The Price of X-Ray Vision

After Black Zetsu fled, Shimura Danzō chose to surrender.

As for Shisui Uchiha, he had collapsed to the ground after placing several sealing jutsus upon himself; he appeared to have fallen unconscious.

"Ensei, are your eyes alright!"

Although Fugaku Uchiha had arrived somewhat late, he had clearly witnessed that incredible scene and immediately understood it to be the effect of Izanagi.

As the clan head of the Uchiha, Fugaku Uchiha certainly did not wish to see a genius of his clan lose one of his own eyes because of an outsider.

One had to remember, that was a Mangekyo Sharingan!

Hearing Fugaku Uchiha's inquiry, Ensei Uchiha quietly opened his palm. Resting there was a mass of white, clay-like substance—the very Hashirama Cells he had replicated.

Encased within those Hashirama Cells was a Three Tomoe Sharingan that had lost its luster and turned somewhat pale.

Perhaps due to the Hashirama Cells? This Three Tomoe Sharingan, having already been used for Izanagi, had not turned completely white, but instead retained traces of white tomoe markings.

This method of using a Sharingan as a disposable tool made Fugaku Uchiha's heart tighten, his mind involuntarily conjuring a series of potential consequences.

But seeing Ensei Uchiha close his palm again without saying a word, he revealed a look of understanding.

That was correct; such technology must never be leaked.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful the Uchiha Clan was, they would be reduced to a treasure sought after by the entire Shinobi World.

The cleanup was naturally left to the clan head. After checking on Kushina Uzumaki's physical condition, Ensei Uchiha brought the unconscious Shisui Uchiha back to his laboratory.

Since the opportunity was rare, Ensei Uchiha naturally wanted to take this chance to study what special changes occurred in the brain of someone who had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

At the same time, he would check Shisui Uchiha's body to see if any hidden traps had been left behind. If he could find a fragment of Black Zetsu to study, that would be even better.

Hmm... the conclusion was that there was no difference from any other clansman.

The Black Zetsu fragment Ensei Uchiha had hoped for did not appear; there were only some curse marks and the like, which should be easy to clear away.

It seemed that the evolution of the Mangekyo Sharingan was a special change that only occurred in that singular moment.

After several hours of busy work, Ensei Uchiha deactivated the clairvoyant ability of his eyes. The moment he did, his vision went black, and he nearly collapsed.

At the same time, a sensation of being both full and empty flooded his mind.

It turned out that using the power of the Byakugan was not without a price. After all, his own eyes were Sharingan; invoking the pupil power of the Byakugan would naturally have some impact on them.

Whether this impact was good or bad was hard to say.

After all, the origin of the Sharingan was the Byakugan. And as for how the current Byakugan differed from the Byakugan of the Otsutsuki Clan, that was also very hard to say.

After closing his eyes to rest for a moment, he opened them again, only to feel that same sensation of being both full and empty.

After recording the specific traces of vision degradation observed from Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan, Ensei Uchiha went to rest.

By now, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

When Ensei Uchiha woke up, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kushina Uzumaki had already been waiting outside for a long time.

As for the purpose of their visit, the first was to inform him of Danzō's fate, and the second was regarding the unconscious Shisui Uchiha.

In truth, Ensei Uchiha could have guessed it without being told; Danzō had long since died, and what existed now was merely the remnant of the Impure World Reincarnation.

Sure enough, the Impure World Reincarnation of Danzō had been dispelled, and his soul had returned to the underworld.

As for Shisui Uchiha...

After a period of unconsciousness, Shisui Uchiha was now awake, though the seals on his body had not yet been removed.

Under the watchful eyes of several ninja cats, Shisui Uchiha sat obediently in Ensei Uchiha's laboratory, unable to touch anything in the room.

The moment Shisui Uchiha's gaze drifted toward something he shouldn't look at, the claws of the ninja cats would swipe directly at him.

One had to know that ever since Ensei Uchiha began his research into Natural Energy, the entire Ninja Cat Clan had become his personal vassals, obeying his every command unconditionally.

"It looks like you've recovered quite well."

Ensei Uchiha, without any guard, led Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kushina Uzumaki into his laboratory and spoke to Shisui Uchiha, who had been sitting perfectly still all morning.

Upon entering the laboratory, Hiruzen Sarutobi began to quietly survey everything inside.

Although he only saw the surface of the laboratory, there were death-row prisoners soaking in nutrient solution, Hashirama Cells in the corner, and various strange lumps of flesh in the tanks...

"Huh? Ensei, your experimental equipment here is very high-end; it could already serve as top-tier medical equipment."

"If Konoha Hospital had this kind of top-tier equipment, the recovery process for some patients would likely be several times faster."

Kushina Uzumaki, however, didn't pay attention to the test subjects.

Although she was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, as an adult, she knew very well that this Shinobi World had never been a glorious fairy tale.

"It's very expensive. I don't think that so-called Daimyo would allow ninjas to waste so much money."

Ensei Uchiha spoke very casually.

This attitude of complete disrespect toward the Daimyo made Hiruzen Sarutobi frown involuntarily.

The Shinobi World was not based solely on power.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to offer a word of advice, but after a moment of consideration, he ultimately chose to give up.

"Ensei, can you make them stop staring at me like that?"

Noticing the figure of Ensei Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha finally lifted his head, which had been bowed low, revealing a face covered in a dozen scratch marks from cats.

"Pfft~"

Kushina Uzumaki couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing on the spot.

The response she received was a resentful glare from Shisui Uchiha.

There was no helping it; Kushina Uzumaki's sealing jutsu was truly formidable, and at this moment, Shisui Uchiha didn't have a shred of strength left in his entire body.

Not only was he unable to use his Chakra, but even his Sharingan ocular techniques were inaccessible, rendering him effectively no different from an ordinary person.

Furthermore, Shisui Uchiha's jonin-level physical constitution was completely inadequate when faced with the Ninja Cat Clan, who had been enhanced by Ensei Uchiha.

"Sorry, sorry, but you're the one who got captured by the enemy; it's already a stroke of luck that you managed to keep your life."

Kushina Uzumaki offered a reminder, and just as she was about to undo the sealing jutsu on Shisui Uchiha, she suddenly seemed to recall something and looked toward Ensei Uchiha.

Seeing this, Ensei Uchiha did not stop her; in fact, he even thoughtfully pointed out several hidden traps that had been placed on Shisui Uchiha.

Soon, with the help of Kushina Uzumaki, a master of sealing jutsu, Shisui Uchiha successfully recovered his original power.

The very first thing Shisui Uchiha did after regaining his strength was to flee from Ensei Uchiha's Laboratory as if escaping.

Of course, he didn't go very far; he simply refused to step foot into that Laboratory ever again.