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Above the North Sea, Sasuke and his uncle were riding on the back of the yokai owl, Gurē, weaving through the clouds.
"Alright, alright, no need to stare at me like that," Kaito said helplessly. "What you're most curious about right now is the Mangekyō Sharingan, right?"
Sasuke nodded silently, his brow furrowed.
Kaito moved in front of Sasuke to shield him from the wind and then asked, "So, have you ever considered how our Uchiha and Hyūga, these dōjutsu clans, have a very special Kekkei Genkai, fundamentally different from other types like Ice Release or Magnet Release?"
Sasuke's eyes brightened as he responded, "The Kekkei Genkai of ninjutsu types combine two different chakra natures, while the Sharingan and Byakugan are mutations of body organs."
"You're right," Kaito affirmed. "All bodily Kekkei Genkai can be traced back to the genetic heritage of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, while ninjutsu types were created by their clan ancestors synthesizing different chakra natures."
Sasuke, surprised, asked, "The Hyūga clan also descended from the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Not from the Sage of Six Paths, but the Hyūga are descendants of his brother, Hamura Ōtsutsuki, left in the ninja world," Kaito explained. "Besides the already known Uchiha, Hyūga, Senju, and Uzumaki, there are other bodily Kekkei Genkai in the ninja world. Though their exact origins are lost, they all surely retain, to some extent, genes originating from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
"So?" Sasuke asked, puzzled. "What does this have to do with activating the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"Simple," Kaito chuckled. "Since it's an evolution of body organs, this power, inherited through blood, doesn't necessarily need to be driven by chakra."
"The evolution of the Sharingan is proportional to the growth of an Uchiha's chakra."
"As long as one can increase the quantity and quality of their chakra, the Sharingan will naturally evolve."
"Unfortunately, the Uchiha did not have a safe method to grow their chakra. Experiences from long wars made everyone believe that intense emotional stimuli of love and hate are necessary for the evolution of the Sharingan."
"This is actually a very risky shortcut."
"Even if the Mangekyō Sharingan is forcibly activated by a moment of intense emotional stimulus, the user's chakra doesn't fundamentally increase, making the Mangekyō Sharingan's power non-renewable."
"Subsequent use of dōjutsu then forcibly consumes the irreplaceable dōjutsu chakra, damaging the foundation. There's only one outcome to this."
Kaito concluded, "When the Mangekyō Sharingan's power is exhausted, the wielder will lose their sight."
"Itachi's eyes..." Sasuke's expression was complex.
"Ah, Itachi is in bad shape," Kaito did not hide the truth from him. "It's not just a problem of dōjutsu chakra. His natural physical constitution is actually not as good as yours, forcibly activating the Mangekyō Sharingan is also consuming his life force."
Patting Sasuke's head, Kaito continued, "But there won't be any major issues in the short term. As for whether to kill him or to treat him in the end, I'll leave the decision to you. I won't interfere anymore."
Meanwhile, Kisame had already brought Itachi to a town and checked into an inn.
Because his chakra was completely consumed by Kaito's dōjutsu during their confrontation, Itachi had essentially lost his ability to fight and could only recover slowly through rest.
However, he dared not close his eyes to sleep.
Whenever he did, he would enter a peculiar dream where the faces of all his clan members, including his parents, appeared vividly, staring at him with eyes full of resentment.
Awakening from the nightmare, he realized this was also a lesson from Kaito.
Lying on the tatami, Itachi looked at the ceiling with bloodshot eyes, chuckling self-mockingly.
He wouldn't harbor hatred because of such lessons.
From the day his hands were stained with the blood of his clan and parents, he became an unforgivable person.
He had never regretted it before.
Yet, being forced to relive his life multiple times during the dōjutsu confrontation, even someone as resolute as him couldn't help but waver slightly.
Whether it was to break free from the dōjutsu or to verify his own thoughts, he really tried to break away from the fate that had already passed in the subsequent "reincarnations."
Unfortunately, all attempts failed. No matter how hard he tried, Konoha and the Uchiha could never both be satisfied.
Thus, only after exhausting his chakra was he able to escape.
What would you have done in his place?
Itachi recalled Kaito criticizing him for only acting according to his own desires.
Could he find a perfect solution, or would it end in a lose-lose situation with Konoha?
"Itachi-san, are you alright?" Kisame, sitting against the wall nearby, asked upon seeing Itachi's current state.
"I'm fine," Itachi replied calmly, "as long as I recover enough to activate the Sharingan."
Even though activating the Sharingan might not be useful.
The key now was he needed chakra to open the Sharingan, then try to remove the jutsu left by Kaito, but Kaito's jutsu was preventing him from recovering chakra through sleep.
However, there was no need to explain all this to Kisame.
Seeing Itachi's expressionless face, Kisame flashed a toothy grin and responded, "That's good to hear."
Then both began to rest with their eyes closed, quieting the room.
In an underground base in the northern part of the Land of Frost.
"Another Mangekyō Sharingan has appeared, huh? When did this Uchiha Kaito come into the picture?" The man wearing a spiral-patterned mask asked with anger to Black Zetsu and White Zetsu in front of him, "Why wasn't I informed before this?"
"Hehe, don't be angry, Tobi," White Zetsu laughed, "We just thought to use Itachi to test Kaito's strength first, not expecting Itachi to be so easily defeated by his Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Don't worry, Tobi. Uchiha Kaito has already left this continent. If he appears later and affects our plan, let Nagato deal with him," Black Zetsu added. "Unlike your special Mangekyō Sharingan, from what I've observed, his eyes are more illusion-based, posing no threat to the Rinnegan."
After Nagato exhausts all his life force, it'll be up to you, Tobi.
"Let's leave it at that for now, and remember to inform me immediately if there's any news, Zetsu," the voice of Uchiha Madara, calling himself Tobi, grew colder, "And remember, call me Madara."
"Yes, Lord Madara," White Zetsu eagerly flattered in response.
A spatial vortex appeared in front of Uchiha Madara, he gave Black Zetsu one last look, then disappeared from the spot.