Chapter 162: Thank You
Susanoo?
It was actually Susanoo!
Uchiha Kei hadn't expected this—Uchiha Yuu actually awakened his Mangekyō and immediately used Susanoo!
Watching the chakra that continued to surge and spread, Uchiha Kei couldn't help but wonder—Could this guy really wield Susanoo the moment he awakened his Mangekyō?
The abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan varied greatly from person to person, and Kei couldn't be certain what kind of power Yuu had obtained.
Frankly, if it hadn't been for the sake of collecting sufficient data, Uchiha Kei wouldn't have let him survive this long.
But the fact that Yuu could manifest Susanoo right after awakening still left Kei genuinely astonished.
Did this guy immediately resonate with his guardian deity?
Or could it be that his Mangekyō ability is to enhance and control Susanoo itself?
Either way, Uchiha Kei knew he needed to tread carefully.
His goal was clear: understand the ability of this guy's Mangekyō, erase his will, and observe the transformation of his body. Afterward, he would decide whether Yuu or his brother would serve as the vessel to cultivate a brand new pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Calmly staring at Yuu—whose body was now enveloped in expanding layers of Susanoo due to his surging chakra—Uchiha Kei frowned slightly.
I can't let this continue. If it does, the underground lab will be destroyed. And if the sensory team picks up on this, things will get complicated.
"You've got impressive power," Uchiha Kei said flatly. "But if this is all there is, then you no longer have any value to live."
He then gave a cold, mocking smile. "Still... what an unexpected bonus. I was worried the 'tools' I prepared might not be enough. But now, it seems one woman is all I need. You've really surprised me, Yuu."
Surrounded entirely by golden chakra, Uchiha Yuu's triangular Mangekyō spun slowly in his eyes. His gaze burned with icy hatred.
Suddenly, Susanoo's giant fist launched forward like a cannonball, slamming toward Kei again.
"Die, Uchiha Kei!"
The yellow Susanoo's punch smashed into the lab like a wrecking ball, widening the space as the walls trembled. Chunks of stone and clumps of soil fell from the ceiling. At this rate, the entire underground facility might collapse.
But no matter how powerful the punch was, Yuu was still slightly slower than Kei—especially since he had just awakened his Mangekyō.
No matter how desperate he was, no matter how much greater his chakra reserves were than Kei's, he couldn't overcome the disadvantage of being unfamiliar with his abilities, all while suffering from serious injuries.
In a flash, Uchiha Kei used his Body Flicker Technique and appeared right in front of Yuu.
With a flick of his hand, his chakra-coated blade was drawn and stabbed directly into Susanoo's chest.
Kei's Mangekyō spun calmly in his eyes as a smirk of disdain tugged at the corners of his lips.
"I overestimated you, Yuu. Susanoo is powerful, sure, but if this is all you've got... then you've wasted your chance. Good night."
Just as the words left his lips, Kei noticed one of Yuu's eyes spinning—followed by a searing, suffocating heat erupting in his own chest.
In that instant, Kei realized exactly what the second ability of Yuu's Mangekyō was—Amaterasu!
Without hesitation, Kei activated the trump card hidden deep within his eyes.
"Chrono Freeze!"
The moment he spoke the command, a bizarre energy surged outward. Yuu froze completely in front of Kei—his vicious expression frozen mid-snarl, blood-tears still halfway down his cheek.
Even the falling debris above them had stopped mid-air, suspended as if the world itself had been paused.
For the first time, Uchiha Kei realized that his Mangekyō ability, Chrono Freeze, didn't just affect individuals—it worked over a small area.
But there was no time to marvel. Even though he had grown stronger, this technique's chakra cost was no joke.
Uchiha Kei stepped forward, slipping his hand into a gap in the Susanoo armor where it hadn't fully formed.
Without hesitation, he dug out both of Yuu's eyes.
Once done, Kei immediately retreated with a Body Flicker Technique, pulling back to a safe distance and releasing his time-freezing ocular ability in the process.
Even though the whole sequence lasted only a few seconds, Kei already felt dizzy. He couldn't help but think—maybe I'm not even as durable as that brute "Three-Blade Barbarian."
Regardless, the counterattack had been fully neutralized. He had essentially figured out the nature of Yuu's Mangekyō abilities.
"AAAHHH!!"
As time resumed its flow, Yuu's agonized scream rang out immediately.
The hollowed-out sockets where his eyes had once been told him the cruel truth—Uchiha Kei had stolen them.
Even worse, Yuu had still been channeling ocular powers when it happened. Now, those eyes were gone—vanished while still in use.
His already battered body, now flooded with rampant, uncontrolled chakra, began breaking down even more. The pain was unbearable, and as his Susanoo collapsed, it nearly pushed him into unconsciousness.
"Enhancing Susanoo's power... making its release more accessible and less taxing?" Kei muttered calmly, despite the significant toll the battle had taken on his chakra and ocular strength.
As he placed the freshly removed eyes into a glass container, he continued softly, "And the second ability... Amaterasu, the flames of black fire, right?"
"YOU BASTARD!! UCHIHA KEI!! If you have any honor, face me like a real man and fight me head-on!!"
Yuu, face twisted in rage, roared with the voice of a dying beast. He still hadn't fully grasped what had happened—his eyes had been taken in an instant!
"I gave you your chance," Kei replied coldly, gazing down at the broken man before him.
"Too bad you failed to seize it. While most people get more than one chance in a lifetime... for you, that was it."
"AAAHHH!!!"
Yuu howled once more—raw, primal, like the death cry of a wild animal in the wasteland.
Kei ignored him. He turned his attention back to the glass container, inspecting the freshly acquired Mangekyō eyes. His surgical technique had been crude—blood still streaked around the ocular tissue—but it didn't matter.
The objective was complete.
The next step was to erase Yuu's consciousness—to reduce him to a shell, like that Mist Village spy from before.
Then Kei would reimplant the eyes and study the changes to Yuu's body.
With that in mind, he carefully tucked the glass jar into his ninja tool pouch.
Looking down at the utterly broken Uchiha Yuu lying on the ground, Kei shook his head.
He couldn't let him die—not yet.
Even in this ruined state, Yuu's value alive far outweighed his value dead. Kei planned to give him a sedative to knock him out cold.
But just as Kei moved to act, Yuu suddenly lifted his head and looked toward him—or tried to.
His hollow sockets and the twin trails of blood-tears were haunting. Yet, in that moment, his voice was unexpectedly soft... almost pleading.
"Spare them…" he rasped, his voice trembling, hoarse with pain. "Spare them… You got what you wanted. At the very least… don't let them suffer. Don't make them go through what I did…"
"…Sigh."
Kei exhaled and, after a moment's thought, pulled out a vial of medicine.
"I'll give you something to drink," he said quietly. "You'll fall asleep soon. But before that… I'll share a secret with you."
Yuu said nothing—he just opened his mouth.
It was his silent way of saying he would comply. He just wanted Kei to keep his promise.
Kei gently poured the liquid down his throat and watched him swallow it all. He gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.
"…Actually," Kei said at last, "your girlfriend isn't dead."
That revelation seemed to freeze the very air.
Kei continued, his tone slightly softer, perhaps burdened by what he had done. "What you saw... was a decoy. Your real girlfriend is still alive. She's praying for your safe return—every single day. I even heard she nearly went to Orochimaru to find you."
"As for the woman you killed just now…" Kei stood slowly, watching the flicker of emotion stir in Yuu's ruined face. "She was a spy from the Hidden Mist. I manipulated her appearance to look like your girlfriend. As a shinobi, I have many ways of achieving that."
"And not just her—all the 'tools' I spoke of… they were death-row prisoners from the village jail."
Kei took a deep breath. "So you don't need to worry. They're fine. They're all doing better than you."
"I may be ruthless," Kei admitted, "but I don't kill the innocent indiscriminately. Even if I wanted to… it's not something I can do freely."
That last part was thanks to Uchiha Fugaku—and for once, Kei felt he owed the man a small measure of gratitude.
Because Kei realized something important: he wasn't suited to this kind of cruelty.
He couldn't guarantee that if he continued down this path, his mind wouldn't twist beyond repair.
Yes, he wanted power. Yes, he wanted to survive to the end. He had even dreamed of controlling everything.
But all of that... had one condition:
He had to remain human.
"…Thank you," Yuu suddenly whispered in a broken, hoarse voice. "Thank you for telling me that…"
"…Even though I still wish you'd come with me… to the underworld."
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