WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 30→2ch | 60→5ch | 100→8ch | 200→15ch | 400→25ch⏰ Resets Monday!
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Their destination was a hidden outpost housing one of Orochimaru's special experiments.
Kabuto handled the rowing.
Sasuke sat at the stern, maintaining his White Cursed Seal in its released state.
"Uchiha Shin. Naruto and I fought him once," Sasuke said, his voice low. "He had dozens of transplanted MangekyĹŤ Sharingan all over his body. His ocular power was to mark and manipulate objects. But strictly speaking, its level didn't reach the standard of a true MangekyĹŤ."
Orochimaru sat at the prow, his gaze never leaving Sasuke. "After all, Shin's eyes were mass-produced clones. Furthermore, Shin isn't strictly an Uchiha by blood. He was born into the Yasha clan. His unique physique allows him to accept foreign bloodlines without any rejection. He was utterly obsessed with your brother Itachi, which is why he adopted the Uchiha name and willingly became my test subject."
"So, the 'blueprint' for your eye clones wasn't an eye Shin himself awakened, was it?" Sasuke asked.
"Correct," Orochimaru confirmed. "You never asked before, so I never mentioned it. The blueprint for Shin's cloned Mangekyō… came from the right eye of a Mangekyō Sharingan awakened by 'Uchiha Kawa'!"
Sasuke lowered his head, thinking. "Kawa… I think I heard that name from my father. One of the Uchiha heroes who fell during the Second Great Shinobi War…"
Orochimaru smiled, revealing the shocking truth. "Kawa… was none other than Uchiha Obito's father."
Sasuke was stunned, then understanding dawned. "Is that so… No wonder."
"Kawa's MangekyĹŤ," Orochimaru continued, his voice slick with fascination. "Its true power was a space-time dĹŤjutsu called 'Futodama'. It allowed free 'mutual transfer' between marked objects. While it lacks Kamui's dedicated pocket dimension as a medium, it possesses certain conveniences Kamui does not. Shin's object-manipulation power is merely a degraded byproduct of Futodama!"
"I never imagined that eye had such an origin," Sasuke murmured.
"Indeed." Orochimaru's gaze was sharp. "Wasting that eye on Shin is a shame. Even Mangekyō carry the risk of blindness. However, Hashirama's cells can offset the blindness side-effect for a single Mangekyō. So, to utilize that eye, I specially created a miniature human using Hashirama's cells… to serve as a permanent vessel for that eye's power."
At the mention of the miniature human, a flicker of nostalgia passed through Sasuke's eyes.
Because… that Hashirama-cell mini-human, along with the right Futodama eye, had been obliterated by his daughter, Sarada, with a single punch.
Burying Sarada's voice and smile deep in his heart, Sasuke didn't dwell on the past. "You possess Kawa's left eye as well, don't you?"
Orochimaru chuckled. "Naturally. Like Kamui, Futodama is a paired technique. And in terms of combat utility, the left eye's function is far more powerful than the right."
Sasuke pondered. "Obito's father… Perhaps that pair of eyes… could prove very useful in the future."
The boat scraped against the shore.
The three stepped onto the unnamed island and headed for the cave that served as Shin's hideout.
On the path, Orochimaru inquired, "Sasuke-kun, how do you intend to acquire the eye? Disposing of Shin and taking it by force is the simplest method. But I defer to your judgment."
Sasuke spoke calmly. "Let me talk to him. It's not just about the eye. There are some things I need to settle with that guy face-to-face."
They arrived before the cave entrance. Figures with distinctive onion-shaped haircuts emerged from the rocky walls. Their immature MangekyĹŤ Sharingan glowered with hostility.
"Intruders…"
All too familiar. Clones of Uchiha Shin.
Sasuke counted them. Only twelve. A far cry from the hundreds he'd faced in another time.
"At this stage," Orochimaru noted, "Shin doesn't possess independent cloning technology. These limited clones are Kabuto's and my handiwork. Yet they don't seem to recognize us…"
"Protect Father!"
Swish! Swish!
Shin's clones, addressing Shin as 'Father', leaped down from the walls, ready to fight for him.
"Enough."
A short-haired young man strode from the cave's depths, wearing one of Orochimaru's old Akatsuki cloaks. A full eighteen years earlier than their last encounter, this Shin still had hair and wasn't yet covered in transplanted Sharingan.
"Father…" The clones knelt in unison.
"Shin. It's been a while," Orochimaru said.
Shin stepped forward, giving a slight bow. "Lord Orochimaru. My apologies for not receiving you properly. For you to come in such force… you must have urgent business with me."
Even facing Orochimaru, Shin did not kneel. In his eyes, only one being deserved such worship: the man who exterminated the Uchiha and served in the Akatsuki—Uchiha Itachi.
"We do have business," Orochimaru said. "But first, let me introduce someone. His name… should not be unfamiliar to you."
Shin's cold gaze fell upon the approaching boy. "You are…"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Shin's expression instantly twisted with malice. "Ah! You're the one flaw in Itachi's masterpiece! Uchiha Sasuke! The weakling brother who only survived by Itachi's mercy! Instead of gratitude, you aim to kill him? You truly have no sense of your own insignificance!"
Sasuke's face remained impassive. He was no longer that ignorant child. He had lived through too much, seen through too many facades.
He said quietly, "Shin. Just like the Itachi I once hated… the Itachi you worship is a carefully crafted illusion. It is not his true self. In other words, your blind adoration… is the greatest insult to him."
Uchiha Shin seethed. "Ha? What are you saying? A brat who's never seen real war, acting like you understand Itachi!?"
Sasuke raised two fingers before his chest. "Talking is pointless. Let's settle this with strength."
Shin laughed as if hearing the greatest joke. "You mean… fight me? Hey, hey. Do you have any idea of the difference between us?"
"If you win, my life is yours," Sasuke stated calmly. "But if you lose… you must abandon your obsession with Itachi's name. Furthermore, you return the eye used as the cloning blueprint."
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Uchiha Shin threw his head back, roaring with laughter. "Fine! I won't let anyone who dares disrespect 'Itachi' live! The last Uchiha… I'll clean up Itachi's mess for him!"
Kabuto voiced his concern. "Sasuke-kun, are you sure?"
"It's fine," Sasuke replied, his voice steady. "I'm growing accustomed to the pain from the White Cursed Seal. And a fight of this level… is the perfect warm-up for the ten battles to come."
Fzzzt!
Shin's eyes glowed. The inverted triangle pattern of his MangekyĹŤ burned bright.
"UCHIHA SASUKE! Witness the true power of the MangekyĹŤ Sharingan!"
Clatter-clatter-clatter! A storm of blades spilled from his sleeves, rising into the air under his ocular power.
"DIE!"
With a vicious sweep of his arm, Shin sent the blades screaming toward Sasuke.
Fzzzt!
Sasuke's own MangekyĹŤ swirled. He formed a one-handed seal, and from his mouth erupted a jet-black pillar of fire.
—Blaze Release: Great Fireball Technique!
Kabuto gasped in shock. "Using Amaterasu's black flames as a standard fire release!?"
Orochimaru smiled. "Freely wielding Blaze Release… that's an ability from the Eternal Mangekyō stage. Yet Sasuke-kun deploys it effortlessly. It seems he's adapting to the White Cursed Seal's power… faster than I anticipated."
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