"Yo, looks like you really completed your revenge."
At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out in Sasuke's hospital room.
"Kakashi, you never use the front door, do you?" Sasuke looked towards the window with a hint of helplessness.
Sure enough, Kakashi was there, crouching outside the window, pulling it open. One hand held a copy of Icha Icha Paradise, while the other was used to size up Sasuke.
Kakashi could tell that Sasuke's smile had truly changed. He no longer had that feeling of being out of place with everyone.
"Heh, Sasuke, congratulations." Kakashi said seriously.
Sasuke also smiled, but then, as if suddenly remembering something, he spoke, "Kakashi, after I avenged myself against Itachi, I met the real culprit behind the Nine-Tails' attack."
Immediately, Kakashi's pupils shrank, and his expression became grave.
Sasuke then recounted everything about the masked man, Itachi's suspicions regarding his identity, and what Natsuro had said about him.
"As expected, so it wasn't just an accident?" Kakashi murmured after hearing everything. He had always felt that his teacher and his teacher's wife, both experts in sealing techniques, could not have possibly lost control of the Nine-Tails so easily.
However, before, Kakashi had never found any concrete evidence. While he had suspicions, he was never able to fully confirm them.
Now, Sasuke had revealed the truth, causing a cold glint to flash in Kakashi's eyes.
Not only was this masked man responsible for his teacher and teacher's wife's deaths, but he was also a member of the Akatsuki. It was time to settle both old and new grudges together.
"I understand." Kakashi nodded and then left. Perhaps, he now had a new motivation, for his current strength was far from enough to face such an enemy.
Sasuke watched Kakashi's departing figure. His experiences weren't any better than Sasuke's, it could be said that they were both unfortunate souls.
The next day, Sasuke was discharged from the hospital and went to the Hokage's office.
He quickly told Natsuro what Itachi had told him about the powerful enemies they might face in the future.
"Yes, he's right." Natsuro nodded, a bit impressed by Itachi's keen intuition.
"It's actually true?" Sasuke frowned at this moment. Compared to Itachi, he trusted his words more.
But if it was true, then the situation was quite serious.
If even Natsuro's strength wasn't enough, then his own strength was definitely insufficient.
Originally, Sasuke had thought that after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he had more or less reached the pinnacle of power in this world.
However, it now seemed that he was still far from enough. At this moment, Sasuke couldn't help but recall Itachi's words.
If he truly wanted to help him, should he accept his brother's eyes?
As Sasuke pondered, he glanced at Shikaku.
"Hokage-sama, I'll excuse myself for now." Shikaku quickly caught on and left.
"Is there something so special that even Shikaku can't know about it?" Natsuro asked curiously.
Sasuke remained silent for a while before telling Natsuro about the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and seeking his opinion.
"Eternal Mangekyō?" Natsuro nodded, it was exactly what he had expected.
After thinking for a moment, Natsuro said, "There's no fundamental difference between the Mangekyō and the Eternal Mangekyō. Besides, there are other ways to prevent your Mangekyō from going blind."
He then explained the effects of Hashirama's cells to Sasuke.
"So, if you really don't want to accept Itachi's eyes, you could instead choose to transplant a small portion of Hashirama's cells."
Sasuke looked at him, feeling that he might know more than he had initially assumed. When Natsuro heard about the Eternal Mangekyō, he hadn't even been slightly surprised.
However, Sasuke didn't ask why Natsuro knew about these things. Instead, he considered the difference between Hashirama's cells and Itachi's eyes.
"If you transplant Itachi's eyes, your visual prowess will receive a massive boost, significantly shortening the evolution process of your Sharingan. On the other hand, using Hashirama's cells… there's a chance you could awaken a completely new type of eye," Natsuro remarked, recalling how Madara had awakened the Rinnegan.
Madara had everything Sasuke had, including Indra's chakra, so even without obtaining the power of the Sage of Six Paths, Sasuke still had the potential to awaken the Rinnegan.
Sasuke remained silent for a while before saying, "There's another option, I could accept both."
Hearing this, Natsuro paused for a moment before nodding. "If that's what you want, it's certainly possible."
He wasn't worried that Sasuke would lose himself to the power of the Sharingan like Madara had. Sasuke must have his own reasons for considering this path.
Sasuke nodded, lost in thought.
"There's no rush. Itachi's eyes are in your hands. You can decide after you've thought it through," Natsuro advised.
"Alright. Also, Itachi asked me to give you something," Sasuke added.
"Oh? Something from Itachi?" Natsuro was puzzled. Then he saw Sasuke take out a crow with a Sharingan.
"This is…" Natsuro had to admit, he was surprised. He hadn't expected Itachi to entrust him with Shisui's Sharingan.
"This is Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan, containing the power of Kotoamatsukami," Sasuke explained, also telling him about the genjutsu's ability.
Then, Sasuke suddenly recalled Danzo and looked at Natsuro. "You must know about Kotoamatsukami, right?"
Natsuro nodded and said, "Danzo's right eye was Shisui's other eye."
"As expected." Sasuke didn't ask any further. No wonder the first thing Natsuro did back then was destroy Danzo's right eye, it turned out this was the reason.
However, Sasuke believed that the eye Danzo had possessed probably didn't have Kotoamatsukami. Still, destroying it was a good decision.
"I'll accept this," Natsuro said as he pondered, his eyes flickering slightly.
"Mm, it was meant for you in the first place." Sasuke replied, handing over the crow to him. Then, he took out a specially crafted kunai and passed it to him as well.
"This is…?" Natsuro took the kunai and examined it.
"You gave me a Flying Thunder God kunai before, so now I'm giving you a Mangekyō kunai in return," Sasuke said with a smile.
"A Mangekyō kunai? This is related to your Mangekyō ability?" Natsuro was a bit surprised. From his memory, Sasuke's Mangekyō ability had nothing to do with kunai.
Could Sasuke's Mangekyō ability have changed? A manifestation of the heart's reflection?
Sasuke nodded without any intention of hiding it and explained his left eye's ability to him.
It was an ability very similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique. However, instead of teleporting the user to a pre-marked location like the Flying Thunder God, Sasuke's ability allowed him to swap places with a marked object.
Hearing this, Natsuro's eyes narrowed. At first glance, it sounded like Amenotejikara, but Amenotejikara shouldn't be a Mangekyō ability, it was a power gained only after awakening the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
After carefully analyzing it, he realized it wasn't exactly Amenotejikara.
Unlike Amenotejikara, which could activate instantly without requiring prior marking, Sasuke's ability required a pre-marked object. However, in a way, it could be considered a weaker version of Amenotejikara, though it had the added advantage of allowing long-range teleportation.
For example, as long as Sasuke had this kunai, no matter where he was, he could instantly teleport to his side.
According to Sasuke, the kunai Natsuro held was extremely valuable.
It contained a portion of Sasuke's perpetual Mangekyō chakra, meaning the kunai's mark wouldn't fade over time and could be used indefinitely.
At present, Sasuke could only create three such kunai. Based on his estimates, as his power grew, he might be able to make up to six at most.
Of course, in battle, he could create as many temporary marked kunai as needed, but those would only contain temporary chakra and would dissipate after a while. This, however, had no real impact on combat effectiveness.
Since the kunai was useful, Natsuro didn't refuse it. After thinking for a moment, he etched a Flying Thunder God seal onto it.
He suddenly realized that if they ever fought side by side, this setup could allow for some incredible synergy.
Seeing the Flying Thunder God mark appear on the kunai, Sasuke's eyes lit up, clearly, he had the same idea as Natsuro.
"Then, I'll accept it," Natsuro said as he finished inscribing the seal and stored the kunai away.
However, he noticed Sasuke still staring at him, his Sharingan now activated in its three-tomoe form. Natsuro raised an eyebrow. "Is there something else?"
Sasuke shook his head. "I was just wondering… are you really just a shadow clone? I can't see any flaws at all."
Even with his Sharingan fully activated, Sasuke couldn't distinguish any difference between this Natsuro and the real one.
Hearing this, Natsuro chuckled. It would be strange if he could spot the difference. Even though he was a shadow clone, he had all the necessary attributes. In fact, sometimes he even forgot that he was just a clone…
At that moment, another figure suddenly appeared in the Hokage's office.
It was Natsuro, his real body.
The real him had something to discuss with Sasuke.
Tomorrow's Chapter: Chapter 274 - Yin Release
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