Konoha Hospital.
After receiving Shisui's message, Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha rushed to the hospital without delay. But when they arrived and saw both their sons being wheeled into the operating room, their hearts nearly stopped.
Fortunately, Kiyosuke explained the situation to them — it was to help their sons grow stronger and remove the burden of the Mangekyō Sharingan. Once they understood, their anxiety finally eased.
They waited anxiously outside the operating room.
For Tsunade, an eye transplant was hardly more than a minor surgery. With Rin, Shizune, and Karin assisting her, it didn't take long at all.
Soon, the brothers' operation was complete, and they were carefully led out.
Their eyes were wrapped in bandages. Tsunade reminded them, "You two should rest well for the next few days. You'll be able to see sunlight again in two or three days. And Mikoto, your eldest son's body needs some proper nourishment. Make sure to cook him something good."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama."
Mikoto nodded firmly, then smiled as she held both her sons' hands tightly.
"Itachi, Sasuke, let's go home."
Fugaku nodded as well. "We're going home."
"Yes, I'm back, Mother."
Itachi smiled softly, while Sasuke gave his usual cool grunt in reply. The two brothers followed their mother out of the hospital.
Along the way, many villagers were shocked to see Itachi — after all, to their knowledge, he was a missing-nin.
Fugaku, however, raised his head proudly and declared,
"My son's undercover mission is finally over. Everything he did before was under the Hokage's orders."
It wasn't uncommon for shinobi to perform undercover missions. And there was no need to worry about revealing secrets — the Akatsuki was already destroyed, and both the Hokage and Kiyosuke had said it was fine to tell the public the truth.
He wanted everyone to know: his son was never a traitor, but a hero who had endured humiliation for the sake of the village!
Mikoto smiled brightly. After so many years, she could finally see her eldest son again. He must have suffered a lot out there.
When they returned to the Uchiha compound, the clan members were stunned — not only had Itachi returned, but Shisui, who was supposed to be "dead," was back as well.
After learning the truth, the Uchiha were overjoyed. Having their two prodigies return was a tremendous blessing.
Still, many were curious.
What was going on with the clan head's eyes?
Naturally, Fugaku couldn't tell them about the Mangekyō Sharingan. He simply said that his eyes had been injured in battle, and Tsunade-sama had treated him — he'd recover fully in a few days.
After all, the Sharingan was the Uchiha clan's pride and lifeline. Losing it would make anyone an object of pity within the clan.
Later that evening, the family gathered around the table. They had barely sat down when someone knocked on the door.
Mikoto was busy cooking in the kitchen, so Fugaku stood up to answer it.
At the door stood a young Uchiha woman around Itachi's age.
"Izumi?" Fugaku blinked in surprise. If he remembered correctly, this was one of Itachi's few childhood friends — talented, and clearly fond of him.
Uchiha Izumi was slightly out of breath. "Clan Head-sama, I heard Itachi is back!"
"Yes. He's completed his mission. You're here to see him? Come in."
"Thank you, Clan Head-sama. Sorry for the intrusion."
Izumi followed Fugaku inside.
In the living room, Itachi was sitting with Sasuke, quietly drinking tea.
The moment Izumi saw him, her excitement froze — her gaze fell on the bandages covering his eyes. Tears instantly welled up and spilled over.
"Itachi…"
Hearing the familiar voice, Itachi turned his head slightly. After a moment's thought, he smiled gently.
"Izumi, is that you?"
"Yes… yes, it's me. Your eyes…" She knelt down beside him, her voice trembling with worry. She reached out instinctively but stopped herself, afraid to touch.
Mikoto peeked out from the kitchen, smiling warmly.
"Oh my, if it isn't Izumi. Don't worry, Itachi's fine. He'll recover in two or three days."
She looked between her son and Izumi, a pleased smile forming on her lips.
"Izumi, I'll leave Itachi in your care. Why don't you take him out to the yard for some fresh air?"
"Alright."
"Sorry to trouble you."
Itachi didn't hesitate to take her hand. It was small — but warm.
Izumi's face instantly flushed crimson. She lowered her head in panic and, still flustered, led him toward the courtyard.
Mikoto chuckled softly and whispered to her husband,
"If Itachi takes the initiative, maybe we'll be holding a grandchild by the end of the year."
Fugaku nodded approvingly. At Itachi's age — in his early twenties — he himself had already married Mikoto. Izumi was a fine girl: talented, kind, and close to Itachi. A perfect match.
"Should I go to Izumi's family and propose a formal engagement?"
"No need to rush. Let's give the two of them some time." Mikoto smiled and went back to the kitchen.
Only Sasuke sat at the table, dumbfounded.
Can someone tell me how my brother just got taken away like that?
...
Konoha Hospital.
After finishing the Uchiha brothers' surgery, Tsunade still had other work to do — namely, treating Nagato's body.
It was, without question, the worst physical condition she had ever seen in her medical career. His body was riddled with holes; the fact that he was still alive was nothing short of miraculous.
As expected of a descendant of the Uzumaki clan!
They had retrieved a pair of Sharingan from Obito and transplanted them into Nagato. This wasn't a Mangekyō Sharingan transplant, so no recovery period was needed — plug and play.
Itachi and Sasuke's operation had been different, since evolving to the Eternal Mangekyō required time to adapt.
Tsunade scolded as she worked,
"You need to rest properly for a while. Don't use chakra or fight for now. I'll prepare medicine for you later — honestly, even if your body's tough, that's no excuse to keep pushing it like this!"
She sighed and turned to prepare a treatment plan.
Kiyosuke, sitting nearby, said calmly,
"You should take it easy. Soon, there's likely to be a great war. And after that, the world may finally find peace."
"If that's the case," Nagato said with a faint, bitter smile, "then how is it any different from my own ideals?"
To let the world experience pain in order to grow — wasn't that exactly what he'd wanted?
Kiyosuke replied, "It's different. You won't have to be the villain this time. This will be humanity's own battle for salvation. And our enemy might not just be Uchiha Madara."
If things spiraled out of control, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki herself might appear — or perhaps even other enemies beyond imagination.
"I'll witness that future with these eyes," Nagato murmured, lying back on the bed, his legs still lifeless.
Kiyosuke thought for a moment, then turned to Obito.
"Hey, why don't you give him a new pair of legs? The ones he has now are useless anyway."
"..." Nagato.
"..." Konan.
"..." Jiraiya.
"Hey, hey, do you just swap people's legs like it's nothing?" Jiraiya said, exasperated.
"Oh, for me, yeah." Obito scratched his head awkwardly. "Half of my body's been replaced already, so theoretically, Nagato could do the same."
He removed his glove, revealing a pale white hand — part of White Zetsu's body, which could indeed be replaced.
Of course, the prerequisite was finding a White Zetsu first.
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