Kuroya dropped to his knees, exhaustion and the strain of using his Mangekyō Sharingan finally catching up to him.
He could feel the strength draining from every fiber of his body. The deal he had made to boost his power had been only temporary.
Dragging himself over to one of the Root ANBU corpses, Kuroya kept his Mangekyō active and used his ability to make a deal with the world.
He traded the corpse in exchange for healing his wound. After a few seconds, the body vanished, and Kuroya felt a faint sense of relief—only for his expression to darken when he realized that only part of the injury had closed.
He moved to another corpse, this time requesting to regain years of life. Moments passed before the body disappeared… and a small wave of vitality spread through him.
"What the hell…?" he muttered.
That corpse, belonging to a special jōnin, had only given him a single month of life—while he had already sacrificed thirty years. How many more trades would it take to recover all his time? At this rate, he'd probably go blind before he could even come close.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he turned his gaze to the mangled remains of a body he had crushed with his Susanoo.
With what little was left, he requested chakra. The return was meager, but enough for now. He was still close to Konoha, and he needed to get away fast.
Then, understanding suddenly flooded his left eye—Shin'en no Kage.
This ability allowed him to become invisible and undetectable, but only if he didn't make any sudden movements. He could walk, but if he ran or attacked, it would cancel out. Without hesitation, he activated it.
Five figures emerged from between the trees—ANBU from Konoha. They scanned the area for several seconds before one of them spoke:
"There are signs of a fight… but no bodies, and the trail disappears here."
"My Byakugan isn't picking up anything," another reported.
Relief washed over Kuroya. The power of his left eye couldn't be detected, even by the Byakugan.
He stayed completely still as the ANBU searched the area. Ten minutes later, they were gone.
Kuroya slowly stood, still cloaked by Shin'en no Kage. Thankfully, it didn't drain much chakra or ocular power.
He had no map and no clear direction, so he simply began walking in the opposite direction of Konoha.
Two hours after the battle, the invisibility faded. Far from danger now, his thoughts wandered to the body he now inhabited.
It belonged to someone from the same generation as Itachi, but who had never attended the Ninja Academy. His parents, extremists within the clan, would constantly speak of the coup during clan meetings.
They had refused to enroll him, claiming that Hiruzen brainwashed young Uchiha with the so-called "Will of Fire."
Instead, they trained him within the clan, turning the original Kuroya into an antisocial boy with no friends, spending his time crafting explosive tags and training alone.
His thoughts were interrupted when he spotted a group of six people ahead, all armed and dressed in ragged clothing.
"Kid, hand over everything you've got!" one of them shouted.
Kuroya instantly realized they were bandits. Before he could even answer, another one noticed his clothes.
"Hey… isn't he an Uchiha? We could capture him and sell him to another village."
The others grinned and started toward him—only to freeze when they saw his eyes. The Mangekyō Sharingan stared back at them.
He caught them in a genjutsu. He wasn't a master of illusions, but even the simplest Mangekyō techniques could subjugate multiple enemies. The strongest among these bandits barely measured up to a chūnin.
"From this moment on, I am your leader. You will obey me until death," Kuroya declared.
The bandits dropped to their knees and swore loyalty.
Kuroya knew he was still far too weak and couldn't abuse the Mangekyō without risking blindness. He needed a way to prevent it—Hashirama's cells… or a deal through his Kōkan no Shōmei ability to obtain an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Take me to your camp," he ordered.
They obeyed immediately, leading the way. During the walk, Kuroya attempted to use Kōkan no Shōmei on a tree to gain more years of life—but only received a single minute.
It became clear it wouldn't be that easy. He couldn't just turn the entire forest into extra lifespan for himself; he'd go blind long before that ever happened.
For now, his vision remained intact.