Chapter 189

"Huh?"

Gensou was quite surprised.

Sasuke, who was most likely to awaken the Mangekyō, was still in his current state, and Gensou had been preparing to end things.

But unexpectedly, after Itachi's death, Izumi, who had not joined in the general laughter but instead stood silently, occasionally shedding tears, suddenly had her three-tomoe Sharingan spinning abnormally fast.

As Gensou looked on, he sensed a powerful Yin Release energy suddenly emerging from within Izumi, continuously flowing into her Sharingan.

With one last sigh of release from Izumi—

The black three tomoe in her blood-red eyes quickly merged together and then spread out as they spun.

When Gensou looked again, Izumi's Sharingan had transformed from the black three tomoe to a black floral pattern resembling a blooming flower.

Mangekyō Sharingan!

After Itachi's death, under an unprecedented impact of emotions—bewilderment, joy, sadness, relief—Uchiha Izumi had awakened her Mangekyō Sharingan!

And that wasn't the end!

Nearby, Uchiha Jin, whose face was still flushed with excitement, now had tears streaming down, making for a comical sight. He was no longer laughing maniacally.

At this moment, he bowed his head, choking as he softly spoke the names of his father, sister, brother, and many others. A similar energy to Izumi's surged from within him.

"What's happening to me..."

Jin looked up, bewildered by the intense change occurring in his eyes.

Gensou turned to look.

Jin's blood-red pupils underwent a transformation, now forming a pattern of two cross-shaped, handleless blades, their center wrapped in a round shield.

Another Mangekyō Sharingan!

Gensou raised an eyebrow.

He had to admit, Itachi had done something truly significant.

Not only was Sasuke's evolution into the Mangekyō just a matter of time, but now he also gained two additional Mangekyō Sharingan.

Gensou turned his gaze to the other Uchiha ninjas.

Under the stimulus of the death of Itachi, their clan's exterminator, those who previously only had two-tomoe Sharingan had now evolved to three-tomoe.

However, none of them evolved directly to Mangekyō like Obito had.

Not only did they not achieve this, but aside from Izumi and Jin, the other three-tomoe Uchiha, even under the intense emotional impact, only saw their Sharingan spin rapidly but eventually stop, with at most an enhancement in their dōjutsu.

To awaken the Mangekyō, one ultimately needed a certain aptitude beyond emotional stimuli.

If it weren't the case, during the Warring States period, when so many people died, the Uchiha would have all unlocked the Mangekyō long ago.

However—

Gensou looked at Sasuke again, puzzled.

You're the reincarnation of Indra, with talent beyond reason.

Your two teammates have both awakened the Mangekyō, so why are you, who killed your brother with your own hands, still at three-tomoe?

Isn't that embarrassing?

As if hearing Gensou's thoughts, Sasuke snapped out of the Uchiha's state of maniacal laughter.

With the burden of vengeance that had weighed on him for years finally lifted, Sasuke felt a sense of peace. He had a premonition that he was on the verge of a major change, but at the final moment, he faltered.

Something felt missing.

Instinctively, Sasuke turned his head, looking at his clanmates who, like him, had finally achieved their revenge, their expressions varied—some crying, some laughing. A ripple of emotion began to rise in his heart.

Until his gaze landed on Izumi.

Wiping the tears from her face, her Mangekyō Sharingan still active, Izumi noticed Sasuke looking over, and immediately returned his gaze, giving him a bright smile and sincerely thanking him:

"Thank you, Sasuke."

The role Sasuke played in the recent battle was evident to everyone. All these years, the efforts he made for revenge were also seen by everyone.

Unknowingly, the youngest among them had already walked ahead of them, shielding them from the dangers ahead, and at the final moment, killed the enemy by himself.

This "thank you" was absolutely deserved.

Upon hearing this, before Sasuke could respond, Jin, ignoring the changes in his eyes, also nodded heavily at Sasuke:

"I forgot to say it earlier. Thank you, Sasuke!"

"Without you, this revenge might have ended in failure. Sasuke, thank you!" Uchiha Yok, from behind, gave a thumbs up and said.

"Thank you, Sasuke!"

"Thank you..."

One after another, delayed but sincere thanks continued to flow into Sasuke's ears.

Feeling the warmth spread throughout his body, Sasuke couldn't help but smile.

He finally understood what he had been missing.

Now that Itachi was dead, what should he live for?

Should he continue to pursue the truth behind the massacre? As Itachi had once told him, there was another Mangekyō user who might also have been complicit and needed to be dealt with?

No.

He would find the accomplice, but that wasn't his true purpose for living.

His real goal moving forward should be to protect his clan, protect the Uchiha, and protect Jomae Village—never allowing those who had exterminated their clan to return and never letting down the family and friends in front of him who had thanked him!

Boom!

Upon reaching this conclusion, Sasuke felt a violent shock in his heart. A powerful new energy surged into his eyes, and under the rapid spinning of his three-tomoe Sharingan, his vision began to blur.

After a few breaths, everything stopped.

Sasuke raised his eyelids, and a six-pointed black star pattern replaced the three tomoe, appearing in his blood-red pupils.

The third Mangekyō Sharingan was born!

Witnessing the entire process, Gensou felt a twinge of sentiment:

"Excluding Madara, this small group of fifteen Uchihas may be the fewest in number, but with three Mangekyō Sharingan among them, this is perhaps the most powerful the Uchiha clan has been in sixty years."

The Uchiha clan, once almost annihilated, now found themselves in such a position again.

Gensou understood why Hiruzen and Danzō wanted to wipe out the Uchiha clan entirely.

As Tobirama had said, the Uchiha loved more intensely than the Senju, and once that love was gone, they were the most prone to fall into extremism and darkness.

The Uchiha of the past had indeed planned a rebellion.

For someone like Hiruzen and Danzō, who were already elderly and no longer had the drive of their youth, allowing even one Uchiha to survive meant that, one day, they could rise again, filled with hatred, just as Jin and the others had.

So, regardless of whether Itachi acted or not, the moment the Uchiha chose rebellion, their fate was sealed by the deeply fearful Sarutobi and Danzō.

Itachi's actions ultimately brought only one change—Sasuke survived.

"Pointless politics, pointless schemes."

That was Gensou's evaluation.

In the end, it all came down to not having enough strength.

Luckily, that was something he had in abundance.

As for the sudden appearance of three Mangekyō Sharingan within the Uchiha clan, Gensou accepted it gladly.

In his view, even if there were ten more, it wouldn't matter!

(End of Chapter)

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