Frenzied Laughter

Not Izuna...

It wasn't until actual contact that Uchiha Madara realized why White Zetsu said Kagami Uchiha was too much like him.

Absolute self-centeredness—such an unshakable will!

Uchiha Madara laughed heartily.

It had been a very, very long time since he'd been this pleased.

Among those clan members he had abandoned, such an interesting person could still appear!

"Kagami, perhaps our goals differ, but your will—I acknowledge it."

"Come find me in the Land of Grass."

"Let you truly experience the real power of the Uchiha Clan."

"You're so competitive—if you lose, will you be very upset?"

The tomoe in White Zetsu's eye sockets slowly faded.

"I have no need to empathize with a loser. I will always be the victor."

--

--

Kagami Uchiha, within the Mental Space.

The long-unopened curtain was pushed aside, and Sukuna did not shout or rage.

"This world... there are actually people like this..."

Without borrowing Sukuna's Cursed Energy, Kagami Uchiha could never have resisted Madara's Dojutsu Power.

Even if he was on the verge of burning out, even if he lacked the Rinnegan.

That guy... was the living myth of the Ninja World!

Sukuna clearly sensed that if his Spiritual Energy hadn't been growing continuously since entering this world...

If he had encountered that guy in the Curse World, perhaps... it would have been hard to win.

"Strictly speaking, he's an ancestor of our clan."

"Brat... do you really want to go find someone like that now?"

Sukuna was by no means a reckless man, and when facing a hopeless situation, he didn't care about saving face.

What he hated most was others overestimating themselves and provoking him.

Appropriate retreat was not shameful; as long as it wasn't a matter of principle, Sukuna felt it was fine to dodge.

"Yeah, there's something I have to verify."

Kagami Uchiha could barely suppress the evolution of his Sharingan, but awakening the Mangekyo now wouldn't satisfy him.

It was like cooking a dish.

Fixing a bad dish required many extra steps.

If only he could make it delicious from the start...

"The bodies and energy of humans in this world are incredibly abundant... Brat, it's only been a few hundred days, but your growth is astonishing."

"Even I keep gaining power. Truly bizarre."

Sukuna grinned savagely: "I can sense the terrifying power coiled in your spirit. You're resisting its influence, aren't you."

"Why suffer so much! Release that madness!"

"With me plus you, even in this world, we can slaughter freely!"

"We can do anything we want!!"

"Wasn't over a year of Solitary Confinement enough? You want more time?"

"You need me, Kagami Uchiha. We are two sides of the same coin!"

"I admit, I need your power." Kagami Uchiha slowly withdrew from the Mental Space, taking a large mass of Cursed Energy with him.

He didn't lock Sukuna up again either.

"Stay quiet. Speak only when I'm talking. Know your place."

"You're just a mount."

Within Flesh and Bone, the King of Curses gritted his teeth hard, the fury in his eyes like tangible fire.

Brat...

Absolutely!!

I will make you experience the ultimate terror!!

I am your curse!!

--

"That's too much!!"

"Why do you knock me out every time we meet!!"

Uchiha Obito was on the verge of tears.

"What the hell did you do to me!!!"

Smack!

Kagami Uchiha slapped Obito on the forehead, nearly knocking him out again.

And that was with him holding back.

"Speak normally. You should be thanking me for training your mental endurance."

The small barrier covering this area dissipated.

Hearing Obito's voice, Kakashi and Rin approached after receiving a signal.

"Kagami, you're leaving?"

Kakashi noticed that Kagami was heading toward the Land of Wind. He wanted to ask something.

But considering this was probably a classified mission, it was better not to pry.

Something felt strange...

Kakashi suddenly felt an inexplicable unease in his heart.

Watching Kagami Uchiha's retreating back, he sensed something serious was about to happen.

Kagami Uchiha didn't look back. With a few Body Flicker techniques, he vanished from their sight.

"Obito, what did Kagami tell you? You can say it, right?" Kakashi wanted to get intel from Obito.

If he could say it to Obito, it couldn't be that classified.

Obito clutched the lump on his forehead, on the verge of tears: "He didn't say anything! Same as always—he hit me with a Sharingan Genjutsu the moment we met!"

"That bastard Kagami! Why does he always pick on me!"

He remembered back at the Ninja Academy, even Kagami's self-introduction included the part about hating him.

Even Kakashi and Rin couldn't figure that out.

Sure, Obito was the disgrace of the Uchiha, but there were other Uchiha just like him. Why did Kagami only target Obito?

Patting Obito on the shoulder, Kakashi comforted him: "Maybe Kagami has the highest hopes for you. He's testing you."

"Getting hit with his Genjutsu all the time—even Minato Senior Brother and I don't get that treatment. And you haven't felt any mental damage, right?"

"Uh... no, I haven't."

"Could it be..."

Obito stroked his chin, sinking into thought.

Only Nohara Rin felt uneasy.

She was more sensitive to Kagami's attitude than the other two.

Kagami's malice toward Obito... had never been hidden.

--

After the initial brutal battles, the war entered a prolonged phase.

The situation on each front stabilized. Launching a large-scale campaign wasn't simple—it involved too many factors and couldn't be done quietly.

Konohagakure had weathered the first wave of the Three Great Nations' assault, throwing them into panic as they tried to find other weaknesses in Konoha.

Under these circumstances, Kagami Uchiha gave Jiraiya a brief word and then set out to do his own work.

Meeting Uchiha Madara was only the first thing.

After verifying his own strength, he would prepare to perfectly evolve his Mangekyo.

He already had a complete plan in mind. Once achieved, he would obtain inexhaustible Dojutsu Power at a single stroke!

In Kagami Uchiha's view, the Eternal Mangekyo was the final form of the Sharingan, not a lower or higher evolution relative to the Rinnegan.

The Sharingan originated from the Sage of Six Paths, true, but it was like how Chakra originated from the Divine Tree.

The Divine Tree was the seed; Chakra belonged to the ninja themselves.

The Sharingan was a product of mutation, not a degeneration of the Rinnegan.

Kagami Uchiha had never sought the Rinnegan. Instead, he would rather focus his energy on deeply developing the Sharingan.

The Sharingan is the true symbol of Uchiha power!

He had absolute confidence in developing the Sharingan to a level surpassing even the Rinnegan.

As he traveled, Kagami Uchiha's mind churned with restless thoughts.

Suppressing the Sharingan's evolution was exhausting—he constantly had to remind himself to stay calm and avoid any major emotional fluctuations.

But just thinking about...

Meeting that legendary ninja soon.

And even clashing with him head-on.

It was truly...

Enough to make one burst into Frenzied Laughter!!