Chapter 130: Another Mangekyō
The familiar green gates.
The familiar gate guards.
And the familiar sight of Might Guy running laps around the entrance.
After returning to Konoha, Asuka and his team first went to the Hokage's office and reported everything that had happened during their mission.
"You've worked hard."
Minato Namikaze rested his chin on his interlocked hands, his gaze passing over Nanaka before settling on Asuka at the back of the group.
The former genius of the Uchiha clan had finally appeared before everyone once again.
As his responsibilities had increased, Minato had gradually gained a deeper understanding of the village's shinobi.
Uchiha Asuka.
He had been considered capable of independent thought at the age of one. At two, he was already capable of surviving on his own and could spend long periods alone in the clan's library. At three, he had begun studying ninjutsu. By four, he had started studying medical ninjutsu as well.
At eighteen, Tsunade herself had recognized the extraordinary talent he had displayed through medical ninjutsu alone.
Judging from Nanaka's report, his combat ability was equally impressive.
A remarkable Uchiha shinobi.
After speaking with them briefly, Minato looked toward the closed door before turning to Shimura Danzō, who was sitting nearby.
As the person in the village most familiar with the Uchiha clan, Danzō could provide a general assessment of matters concerning the clan.
"Elder Danzō, what do you think of Uchiha Asuka?"
"Hmm."
Danzō thought seriously for a moment before looking out the window.
"When he was young, his acting was rather stiff. He was somewhat lacking in that regard. He regarded this old man as a monster."
"He once formed deep friendships with many people, but after the war ended, those friendships gradually fell apart."
"After the war, he formed several new groups of his own."
"If you wanted to send him to Kushina, this old man would refuse."
"If you wanted to send him to this old man's side, this old man would agree."
"And if you wanted him to join your faction, Minato, this old man would remain neutral."
The Third Hokage, who had been smoking nearby, stopped.
He looked at his old friend in surprise.
That was an unexpectedly objective assessment.
What had caused Danzō to change his attitude so suddenly?
"Old man!"
A familiar voice came from the street outside the courtyard.
Ryōichi immediately stood up and opened the gate.
"You're back. But why did you buy so much stuff?"
Seeing Ryōichi grin broadly, Asuka dropped the enormous, mountain-sized package from his back and panted heavily.
"They're souvenirs from the Land of Rain. It's the first time I've been there since I grew up."
"That place isn't very pleasant. This old man has only been there once."
Crash!
The instant he finished speaking, the sound of another plate shattering came from nearby.
Following the noise, Ryōichi and Asuka saw a woman standing not far away, with glittering white ceramic fragments scattered around her feet.
"Get inside!"
Recognizing her, Ryōichi immediately grabbed Asuka and dragged him into the courtyard.
He then effortlessly hauled the enormous package inside.
Bang!
The door closed.
The lock clicked into place.
The entire sequence was so smooth that it was clearly well-practiced.
Watching the old man's movements, Asuka crossed his arms and asked in surprise,
"Have you fought the clan head's wife before?"
"Sigh."
Ryōichi peeked through the crack in the door before speaking as he began unpacking the souvenirs.
"This old man is merely warning you not to cause trouble."
"She has become the most temperamental person in the entire clan district lately."
Asuka grabbed the window frame and pulled himself up, his feet immediately leaving the ground.
Through the glass, he watched the street outside.
Mikoto had already left, and no one knew where she was headed.
"Did Fugaku cheat on her?"
Ryōichi shook his head.
"No, he didn't."
"According to Sanrō, she's suffering from depression."
"There's a clan meeting tomorrow. Come up with a different plan. For now, don't stir up trouble."
Depression?
Asuka couldn't help shuddering.
For ordinary people, depression might be a relatively common condition.
But for members of the Uchiha clan, depression could easily lead to extreme thoughts.
When Obito fell into despair, the entire shinobi world suffered.
When Itachi fell into despair, an entire clan paid the price.
Thinking of this, Asuka walked over to Madara and handed him the small souvenirs he had bought in the Land of Rain.
Madara accepted them, looked at them for a moment, and placed them on the table.
Then he raised his eyes to Asuka's.
He froze.
Has this grandson's eyesight deteriorated that quickly?
Did he just acquire a superpower and immediately decide to use it for everything?
With that thought, Madara stared into Asuka's eyes and frowned.
"Activate your Mangekyō Sharingan."
Whoosh!
The moment Madara examined Asuka's Mangekyō Sharingan, his pupils contracted slightly.
"The rate at which your eyesight is deteriorating is abnormal. Tell this old man exactly what happened during the mission."
Asuka deactivated his Mangekyō Sharingan and recounted everything that had happened during his mission to the Land of Rain.
...
...
After hearing the entire story, Madara's expression darkened.
Before awakening the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, even when fighting Hashirama, he had never used his eyes so extravagantly.
Did this brat really think he would never go blind?
He had wasted that much ocular power just to kill a woman who could use Paper Release and a giant snake from Ryūchi Cave.
"How is your eyesight?"
Asuka stared at Madara's hair for a while before answering,
"If we're measuring it from one to one hundred, I'd say about ninety-five."
Madara nodded slightly.
Then he asked,
"Have you ever thought about what you'll do if your Mangekyō Sharingan goes blind?"
"Huh?"
Asuka froze.
Then, with a thought, he summoned the system and opened the quest panel.
When he entered the Land of Rain, the system had assigned him a new quest.
[New Quest: In order to graduate early like Uchiha Itachi, you decide to secretly improve your strength and publicly display it at the Ninja Academy.]
After receiving a class assignment that requires everyone to work together, you are the first to voice your ideas and hope your classmates will follow your instructions so that the project can be completed faster.
However, your Uchiha arrogance immediately causes the male students to reject you. After an unsuccessful argument, you decide to abandon your classmates and act alone.
Complete the class project: Collect traces left behind by Senju Hashirama within Konoha.
[This quest can be abandoned.]
[Reward: Accelerated Sharingan awakening progress, diluted and safe Hashirama cells with no harmful effects (does not contain Wood Release), Transformation Pill.]
Asuka had no intention of abandoning this quest.
Hashirama's cells were a good thing.
These were versions that had been carefully processed by the system—safe, diluted, and harmless.
Obito hadn't gone blind until the Fourth Shinobi World War, largely because half of his body had been enhanced with Hashirama's cells.
As for Wood Release…
Although Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands was ridiculously powerful…
Apart from certain absurdly powerful old men capable of crossing dimensions, most people couldn't use something like that anyway.
Seeing Asuka fall silent, Madara had more or less guessed what he was thinking.
Of course the brat had never considered what he would do if he went blind.
Idiot.
What a fool.
Does he even realize he's going to lose his eyesight?
That night.
"Madara-sama!"
Lying on his bed, Madara heard White Zetsu's voice and asked coldly,
"What is it?"
Having witnessed everything that had happened during the day, White Zetsu looked toward Asuka's house across the street and grinned.
"As someone chosen by Madara-sama, shouldn't we inject him with Hashirama's cells just like we did with Obito?"
White Zetsu turned around, a sly smile appearing on his face.
"Madara-sama, at this rate, his eyes will probably only last another year or so."
"That means they'll go blind about seven months after you leave."
"We haven't even dragged him into darkness yet, and he's already fallen into it himself."
The room gradually fell silent.
After a long while, Madara's low voice came from beside the bed.
"The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan can only be awakened by transplanting another person's Mangekyō Sharingan, and even then, success isn't guaranteed. The closer the blood relationship between the two people, the higher the success rate."
"This old man still has the Mangekyō Sharingan of that Crane Sage."
White Zetsu scratched his head in confusion.
"Madara-sama, are you planning to transplant those eyes into him?"
Several black lines appeared on Madara's forehead.
"This old man merely said that he possesses a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan that have already gone blind."
"And then…"
"Get out. And stay as far away from this old man as possible!"
[Message delayed.]