How Exactly is the Mangekyo Activated? (Seeking Votes! Seeking Investment!!)

For decades, the Hokage Building had remained peaceful, never having faced any external threat since the village's founding—until now, when it experienced the first real pain from within its own chest and belly.

Sōken and Danzo were locked in a fierce battle, and before either of them drew blood, the Hokage Building had already taken a thorough beating. As the administrative heart of Konoha, its sturdiness was indeed top-tier, preventing it from being easily leveled to the ground.

Of course, this was also because both Sōken and Danzo held back from using large-scale lethal ninjutsu. After all, this was the Hokage Building; if they tore it down today, who knew what chaos would erupt in the village.

Danzo still had his heart set on the Hokage seat, and in his view, using wide-area destructive ninjutsu was a waste of chakra compared to more concentrated, single-target techniques.

As for Sōken—

He was having a blast!

The moment Torifu Akimichi led the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to choose the sidelines, the other clan heads wisely abandoned their plan to pressure the Uchiha alongside the Third Hokage. After all, even the Ino-Shika-Cho, allies and vassals of the Sarutobi clan, had backed down—no one could blame them for not going all out!

Thus, the situation now boiled down to a direct confrontation between the Uchiha Clan and Danzo. The Third Hokage, hesitant due to Torifu's attitude, wondered what kind of trump card the Uchiha possessed that made Torifu retreat. Unable to make a firm decision, he merely shouted for Sōken and Danzo to stop, without taking any substantial action to intervene.

As long as no one was killed, Danzo taking a bit of a beating was no big deal.

The Anbu took orders to evacuate the clerical workers inside the building and issued a gag order, forbidding anyone who had witnessed the fight between Sōken and Danzo from spreading rumors. At least until the Hokage gave clear instructions, this matter could not leak out!

"Earth Style: Rock Stealing Rod."

Sōken formed a single hand seal.

The next second, a forest of rock rods jutted up from the floor like a forest of spears.

This move naturally failed to harm Danzo, but Sōken wasn't using it to injure him anyway—he just needed a more convenient weapon. Shuriken were too sharp; accidentally killing Danzo outright would be troublesome.

And honestly, Beating Danzo to a pulp made him feel quite pleased. So pleased, in fact, that his eyes itched faintly.

Perhaps, Danzo was the catalyst?

But did the Mangekyo's awakening really not require negative emotional stimulation? Or was his mastery of Yin Release deep enough, and the ocular power in his eyes accumulated to the limit of the Three Tomoe Sharingan, that he didn't need the intense, unforgettable despair as fuel to ignite the Mangekyo's brilliance?

Perhaps, That was the correct answer.

In his view, power itself had no inherent good or evil, but compared to the fleeting, momentary pleasure, the deeper, lingering despair and sorrow brought Uchiha stronger fluctuations in spiritual energy, driving the Sharingan to evolve to higher levels...

Of course, these were just fleeting thoughts racing through Sōken's mind. Whether they were right or wrong... he could experiment later. For now, the priority was to keep beating Danzo, maintaining this brief and fragile joy—maybe he could awaken the Mangekyo today.

He reached out and snapped off a rock rod.

The power of [Knight of Owner] seeped into the rod in his hand, transforming its originally limited durability into something unbreakable. Swinging it with a fierce wind, he shattered Danzo's Wind Style technique, burst forward with his physical strength, and closed in on Danzo. A perfectly measured strike sent deep pain through Danzo's body without robbing him of the ability to fight back.

Of course, Danzo was no mere punching bag.

The Pot Kage, who dared to covet the Hokage seat, had real skills. A silent Wind Style technique sliced through Sōken's sleeve, leaving bloody gashes on his arm—not deep enough to hit bone, but painful nonetheless.

"Only stopping the bleeding?"

Sōken silently assessed the wounds on his arm.

Clearly, his mastery of Yang Release hadn't reached the level of the First Hokage's 'sealless healing.' He couldn't even heal this kind of flesh wound, only stop the bleeding... Sōken had no complaints about that. Samehada helped him train both Yin Release and Yang Release.

He just focused most of his energy on Yin Release; while he had entered the door of Yang Release, he still lacked considerable skill.

But this was enough.

Whether it was stopping the bleeding or the already impressive physical strength and speed... he was satisfied. Desire drove human progress, but excessive greed was poison that led to ruin.

Besides, At this moment, Sōken needed the blood staining his sleeves and clothes to prove Danzo was putting up a decent fight, so the Third Hokage and the others wouldn't rush in to intervene. After all, from the looks of it, Danzo, repeatedly protecting himself with Earth Style: Hardening Jutsu, seemed fine, while Sōken, drenched in blood, looked like he might collapse any second.

Of course, Sōken's trick didn't fool everyone.

There were plenty of skilled Sensor Ninja present, but—

Hyuga Hiashi, ever since his younger brother was forced to commit suicide to protect him, had lost the ambition to compete with the Uchiha for Konoha's top clan. And toward the Third Hokage, who had backed down under Cloud Ninja's coercion... he harbored his own grudges!

He wouldn't ruin such a good show at a time like this.

As for Yamanaka Inoichi, the head of the Analysis Team, he glanced at the unruffled old man Torifu and chose to remain silent.

But even without Sensor Ninja reports, the Third Hokage, not yet senile, caught on to Sōken's little game.

Just as he was about to intervene in shock and anger, Sōken, brimming with joy, chose to take a direct hit from Danzo's Vacuum Blade on his right leg, while swinging the crude, rough stone rod—hard enough that Danzo's Vacuum Blade couldn't cut it—and slammed it down hard on Danzo's right leg.

The sound of bone breaking was like music to Sōken's ears.

The only flaw was that Danzo was tough enough to keep his leg a bloody mess without letting out a single cry.

"Forget it... since you helped me open that door, I'll let you be the first to witness my dojutsu!" Sōken leaned close to Danzo, who was propped against the wall to keep from falling, and spoke with a smile, his voice audible only within a foot's radius.

In that instant, his crimson eyes underwent a earth-shattering transformation.

From this day forward, he, Uchiha Sōken, shattered the Uchiha Clan's law that one must endure hellish, despairing pain to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

The Uchiha—

Could awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan through joy!