In a morgue filled with the bodies of Uchiha clan members, he opened his eyes... A mysterious voice echoed in his ears... With a bewildered expression, he muttered, "Save the Shinobi world? What does that have to do with me, a mere Uchiha survivor?" ---This is a translation--- Original author: 空想之龙 I do not own the cover image. If you are the owner and would like me to remove it, kindly let me know.
Seeing Uchiha Shinji reject his offer, Sasuke was unwilling to let it go. "Shinji, are you still obsessing over learning medical ninjutsu? What use is that? Our Uchiha clan's strongest weapon is our Sharingan!"
As he spoke, Sasuke activated his Sharingan. The deep black of his pupils instantly turned a vivid crimson!
Shinji glanced at Sasuke's Sharingan and then smiled, shaking his head. "I'm just interested in medical ninjutsu, that's all."
Sasuke pressed, "Why waste time on such boring interests? If you put in the effort, you could catch up to me!"
With a mouth full of grilled meat, Naruto looked confused. "Sasuke, weren't we the ones who lost today?"
Sasuke's face turned dark, flustered by Naruto's comment.
Sakura quickly interjected, "Naruto, you big idiot! Sasuke meant that if Shinji worked hard, he could catch up to him by awakening his Sharingan."
Naruto muttered under his breath, "The Sharingan isn't that special anyway. Didn't Sasuke get beaten today even after activating it?"
Sakura grabbed Naruto's ear and dragged him away to the side.
Interrupted by Naruto's remark, Sasuke had no choice but to sit there, sulking.
Neji, standing by, also seemed puzzled as to why Shinji wouldn't spar with Sasuke, but being a more reserved person, he kept silent.
After the dinner, everyone went their separate ways.
While some were figuring out how to handle their families during the upcoming break, and others were planning their training schedules, Shinji began contemplating his next steps.
It had been nearly two weeks since Karin's body had been implanted with White Zetsu's cells.
Her body was nearing the end of its fusion phase and was about to enter a stable period.
Through his observations over this time, Shinji had noticed that even during the unstable fusion phase, Karin's body, enhanced by White Zetsu's cells and its inherent sage-like physical traits, possessed the ability to restore life to a Mangekyō Sharingan that had lost its sight. So tonight, he planned to secretly visit Karin's apartment to check on the Mangekyō's recovery.
Depending on what he found, he would arrange the next step: the eye transplant surgery.
...
Nighttime.
Click.
As the clock on the wall struck midnight, Shinji donned his Akatsuki robe with the red clouds and put on his mask before quietly leaving his apartment.
Before long, he had infiltrated Karin's apartment.
Since they had already communicated through the Jikibi Space ahead of time, Karin was not surprised at all by Shinji's arrival.
After carefully letting him into the room, Karin, unable to contain her excitement, spoke first before Shinji could ask. "Sir, my right eye can see again today!"
"Really!?" Shinji's spirit lifted immediately.
Karin removed her goggles as she continued, "Yes! When I woke up this morning, I noticed I could vaguely see with my right eye. By noon, the vision in my right eye had become much clearer."
Staring closely at her right eye, which had previously been a dull white, Shinji saw that it had returned to its natural dark color.
He waved his hand in front of her right eye. "Can you see clearly?"
"Yes!" Karin nodded emphatically.
Shinji then asked, "How does it compare to your left eye?"
Karin alternated between closing one eye and the other before replying, "My left eye is still clearer."
Shinji nodded. "That's normal. The Mangekyō Sharingan's clarity depends on the eye's strength. Since your right eye just recovered, its strength isn't as full as your left eye's."
With that, Shinji activated his own Mangekyō Sharingan and tried to use a genjutsu to help Karin open her Mangekyō.
As before, Karin's left eye quickly reacted to Shinji's technique. The dark pupil turned crimson, and the three tomoe swirled together, forming the familiar intricate pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
However, her right eye did not react.
Frowning, Shinji tried again.
This time, Karin's right eye began to change. The dark pigment slowly faded, although it was much slower than the left eye. Gradually, her right eye turned crimson, and three tomoe surfaced.
Shinji continued pouring his eye power into Karin's right eye.
Under the pressure of Shinji's chakra, the three tomoe in Karin's right eye finally began to rotate slowly, eventually fusing into the same complex pattern as her left eye.
"Whoo..." Shinji stumbled slightly, exhaling deeply.
Karin, having broken free from the genjutsu by herself, rushed over to support Shinji. "Sir, are you alright?"
Shinji lowered his head, waiting for the dizziness to pass, before shaking his head at Karin. "I'm fine."
There was no doubt about it.
The reawakened Mangekyō Sharingan was, in a sense, like a rebirth, requiring a process of activation.
Luckily, Shinji himself possessed the Mangekyō. If it had been anyone else, they would have been completely helpless in such a situation.
Even so, activating Karin's right eye had drained a significant portion of his eye power.
Even with the power of two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan at his disposal, Shinji found himself dizzy and disoriented from the exertion.
"My Mangekyō won't hold out much longer..."
Though he felt that, Shinji wasn't worried. With Karin's right eye restored, he was now only one step away from achieving the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Steadying himself, Shinji asked Karin, "What's the ability in your right eye?"
Karin focused for a moment before answering, "It's also Susanoo-no-mikoto, but unlike the left eye, which enhances Susanoo's power, my right eye reduces its chakra consumption."
Shinji blinked in surprise.
It wasn't the ability itself that surprised him, but rather the fact that the original owner of the Mangekyō had chosen to sacrifice the right eye.
Normally, preserving the right eye would be the best option since reducing chakra consumption was more practical than just boosting power.
Even at such a critical point, the previous Uchiha had chosen power over efficiency. Shinji silently thought to himself, They really are true Uchiha.
With a quick genjutsu, Shinji deactivated Karin's Mangekyō Sharingan. "Tomorrow night, I'll perform the eye transplant."
Karin hesitated, "Sir, are you going to return my eyes to me?"
"Uh..." Shinji felt a bit awkward. "Don't worry, I'll return your eyes to you later. Tomorrow's surgery is to give you another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Huh, you have another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan?" Karin was stunned.
After receiving her current Mangekyō Sharingan, she had researched its significance. She knew that these eyes represented the peak of the Uchiha clan's dojutsu.
Even Sasuke, with just a two-tomoe Sharingan, was held in such high regard by the village. It was clear what Mangekyō Sharingan meant.
She couldn't even imagine that her leader had yet another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.