Yao raised his right hand and aimed it at his left eye socket.
No anesthetic!
No hesitation!
He dug in hard!
"Ugh..."
Sharp pain exploded from the nerves around his eye, swept through half his brain, and blood trickled between his fingers and down his cheek.
Yao sucked in a breath, removed his original eyeball intact, and placed it in the nutrient solution he had prepared.
Then he picked up a Three Tomoe Sharingan and inserted it into the socket.
His life force surged again, frantically repairing the damage.
The process took several times longer and hurt far more than the arm transplant.
Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Yao's forehead, and his body trembled slightly.
Two minutes later, the violent sensation of repair gradually subsided.
Yao slowly opened his left eye.
Chakra flowed smoothly.
His enhanced vision was stable.
The neural connection was secure.
There was no rejection!
Three tomoe spun.
An unprecedented ability to track movement surged through him.
Yao could see the paths of tiny dust motes drifting through the air and the faintest tremble of leaves outside the window.
Clearly!
The Three Tomoe Sharingan...
Had been successfully transplanted!
"The first step is done!"
Yao muttered under his breath.
"Now I can transplant the Mangekyō!"
Yao didn't hesitate again. He dug out his right eye and placed the original eyeball in another prepared bottle of solution.
He'd better keep the original eyeball safe. If anything went wrong in the future, he could still transplant it back.
Without delay!
Yao opened a small bottle, took out Shisui's right Mangekyō, and placed it in his empty right eye socket.
Buzz!
In an instant, a completely different sensation washed over him.
The cold, overwhelming ocular power surged through the newly formed neural connection, rushing backward into Yao's brain.
Unlike an ordinary Sharingan, which was docile, this Mangekyō was like a ferocious beast trying to devour its new master!
A violent sense of rejection erupted alongside the immense ocular power.
Fragments of memories that did not belong to Yao suddenly flashed through his mind.
A moment of darkness, the agony of being stabbed in the back, entrusting his dearest friend with a task, the cold and despair of sinking into a river...
"Hmph... You were a coward in life, and you're still making trouble after death?"
Yao gave a cold snort, immediately focusing all his concentration and will to forcibly suppress the lingering assault of Shisui's consciousness.
The life force of his Sage Body formed an even sturdier bulwark.
As it repaired the damage, it quickly soothed the agitated remnants of Shisui's mind.
At last...
The rebellious will gradually faded away. The cold ocular power obediently blended with Yao's chakra and settled into place.
The stabbing pain in his eye socket gradually changed into a warm sensation of fusion.
The repair was complete!
Yao regulated his breathing and calmed his somewhat disordered chakra, then opened both eyes.
His left eye remained in the Three Tomoe form!
Yao focused his thoughts.
The three tomoe quickly connected, forming a complex and elegant Four-Pointed Pinwheel Pattern.
It was the distinctive Mangekyō Sharingan pattern of Uchiha Shisui.
Yao focused his thoughts again, trying to channel chakra into his newly acquired Mangekyō Sharingan as he carefully sensed the unique power contained within.
Soon, a clear "concept" came back to him:
Kotoamatsukami!
This right eye really did contain the ocular technique known as Kotoamatsukami!
It was a terrifying Illusion Technique that could twist reality and alter someone's will!
But unfortunately, Kotoamatsukami was currently on cooldown.
The cooldown was so long it was despair-inducing. Judging by what he could sense, it wouldn't become available anytime soon.
Yao wasn't surprised by the result. Danzo had used Kotoamatsukami, so naturally, it couldn't be used again immediately.
He didn't mind.
Only someone like Danzo, who had little power of his own, would think of using Kotoamatsukami to control others.
He, Uchiha Yao, already possessed overwhelming power. He had no need to use Kotoamatsukami!
In other words,
Of all the Mangekyō techniques, Kotoamatsukami was the most useless one to Uchiha Yao.
What Yao truly valued was the Susanoo granted by the Mangekyō!
But there was a problem: to activate Susanoo, he needed both eyes.
So he had to get Shisui's left Mangekyō!
"Itachi!"
"Uchiha Itachi!"
"I hope you show up in Konoha just like you did in the story. I'm determined to get Uchiha Shisui's left eye!"
Yao murmured, set the thought aside for the time being, blinked, and began adjusting to the changes in his eyes.
Going from ordinary eyes to a Three Tomoe Sharingan and a Mangekyō Sharingan had brought a huge change in his vision!
Yao had to adapt as quickly as possible.
The next day.
The smell of smoke and grief hanging over Konoha had yet to fade.
An explosive piece of news swept across the entire shinobi world at an astonishing speed:
During the Chunin Ninja Exams, Orochimaru, an S-Class Rogue Ninja from Konohagakure, had conspired with Konoha elder Shimura Danzo, one of the village's leaders and the head of Root. Together with Sunagakure and Otogakure, they had launched a massive attack on Konoha!
In the chaos, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had led Konoha for nearly forty years... had fallen in battle!
After causing enormous destruction, Orochimaru and Danzo had escaped.
Konoha issued an S-Class wanted notice, ordering the entire shinobi world to hunt down the former S-Class Rogue Ninja Orochimaru and the head of Root, Danzo.
The news hit the shinobi world like an earthquake.
What kind of place was Konoha?
Ever since it was founded by the First Hokage, Konoha had been recognized as the greatest shinobi village in the world. It was the military pillar of the Land of Fire, one of the Five Great Nations, and possessed immense strength.
And the Third Hokage was not only the longest-serving Hokage in Konoha's history but also a legendary figure who had lived through two Great Ninja Wars and earned the title "Professor of Ninjutsu."
He wielded considerable prestige and influence throughout the shinobi world.
His death...
Would have a tremendous impact!
The Land of Earth, Iwagakure.
Ōnoki of Both Scales sat in the Tsuchikage's chair, staring silently at the urgent intelligence scroll that had just arrived.
"That old fool, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is dead?" Ōnoki muttered, his tone complicated.
As fellow Third Kage, Ōnoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi had been old rivals. They had also respected one another.
And yet...
The Third Hokage had fallen in battle!
Ōnoki's feelings were complicated. He felt a twinge of regret over his old rival's passing, along with a deeper sadness.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was dead.
What about him?
After a long while,
Ōnoki composed himself and issued his orders. "Pass down the command: raise the patrol alert level along the eastern border!"
"Also, increase the Intelligence Division's personnel by thirty percent. Focus on infiltrating the border region of the Land of Fire and the outskirts of Konoha."
"I want to know every detail of Konoha's current strength, the movements of every Jōnin, and every force at its disposal!"
"Yes!"
Iwagakure's war machine began to move at once.
Large numbers of shinobi skilled in reconnaissance were dispatched toward the Land of Fire.
Ōnoki's plan was clear: after taking such a heavy blow, Konoha had lost high-level combatants and was bound to be in turmoil.
This was the perfect time to gather intelligence, apply pressure, even probe the border and seize an advantage.
There was no helping it.
The Land of Fire occupied the richest territory in the shinobi world, after all.
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