordinary.

Izumi was bewildered; it seemed... she had foreseen the enemy's attack path in advance.

In the next instant...

Whoosh, whoosh.

The two enemies indeed attacked along the path indicated by the afterimages.

Izumi, having seen through their technique, naturally wouldn't fall for it.

Moreover, having predicted their attack path, she was able to seize the enemy's vulnerability and boldly counterattack.

"Ha!"

The Hyūga Anbu circled behind Izumi, striking with his palm aimed at her heart.

But the next second, with a scream, his palm met Izumi's kunai, being pierced through on the spot.

How is this possible?

How had this woman seen through his technique?

The Hyūga Anbu, horror mingling with his shock, locked eyes with Izumi and immediately stiffened, ensnared by the genjutsu of the Sharingan.

The other Yamanaka Anbu, seeing the situation deteriorate, attempted to retreat.

However, Izumi seemed to have known his escape route in advance, and without even looking, she threw several kunai backward.

"Ah!"

With a scream, the Yamanaka Anbu was pierced through the back of his head by a kunai, as if he had intentionally run into Izumi's attack.

After dealing with these two enemies, Izumi, expressionless, turned her gaze toward the remaining Leaf Anbu.

What was happening with this woman?

Tora, the captain, was drenched in a cold sweat, his face beneath the mask filled with astonishment.

Without a doubt, Izumi had utilized the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan in her bizarre combat style just now.

As the captain of this Anbu squad, Tora immediately made a judgment: this battle could not continue any further. Otherwise, there was a high probability that his side would be annihilated.

"Retreat!"

With a stern shout, he threw a smoke bomb at his feet, attempting to escape under the cover of the thick smoke.

The remaining Anbu members, without hesitation, abandoned their injured comrades and withdrew swiftly.

Trying to escape?

Izumi's eyebrows twitched, and as her left eye's power swirled, a line of crimson tears streamed down her cheek.

Simultaneously,

A dense, impenetrable darkness spread outwards at an astonishing speed, centered around her, enveloping several hundred meters in an instant.

Looking down from mid-air,

A hemispherical dark barrier, like an inverted bowl, appeared in the forest. Inside the barrier, everything was pitch black, as if even light itself was devoured, rendering everything invisible.

"What's going on, why has it gone dark?"

"It's not darkness, it's a Uchiha's genjutsu, quickly find a way to break it!"

The Anbu members were plunged into darkness, unable to see anything in the pitch-black surroundings, as if they were engulfed in a night where even their outstretched hands were invisible.

However, when they tried to break Izumi's genjutsu, they were even more horrified to discover that their techniques were utterly ineffective.

In this dark world, even the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan could only see darkness, reduced to ordinary eyes.

Everyone's sensory abilities were mired, and even the most proficient sensory-type Anbu could not extend their senses beyond a distance of ten meters.

What was worse, this darkness also caused them to lose their sense of direction. Even if they ran desperately in one direction, they would unknowingly deviate and eventually even return to their original position.

The Leaf Anbu fell into a dark abyss.

Swoosh.

Izumi came.

Spreading her bat-winged hands, she soared freely in the darkness, launching air blades, mercilessly reaping the lives of the Leaf Anbu.

"Ah! Ah!"

Screams, one after another, resonated, signifying that one Anbu member after another was falling.

The remaining Anbu, hearing their comrades' screams, displayed increasingly fearful expressions, and ultimately, when despair reached its peak, Izumi took their lives.

In less than a minute,

Nearly ten Leaf Anbu, including Captain Tora, were killed by Izumi, with not a single one spared.

The darkness receded.

Light returned between heaven and earth, as if nothing had happened. Only the terrified expressions on the corpses on the ground testified that a one-sided slaughter had just taken place here.

Izumi exited her beast transformation, wiped the blood tears from her face, and her crimson Mangekyō reverted back to its usual pupils.

After venting the hatred and anger in her heart, her inner world became empty again, like a wasteland.

After standing in place for quite a while,

She took difficult steps, with a soulless expression, towards Itachi's body, intending to collect his corpse and bring it back to the clan.

However, when Izumi, in pain, looked towards Itachi's body, she was astonished to find that Itachi on the ground was gradually becoming transparent until he completely disappeared.

His body, just like that, disappeared under Izumi's watch, even the blood on the ground disappeared along with it.

What was...going on?

Izumi blinked hard, confirming that she was not seeing things. Just as she was at a loss, a familiar voice sounded behind her:

"Congratulations, Izumi, you've finally awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Swoosh.

Izumi turned around sharply, finding Itachi standing there unscathed, smiling warmly at her.

Regaining her senses, she rushed over, reaching out to touch Itachi's chest, then his face, feeling his warmth and real touch, and incredulously asked:

"Itachi, you...didn't die?"

"Of course, I can't die."

Itachi, holding Izumi's wrist, spoke with a smile.

After transplanting Hashirama's cells, he had filled the gap of his insufficient chakra. Even if the Susanoo was shattered, he could recover in a short time.

Moreover,

Itachi's eyes, not only harbored the strongest physical attack, Amaterasu, and the strongest genjutsu attack, Tsukuyomi, but when he activated the third form of Susanoo, he could also use the legendary two spiritual weapons - Yata Mirror and Totsuka Blade.

It could be said that among the Uchiha clan, which was filled with powerful individuals, Itachi was the strongest one, except for Dan.

A mere Leaf Anbu squad, how could they possibly defeat him?

"No, that's not right."

"What on earth just happened?"

Izumi took a step back, her brows furrowed in confusion, "I clearly saw you being... What's the meaning behind all this?"

Itachi chuckled, deciding not to keep her in suspense any longer, "What you witnessed, my death, was merely an illusion. It was the Mangekyō Sharingan technique of my uncle."

"It can implant a realistic illusion in someone's mind without them realizing. Even a Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan would find it hard to detect."

"Before we embarked on this mission, my uncle, through a sealing technique, sealed a single casting of it within my eyes. I then released it on you at the right moment."

"That's why you believed I was killed by the enemy."

Izumi was dumbstruck.

Itachi approached her, taking her hand, "I deceived you this time. I hope you're not mad. After all, this is how I awakened my Mangekyō Sharingan."

As he explained, realization dawned on Izumi.

It turned out that after Shisui was resurrected through the Edo Tensei, he had a conversation with Itachi. Shisui revealed that before his death, he and Itachi's uncle, Uchiha Dan, had staged a play where Shisui entrusted his Mangekyō Sharingan to Itachi and then jumped off a cliff in front of him.

Shisui, poisoned by the Aburame clan's insects and knowing his time was limited, decided to stimulate Itachi's emotions in this manner, ultimately helping him unlock the Mangekyō.

Upon learning the truth, Itachi was stunned for a while.

During their time together, Itachi noticed Izumi's anxiety and realized she was struggling with how to unlock her Mangekyō. After much contemplation, he decided to seek help from his uncle.

Dan happily agreed, always enjoying manipulating emotions. "However, if deep down, Izumi doesn't truly love you, it might fail," he teased after sealing the genjutsu into Itachi's eyes.

Itachi was apprehensive, doubting the feasibility of his uncle's plan. He performed the act in front of Izumi with a 'let's see' attitude.

To his surprise, it worked. And it also proved Izumi's genuine love for him. After all, only witnessing the death of a cherished one can awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"So that's how it was," Izumi murmured, finally understanding.

Although she was a bit upset about being deceived by her lover, knowing Itachi did it for her sake filled her heart with warmth.

In the end, she playfully pinched Itachi's arm, "You shouldn't have done that."

"I know, I'm sorry," Itachi replied with a rueful smile.

He then inquired about Izumi's Mangekyō abilities.

Izumi, skilled in taijutsu, had a technique related to it in her right eye called "Blade Sphere." The Blade Sphere deity was a mythical god of divination.

Its ability allowed Izumi to foresee an enemy's attack route in advance, enabling her to dodge or counterattack. It was a very practical technique.

As for her left eye, it manifested the darkness within her and was named "Grassland." The Grassland deity was a legendary god of darkness and deception.

This technique wasn't an illusion as the Leaf shinobi believed, but a barrier technique. It created a vast dark barrier, obstructing the enemy's vision and senses, leaving them vulnerable to Izumi's attacks.

However, every jutsu has its weakness. If an enemy's speed or strength surpassed Izumi's, making her unable to keep up or defend, she would be defeated. For instance, if her opponent were Uchiha Dan, her Blade Sphere would be useless, only allowing her to foresee her own demise.

As for the Grassland's weakness, like many barrier techniques, the harder it is to break from the inside, the more vulnerable it is to external forces.

In summary, Izumi's two Mangekyō techniques were quite powerful. Coupled with the divine power of the Susano'o, her strength had increased exponentially.

Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan brought about such a revolutionary change.

The Uchiha clan gained another true powerhouse today.