Preparations for Awakening the Mangekyo

A figure stepped out from the swirling dust, no longer resembling the Ten-Tails, but instead appearing as another Sasuke. Yet, in terms of appearance, demeanor, and temperament, he was indistinguishable from Sasuke himself, possessing the same calm and composure.

The only difference was that while Sasuke's eyes were currently black, this Sasuke's eyes were a deep, scarlet red.

His gaze was filled with nothing but devouring hunger and ferocity, enough to make anyone who looked at him shudder in fear!

"Since you've separated me from yourself, don't come crying for regrets later."

Unlike the tense, explosive confrontation one might imagine, Ido Sasuke simply walked forward, glanced at Sasuke with a calm expression, and spoke indifferently.

"My mind is made up; why would I have any regrets?"

Sasuke replied with equal calm, his tone as casual as two old friends chatting.

"I only hope that what I am doing will yield results and fulfill the desires in my heart. As for the rest, I do not care."

"Hmph! That's fine, then." Ido Sasuke let out a cold snort. Since the two were originally one, their thoughts and desires were identical; it was just that Ido Sasuke's ideology was far more extreme, acting on impulse and disregarding morality, ethics, and worldly shackles.

"Yakumo, I'll have to trouble you to seal him away," Sasuke said softly to Kurama Yakumo, who was trembling slightly behind him.

"I will assist you from the side."

"Eh? ...Alright, Sasuke-kun..." Kurama Yakumo blinked, stepping forward with trepidation, not daring to meet the fierce, hungry gaze of Ido Sasuke.

"What should I use to seal him?"

"Use the Five Senses Seal," Sasuke replied, looking at his dark counterpart and adding faintly, "I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Heh... you'd better worry about yourself instead." Ido Sasuke sneered, his tone sinister and mocking. "Regardless, these emotions will eventually return to you. I hope you don't collapse when that time comes, or better yet, get replaced by me."

"Mm, I understand," Sasuke nodded, responding casually.

"Begin, Yakumo!"

To Kurama Yakumo's surprise, the sealing process went very smoothly. Ido Sasuke made no attempt to resist, even showing signs of actively cooperating.

This caused Kurama Yakumo to heave a sigh of relief, and a thought sprouted in her mind.

Perhaps Sasuke-kun's dark personality isn't as terrifying as I thought?

He actually seems quite intelligent and rational.

It's just that his eyes are a bit frightening.

"Thank you for your hard work, Yakumo." Sasuke looked at Ido Sasuke, who now stood motionless and seemingly devoid of all perception, before turning back to thank Kurama Yakumo.

"You're too polite, Sasuke-kun," Kurama Yakumo replied softly, then hesitated before speaking again. "But, Sasuke-kun, is this really okay? Even though he's sealed now, he might break through the seal one day, or even..."

Kurama Yakumo still couldn't understand why Sasuke had asked her to manifest his inner negative personality only to seal it away immediately—it seemed like such a redundant action.

"It will be fine, Yakumo," Sasuke said, soothing her gently as he looked at her pale face, drained from the heavy consumption of using genjutsu repeatedly.

"Go and rest for a while; leave the rest to me."

Kurama Yakumo remained silent for a moment before nodding.

"Mm."

As soon as the words fell, Kurama Yakumo's figure gradually faded, disappearing from Sasuke's inner world.

"I hope what I'm doing will allow me to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan."

After Kurama Yakumo left, Sasuke looked at the figure standing motionless with eyes tightly shut and whispered to himself.

Since it was essentially impossible to awaken the Mangekyō through the condition of "gaining and losing love," Sasuke had made two preparations to achieve it.

The first, naturally, was to increase his own spiritual energy.

The second was the dark personality before him—a manifestation of negative emotions born from the primal, instinctual desires of the Ten-Tails deep within the Uchiha bloodline, combined with the chaotic thoughts in Sasuke's own heart.

If Sasuke could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan within his self-imposed deadline by increasing his spiritual energy, that would be ideal.

In that case, he would destroy his dark personality just as Kurama Yakumo had killed Ido in the original timeline, ensuring it could never influence him in the slightest.

However, if Sasuke showed no signs of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan by his deadline, he would choose to release the dark personality within his heart and merge with it.

He would use the massive surge of negative emotions and spiritual energy to force the awakening of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

What would happen after the fusion?

Would his personality change drastically?

Would he fall into darkness?

Would he be usurped, with his body taken over?

Would he become a beast driven by primal desire?

Sasuke didn't know, and he didn't even know if this method could truly awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Especially considering...

"Human emotions and memories become blurred within fifteen days, half are forgotten in three months, and ninety-five percent are lost within ten years. Once the absolute five senses are stripped away, one falls into absolute silence. All will, emotions, and memories are eroded over the long passage of time by the pain of being unable to move or perceive, coupled with boundless fear and loneliness. In such a state, the human spirit often collapses in a very short time, turning the person into a vegetable with no mental response. This is far more painful than any 'dark room' or solitary confinement. Heh..."

A "dark room" is a psychological term referring to a completely sealed space without sound or light; in such conditions, even a tough man with an iron will would soon suffer a mental breakdown.

But the dark personality Sasuke faced was enduring something far more painful than a dark room. His physical vision, hearing, and sense of smell were completely severed, and because he was merely a personification of negative emotions, he didn't even possess a sense of touch.

Under normal circumstances, after losing all perception, even the most negative personality would collapse in a short time. However, because Sasuke would continuously provide negative emotions to stimulate him, this dark personality would not collapse.

In other words, when Ido Sasuke chooses to merge with this dark persona in the future, he will not only have to integrate the desires and instincts within his bloodline and his inner negative emotions, but he will also have to instantly endure the boundless loneliness and terror accumulated over more than two years of absolute silence, where he could perceive nothing at all!

Once he reaches that point and fails to withstand this prolonged isolation and fear of being completely cut off from his five senses, it is highly likely that he will not only undergo a drastic change in personality and be overtaken by the negative persona, but he could even end up as a vegetable with no mental response whatsoever.

This is an extremely risky and dangerous undertaking for Sasuke.

His personality dictates that he dislikes taking risks, but sometimes certain risks must be taken; he has never lacked crazy ideas in his heart, he simply rarely acts upon them.

"Will it be two years from now, when I overcome all of this with my own will? Or will I be devoured by you, transforming into a beast of desire and instinct? Or perhaps, will I turn into a completely unresponsive vegetable?"

"If I cannot even take this step, then it only proves that my capacity is nothing more than this."

Sasuke muttered to himself, the curve of his lips growing wider and wider, his eyes involuntarily shifting into the scarlet and menacing Sharingan, flashing with a look of madness and hysteria.

"Let me wait and see, to find out exactly where my limits lie, hehehehe..."

"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!"

Sasuke's laughter grew louder and more frantic, appearing extremely perverse and soul-chilling within the vast, empty inner world!

Seemingly sensing the change in Sasuke's emotions, Ido Sasuke, who was sealed off from his five senses and trapped in absolute silence, also curled his lips into a cruel, hair-raising arc.