Chapter 160 – Ready?
Uchiha Yuu lay silently in the darkness of the underground chamber. He had long lost track of how many days had passed since he was thrown in here.
Ever since his humiliating defeat at the hands of that cunning bastard Uchiha Kei, he had been locked up in this lightless, reeking cell.
Kei hadn't held back in the slightest—during their first fight, Yuu had his limbs shattered by a jutsu similar to Chidori. The second time, Kei crippled him completely.
The brutal beatings, combined with the oppressive environment, had more than once driven Yuu to thoughts of ending it all.
But Kei, ever the calculating one, even hung him up on a nutrient drip—making death an impossible luxury.
And so the fires of vengeance burned steadily in Yuu's heart. Even with broken limbs and his ninja career destroyed, the desire to kill Kei, to make him pay, was all that kept him sane.
Perhaps it was this unwavering hatred that kept him from going mad—because nothing is more terrifying than someone driven by sheer will.
Yuu knew he couldn't fight anymore. But he was still an Uchiha.
Even with useless arms and legs, he still had his eyes… and his chakra.
In this bleak existence, he discovered something unexpected: his Sharingan had grown stronger—sharpened and fed by hatred itself. It was as though his rage had become the perfect fuel.
Unfortunately, no matter how powerful his eyes became, he could no longer storm the battlefield as he once did.
"Damn Uchiha Kei! That conniving, vile bastard! Haven't my brothers looked into him at all?!"
He growled in frustration. But he had it wrong—Uchiha Shuu had investigated Kei.
It was just that between Fugaku's protection and Orochimaru's interference, they'd found nothing useful.
Days blurred into each other in that hellhole, a haze of gloom and rot.
And Yuu waited—waited for Kei to appear.
He didn't understand why Kei had spared his life. There had to be a reason… but so far, Kei hadn't said a word about it.
Still, whatever Kei's goal was, Yuu knew one thing for certain—his fate was no longer his own.
Then—footsteps.
The pitch-black room remained unchanged, but today, for the first time in forever, a sound broke the silence.
Yuu recognized it instantly.
Those steps… that rhythm… it could only be Uchiha Kei.
Hatred surged in him like a tidal wave. His moment had come.
"Well, well… long time no see, Yuu."
The cold, composed voice—still a little youthful, but brimming with power—cut through the stillness.
Kei had arrived.
"Long time indeed," Yuu rasped, his voice like gravel dragged across steel. "I think about you… every single day."
Kei stepped forward, staring at the wreck of a man before him.
Yuu's eyes burned with hatred, as though he could tear Kei apart just by glaring.
Kei remained unfazed.
He had seen this look countless times on the battlefield. Rage. Desperation. The thirst to kill.
Nothing new.
He approached slowly—and that's when Yuu's eyes flared red.
A sudden surge of chakra burst from them, aimed straight at Kei's mind.
For a moment, Kei was stunned. His focus wavered.
He hadn't expected Yuu to still have any fight left in him—much less a genjutsu attack as a last-ditch effort.
If Kei hadn't awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, he might've actually been caught.
But this world doesn't deal in what ifs.
In the illusion Kei now found himself in, he was crucified on a cross, engulfed in an endless inferno. Yuu, like a vengeful ghost, rose and lunged at him.
The illusion was well-crafted. Without a higher-grade Sharingan to separate the chakra patterns behind it, a weaker ninja would already believe they were burning alive.
That's the true power of genjutsu—manipulating the brain's perception to inflict real pain… even death.
"…Sigh."
Kei let out a soft breath. His eyes turned scarlet—three tomoe spinning calmly in their sockets.
With that, the flames peeled away, like ash swept by the wind.
Reality shifted.
Now Kei stood before the cross—and it was Yuu who was bound to it.
"NO!"
Yuu howled in fury and panic, thrashing violently, but he couldn't break free.
His final, desperate move—his ultimate genjutsu—had been turned against him.
Everything he'd planned, everything he'd bet on… was shattered in an instant.
"You see the difference between us now?" Kei's voice echoed coldly, low and absolute.
"The gap between us is vast. Every move you make—I see right through it."
"No! No!"
Yuu writhed in agony, but the illusion ended just as abruptly as it began.
He was back in the filthy, pitch-black chamber, broken and gasping for air.
He was still that pitiful wreck—limbs crippled, completely stripped of his abilities as a shinobi.
And Uchiha Kei? He stood nearby, cold and silent, watching him like a shadow with no warmth.
He had failed. Completely.
Even his final move—meticulously prepared and unleashed in desperation—had no effect on Uchiha Kei. Just how powerful were this bastard's eyes?
Could opening a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan truly result in such terrifying power?
A wave of hopeless despair flooded his mind and engulfed his entire being.
Even though his hair hadn't turned white overnight, Uchiha Kei could clearly feel the bleakness radiating from him.
Numbness, despair, a loss of the will to live—this wasn't what Kei wanted.
A Uchiha who had lost hope… could never awaken the Mangekyō.
"Looks like rage didn't work on him. And even extreme despair... not effective. Rage only works on certain people, and despair, while it worked on me, doesn't seem to move him. Looks like it's time for the tools."
Kei quickly ran the calculations in his mind. Then he knelt down, pried open Uchiha Yuu's mouth, and poured a vial of blue liquid down his throat.
No resistance. No emotion. Yuu's face remained blank, hollow—he'd completely given up on life.
"Numbness is dangerous," Kei murmured, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "You know… it's not even unfair that you lost to me. Want to know why?"
Yuu didn't respond, but Kei sensed something—a faint flicker of emotion.
His head shifted ever so slightly, as if listening.
Good. Kei felt a little more assured. Numbness dulled the senses and lessened pain—but that wasn't what Kei wanted.
He needed emotion. He needed rage.
"Because of the difference in our eyes," Kei said, voice low.
"Did you really think I was just using a normal three-tomoe Sharingan? Come on. Even those who possess it naturally are no match for me—not you, not Uchiha Fugaku, not even your brother, Uchiha Shuu."
A slight tremble passed through Yuu's body. Kei noticed immediately.
Yes. That hit the mark.
Looking down at the motionless Yuu, Kei decided to finally speak some long-buried truths—both to provoke him and to indulge himself a little.
"You know what the strongest eyes in the Uchiha clan are?" he said, holding Yuu's jaw to keep the liquid from spilling. "It's the Mangekyō Sharingan. That's right—I already possess them. And through these eyes, your every move… is laughable."
Yuu twitched again. Subtle, but unmistakable.
Kei intensified the pressure.
"Just how strong were the eyes' original owners? I don't know. But the power of the Mangekyō is… beyond belief. There's only one flaw: overuse leads to blindness. And I don't intend to go blind."
"That's why I need backups. Eyes with potential."
"You… are one of them. Your brother too."
Yuu finally croaked out a word—his voice hoarse and cracked.
"You…"
But Kei silenced him with a hand.
"Don't talk. Just listen. Let the drug do its work."
"This formula will amplify your emotions—rage, despair, anything. It took a lot of effort to get it. And I brought along a special little… motivator."
"Don't go numb on me. Because very soon, you'll personally kill a sweet, innocent little girl."
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even consider letting such a pure, adorable child suffer something so cruel. But now?"
"Remember this—she'll die because of you."
Yuu's body writhed. The struggling intensified. Kei was satisfied.
This… this was what a living person looked like.
"And not just her," Kei added. "There's also a pair of kind, elderly parents. A brother who still tries to protect you."
The resistance became violent. Blood started to seep from the corners of Yuu's eyes.
At last, Kei let go.
"Don't rush," he said calmly. "Soon, you'll do it yourself."
"But—this is also your chance. If you awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan… it all stops."
Kei's grin deepened as he looked at him.
"And then, maybe—just maybe—you'll finally be qualified to fight me."
"So tell me, Uchiha Yuu… are you ready?"
As his voice faded, Kei's blood-red eyes began to spin—three tomoe connecting into one terrifying pattern.