Lord Shadow

Kotoamatsukami...!

Obito's thoughts raced. "Shisui's left eye... is in your hands!?"

Madama said, "I do know of Kotoamatsukami. The Uchiha secret scroll of ocular techniques recorded this jutsu. In the early Warring States period, it was a fleeting ocular power, yet it directly reshaped the Uchiha's standing in warfare for many years to come."

"That Shisui you're talking about—could he be the one called Body Flicker Shisui during the Third Shinobi World War?"

During that time, Madara had withdrawn to his underground lair, gathering intel on the outside world through White Zetsu, and he knew of Shisui's existence.

But Madara hadn't paid him much attention back then.

"That's right, the very same Body Flicker Shisui."

"Oh? He awakened the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan? And it gave birth to Kotoamatsukami? That's quite peculiar."

It wasn't Madara's fault for not knowing. Shisui had opened his eyes early on, but he kept it deeply hidden. It wasn't until the eve of the Uchiha Clan Downfall in Konoha that he revealed the details of both his eyes to Third Hokage Hiruzen and Danzo.

Chen gave Madara an explanation regarding Shisui, which in turn brought up the past of the Uchiha Clan Downfall and the deeds of 'Itachi.'

"I see. When the Impure World Reincarnation suddenly unraveled back then, I told the Five Kages that the Shinobi Alliance had a few capable shinobi. Never expected it was Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi..."

"After Kotoamatsukami was activated, Itachi used Amaterasu to burn the crow implanted with Shisui's left eye. And I used Omodaru to retrieve that eye. As for the specifics, Uncle Madara should be able to imagine them!"

"Hm." Madara raised a hand, touching the eye socket of Hashirama through his God Robe...

"I can imagine it perfectly."

Obito asked, "But since it's a Kotoamatsukami that's already been used, you'd need Hashirama Cells to quickly reset it, right? Did you transplant Hashirama Cells too, Chen?"

"No, but I have another use for it."

Chen bit his finger, smearing blood to form Hand Seals.

—Summoning Technique!

"Poof!" A bird, its entire body adorned with white feathers, three feet in length, appeared in a white smoke screen and landed on Chen's left shoulder.

The bird turned its eyes coldly.

Its right eye socket was a pitch-black hollow.

In its left eye socket, glaringly visible, was an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan with a four-bladed throwing star pattern.

Obito recognized it at a glance: "That's it, that's Shisui's eye!"

Chen said, "This is Gohōkaku, a summoning bird I cultivated using Hashirama Cells. I use it as the vessel to activate Kotoamatsukami!"

More than Shisui's right eye, Madara was even more astonished by the existence of Gohōkaku: "Chen, you're skilled in cell cultivation too?"

Back then, he had relied on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to cultivate that artificial body of Hashirama.

Chen had cultivated a living creature for a summoning contract—purely in terms of technical difficulty, it was clearly superior.

Chen smiled slightly. "Mm, that's a long story. I specifically sought advice from someone. I'll go into detail another time."

"Hm? What's that!" The white smoke screen created by Gohōkaku's appearance was caught by Deidara, who was on patrol, through his 'telescope.' The C2 Dragon pulled sharply in high-speed flight, diving steeply!

"An intruder in Taoyuan? How rare!"

Deidara reached into the ninja tool pouch at his waist. "Shhh, shhh, shhh!" The mouth in his palm chewed the clay.

"Perfect chance to verify my art!! Hm."

"..." Chen lifted his eyes. "!!" Deidara's expression changed abruptly!

He crushed the art he had just made directly inside the ninja tool pouch!

The dragon swooped down, and Deidara prostrated himself before Chen!

"I never expected Lord Shadow to grace us with your presence! A sin, a sin! I nearly let art be tarnished here!"

Madara and Obito both observed Deidara in unison!

Then they exchanged glances, the shock in their eyes no less than when they learned Chen possessed 'Kotoamatsukami' and 'Gohōkaku'!

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Because, with their unparalleled eyesight, they couldn't detect any trace of Deidara being under genjutsu manipulation!

Madara thought to himself: What's going on... According to the rumors, Kotoamatsukami shouldn't have this kind of effect, right?

Obito, who had witnessed Kotoamatsukami firsthand, was even more certain: Kotoamatsukami can alter a target's thoughts without them noticing, but it only prevents the victim from detecting it themselves. Onlookers can still use perception methods like the Sharingan or Byakugan to spot abnormalities in the brain's Chakra Meridians and then work to undo it...

Back at the Five Kage Summit, Danzo's tampering with Mifune was discovered by Ao of the Mist's Byakugan.

"Could it be..." Madara, deep in thought, sensed something and cast his gaze toward Chen's 'left eye.'

Chen thought to himself: As expected of Uncle Madara, seeing through to the essence from the phenomenon so quickly...

That's right... It's the [Mizuha] of the left eye. This ocular power first gestated in his younger brother Jin's left eye, and with the eye transplant, it was inherited by Chen.

It can bring Overkill returns to the 'jutsu' it is used in conjunction with.

Paired with Impure World Reincarnation, it can break through the load limit of the technique, allowing Madara to wield the power of the Rinnegan's original owner and enabling Obito to retain a body and eyes infused with Six Paths power.

Paired with 'Kotoamatsukami,' it can permanently eliminate the abnormal chakra reactions in the target's brain meridians!

Not only could it not be observed, but the backdoor to cancel Kotoamatsukami's control was also completely sealed shut.

Genjutsu had become reality.

This was—[Mizuha no Kotoamatsukami]!

Those subjected to this Kotoamatsukami would forever and utterly become spiritual prisoners of Chen. The extent of their imprisonment was entirely up to Chen's whim.

Chen generally wouldn't completely erase a target's original personality, but would preserve a portion of their individuality on the premise of absolute loyalty and staying peacefully within his own territory.

Just like the Deidara before him, who still had a deep love for art.

Of course, depending on each person's specific circumstances, Chen would apply varying degrees of severity when 'administering the eye drops.'

"Boom!" Gohōkaku vanished in a white smoke screen.

Chen said, "Deidara, continue your patrol."

"Yes, Lord Shadow!" Deidara stood up, and just as he was about to ascend on his bird, his gaze suddenly locked onto Obito's face. He stared deeply, his expression growing increasingly strange.

"Hey, wrinkle-faced guy, have we met somewhere before? I feel like there's a familiar aura about you."

Obito said with a smile, "No, you must have me confused with someone else..."

"Oh... alright." Deidara withdrew his gaze, mounted his bird, and flew off, muttering to himself, "Still, I feel like I've seen him somewhere."

Madara said with amusement, "Chen, that Explosion Release kid just called you Lord Shadow~."

Chen shrugged with a smile, "They insisted on calling me that. I never gave myself any title like Shadow."

Following the stairs built along the cliffside, they arrived behind the green belt of Hidden Shadow Street, looking at the bustling shops along the road and the surging crowds.

Obito asked in confusion, "This is a Taoyuan cut off from the world. Where did all these commoners come from?"

Chen said, "Most are the original personnel secretly relocated from Amegakure. That place was under closed rule for years, so the people are used to Taoyuan's relatively sealed environment."

"!?" Obito was shocked. "How did you manage that? You couldn't have cast Kotoamatsukami on all these people, could you?"

A faint, ambiguous smile curled at the corner of Chen's mouth. "I could, but there's no need. This matter is simple to handle, actually. Just have someone with absolute influence in Amegakure step forward, and naturally, a call brings a hundred responses..."

Obito frowned. "Amegakure... someone with absolute influence. Who are you talking about?"

"It's me." A cold, clear female voice suddenly rang out from above.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..." Fluttering, colorful pieces of paper gathered before Obito into a slender woman. Her face was pure and bright, her orange eyes clear and limpid.

The hem of her red cloud cloak fell, gently covering her silk socks, and her blue-green hair cascaded entirely over her delicate shoulders.

"Hiss!!!" Obito sucked in a sharp breath of cold air, looking utterly as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Impossible, you were clearly... dead!!!"

Back then in Amegakure, after I used genjutsu to extract the Rinnegan's location, I confirmed your death...

Why are you standing here alive... Konan!!!