With Minato's help, Hoshiyomi returned to the Hokage's office by the afternoon, only a few hours after receiving Tsunade's letter that morning.
Once he had dropped Hoshiyomi off, Minato immediately hurried back to the battlefield. Hoshiyomi hadn't tried to stop him—after all, the fighting at the frontlines was still intense, and vigilance couldn't be relaxed for even a moment.
After going over the situation briefly with Tsunade, Hoshiyomi already had his own conclusions. From her description alone, he could guess what type of Mangekyō Kuugetsu had awakened.
One eye was a space-time ability. The other was likely Kagutsuchi. The only question was whether her Kagutsuchi could compare to Sasuke's. In the original story, even the Second Hokage had admitted that Sasuke's Kagutsuchi was more powerful than Izuna's.
Carrying this question in mind, Hoshiyomi made his way to Konoha Hospital.
At that moment, Kuugetsu was lying blankly in the special care ward. It was obvious that her father's death had left a crushing weight on her heart. Cold and aloof as she usually appeared, now she exuded such a frigid aura that anyone could feel, at a glance, an unspoken warning: Keep away.
Even when the sound of the door opening reached her ears, Kuugetsu didn't so much as turn her head. She continued staring out the window and said faintly:
"I'm fine as I am. If there's nothing important, please leave."
Hearing that, Hoshiyomi sighed inwardly. As expected… every Uchiha who awakens the Mangekyō ends up with a bit of an attitude problem.
But since he wanted to help her recover as soon as possible, he deliberately chose a lighthearted tone and teased:
"Really? Well, in that case, I'll be on my way then."
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Kuugetsu's icy expression finally showed a crack. She turned her head sharply to look at Hoshiyomi, her lips trembling slightly as if she didn't know what to say.
Seeing this, Hoshiyomi's heart softened. He stepped forward and, just like he used to in years past, gently ruffled her hair.
"I already heard about everything that happened. If there's something you want to say, go ahead and say it. It's always easier to speak it out loud than to bottle it up inside."
The warmth of his hand on her head melted the last of her defenses. Kuugetsu could no longer maintain her cold façade. Overcome with grief, she threw herself into Hoshiyomi's arms, her voice breaking with sobs:
"My father… why did it have to be like this? He was so kind… so gentle with everyone… he never argued or raised his voice… so why did he have to…"
As he held the girl who was crying uncontrollably against his chest, Hoshiyomi gently patted her back and soothed her in a tender voice:
"Don't cry anymore. Until his very last breath, your father died protecting this village. He's a hero of Konoha. Everyone will remember him.
As for you… from today on, don't drown yourself in tears. Your father would want you to live on smiling. If you keep crying, and he sees it from up there, it'll only make him sad along with you."
When it came to consolation, the effect always depended on who was giving it.
Hoshiyomi's words were simple, nothing extraordinary. But to Kuugetsu, they were far more effective than the insincere Uchiha clansmen who came under the pretense of "mourning Hokushin" only to pry into whether she had awakened the Mangekyō.
Thanks to him, she wept for a while longer but then finally calmed down. The emotional release had worked wonders in easing her burden.
Having let out her grief, Kuugetsu felt considerably lighter. Embarrassed, she slipped out of Hoshiyomi's arms and murmured:
"I'm sorry, sensei… I've dirtied your clothes."
Hoshiyomi only tousled her hair again, smiling faintly:
"It's just a piece of clothing. If you like, I'll even give it to you for wiping your tears."
His joke managed to draw a rare, faint smile from Kuugetsu.
But seeing that smile, Hoshiyomi's own expression gradually grew serious.
"Kuugetsu… I know this isn't the best time to bring it up. But as your sensei, I need to make sure of one thing—your vision. Has it shown any changes since you awakened the Mangekyō?"
Hearing those words, Kuugetsu's body visibly stiffened. She lifted her head to look at Hoshiyomi and asked:
"Sensei… you already know about the Mangekyō?"
Hoshiyomi nodded without hesitation.
"Of course. Your sensei's wife, Tsunade, is the granddaughter of the First and Second Hokage. In the records they left behind, the Mangekyō Sharingan is described in detail.
The main reason I came back this time is precisely because of that. In Lord Tobirama's notes, there's a mention of Madara's Mangekyō having problems. I'm very worried that you might also suffer vision loss from using your Mangekyō's powers."
Though both Hoshiyomi and the Uchiha elders had asked about her new eyes, the focus was entirely different. The clan elders only cared about whether she had awakened the Mangekyō—none of them had ever once cared about the toll it might take on her eyesight.
Realizing that, Kuugetsu's heart grew warm. With her sensei, she didn't hold back. She told him everything, honestly and in detail.
Even after listening, Hoshiyomi still wasn't fully reassured. He personally pulled out an eye chart and tested Kuugetsu's vision before finally letting out a breath of relief.
For now, her eyesight wasn't in danger. Both her ocular abilities consumed relatively little ocular power compared to something as absurdly draining as Kotoamatsukami.
Still, her left eye was clearly more dangerous—it held Higan ("the Other Shore"), a far more taxing and twisted power. That ability directly affected her vision.
Back in the battle with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Kuugetsu had used Higan no fewer than five times. That was the true reason she had collapsed—the repeated short-term strain of Mangekyō powers. In fact, her fainting could be considered a kind of safeguard, preventing her from recklessly overusing Higan until it burned her left eye blind.
Her right eye, however, was much gentler. Its power was Kagutsuchi. Since her right eye did not carry Amaterasu, controlling ordinary Fire Release consumed far less power than Sasuke's control of those inextinguishable black flames.
As Kuugetsu explained it herself, she had been able to use Kagutsuchi continuously throughout the battle without feeling undue strain. Her right eye's vision was even slightly better than her left's—evidence of just how efficient and sustainable the power was.
What's more, her Kagutsuchi was noticeably stronger than Sasuke's. That likely had to do with Sasuke's own lack of affinity for Fire Release. His Kagutsuchi had been restricted to controlling Amaterasu.
But Kuugetsu? She was a fire-style specialist. Without Amaterasu weighing her down, she controlled ordinary flames with precision bordering on monstrous. Her ocular power cost was negligible, and her mastery of fire was overwhelming.
At this point, her grasp of Fire Release chakra even surpassed Hoshiyomi's own nature transformation. Hoshiyomi's elemental control ceased once the flame left his body.
Kuugetsu was different. As long as the fire still contained her chakra, she could manipulate it—even reclaim it—from a great distance, thanks to her insane fire-control granted by Kagutsuchi. That ability was terrifying.
Having fully understood her abilities, Hoshiyomi finally felt reassured. It seemed there was no need to rush a transplant of Hashirama's cells after all.
Kuugetsu's eye techniques didn't drain much power. As long as she refrained from constantly using Susanoo, she could pace herself. Waiting until after the Third Great Ninja War to transplant Hashirama cells would be no problem at all.