The terrifying suction of the black hole warped the very fabric of reality. Even if the spatial blockade had been lifted, escaping into a pocket dimension was now impossible. In the face of this absolute power, the Sage's precognitive abilities were utterly useless. The black hole's gravity was an invisible net; the more he struggled, the tighter its grip became. His body began to twist and distort, as if being torn apart by some colossal, unseen monster.
"Damn you, Kagami! I will return—!"
The Sage of Six Paths' final, unwilling roar seemed to echo across time and space itself. In the next moment, his body was ripped into countless fragments and devoured by the singularity, his soul dragged along with it, erased from existence.
Seeing his enemy vanquished, Kagami immediately expended the last vestiges of his pupil power to collapse the black hole. If he let it continue, not only would they all perish, but the entire ninja world could be consumed. As the last of his power drained away, Kagami's world plunged into absolute darkness.
He was blind.
Yet, having anticipated this very outcome, Kagami showed no outward sign of panic or despair.
Meanwhile, the surviving Konoha shinobi were fortunate. They had been far enough away, and Kagami had acted just in time to prevent a catastrophe. Still, as the crushing gravity vanished, no one felt relief. Every face was deathly pale, their eyes wide with the lingering horror of what they had witnessed. The black hole had been like the maw of a great beast, madly devouring everything, even light itself. The memory of that absolute powerlessness was now seared into their souls. The nightmare of its presence left many trembling, covered in a cold sweat.
Freed from the black hole's pull, everyone began to plummet from a height of several hundred meters like kites with their strings cut. The wind howled in their ears as terror seized their hearts. They knew that without a miracle, they would be dashed to pieces against the ground below.
At that critical moment, Madara asserted his control over gravity and repulsion, catching the falling shinobi and gently lowering them to safety. It was not an act of kindness. It was a simple gesture of thanks to Kagami for giving him the chance to avenge Hashirama. He had already decided to entrust the future, and everything he had, to the young Uchiha. These were Kagami's subordinates, and he couldn't simply watch them die.
After ensuring their safety, Madara appeared before Kagami, the fear of the black hole still evident in his eyes. He looked at Kagami's pupils, which had faded to a dull, grayish-white, and his brow furrowed. "Your eyes..."
"As you can see, I'm blind," Kagami replied with a calm smile, utterly unconcerned.
Madara fell silent. He supposed it was a natural consequence. The more terrifying the ocular jutsu, the greater the cost. For a Sharingan that was not an Eternal Mangekyo, complete burnout from such a technique seemed logical.
"Boy, since your sight is lost, I will transplant my Rinnegan to you," Madara said slowly. "I will have no more use for them soon, anyway..."
He could feel the last of his life force ebbing away; he had only a few hours left at most. After everything that had happened, his perspective had shifted. He no longer clung to the dream of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The "death" of his closest friend at the Sage's hands had left him weary. The thought of resting eternally beside Hashirama was now a comforting one.
"Your Rinnegan are impressive, but I'll have to decline," Kagami replied, shaking his head and rejecting Madara's offer. "I have other plans for my eyes."
The power gap between Madara's Rinnegan and his own Mangekyo was too vast. A transplant would likely fail, or worse, his own ocular pathways might reject the foreign power. Besides, while Madara's abilities were formidable, Kagami felt his own were superior. And who knew? He might awaken his own Rinnegan in the future, with even more powerful techniques. More importantly, he had a theory about the evolution of the Sharingan, and this was the perfect opportunity to test it.
Hearing the refusal, Madara felt a prick of his old pride, thinking Kagami was looking down on his eyes. He snorted coldly. "Hmph, brat! I admit your Mangekyo techniques are powerful, but my Rinnegan are nothing to scoff at!"
Although his Rinnegan couldn't create a black hole, he had to admit that in many other aspects, Kagami's abilities were superior. Whether for defense or offense, Kagami's Mangekyo was overwhelmingly powerful. Its only weakness was the blindness it caused. Madara's Rinnegan had Limbo, control over attraction and repulsion, and the Rinne Rebirth, but none of it could compare to the raw destructive power Kagami had just displayed. Thinking about it, even the arrogant Uchiha Madara couldn't help but feel a slight blush of embarrassment.
'Damn it, how can this kid's Mangekyo be more powerful than my Rinnegan?'
Kagami simply smiled, not saying anything more. "I need to make an attempt now. I may be able to restore my Sharingan, or even upgrade it to the Eternal Mangekyo. Please ensure no one disturbs me." He would need to perform an eye transplant, and he couldn't afford any interruptions.
He then sat down cross-legged. Seeing this, Madara just gave another cold snort and turned away, silently taking up a guard position.
What no one saw was a second pair of eyes suddenly open near the corners of Kagami's now-blind ones. They were a perfect copy of his Mangekyo from moments before. He didn't fully trust Madara and had silently erected another layer of his infinite barrier around himself.
This was a secret he had discovered by accident. He hadn't just inherited Ryomen Sukuna's power, but also his unique body structure. Sukuna had four arms and two pairs of eyes, a characteristic Kagami also possessed. He had two identical pairs of Sharingan.
He had wondered if he could achieve two pairs of Eternal Mangekyo by swapping them, but it had failed. Because both pairs shared the same origin, exchanging them did nothing.
His next theory was whether he could transplant a Mangekyo from another Uchiha, absorbing its unique pupil power to evolve his own. At the time, he hadn't been blind and lacked a spare Mangekyo, so he couldn't test it.
But now, he was blind, and he possessed Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan. The conditions were perfect. If it worked, it would be a monumental success. If it failed, it didn't matter. The worst-case scenario was simply gaining a new pair of eyes. But agami had a strong feeling this was the correct path.
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