The 13-year-old Itachi, wearing standard Anbu gear, walked quickly to the edge of a cliff near the Yamaganogawa River.
Just moments ago, Shisui had sent him a letter, asking him to meet here to discuss something important.
"You've arrived, Itachi..."
With his back to the young Itachi, Shisui stood on the edge of the cliff and spoke softly.
Below them, the endless stream of water rushed relentlessly onward.
"Brother Shisui, how did your conversation with Master Danzo go?
Is there any way to resolve this dispute peacefully?"
The young Itachi hurried to Shisui's side, took off his mask, and asked nervously.
"Itachi, the Uchiha coup cannot be stopped.
Once Konoha is plunged into civil strife, other countries will inevitably take advantage and trigger a war.
I planned to use the Distinguished Heavenly Gods to prevent the coup, but Danzo took my right eye.
He didn't trust me. He's determined to protect the village his way.
He won't let go of my left eye either.
I entrust this eye to you."
Shisui turned his head, revealing his bleeding right eye. With a sad expression, he continued,
"I can only ask you, my best friend, to protect the village and safeguard Uchiha's name."
Shisui immediately reached up to remove his left eye and handed it to the young Itachi.
He smiled lightly, as if relieved.
"I've already passed on my eye. So, what will you do now?"
The young Itachi stared at Shisui in horror. His Three Tomoe Sharingan flickered wildly in his eyes, and with a thought, he summoned a crow to close Shisui's eye. He asked hoarsely,
"If I die, the situation might change.
I've left a suicide note. Don't try to stop me..."
Shisui gave a casual smile, and in that moment, he jumped off the cliff, crashing into the river below. Within an instant, he was swallowed by the rushing water.
"Shisui..."
The young Itachi rushed to the edge of the cliff. He only had time to see a fleeting splash of water before his heart was overwhelmed with grief. He cried out in sorrow.
Overcome with sadness, the young Itachi felt his vision blur for a moment. Blood and tears streamed from his eyes, and a surge of power filled them.
His Mangekyō Sharingan awakened!
The moment the young Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, the world in front of him shattered.
Inside a wooden house, several figures of varying heights appeared before him.
He had unknowingly fallen into an illusion.
"You... who are you?"
The young Itachi, still in deep grief, looked at the figures of Shisui and the adult Itachi in confusion.
"Congratulations, Itachi.
You've awakened your Mangekyō Sharingan!
Now, you can either explain it to yourself, or—"
Shisui stepped forward and heartily patted the young Itachi on the shoulder, signaling him to speak with the adult Itachi.
"Brother Shisui, it's great that you're not dead.
But... is this really me?"
The young Itachi looked at Shisui in surprise, then turned his gaze to the adult Itachi, still in shock and confusion.
"In the past, you were fortunate to avoid carrying such a heavy burden.
But just now, you experienced the pain that you should have gone through.
It's the pain I went through as well.
Now, let me show you our original future again."
The adult Itachi stared at the young Itachi with a complicated expression, explaining with deep emotion.
His left Mangekyō Sharingan spun, activating Tsukuyomi again.
The previous illusion was the Tsukuyomi of the adult Itachi.
Although the young Itachi had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had yet to unlock any of its unique abilities. He was pulled into the Tsukuyomi without resistance.
In less than a second, the young Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan spun, and blood and tears streamed from both eyes.
Before him, a group of black Amaterasu flames suddenly appeared...
Naruto, who had been prepared for this moment, activated the Amaterasu in his left eye, immediately countering the flames.
At the same time, his left Tsukuyomi activated, nullifying the adult Itachi's Tsukuyomi.
"Ha... ha..."
Both of them knelt on the ground, breathing heavily, eyeing each other as they tried to recover.
"Thank you, future me!
This time, I'll make a different choice."
The young Itachi's aura shifted instantly, his demeanor maturing with a new sense of resolve. He met the other's gaze, a silent agreement passing between them.
Just now, the adult Itachi used Tsukuyomi, allowing the young Itachi to empathize with the grief of his adult self.
In that grief, the young Itachi successfully activated his pupil techniques: Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu.
"Then, are you my sister?"
Suddenly, the young Itachi turned to look at Sako. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he narrowed his eyes.
"Nissan..."
Seeing the familiar face and the familiar smile, Zuozi couldn't help but call out.
For the young Itachi, Sako had no emotional burden.
"Alright, enough chit-chat.
Little Sakura, it's time to begin..."
Naruto looked at the scene before him and turned to shout at Little Sakura, who was preparing.
He had brought Little Sakura along this time for a reason.
Under the tutelage of Rin Nohara—who had previously changed Kakashi's eye—Little Sakura's medical skills had improved rapidly.
Itachi and Sako had swapped their eyes with those of the same clan, so they didn't need to change the eye shafts like Kakashi. Little Sakura, however, could handle it.
"Well, Naruto..."
Little Sakura swallowed nervously, but her face showed a look of determination. She nodded firmly.
In order to ensure the eye change went smoothly, Naruto had even asked the adult Itachi to give Little Sakura a Tsukuyomi for field training.
After all, she had to change her eyes anyway, so she had to make use of the pupil power.
Hearing the conversation between Naruto and Little Sakura, both adult Itachi and Sako lay down on the prepared hospital bed.
"Itachi, go find your father.
Don't alarm anyone."
Seeing this, Shisui turned and spoke seriously to the young Itachi.
The teenage Itachi and Fugaku were another pair of eye-swappers.
Naruto, concerned about the world's rejection of the process, had decided not to perform the eye-changing ritual from the Otherworld.
Shisui, as an experiment, had changed his left eye to match this world's.
The young Itachi knew the story behind this and quickly moved to call Fugaku.
The location they chose was not far from the Uchiha clan's compound.
After the young Itachi left, Shisui stood guard outside.
As the minutes passed, Little Sakura quickly removed Itachi's and Sako's eyes and soaked them in the sterilized nutrient solution.
This was part of Naruto's plan to prevent bacterial infection.
Soon, Fugaku arrived, looking shocked as he followed the young Itachi.
Seeing adult Itachi and the girl Sako, Fugaku, despite his disbelief, believed everything the young Itachi had told him in the illusion space.
Then, another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan was removed by Little Sakura.
Don't ask why this process went so smoothly—it's all thanks to Naruto's tricks.
Yes, Naruto used the Distinguished Heavenly Gods to temporarily affect Fugaku and the young Itachi.
Adult Itachi, Sako, and Shisui didn't need any influence.
Looking at the four pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan floating in the nutrient solution, Naruto quietly activated his illusion.
Little Sakura's eyes instantly became confused...
Naruto then took out a copy mirror worth 50,000 Honkai points and placed it in front of the four pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan, pressing the switch to start copying them.
Of course, neither he nor Little Sakura—nor anyone else—appeared in the mirror image of the replica mirror.
Naruto wasn't interested in copying himself or anyone else at the moment.
The Duplicate Mirror was a five-minute aging tool.
Due to the suppression of the world's will, the more powerful an individual, the longer it took to copy them.
The mirror could copy any being, but when copying living creatures, the result could be a person with very different personality traits.
That's why Naruto, instead of waiting for them to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, copied the Eternal Mangekyō directly.
The process of copying Mangekyō Sharingan was unpredictable, so Naruto prepared for it to take some time.
At the same time, this was also a backup plan in case the primary method failed.
Under Naruto's watchful gaze, a minute later, four pairs of Mangekyō duplicates appeared.
The four pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan had now turned into eight pairs.
Another three minutes passed, and the eight pairs turned into sixteen pairs.
In the final minute, six more pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan were added, and the replica mirror vanished!
Excluding the original four pairs, Naruto now had a total of 18 pairs—36 Mangekyō Sharingan.
As for Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, Naruto had no intention of copying it at all.
It wasn't even worth attempting!
The power of the Distinguished Heavenly Gods was not meant for something as trivial as wandering...
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