In the frontline medical camp, a medical ninja was examining Uchiha Kagami. After the examination, he told Uchiha Kagami that the residual toxins in his body had been completely cleared and there would be no other problems in the future.
Uchiha Kagami thanked him and rose to leave. As he stood up, his empty sleeve swayed. Although he still occasionally felt like his arm was there, he had now adapted to being one-armed, and moving around was not as troublesome.
During his recovery, Uchiha Kagami began to learn how to form hand seals with one hand. He had used this method before, but not often. However, since he had a foundation, it was easier to learn, and he also possessed the Sharingan, which gave him a deep understanding of chakra circulation. With his intelligence, he could naturally find the correct chakra flow for one-handed hand seals.
To be honest, ever since reaching the Mangekyo Sharingan realm, Uchiha Kagami felt that his physical potential seemed to have increased once again. At his age, he was no longer in the stage where he could rapidly improve; his strength enhancement primarily relied on the accumulation of experience.
However, the current Uchiha Kagami seemed to once again have that youthful feeling of being able to reach a higher level. This was undoubtedly good news. Even with the method of one-handed hand seals, and not needing hand seals to use the Sharingan, losing an arm still had some impact.
And if his strength could improve again, then at least it should be comparable to his past self, Uchiha Kagami thought, perhaps even a bit higher.
Moreover, Uchiha Kagami gradually recognized the difference between the Mangekyo Sharingan and the ordinary Sharingan. It was natural for the basic abilities of the Sharingan to become stronger, but more importantly, the Mangekyo Sharingan possessed special visual jutsu.
The abilities of each pair of Mangekyo Sharingan are not entirely the same, but the visual jutsu between the two eyes will have some complementary relationship. For example, Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan had one eye that pulled the opponent into a mental world for a mental attack, while the other eye summoned the unquenchable flames that only exist in myths; Uchiha Sasuke's Mangekyo Sharingan had one eye that also summoned the black flames that only exist in fantasy, while the other eye controlled the shape transformation of the black flames; and Uchiha Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan had one eye that opened a portal to a different dimension, while the other eye adjusted the range and distance of spatial distortion through focus.
Regardless of which Mangekyo Sharingan it was, its essence was an advancement of the traditional Sharingan's abilities. Just like Itachi's Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, the former created a genjutsu space that completely controlled time and mass, which was an advanced stage of traditional genjutsu, while the latter materialized the black flames from the myths of the Ninja World. Understood from another perspective, it was the actualization of genjutsu.
Even Uchiha Obito's Kamui dimension was also the materialization of an imagined world into an alternate dimension. The marvel of the Mangekyo Sharingan automatically formed a great feat that could originally only be created by Yin-Yang Release. Although it was an ability fixed from the moment of awakening, its terrifying nature was evident. It should be said that it truly lived up to its name as a Kekkei Genkai inheriting the power of the Sage's Eyes.
While the abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan vary due to an individual's inner world, they ultimately develop in the direction of the user's inherent talents. Even if Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke had similar inner worlds, the abilities they developed would differ due to the different leanings of their Sharingan.
Uchiha Kagami's Sharingan leaned towards genjutsu, and his Mangekyo Sharingan abilities were also of a genjutsu nature. Perhaps because he had personally experienced the Yomi no Kuni, the path to the Pure Land, the genjutsu world created by his Mangekyo Sharingan was an image of the Yomi no Kuni he had seen.
—Yomotsu Hirasaka, this was the ability of his Mangekyo Sharingan, a powerful genjutsu comparable to Tsukuyomi.
And like many Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Kagami's left eye cast the genjutsu-like Yomotsu Hirasaka, while his right eye pulled the power of Yomotsu Hirasaka from the imagined world into reality.
The former was a terrifying mental attack, while the latter could cause powerful physical damage to others.
Although Uchiha Kagami had not yet tried the abilities of his Mangekyo Sharingan, he could feel from the powerful ocular power surging in both eyes how terrifying this visual jutsu was. However, he was not overly excited, because he knew that this visual jutsu would undoubtedly have a significant impact on his body.
The only verifiable Mangekyo Sharingan users in recent history were Madara and Izuna. Information on the Mangekyo Sharingan was scarce, but rumors spoke of the Mangekyo Sharingan causing abnormal damage to the body. Madara, for a time, relied on medication to sustain his body. Later, because Madara appeared before everyone in perfect condition, people thought it was just a rumor.
However, Uchiha Kagami knew from the family's highest confidential documents that this was indeed true. And after witnessing Madara's life, he had an experience as if he had personally gone through what happened at the time. He understood that each use of the Mangekyo Sharingan would put immense pressure on the body, and the more it was used, the more the eyes would succumb to darkness.
Only by transplanting another pair of Mangekyo Sharingan could the side effects brought by the Mangekyo Sharingan possibly be overcome. Madara also received the Mangekyo Sharingan gifted by Izuna, which gave him eternal light, thereby minimizing the wear and tear of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Although Uchiha Kagami knew this method, he had no intention of actively pursuing it, as such a method, if actively sought, was truly too cruel. And receiving a gift from a blood brother like Madara was a rare stroke of luck. He could only say that he would see how things unfolded in the future.
In the temporary training ground set up in the camp, Uchiha Kagami was undergoing rehabilitation training alone. Having lost one hand, his favored scythe techniques also had to be re-adjusted; it was no longer possible to wield a scythe in one hand and a flame fan in the other as he used to.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu." Uchiha Kagami formed hand seals with one hand at a speed imperceptible to ordinary people. Immediately after, chakra condensed in his throat, and upon release, it transformed into a giant orange fireball. The bright flames instantly illuminated the surroundings, and rolling heat swept in all directions.
When the Great Fireball dissipated, the scene before him appeared somewhat distorted in the shimmering heat. Uchiha Kagami gently exhaled. One-handed hand seals did not significantly affect the efficiency of forming seals, and because the Mangekyo Sharingan had once again increased his chakra, the power of his ninjutsu had even improved.
It seemed that the greatest impact was indeed on taijutsu, Uchiha Kagami thought. There was nothing he could do about it; no matter what, the loss of one hand was a tangible reality.
However, after this period of rehabilitation, Uchiha Kagami's condition had been adjusted, and it was now time to return to his role as commander.
The moment he entered the tent, the senior ninjas in the camp immediately shouted to Uchiha Kagami: "Welcome back, Lord Kagami."
"My apologies for making you wait." Uchiha Kagami nodded slightly, then walked to his designated seat and glanced at everyone. Due to the internal purge, some familiar faces were no longer present. Such trusted senior ninjas were not easily replaced, but quite a few new faces had been promoted from the lower ranks.
Uchiha Kagami felt no sympathy for the traitors. Although some of them might not have participated in Uchiha Setsuna's assassination, they had indeed become a burden to the unit. Previously, there was no good reason to deal with them, but now that problem was gone.
The widespread purge that Uchiha Kagami had been worried about did not occur, indicating that Fumori Masaki was still very clear-headed. The reorganization of the unit was controlled within a very good scope; not only did it eliminate the cancerous elements within the unit, but it also once again enhanced the cohesion of the entire unit, which would inevitably lead to an improvement in combat effectiveness.
"Some time ago, due to the problem of Uchiha Setsuna and other rogue ninja groups, our operations suffered setbacks. As the commander, I cannot escape responsibility. We will never make the same mistake again, nor can we bear the consequences it brings. All of you here have been tested, but the confidentiality of operational plans must be increased. I hope you can understand," Uchiha Kagami said.
"This is not your fault, Lord Kagami. It was all a conspiracy by Uchiha Setsuna and others," someone said indignantly. "Lord Kagami, you don't need to blame yourself. We will strictly keep secrets and no longer give those with ulterior motives a chance to leak information or enemy spies to obtain intelligence!"
Although this person spoke somewhat bluntly and implied that there might still be people with ulterior motives in the camp, everyone else had no objection. At least he said "we," indicating that everyone present was loyal. As for others outside, that was not necessarily the case. Caution was still very necessary.
Although after this internal purge, the possibility of both people with ulterior motives and enemy spies existing had been minimized, Uchiha Kagami was still not completely at ease. In Fumori Masaki's private letter to him, he specifically highlighted how Uchiha Setsuna had transmitted information and showed him the Anbu's investigation report. The report showed that Uchiha Setsuna's movements during his time in the camp were all recorded, and no opportunity for him to transmit information could be found.
Therefore, Uchiha Setsuna must have had a special method of transmitting information. Fumori Masaki specifically reminded Uchiha Kagami to think from an unconventional perspective, and even to consider some incredible things. To ensure against possible outsiders, he specifically sent some Uzumaki clan ninjas to help establish a barrier for the camp.
Uchiha Kagami expressed great pleasure at his subordinates' understanding, stating that he trusted their loyalty. He then mentioned that the intelligence department had redefined encrypted files. While Uchiha Kagami instructed everyone to quickly master them, he also began to discuss the upcoming operational plans.
"What are the recent movements of Sunagakure?" Uchiha Kagami asked.
"There are no clear movements. They seem to be surprised by our sudden silence, possibly fearing a conspiracy," someone replied. "After the rogue ninja group incident, they are clearly not getting intelligence from our side, which shows that the purge of the rogue ninja group was very effective."
Uchiha Kagami mused, "The other party is probably very concerned about our movements. Hmm, next, we will release some information, letting them know about the village's internal purge. We can slightly exaggerate it, making the matter sound more serious, so they feel we have purged quite a few people."
Everyone paused slightly upon hearing this, then immediately understood Uchiha Kagami's meaning. Ninja wars were not conventional individual battles; the larger the scale of the war, the more emphasis was placed on multi-person cooperation. Once Sunagakure learned that their purge had eliminated many people, they would likely feel that the strength of the Konoha ninja forces would decline, thereby drawing Sunagakure into a trap.
"It's not that easy to deceive the other party—" someone said hesitantly, "and once they fall for it once, it will be impossible to deceive them again. They will definitely retreat."
"So we must hit them hard in one go!" Uchiha Kagami said solemnly. "It doesn't matter if the deception takes a long time; we can appear passive during this period. This level of loss is bearable. The Land of Fire's resources are sufficient for us to wage a protracted war, but Sunagakure cannot. Once they believe they have seen the village's weakness, the more eager they become, the more likely they are to expose fatal flaws."
"Is Lord Kagami planning to revive the counterattack that was abandoned last time?" one of the ninjas asked.
"Yes, because this matter caused the village's planned counterattack strategy to be forcibly halted, I feel very apologetic. This time, we must revive it and let Sunagakure see how formidable we are!" Uchiha Kagami said.
"Then the next operation must be carefully planned, and to lure Sunagakure, it will undoubtedly require a considerable amount of time, and the actual battle will also need to be decisive," another ninja said.
"No problem. Winning this war was never going to be a short-term affair. Being too eager can lead to losses. We can take our time with the initial preparations, and then strike the enemy's heart with one blow when the real battle begins," Uchiha Kagami said. "To prevent intelligence leaks, in addition to necessary security measures, the true operational plan, besides ourselves, can only be transmitted to the next level of ninja squad leaders. Senior ninjas are few in number, and after the internal purge and numerous security measures, there is no possibility of them leaking information. Any slight anomaly during this sensitive period can be immediately caught. As for grassroots ninjas, due to their large numbers, there might be spies, and they are not easily noticed."
Therefore, Uchiha Kagami did not intend to let too many people know their true objective. Only he, the senior ninjas, and the next level of squad leaders needed to know. As for the lower-level formations, they would rely on the control of the senior ninjas and squad leaders. Without revealing the true objective, information would be secretly leaked to deceive Sunagakure.
"The next battle may not be the end, but it will be the true decider of victory and defeat," Uchiha Kagami looked at everyone. "I hope you all work together with me to end the war on the Wind Country front."