Keigo Uchiha's gaze was unwavering.
A faint red glimmer flickered in his eyes. Of course, he couldn't say that although Kage-level shinobi were currently the strongest around, even greater powers existed in the Shinobi World!
Powerful members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan were watching the Shinobi World!
Those matters might seem far off, but he couldn't afford to ignore them. If Keigo Uchiha wanted to survive, then the Ōtsutsuki Clan was a grave threat!
He would cross paths with the Ōtsutsuki Clan sooner or later. He absolutely refused to let someone else control his fate.
Just like Six Paths Madara.
Once he had gained Six Paths-level power, only Senjutsu and Taijutsu could harm him in the entire Shinobi World.
So whether it was Nintaijutsu or Senjutsu, both were essential techniques to learn!
Only Senjutsu could counter Senjutsu.
Only Six Paths power could defeat Six Paths power!
"All right, I can help you, but it won't be that simple."
Orochimaru licked his lips, growing excited!
As his teacher, he naturally had to try to dissuade him. But Keigo Uchiha's resolve filled him with excitement. If Keigo could learn Sage Mode, that meant... he could study it too!
This was his good fortune!
"Ryūchi Cave is different from Mount Myoboku. Those chosen to learn Senjutsu at Ryūchi Cave are selected more like elite candidates. Only the most talented can pass the trial and learn Senjutsu."
"So, even if I say you can go, it won't be up to me. You'll need to... pass Ryūchi Cave's trial!"
A dark look entered Orochimaru's eyes. "I often use the Reverse Summoning Technique, but I'm rejected every time. I've never been able to figure out why."
Naturally, he wanted to master the power of Senjutsu.
Yet he was rejected every time.
It was as if... Ryūchi Cave didn't want him to learn Sage Mode. What... was going on?
If Keigo couldn't succeed with the Reverse Summoning Technique either, then he would... have to keep searching on his own!
"Perhaps I can help you figure out why."
Keigo Uchiha looked thoughtful, as though he'd realized something. "Then let's start tomorrow. I need to go home today."
"Very well."
Neither of them was one for idle chatter.
Once they were done talking, they went their separate ways.
The icy crescent moon hung high in the sky. The air... had grown much colder, and frost covered the surrounding plants. It was already late autumn.
A dark figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
Like a ghost in the night, he gazed out with chilling eyes!
"Have you made your preparations?"
Shimura Danzō gave a cold laugh. "Heh. A prodigy from the Uchiha Clan, eh? Orochimaru thinks that highly of him? Senjutsu, Ryūchi Cave... I seem to have learned something rather interesting!"
"Is that why Orochimaru has put off working with me? It seems that now... with the Uchiha Clan backing him... he no longer needs me!"
The corner of his mouth twitched.
His eyes were full of greed and coldness.
Ever since Orochimaru became Keigo Uchiha's teacher, he hadn't produced a single research result!
That wasn't what Danzō wanted. He'd thought Orochimaru had run into a difficult problem, but who would've guessed... it was because he'd gained the Uchiha Clan's backing!
His voice was icy, as though the words had been ground out between his teeth. "The Uchiha Clan... truly is a clan born evil. They must be eliminated!"
As he spoke, he glanced to the side.
"Yes, Lord Danzō!"
Beside him stood three Root shinobi. Their gazes were cold, their faces devoid of emotion. Their eyes were like icy pools, sending a shiver down one's spine!
"According to our investigation, Orochimaru's current favorite pupil is Keigo Uchiha. He hasn't taught Hyuga Ruri or Inuzuka Mi anything."
He reported the intelligence mechanically, word by word, without a trace of emotion. "Keigo Uchiha is the only one Orochimaru teaches, and he teaches him in private."
"According to our intelligence, Orochimaru is training Keigo Uchiha as his personal disciple."
His voice held absolute composure.
He was like a machine, coldly relaying information.
"What?"
Shimura Danzō's pupils contracted. His face twitched, and he looked utterly incredulous, as though he hadn't heard correctly. "Orochimaru, the Cold Lord, has taken a personal disciple?"
"If I remember correctly, even Mitarashi Anko, whom he took in before, never received that kind of treatment, did she?!"
"This... was unexpected."
Things... seemed to be slipping out of his control. Shimura Danzō furrowed his brow. It wasn't as if this would have much impact on him.
Still, Orochimaru's change and this unforeseen turn of events left him uneasy.
"I understand. Proceed according to plan!"
His eyes turned cold, filled with menace. "The most decisive figure in the Uchiha Clan right now... is undoubtedly the Great Elder, Kyo Uchiha, isn't it? With him around..."
Inside the Uchiha Clan shrine.
The Great Elder's aged frame had grown even thinner, but a light still shone in his eyes. Amid their cloudiness, a trace of clarity remained, as if he had seen through everything in this world.
"You're here?"
"I'm here, Grandpa. I didn't come to see you as soon as I got back because I wanted to surprise you right now."
"Oh?"
A glimmer of anticipation and... excitement entered Kyo Uchiha's eyes as he looked at the refined young man before him.
His eyes widened, but when he thought about Keigo Uchiha's age, the light in them dimmed a little. Even so, he still held out hope.
Keigo might not have reached the legendary realm.
But he had certainly grown stronger. Perhaps... he'd already become a Quasi-Kage-level shinobi!
A Quasi-Kage-level shinobi at twelve.
There wasn't a record of anyone like that in all of Konoha, was there?!
"Could it be... could you have become a Quasi-Kage-level shinobi?"
"That's right, Grandpa. I have these eyes now!"
They spoke at the same time, each saying something different!
Keigo Uchiha's black eyes turned scarlet in an instant, forming five-pointed stars that radiated an eerie glow. They seemed to hold an endless pull, making it impossible to resist.
These were the legendary eyes of the Uchiha Clan.
The Mangekyō Sharingan!
Kyo Uchiha: "Keigo, now that you've reached Quasi-Kage level, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan will make you a Kage-level shinobi... What!? You've already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
He suddenly realized what Keigo had said.
His breathing quickened.
He stared at Keigo Uchiha's scarlet eyes in disbelief!
He sprang to his feet!
Keigo Uchiha: "???"
You only just realized?
For a while, the two of them fell silent.
Kyo Uchiha had thought becoming a Quasi-Kage-level shinobi was already outrageous, but he hadn't expected Keigo Uchiha to have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan—the legendary eyes that reflected the heart!
"You... awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at twelve... What kind of loss did you have to suffer?"
Kyo Uchiha's eyes were full of concern.
Keigo Uchiha's heart trembled.
Keigo Uchiha froze, his eyes quivering. Only he knew that his awakening had happened differently.
Yet when Kyo Uchiha learned that he'd awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan...
His first reaction wasn't excitement.
It was... concern.
"Grandpa, it was nothing. My eyes are different from everyone else's. I don't seem to need to go through that painful loss."
He smiled as he explained. "I don't know why, but I have these eyes now!"
"I'd hoped for it, but I never expected you to awaken these eyes so soon, Keigo."
Kyo Uchiha sighed, his expression solemn.
"Keigo, from now on you can use your Three-Tomoe Sharingan. But unless your life is in danger, you must never use the Mangekyō Sharingan, because... it will cost you your eyesight!"
He gave the warning earnestly.
This was a secret of the Uchiha Clan, and he knew it well.
Everyone who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan eventually went blind and lost their eyes, falling into endless darkness. Only one person had escaped that fate.
That was Uchiha Madara!
But Uchiha Madara had suffered an even more painful loss.
"Keigo, you... don't have a brother."
He sighed, his voice full of regret.
Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan meant great power, but it also meant... that one day, a loss would be inevitable.
"Grandpa, my eyes... can absorb other people's spiritual energy and turn it into ocular power. So anyone who dies in front of me will become nourishment for these eyes. You don't need to worry about that."
Keigo Uchiha smiled as he explained.
"Also, there's something I need to do. Please don't resist."
As he spoke,
the five-pointed stars in his eyes began to spin!
Scarlet blood ran from the corner of his left eye, a chilling sight. The dark blood seemed like the blood of a demon!
"Kotoamatsukami: Guardian Eye!"
Kyo Uchiha felt his whole body shudder. His mind went blank, but a moment later he returned to normal. He stared at Keigo Uchiha's scarlet Sharingan in disbelief.
Just then, he'd been completely unable to resist!
"So... this is the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan? Even I, with my Three-Tomoe Sharingan, couldn't resist!"
"These... are the truly glorious eyes of the Uchiha Clan."
His eyes were filled with shock.
If even the strongest wielder of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan couldn't resist, who in this world could withstand Keigo Uchiha's ocular power? And... these eyes would never go blind!
This was the good fortune of the entire Uchiha Clan!
As for what Keigo Uchiha had just done,
he didn't need to ask.
Keigo would never harm him!
"Keigo, you're destined to lead the Uchiha Clan's rise!"
A brilliant light shone in Kyo Uchiha's cloudy eyes. His body trembled as he turned and, with unsteady steps, searched through a hidden compartment in a drawer. There, he found a seal!
He slowly held it out to Keigo Uchiha.
"Keigo, this is something you should take charge of. No one in the entire Uchiha Clan is more capable of holding it than you!"
As he spoke,
he pressed it firmly into Keigo Uchiha's hand. Six bold black characters were engraved on it.
The Uchiha Clan Head Seal!
"Go back and rest, Keigo. It's a beautiful night."
Kyo Uchiha smiled kindly.
Keigo Uchiha nodded, bowed, and left.
As soon as he stepped through the courtyard gate, he suddenly dodged to the side. A fragrant figure lunged at him and missed, stumbling right into Keigo Uchiha.
"Keigo, how did you sense me? I'd already hidden my presence!"
Momoko Uchiha pouted, her pretty face full of disbelief.
Her eyes sparkled in the night.
"I thought that after all that training, I'd be able to catch you. I've never managed to catch you in 'ghost-catching' once, not since we were kids."
As she spoke, she sighed in defeat, looking utterly adorable.
"You'd need another hundred years to catch me."
Keigo Uchiha laughed and tapped her on the head.
"How's your training going lately? I heard that in Konoha, you're now a medical expert second only to Tsunade."
"Quite a few people call you the 'Shrine Maiden of the Gods' behind your back. It seems... like a pretty good title."
He gave the graceful young woman a teasing look.
Perhaps it was because of Yang Release.
Momoko had grown unusually quickly, and she was always brimming with healthy energy and wearing a bright smile. She was like a goddess growing beneath the sunlight, lifting everyone's spirits.
She was already 164 centimeters tall.
Even beside Keigo Uchiha, who stood 173 centimeters tall, she didn't look out of place. The two of them looked more like a golden couple.
"Oh, stop. That's just praise from my friends. I feel like there's still so much I need to learn. I really like Lady Tsunade's Yin Seal, and if I get the chance, I'll definitely try to master it!"
Momoko Uchiha smiled with easy confidence. "My training's going fine, but something's been puzzling me lately."
She furrowed her delicate brows and pursed her lips. "I don't know why, but lately I keep having the same dream. There's a huge, white bug in it, and it feels so gentle and sunny."
"A dream?"
Keigo Uchiha paused. The two walked side by side, and he turned to look at Momoko Uchiha's fair profile. "Maybe you've been working too hard during the day."
Momoko's work wasn't easy.
She was now the head nurse at the hospital. Thanks to her own abilities and strength, she had helped countless shinobi and ordinary people, working from eight in the morning until six in the evening.
She had treated one person after another, and with her radiant smile and warm personality, she had won the affection of countless people.
"By the way."
Keigo Uchiha stopped and smiled. "I have a present for you."
As he spoke, he took out a bamboo dragonfly.
He had bought it while passing through the Land of Iron. He had never seen one in Konoha, so it was a rare novelty.
"How pretty! It looks just like a real dragonfly."
Momoko Uchiha took the dragonfly with delight. Then, as if an idea had just occurred to her, her pretty face flushed red. In the moonlight, she looked like a divine maiden. "Then I'll give you a present too, Keigo. Close your eyes!"
"All right."
Keigo Uchiha closed his eyes helplessly.
The next moment, a soft warmth brushed his cheek. Before he could take it in, the warmth was gone.
He opened his eyes. Momoko Uchiha drew back, her pretty face flushed with embarrassment. "Hehe, I'm off!"
"That's my present for you, Keigo."
With that,
she turned and ran, her flushed face like the evening glow, burning with the sun's warmth.
"That girl."
Keigo Uchiha shook his head.
Early the next morning,
Keigo Uchiha went to Orochimaru's laboratory. The moment he opened the door, he saw Orochimaru working on an experiment, exhaustion in his eyes—a consequence of spending too long wearing himself out.
Even a Quasi-Kage-level fighter couldn't stay up all night for long.
"You stayed up all night again?"
Keigo Uchiha handed him a breakfast bun and couldn't help shaking his head. He had known Orochimaru would stay up all night.
"What we're doing today is dangerous. Are you sure you're in any condition to handle it, sensei?"
"If you keep staying up like this, even a Quasi-Kage-level fighter won't be able to take it."
As he spoke, the corner of his mouth lifted. "But I've heard that the First only needed an hour or two of sleep a day. Maybe people who've fused with Hashirama Cells can develop the same trait."
Orochimaru stopped working and looked at Keigo Uchiha. A smile curled across his lips, and he rasped, "Are you trying to get me to fuse with Hashirama Cells by saying that?"
"It's not time yet."
He licked his lips.
He formed a Hand Seal with one hand.
"Release!"
With a puff, the exhaustion vanished from his eyes, and he perked up again.
"You use a Shadow Clone to sleep and dispel your body's fatigue?"
Keigo Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "That might relieve some of your physical fatigue, but it won't lessen the strain on your mind."
This worked on the same principle as Uzumaki Naruto using Shadow Clones to gather Natural Energy. The difference was that one method gathered power, while the other provided rest through sleep.
There were similarities.
And differences.
"Sensei, have you ever considered that learning Sage Mode takes more than talent? It also requires immense mental strength."
Keigo Uchiha furrowed his brows. It suddenly occurred to him that perhaps the White Snake Sage hadn't been unwilling to teach Orochimaru Sage Mode. Perhaps Orochimaru's mind and soul hadn't begun to deteriorate only after he used Living Corpse Reincarnation.
Staying up night after night.
Using Shadow Clones to get around the need for sleep.
Orochimaru's mind... was already utterly exhausted!
"What?"
Orochimaru froze, suddenly realizing something. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. "To learn Sage Mode, you need a powerful body to withstand Natural Energy, and a perfectly healthy mind to fuse with it."
When had he started staying up all night for long stretches?
When had he stopped sleeping altogether?
At eighteen!
After becoming an Elite Jonin, he'd realized that sleep was a waste of life. He hadn't had a good night's sleep since!
And by now... it had been years!
"So the reason I can't learn Sage Mode... is me?"
Orochimaru's voice was hoarse. Shock and disbelief showed in his eyes.
He had wanted immortality and greater power.
But because of the choices he'd made,
he had only grown further and further from them!
"Sensei, you need to rest as soon as possible, and fuse with the Hashirama Cells."
Keigo Uchiha knitted his brows and spoke seriously. "Start now. Mental strength is more important than physical strength."
"No."
Orochimaru gradually regained his composure. His voice was hoarse. "You're right. I should rest, but not now. I'll rest after we've been to Ryūchi Cave. A little delay won't matter."
"More than rest, I want to know what true Sage Mode is really like..."
"You know... even Jiraiya still hasn't fully learned Sage Mode, and he's been at it for about ten years, hasn't he?"
A distant look entered his eyes.
Ten years, and Jiraiya still hadn't fully learned Sage Mode.
That showed just how difficult it was!
Jiraiya might have been slow.
But he was still a hardworking genius!
"Ten years?"
Keigo Uchiha raised an eyebrow. In the original story, Jiraiya never truly mastered Sage Mode, even in the end. He needed Fukasaku and Shima's help to enter it.
"Let's go! Remember, if the Reverse Summoning Technique works, be careful. Even with me by your side, I can't guarantee your safety."
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "The White Snake Sage is... extremely dangerous!"
Thinking of what the scroll recorded, he felt a chill in his heart.
That creature had lived for thousands of years.
It was beyond anything he could fathom!
"Reverse Summoning Technique!"
Orochimaru barked the words, then crouched down. A massive summoning array appeared on the ground beneath them.
A cloud of smoke burst into the air!
Orochimaru stared. "It worked? Could it be because of you, Keigo?"
He had never managed to make it work before.
But in the next moment, he froze.
The smoke cleared.
Nothing around him had changed. He was still in the laboratory.
"What happened...? No, Keigo... where did he go?"
His pale face went blank.
So he had performed the Reverse Summoning Technique, but he hadn't been transported to Ryūchi Cave. Instead, Keigo Uchiha—the one who'd been "along for the ride"—had been reverse-summoned!
"What kind of nonsense is this?"
Orochimaru's mouth twitched.
He'd never seen anything so absurd!
"Forget it. I should think about sleeping. Keigo has a point. Maybe it's because I've stayed up for years that my mind and soul have grown weak, and I haven't been chosen."
Orochimaru's amber eyes shifted slightly.
He looked resigned.
He turned and left the laboratory, then collapsed onto his long-unused bed.
"Keigo, I hope you're safe, even if you can't learn Sage Mode..."
As he spoke, Orochimaru's face gradually relaxed, settling into a peaceful expression.
Ryūchi Cave.
It was a vast cavern, more like an entire world inside a mountain than a cave—immense and sprawling!
A chill hung in the air, and the strangely shaped rocks looked eerie.
But instead of frightening Keigo Uchiha, the cold and strangeness made him feel strangely at ease.
"This is... Ryūchi Cave?"
Keigo Uchiha looked around, raising an eyebrow. "But... where did sensei go?"
He glanced around, but Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen.
"So I'm the only one who was reverse-summoned, while Orochimaru, the one who performed the Reverse Summoning Technique, was left behind. Isn't this just targeting him?"
He couldn't help laughing.
Orochimaru must be absolutely miserable right now.
The unluckiest man in the Shinobi World: Orochimaru!
Before you continue