The Cost of the X-Ray Ability

After Black Zetsu escaped, Shimura Danzō chose to surrender.

As for Shisui Uchiha, he had several Sealing Jutsu placed on him before collapsing to the ground. He had probably passed out.

"Ensei, are your eyes all right?"

Though Fugaku Uchiha had arrived late, he had still clearly seen that unbelievable scene and immediately understood that it was the effect of Izanagi.

As the head of the Uchiha Clan, Fugaku certainly didn't want a Uchiha genius to lose one of his eyes because of an outsider.

After all, those were Mangekyō Sharingan!

At Fugaku Uchiha's question, Ensei Uchiha quietly opened his palm. A clump of white, clay-like material sat in it: the replicated Hashirama Cells.

Wrapped inside those Hashirama Cells was a Three-Tomoe Sharingan that had lost its light and turned somewhat pale.

Perhaps it was because of the Hashirama Cells? This Three-Tomoe Sharingan, which had already been used for Izanagi, hadn't turned completely white. Instead, traces of white Tomoe remained.

The idea of using Sharingan as tools made Fugaku Uchiha's heart tighten. He couldn't help imagining all the consequences.

But when he saw Ensei Uchiha close his hand again without saying anything, he understood.

That was right. This technique absolutely couldn't be allowed to leak.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful the Uchiha Clan was, they would become a coveted treasure pursued by the entire Shinobi World.

Naturally, the clan head would handle the aftermath. After checking Kushina Uzumaki's condition, Ensei Uchiha returned to the Laboratory with the unconscious Shisui Uchiha.

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

He also wanted to check whether any hidden measures had been left inside Shisui Uchiha. It would be even better if he could find some Black Zetsu to study.

Well... the conclusion was that he was no different from an ordinary clan member.

The fragments of Black Zetsu that Ensei Uchiha had hoped to find hadn't appeared either. There were only some things like Cursed Seals, which should be easy to remove.

It seemed the evolution of the Mangekyō Sharingan was a special change that occurred only in that instant.

After working for several hours, Ensei Uchiha shut off the x-ray ability in his eyes. The moment he did, his vision went black, and he nearly fell over.

At the same time, he felt a surge of ocular power that was both abundant and depleted.

So using the power of the Byakugan came at a cost after all. His eyes were Sharingan, and drawing on the Byakugan's ocular power would naturally affect them.

Whether that effect was good or bad was hard to say.

After all, the Byakugan was the source of the Sharingan. It was also hard to say how different the Byakugan of today was from that of the Otsutsuki Clan.

After resting with his eyes closed for a while, he opened them again, but the feeling of being both abundant and depleted remained.

After recording the specific signs of declining vision in the Mangekyō Sharingan that he had observed in Shisui Uchiha, Ensei Uchiha went to rest.

By then, 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.

They had come for two reasons: first, to tell him what had happened to Danzō, and second, to see the unconscious Shisui Uchiha.

Ensei Uchiha could have guessed without being told. The real Danzō had died long ago; what existed now was merely a remnant brought back through Impure World Reincarnation.

Sure enough, Danzō's Impure World Reincarnation was undone, and his soul returned to the underworld.

As for Shisui Uchiha...

After being unconscious for a while, Shisui Uchiha had now regained consciousness, but the Sealing Jutsu on him hadn't been removed yet.

Under the watch of several Ninja Cats, Shisui Uchiha obediently stayed in Ensei Uchiha's Laboratory, unable to touch anything in it.

Whenever Shisui Uchiha looked toward something he shouldn't, a Ninja Cat would swipe at him with its claws.

Ever since Ensei Uchiha began researching Natural Energy, the entire Ninja Cat Clan had become his personal faction and obeyed all his orders without question.

"Looks like you've recovered pretty well."

Ensei Uchiha led Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kushina Uzumaki into his Laboratory without the slightest guard, then spoke to Shisui Uchiha, who had spent the whole morning not daring to move.

As soon as they entered the Laboratory, Hiruzen Sarutobi discreetly looked over everything inside.

Though he had only seen the surface of the Laboratory, he'd already spotted a death-row inmate soaking in nutrient solution, Hashirama Cells in a corner, and various strange chunks of flesh in the nutrient tanks...

"Huh? Ensei, your equipment here is really advanced. It could easily serve as top-of-the-line medical equipment."

"If Konoha Hospital had equipment this advanced, some patients could probably recover several times faster."

Kushina Uzumaki didn't seem bothered by the test subjects.

Though she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, she was an adult and knew very well that the Shinobi World had never been some innocent, idyllic fairy tale.

"They're expensive. I doubt that so-called Daimyo would allow the shinobi to spend that much money."

Ensei Uchiha spoke casually.

His lack of respect for the Daimyo made Hiruzen Sarutobi frown.

The Shinobi World wasn't ruled by strength alone.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to offer a few words of advice, but after thinking it over, he ultimately decided against it.

"Ensei, could you get them to stop staring at me?"

When Shisui Uchiha noticed Ensei Uchiha, he finally lifted his head, which he'd kept lowered, revealing a face marked with more than a dozen scratches from the cats.

"Pfft!"

Kushina Uzumaki couldn't help laughing aloud.

Shisui Uchiha responded with a resentful look.

There was nothing he could do. Kushina Uzumaki's Sealing Jutsu was truly powerful, and Shisui Uchiha didn't have the slightest strength left.

He couldn't use Chakra, and he couldn't even use some of his Sharingan techniques. He was practically an ordinary person.

And Shisui Uchiha's body, despite his strength as an elite jonin, was no match at all for the Ninja Cat Clan after Ensei Uchiha had strengthened them.

"Sorry, sorry. You got captured by the enemy, after all. You should count yourself lucky to have made it out alive."

Kushina Uzumaki reminded him, then started to remove the Sealing Jutsu on Shisui Uchiha. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and looked at Ensei Uchiha.

Seeing this, Ensei Uchiha didn't stop her. He even thoughtfully pointed out some hidden measures that had been left on Shisui Uchiha.

With the help of Kushina Uzumaki, a master of Sealing Jutsu, Shisui Uchiha soon regained his strength.

The moment his strength returned, Shisui Uchiha fled Ensei Uchiha's Laboratory.

Of course, he didn't go far. He just didn't want to enter that Laboratory again.