Thirty-Seven: Twin Amaterasu Eyes

In this era, there is no Seal of Fire Suppression capable of sealing Amaterasu.

For Sakuya, this is truly a great stroke of luck.

It means that in this time period, once he unleashes Amaterasu, there is no one who can undo it.

He now possesses a lethal weapon capable of turning the tide of any battle.

While Tsunade is still resting, Sakuya and Orochimaru step out of the cave to conduct a simple experiment with the Mangekyō Sharingan Sakuya has just awakened.

The significant boost to his base abilities goes without saying; after all, every Uchiha experiences a massive increase in power when evolving from the Three Tomoe to the Mangekyō.

The main focus is his dōjutsu: Amaterasu.

Unlike the brothers Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha, both of his eyes possess Amaterasu.

But precisely because of this, he does not need to focus his gaze to release it, he does not fear enemies dodging the flames with high-speed movement, and his eyes do not bleed from excessive strain.

His Amaterasu can manifest anywhere within a three-meter radius of his body, and furthermore, he can freely shape the flames.

Back in Amegakure, when he shaped the Amaterasu into an arm and a great bow, that was exactly how he did it.

It functions somewhat like Sasuke's other dōjutsu, Kagutsuchi, but the difference lies in the fact that Kagutsuchi's shaping ability is far inferior to Sakuya's, while Sakuya cannot imbue Amaterasu into other ninjutsu like Sasuke can.

Sasuke can coat Naruto's Rasenshuriken with Amaterasu or enchant his Chidori, but Sakuya cannot.

What he releases is purely Amaterasu—the black flames—and if they come into contact with someone else's ninjutsu, they will simply ignite that ninjutsu as well.

This is a dōjutsu that cannot be coordinated with anyone else; the user is destined to be alone.

Beyond that, perhaps because of the dual-eye Amaterasu, the flame-shaping ability can not only be fully utilized in Sakuya's hands but can also be infused with nature transformation based on its characteristics.

Take, for instance, that technique just now: [Vermilion Light that Burns the Heavens].

The ability to drop black rain after dispersing the storm clouds is because Sakuya altered the nature transformation of the Amaterasu, lowering the temperature of the black flames to sub-zero, thereby causing the water vapor around the flames to solidify into a rain of Amaterasu—a particularly terrifying phenomenon that burns without heat.

Furthermore, another characteristic of Amaterasu can also be fully unleashed in Sakuya's hands.

It truly burns everything, including chakra, which it ignites the moment it makes contact.

This means Sakuya can use this trait to mitigate the shortcomings of Amaterasu.

By consuming chakra and ocular power, he can coat the exterior of the flames with a thin membrane, allowing Amaterasu to protect himself or his allies by burning the membrane before it burns the person.

The fact that his right arm remained unscathed when he unleashed [Vermilion Light that Burns the Heavens], and that Tsunade on his back did not touch a single spark of Amaterasu, is proof of this.

At the same time, when Amaterasu burns human chakra, the excessive loss of energy and the stimulation to the body cause it to mistakenly believe it is injured, triggering the organs to secrete extra chakra to resist the flames; in a sense, this dōjutsu can also be used as a stimulant.

Overall, in an era where the Rinnegan has yet to appear, the dual-eye Amaterasu is a dōjutsu with a massive gap between its floor and ceiling, and an extremely high numerical value.

As the patterns rotate, the sun-like markings in Sakuya's pupils slowly fade, and the Three Tomoe reappear in his eyes.

"Hoo..."

Feeling a thin layer of gray film coat his vision, Sakuya presses his forehead and takes a deep breath.

His eyesight has declined slightly; this is the side effect of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

But as long as he avoids using Susanoo and uses his dōjutsu sparingly, the Mangekyō Sharingan can last for a long time.

Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan lasted for several years, but if used as recklessly as Sasuke did, one would be nearly blind in a matter of days.

However, now that the Second Great Ninja War has begun, can he really afford to be sparing?

Especially with that plan he has in mind...

Glancing at Tsunade, who is still resting inside the cave, a strange look flashes in Sakuya's eyes.

It seems that in this simulation, not only will he have to play the role of a horse-headed beast, but he will also have to act like Ke Zhen'e.

"Dual-eye Amaterasu, is it?"

Watching the Amegakure "dancing" in black flames on the White Zetsu television screen, Madara Uchiha waves his hand expressionlessly.

The White Zetsu sinks into the ground and disappears.

"What a pity for such a promising talent; he just had to have Amaterasu."

He sighs.

It is not that Amaterasu is bad.

For the current generation of Uchiha, this ultimate flame dōjutsu can be considered the finest in their arsenal, maximizing offensive capabilities and acting like wings on a tiger for the Uchiha, who are already masters of Fire Release.

But Madara Uchiha does not need an Uchiha who has maxed out his offensive stats.

He needs an Uchiha who possesses space-time ninjutsu and has maxed out their survival capabilities.

No matter how high the offensive power, can one survive a barrage of Tailed Beast Balls? Can one survive the space-time ninjutsu of that old ghost from the Senju?

His plan requires capturing nine Tailed Beasts and opposing the Five Great Nations; defensive capability is paramount.

A dōjutsu like Amaterasu, which puts all its skill points into offense, is clearly not Madara Uchiha's target.

"However, Lord Madara."

Recalling the black flames that had nearly swallowed Amegakure just moments ago, a flicker of nostalgia crossed Black Zetsu's eyes: "That Mangekyō technique, Amaterasu, used by Uchiha Sakuya seems capable of devouring other ninjas' ninjutsu... No, it should be that it ignites the chakra of others. Perhaps this technique has other applications in the hands of Uchiha Sakuya, who knows?"

He was quite interested in the Amaterasu ocular technique: "Lord Madara, perhaps this Sakuya is just right for your plan? Should I go and make contact?"

It was strange to say, but the moment he saw Uchiha Sakuya, he had developed a great interest in him.

Looking at the chakra within his body, it was very similar to someone.

Someone Black Zetsu had been separated from for a thousand years.

"Hmph, meaningless."

Madara Uchiha shook his head: "He has already awakened his Mangekyō, and the philosophy of this person, Uchiha Sakuya, is already fixed; it is difficult for us to influence him further. Secondly, Amaterasu truly does not fit my plan. Let us choose someone else. Zetsu, go and monitor the other Uchihas; see if there are any suitable seedlings."

Gazing at Sakuya on the television screen from earlier, a trace of displeasure flashed through Madara Uchiha's pupils.

It was hard enough to find a seedling, so why did he have to draw Amaterasu?

Bad luck!

He wondered how long he would have to wait for the next suitable candidate.

"Yes, Lord Madara, I understand."

Seeing Madara Uchiha in this state, Black Zetsu responded and submerged into the ground, disappearing from sight.

"Sigh... Hashirama."

Once the place was empty again, Madara Uchiha leaned back in his chair, the memories of his past days with Hashirama Senju surfacing in his eyes.

"My life has been like walking on thin ice... Hashirama, tell me, will I be able to reach the other shore?"