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Shortly thereafter, Kagaya bid farewell to Orochimaru and resumed his aimless journey.
The current time was March of Year 57 in the Konoha calendar. Naruto and the others were scheduled to graduate around the beginning of Konoha Year 60, which meant there were still about three years left.
During these three years, Kagaya set a goal for himself: in three years' time, he would, at the very least, be able to use the Mangekyō Sharingan with relative ease, rather than being nearly incapacitated after a single use, as was the case now.
And so, Kagaya and Haku's three-year training journey began.
"Haku, you need to learn to use chakra rationally. Don't pour excessive amounts into a single technique," Kagaya instructed Haku in a forest.
Haku quickly nodded. "Okay, I'll work hard, Kagaya."
Kagaya smiled slightly and then turned his gaze to another direction. "Let's pause for now. The mission targets are here. Let's deal with them first."
What followed was a series of miserable screams.
Although they rarely received missions, it wasn't completely nonexistent; occasionally, one or two tasks would be assigned to them.
In a snowy field.
Kagaya and Haku walked across the snow, leaving a trail of footprints behind them.
"This place should be quite suitable for your training, Haku," Kagaya said, looking at Haku.
Haku asked with pleasant surprise, "Did you come here specifically for me, Kagaya?"
Kagaya shook his head. "Not really. Let's just say we're passing through. After all, we're traveling without a fixed destination right now."
Haku lowered his head in disappointment. "I see."
Kagaya couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, don't be so disheartened. Hurry up and train. There's a major battle waiting for us not long from now."
"Mm."
"Ice Release: Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death!"
On a desolate plain, countless senbon formed from ice shot forth, instantly piercing a group of people wearing kimonos and leaving them on the brink of death.
Kagaya gave Haku a thumbs-up. "Impressive."
Due to the impact of killing his father with his own hands in childhood, Haku had become unable to take a life. Thus, even though these people were severely injured, not a single one had died.
Haku spoke anxiously, "Kagaya, I-I... I will try my best to... to be able to kill people."
A shinobi who cannot kill is not worthy of being called a shinobi; a tool that cannot kill is not a good tool. In Haku's view, his inability to kill would likely make him someone Kagaya did "not need."
Haku could not bear such a thing. Kagaya was his sole reason for living; he absolutely could not lose him. Therefore, Haku was truly afraid, afraid that Kagaya would "not need" him anymore.
Kagaya threw several kunai, ending the lives of those who were on the verge of death, and turned to Haku. "No, Haku, it's fine just the way you are. Don't kill anyone. This is good."
Haku's progress in strength was significant. When Kagaya first took Haku in, he was a boy who knew nothing. But now, thanks to Kagaya's guidance and Haku's Ice Release, Haku possessed strength close to that of a Jōnin.
To have such power yet never have personally killed anyone—frankly, Kagaya truly did not want Haku to change this habit. Before Itachi, and his parents were revived, Haku's genuine, innate kindness was his only light. Haku didn't need to kill, really. Killing could be left to Kagaya; he had already killed enough, and he wouldn't mind adding a few more in the future.
"R-Really?" Haku stammered.
"Mm, really. Haku, remember, just keep going as you are. Don't kill anyone."
Clang!
A kunai shattered. In a forest, Kagaya slashed heavily at a tree with a kunai.
Then, blood began to flow incessantly from his right eye socket.
"Break!"
Boom!
In an instant, a terrifying force of impact suddenly appeared, stirring up a great wind that forced Haku, who was standing nearby, to raise his hand to shield his eyes.
A moment later, when Haku opened his eyes, what he saw was a clearing!
All the trees within a radius of a hundred meters had been completely obliterated!
"This... this..." Haku stared at the terrifying scene, completely at a loss for words. This was the power to alter the terrain itself!
Such a large-scale alteration of the landscape was something Haku was witnessing for the first time.
Kagaya stood in place, covering his eye, head bowed, breathing heavily.
By now, he could use the Mangekyō without losing consciousness. However, even so, after using it once, he was basically left with no combat strength.
Kagaya had fully figured out the power of his right Mangekyō eye: it could amplify any attack he saw by several times!
The limitation was that the greater the amplification factor, the more chakra and ocular power it consumed! The further it went, the more terrifying the consumption became, far beyond what Kagaya could bear.
However, correspondingly, the immense consumption brought forth a rather terrifying power. This ability could amplify any attack he saw, not just the damage. This meant that even if an attack caused no damage initially, as long as it was an attack, this ocular jutsu could amplify it! Most importantly, this jutsu could amplify not only his own attacks but also the attacks of others! As long as the attack was seen by his right eye, he could amplify it within three seconds!
However, if his right eye didn't see it, it wouldn't work. Even if his left eye saw it but his right eye didn't, it still wouldn't work. The condition was that it must be seen by the right eye.
As for the ability of his left eye, Kagaya had also gained some understanding, though it wasn't complete yet. But, if his speculation was correct, the ability of his left eye might just be able to give the Third Hokage and Danzō a "fun" surprise.
"Kagaya, that's... so amazing," Haku murmured, staring dumbfounded at the cleared surroundings.
Kagaya, holding his right eye, walked over to Haku. "Alright, let's go, Haku. I've just used my right eye's jutsu. I probably won't have much combat strength for the next few hours. So, I'll have to trouble you to protect me for a while, Haku."
Haku responded excitedly, "Don't worry, Kagaya! I will definitely protect you!"
Time flew by.
Near the end of the three years, around the end of Konoha Year 59, Kagaya received a letter from Orochimaru.
In the letter, Orochimaru requested Kagaya's participation in jointly launching the Konoha Crush Plan.
After reading the letter, Kagaya said nothing. He simply smiled faintly and set off for the Sound Village with Haku.
The nearly three years of training had resulted in tremendous growth in both Kagaya and Haku's strength.
And it was time to put that growth to the test.