Chapter 586: Izumi's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan
Konoha. After Kakashi brought Sasuke back to the village, he began to get a headache over how to handle him.
Sasuke was exceptionally talented and a pillar of Konoha's future; Kakashi had great expectations for him.
But precisely because of his talent, no one in Konoha except Kakashi himself could keep him in check.
Furthermore, Kakashi hadn't decided how to explain that Itachi had fallen into Iwa's hands.
Sasuke hated Itachi, but there was also deep affection there. Kakashi couldn't predict how Sasuke would react to knowing Itachi had sacrificed himself for Konoha.
Finally, Kakashi looked at Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan in his hand, undecided on when to transplant it into Sasuke.
Now was definitely not the time. Sasuke's hatred for the village was at its peak. If he gained supernatural power now, Konoha might be destroyed by Sasuke before Iwa even got the chance.
This needed a long-term plan, waiting for Sasuke's mindset to shift.
Also, Itachi hadn't explained the surgery details, so Kakashi needed to do some research.
After much thought, Kakashi took Sasuke to his own home.
Living with Kakashi were three children: Naruto, Hinata, and Hanabi.
Kakashi planned to entrust Sasuke to Naruto. Although he didn't know Naruto's history, he felt Naruto had a special infectious quality. He hoped Naruto could influence Sasuke.
Hanabi was at school. Naruto and Hinata were sparring in the courtyard.
Normally, the extremely shy Hinata wouldn't dare fight Naruto, let alone be his match.
But after awakening the Jōgan (Pure Eye), Hinata had improved rapidly in all aspects.
Now, unless Naruto used the Nine-Tails' power, he couldn't last two rounds against her.
Their "sparring" was actually Hinata beating up a crowd of Naruto clones.
When Kakashi entered with Sasuke, he saw countless Narutos yelling and charging at Hinata.
Hinata silently destroyed them one by one.
In the short time Kakashi stood at the door, Naruto had made over fifty shadow clones. Most were dispatched by Hinata in a few moves. Occasionally, a few Narutos got close and landed hits, but Hinata took them silently.
After a while, a clone spotted Kakashi.
They abandoned Hinata and swarmed Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei! What's wrong with Sasuke? Did you secretly teach him some super move again?"
"Damn it! Kakashi-sensei is so biased!"
"I want to learn too! I want to learn Chidori!"
Naruto clawed his left hand, gripping his wrist with his right, yelling "Chidori! Chidori!"
Hinata, no longer besieged, glanced indifferently at Kakashi and Sasuke, then went back to her training.
Kakashi had a headache. These three were talented, but also a handful.
I guess this is how Minato-sensei saw us back then, he sighed internally.
He handed Sasuke to a clone. "Sasuke is in a bad mood. Naruto, take care of him."
"What? Why do I have to take care of this jerky guy?" Naruto grumbled. But despite his words, he took Sasuke, concern in his eyes.
After returning to Iwagakure with Izumi and Sōkai, Ishiro locked up the sealed Itachi and then went to the Giant Sharingan.
Outside the secret chamber, dozens of Iwa ninja were feeding chakra into the eye.
They didn't coordinate; each fed chakra independently, logged their time, and left. It was busy.
This was the chakra source Ishiro had promised.
These ninja were paid well, better than a D-rank mission for a genin. Most importantly, it was safe. Many new genin and average chunin came here after their daily missions. As long as they had chakra left, they could earn extra income.
Of course, the main contributors were Iwa's two Jinchūriki, Han and Rōshi. They rotated shifts to feed the eye. Bijuu chakra replenished itself, so Ishiro didn't mind using it.
After verifying their identities with the ANBU guards, the three entered the chamber.
Ishiro examined the Giant Sharingan.
It hadn't changed outwardly, but perhaps due to the chakra infusion, it felt more powerful. The blood-red eye and black patterns seemed even more bewitching.
Under the expectant gazes of Izumi and Sōkai, Ishiro took out the remaining Hashirama cells and poured them onto the eye.
This was the method the Sage of Six Paths had taught them.
The Giant Sharingan had evolved by fusing many eyes, a process that didn't require Yang Release, as it was still just an eye.
But to feed back into Izumi and Sōkai, it needed Yang Release. They wanted to elevate their life level, like Neji. That required ultimate Yin and ultimate Yang.
The Giant Sharingan couldn't compare to the Giant Tenseigan in this regard. The Tenseigan had evolved over countless years to near perfection; the Sharingan was far from its peak.
When the cells touched the eye, it absorbed their energy voraciously. If it had thoughts, it would be greed.
Ishiro looked at Sōkai and Izumi. "The village's supply of Hashirama cells is limited; I used the rest to create the mini-Bijuu."
"What's left isn't enough for both of you to advance. Maybe not even enough for one."
"So today, only one person can attempt to communicate with the eye."
"Izumi, you do it. The eyes fused into this one contain your pupil power; they are more compatible with you. Your success rate is higher."
Izumi was surprised. She thought Ishiro would choose Sōkai.
Sōkai grew up in Iwa, had deeper bonds, was Ishiro's disciple, and was a candidate for Fifth Tsuchikage. He was also stronger, a Kage-level fighter even without the Mangekyō.
Despite all these reasons, Ishiro chose her. Izumi was touched.
Compatibility was a valid reason, but Sōkai had also contributed to the fusion. His connection wasn't much weaker. And his Kage-level strength might boost his success rate. It was hard to say who had better odds.
Izumi bit her lip and looked at Sōkai.
Sōkai was looking at her with encouragement.
In this moment, Izumi felt she had truly integrated into the Iwa family.
Previously, she felt her relationship with Iwa was a transaction. Iwa took in Uchiha children; she became a high-end combatant for them.
Even after becoming Head of the Assistant Team, she hadn't felt a true sense of belonging. She always second-guessed herself: Is this good for the Uchiha? Will the high command misunderstand?
Having suffered so much in Konoha, her heart was sensitive.
But now, she realized she had been overthinking it. Before she had fully accepted Iwa, Iwa had already accepted her.
For the first time since the massacre, she felt the care of an elder.
Her face felt cool. She touched it and found tears.
She wiped them away and forced a smile, but the tears flowed harder.
Ishiro started to step forward to comfort her, but stopped. He also stopped Sōkai.
Sōkai looked at him worriedly, but Ishiro waved him down.
The aura changing around Izumi was all too familiar to Ishiro. She was advancing to Quasi-Kage level while crying.
Ishiro was surprised, not by the advancement, but by the method.
Sōkai's reaction had been an increase in pupil power, distinct from normal ninja.
Izumi's reaction was different from other ninja, too. She wasn't acting like an Uchiha.
A long time later, Izumi stopped crying.
Her eyes were red and swollen. She looked at Ishiro and Sōkai shyly.
Ishiro signaled Sōkai to comfort his girlfriend.
After calming down, Izumi placed a hand on the Giant Sharingan.
Ishiro sat down and used Spirit Infiltration to enter her body. As agreed, he needed to experience this through her.
Inside her body, Ishiro saw the eye through her senses.
Her connection to it was intimate. It resonated with her own eyes.
As she poured chakra into it, the resonance grew clearer.
Until finally, the eye's chakra began to feed back into her.
Thump!
A loud sound, like a heartbeat. Through Izumi's senses, the world blurred.
The eye, Ishiro's body, Sōkai... everything turned hazy, as if veiled by fine sand.
The blur deepened, the world became chaotic and dim.
Until suddenly, everything went pitch black.
This wasn't night; all external senses vanished. It felt like being stripped from the world by a mysterious force.
Ishiro felt a rising panic.
Thump, thump, thump.
"A heartbeat?" Ishiro guessed.
Then he realized: this was the sound of Izumi's "quickening."
With each beat, the world began to return. Light, sound, smell...
Just as Ishiro thought it would last a long time, light suddenly flooded the world, blindingly bright.
Izumi opened her eyes. The first quickening was over.
Ishiro returned to his body.
When he opened his eyes, the world seemed dimmer. He realized his vision was different from hers.
He looked at her eyes.
Still Sharingan, but the pattern was much more complex.
Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Ishiro guessed.
He didn't ask immediately. Sōkai was busy expressing his clumsy concern.
He was babbling nonsense while holding a mirror for Izumi.
Izumi looked at her eyes in the mirror, unable to hide her smile.
Ishiro took the opportunity to check his own soul.
He smiled. Just as he thought, hitching a ride on Izumi's quickening had condensed his soul significantly.
The instability from forcibly absorbing the Reaper's energy was greatly reduced.
Nice!
He knew the side effects beforehand, but did it anyway because he knew he could hitch rides. He had plenty of masks and plenty of rides left. His future looked bright.
When the couple finally finished their mushy talk, Ishiro coughed. "Izumi, how do you feel? What's changed?"
Izumi closed her eyes, sensed for a moment, then opened them excitedly. "Lord Tsuchikage, these should be Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."
"I can feel the pupil power won't run out; it replenishes slowly after use."
"And the power of my dōjutsu has increased significantly."
"Just as the stone tablet said, the Eternal Mangekyō isn't just one plus one. The power is at least several times greater!"
"Also, my whole body feels warm, and my strength seems to have increased, though not as much as my eyes."
Ishiro nodded. "Good. Like Neji, your change is comprehensive. An elevation of life level brings the greatest progress. Adapt well."
"Your changes aren't over. There should be more."
"I have a request, same as with Neji: you must fully adapt to each power increase."
Izumi nodded vigorously.
"Spar with Shisui often," Ishiro added. "And now we have Itachi. You can spar with him too."
"Itachi is a bro-con. If he refuses, tell him you'll give him news about Sasuke. He'll agree."
Izumi smiled and nodded. "I understand, Lord Tsuchikage."
Sōkai, envious, leaned in. "Ishiro-sensei, when is it my turn?"
Ishiro laughed. "In a while. I need to prepare."
He needed to absorb another Reaper soul before Sōkai's quickening, or it would be a waste.
Sōkai's eyes lit up. "Ishiro-sensei, are there enough Hashirama cells in the giant eye for me to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō too?"
"No," Ishiro said bluntly. "Izumi used them all. Honestly, it wasn't even enough for her, or her body would have improved more."
"What?!" Sōkai cried in disappointment.
Ishiro paused for effect, then said, "But I have a way to get more cells from another source."
Sōkai looked at him expectantly. "Where? Where can we get them?"
"Secret!" Ishiro grinned.
"Ahhh!" Sōkai clawed at his hair.
Izumi giggled.
Ignoring Sōkai's tantrum, Ishiro said to Izumi, "One more thing. Communicate with the Giant Sharingan well. See what abilities it has."
"Especially soul-related abilities. If you find any, tell me immediately. It's useful to me."
"Yes, Lord Tsuchikage."
Ishiro patted their shoulders and left the chamber.
Sōkai was still grumbling behind him about Ishiro's bad taste.
Leaving the chamber, Ishiro went straight to his five-nature fusion training ground.
His seven-layer method had reached the sixth layer, 50% completion.
With the reduced side effects and slight improvement from Izumi's quickening, Ishiro was eager to try again.
After calming himself, he began.
Layers one through five were smooth and fast.
Layer six began. 10%, 20%, 30%...
He quickly reached 50% and felt fine, so he continued.
60%, 70%... at 90%, he made his first mistake.
After dealing with the explosion and analyzing the error, he started over.
He reached 90% again. This time he was careful, maintaining the complex structure while extending tiny branches.
It was slow. 91%, 92%... slowly, he reached 100%.
Phew...
Ishiro wiped his sweat while maintaining the beautiful, complex framework.
Layer six, complete!
He didn't attempt layer seven. He was at his limit; layer seven had no chance of success.
He held the structure as long as he could, then threw the sphere forward.
It exploded in mid-air.
Boom!
Prepared, Ishiro blocked the blast with porcelain.
He sat down to adjust his condition, then stood up and clapped his hands, satisfied.
Layer six done. Before starting layer seven, he needed to visit the White Sphere lab.
Layer seven was too complex; he hadn't even organized the structure from the data yet.
In fact, the lab hadn't even finished collecting the raw data for layer seven.
(End of Chapter)
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