Chapter 83 – The Mangekyō's First Battle
When the cloaked stranger's gaze fell upon her, Pakura's heart tensed.
The jutsu he had used earlier was extraordinary — enough to make her wary. For a moment, she even wondered if he might be a hidden protector sent by Konoha or the Uchiha clan to guard Nan in secret.
She had intended to confirm his identity, but to her irritation, the man didn't spare her so much as a glance. He walked past her as if she were invisible, directing his words solely to Nan. Though this stung her pride, she held her temper. After all, her battle with Nan had drained much of her chakra — she could use the respite to recover.
From their exchange, she quickly pieced together his identity. Uchiha Han — another of the Uchiha, and if his claim about his mother was true, then he was none other than Nan's elder brother.
Unlike Nan, this Han clearly wasn't someone who could let go of hatred so easily. The enmity between them was bound to be one of life and death. Though he appeared to be just a youth, Pakura dared not underestimate him. He was Nan's blood brother; even if his natural talent was inferior, years of cultivation would have honed him into someone formidable.
What shocked her even more was Han's true purpose. He wasn't here for her — he was here for Shukaku.
Pakura nearly laughed aloud. To think he planned to challenge a Tailed Beast with nothing but his own power — the arrogance was laughable. Who do you think you are? Uchiha Madara?
But her mockery froze on her lips when she caught the shift in his eyes.
"What… is that? Another form of Sharingan? But I've never heard of this before…"
She glanced at Nan, only to find him staring in equal bewilderment. Yet in the next moment, his expression hardened, as if he had realized something.
"Could it be… the legendary ultimate dojutsu of the Uchiha — the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
His clone spoke in a tone of stunned awe.
Pakura had never even heard of such a thing. She stood in confusion — until Han suddenly erupted in laughter.
"Hahahaha! That's right. This is the eye spoken of in legend — the eyes of Uchiha Madara himself, the only man ever to rival the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju!
And now, I too have awakened it. Which means… I now wield the power of a god."
Nan, disguised as Han, wore a manic grin. His gaze, filled with both madness and hatred, turned upon Pakura.
"And it's all thanks to you, Pakura. If I hadn't witnessed my mother's brutal death at your hands… if not for that torment, I would never have awakened this power.
As repayment, you'll die beneath it. Susanoo!"
The ground trembled as a colossal black giant surged upward, its form incomplete — a massive upper body cloaked entirely in black chakra.
The giant raised an enormous blade, as tall as a mountain peak, and brought it down toward Pakura.
The swing itself was ponderous, but the sheer size of the Susanoo made its speed overwhelming. With such a massive weapon, even the slightest graze would obliterate her.
Caught off guard, her chakra reserves already depleted, Pakura could not evade. In an instant, the blade pierced her body clean through.
Blood spurted from her lips as disbelief filled her eyes.
Nan — still in Han's guise — wrenched the blade free. Pakura collapsed into a spreading pool of crimson, her life force slipping away.
But Nan's keen senses told him she yet clung to a single breath. Deliberately, he had avoided striking her vital organs, using his extensive medical knowledge to wound without killing. The injury looked devastating, but it was far from fatal.
He had no intention of letting her die. After all, what good was a performance without an audience?
Nan's thoughts raced. His exploits in the Wind Country had already drawn too much attention. If he continued to shine so brightly, he risked attracting dangerous eyes — even Madara himself might be searching for a successor. That was attention Nan could not afford.
Far better to let Uchiha Han bear the weight of the spotlight. By leaving Pakura alive, she would spread word of Han's Mangekyō Sharingan. Attention would flock to the missing Uchiha, while Nan slipped back into the shadows to grow stronger, unnoticed.
Let them chase after a ghost. Let Black Zetsu and Madara scour the world for an Uchiha who no longer existed. Meanwhile, he would bide his time, safe and steady.
The thought brought a sly grin to his lips.
"Oh? Seems this Pakura isn't so easy to kill after all…"
Nan was taken aback. When he inspected Pakura's wounds, he realized something strange — for an injury that severe, the blood loss was shockingly minimal.
Feigning the role of Uchiha Han, he crouched as if to confirm whether Pakura was truly dead. In truth, he was carefully examining her condition.
The answer revealed itself: at the very instant Susanoo's blade had pierced her, Pakura had used Scorch Release to cauterize the wound, sealing the torn flesh and preventing blood from spilling out. That single desperate act had spared her life.
Nan almost chuckled. It even saved him the trouble of using a hemostasis technique himself. Pretending ignorance, he turned his back and walked away, leaving Pakura to her ruse.
Pakura, still feigning death, let out a faint sigh of relief. At least for now, her gamble had bought her life.
With that loose end tied up — and Uchiha Han's dramatic entrance explained — it was time for Nan to move on to the true stage.
He turned toward the raging battlefield. Gamabunta had already exhausted his chakra and returned to Mount Myōboku, leaving Jiraiya in Sage Mode to contend with the rampaging Shukaku alone.
Nan advanced with his Susanoo, its massive form drawing immediate attention. Both Shukaku and Jiraiya noticed him at once.
Jiraiya's eyes widened in alarm. The towering, black-cloaked figure, wielding an unfamiliar dojutsu, had suddenly inserted himself into their clash. The eyes — intricate and whirling — were unlike anything Jiraiya had ever seen. Though he didn't recognize the Mangekyō Sharingan, something about them felt undeniably formidable.
Still, the stranger's presence carried the air of a fellow Konoha shinobi.
"You're from Konoha, aren't you?" Jiraiya shouted over the chaos. "This fight isn't for you! Leave now — this monster is far too dangerous!"
To Jiraiya, every elite of the village was a familiar face, but he had never seen this "Uchiha Han." That, paired with his dramatic attire, made Jiraiya assume he was some ordinary but reckless comrade. Not wishing to see him killed needlessly, he urgently motioned for him to retreat.
But Nan ignored him. He cast Jiraiya a cold, dismissive glance before turning his full attention to Shukaku, his expression a mix of anticipation and disdain. He exuded the arrogant air that one day would define Uchiha Sasuke — pride wrapped in icy contempt.
Shukaku, unlike Jiraiya, knew better. He recognized the manifestation before him: the unmistakable Susanoo.
His beady eyes narrowed. So, a Mangekyō Sharingan user has stepped into the fray…
"So you're a descendant of Indra," Shukaku growled, his voice low and rumbling. "Why meddle in my fight, brat? Do you have a death wish? Leave now, before I lose my patience."
Nan's lips curved into a mocking smile. He raised his head, speaking in a tone steeped in self-assured arrogance:
"I awakened these eyes some time ago, and I've finally grown accustomed to their power.
Today, I'll use them to do what no one in shinobi history has ever achieved…
I will slay a Tailed Beast, and prove myself the strongest in this world."