Mangekyo Sharingan, Awakening Experiment.

After the sacrifices of dozens of death-row prisoners over this period, the Emotion Serum developed by Ensei Uchiha finally yielded its initial results.

The next step required finding a test subject.

He dared not use something freshly concocted and untested on his own body.

After a moment of contemplation, Ensei Uchiha took the serum and sought out Fugaku Uchiha.

That very night, Fugaku Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Itachi Uchiha arrived together at Ensei Uchiha's laboratory.

When the three of them arrived, Ensei Uchiha was in the middle of conducting cloning experiments on the Sharingan.

By now, Ensei Uchiha had mastered the technology for rapid cell growth and had successfully induced the awakening of cloned Sharingan eyes.

Regrettably, these cloned eyes were only single-tomoe, as Ensei Uchiha had yet to discover a method to increase the ocular power of the Sharingan.

Perhaps cultivation via Hashirama Cells would work, but the time required was too long, and for a mere three-tomoe, it was not worth the effort.

Watching the single-tomoe Sharingan before him suddenly wither away, a flash of heartache crossed Fugaku Uchiha's face.

But he quickly snapped back to reality—where did this single-tomoe Sharingan come from?

Ensei Uchiha did indeed have a stock of Sharingan, but they were basically all three-tomoe; there wasn't even a two-tomoe, let alone a single-tomoe.

"Ensei... these eyes of yours..."

Fugaku Uchiha could no longer concern himself with other matters and hurriedly asked.

If Ensei Uchiha could truly clone Sharingan, would that be a blessing or a curse for the Uchiha clan?

"Just a failed product..."

"Alright, since the three of you are here, does that mean Itachi has decided to be my test subject?"

Ensei Uchiha scanned the three of them and spoke slowly.

"I naturally would not pass up the opportunity to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan."

"However, Ensei... I have a question I want answered. The genjutsu you showed me not long ago..."

Itachi Uchiha asked Ensei Uchiha the question that had been haunting him.

"Oh, that? Didn't I tell you? That would have been your future, only that future has already been changed by me."

"To be honest, I don't really like you. You're too stupid. What kind of mindset could you possibly have to choose to join forces with a traitor and slaughter the entire Uchiha clan?"

"If I hadn't awakened the power to see the future, I imagine I would have been one of the people you slaughtered."

Ensei Uchiha's words left Fugaku Uchiha, standing to the side, dumbfounded. This was the first time he had heard that the future of the Uchiha clan would turn out like this.

He was unwilling to believe, no matter what, that his own son would make such a decision.

Faced with Ensei Uchiha's accusations, Itachi Uchiha remained silent, offering no opinion.

Ensei Uchiha did not care about his attitude; he adjusted the dosage of the Emotion Serum while continuing to speak:

"Forget it, perhaps it's because I've seen too many futures. Sometimes I don't even care about these things anymore. Regardless, with me here, if you ever make a decision like that again, I will kill you first."

"Do you know why I asked you to perform this experiment?"

"It is not because you awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan in the future I saw, but because you possess the aptitude to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan."

"Do not think that the aptitude I speak of is some kind of genius. The Uchiha clan's aptitude regarding the Sharingan is not about the mastery of ninjutsu, but... emotion!"

Upon hearing the word "emotion," Itachi Uchiha suddenly raised his head, staring straight at Ensei Uchiha with a burning gaze.

"Truly... stupid enough! But it is precisely because you are a fool who values emotions that it is easier for you to awaken the Mangekyo."

Ensei Uchiha shook his head with some helplessness and reminded him:

"If you are still alive later, go and look at the clan's history. Do not focus on the names of those Mangekyo; look at the experiences they had before awakening them."

"You have always thought that the Uchiha clan is one that values power."

"But in reality, the more one values power and belittles emotion, the less capable they are of awakening the Mangekyo; some cannot even awaken the Sharingan."

"Conversely, those who do not value the Mangekyo Sharingan as much actually have a higher probability of awakening their eyes."

"They say the Uchiha clan is prone to being misunderstood by others, but in truth, even the members within the clan have misunderstood the clan itself."

After saying this, Ensei Uchiha injected a vial of serum into Itachi Uchiha's body. After observing for a moment, he instructed Shisui Uchiha, who was standing by.

"Now, it is up to you. What you must do is make Itachi Uchiha fall into his inner memories. Cast a genjutsu on him, and you must use the power of Kotoamatsukami."

Upon hearing Ensei Uchiha's words, Shisui Uchiha nodded and used Kotoamatsukami on Itachi Uchiha.

"What you need to do is not to control Itachi Uchiha, but to make him believe that the world in the previous genjutsu is real."

"Only by making him completely immersed in the world of the genjutsu is there a possibility of awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan."

"And after awakening his eyes, he will be able to break free from the illusion himself, so you need not worry about his safety."

Accompanied by Shisui Uchiha's Kotoamatsukami, Itachi Uchiha, under the influence of the serum, began to sink into the world of the genjutsu.

Ensei Uchiha had already tried; ordinary genjutsu, no matter how tragic the experience, should not be enough to make someone awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Therefore, even with Shisui Uchiha's Kotoamatsukami, Ensei Uchiha was still not entirely at ease. Back during their conversation, he had already used a three-tomoe Sharingan to activate Izanami.

The function of Izanagi is to cast a genjutsu upon the entire world, thereby altering reality according to the caster's will.

The function of Izanami is to trap the enemy within a cyclical, tangible illusion by anchoring them to several distinct, prominent nodes.

Within the reality of Izanagi, the target's perception of time and the outside world is dulled, causing them to sink deep into the fabricated environment.

As for the notion that one can only escape Izanami through sudden enlightenment or sincere repentance, that is merely a condition imposed by the caster.

After all, the birth of Izanami was intended for salvation.

This condition, naturally, can be altered.

In other words, the true ability of Izanami is to trap a person within an eternal illusion.

Everything was prepared, and this experiment targeting the awakening of Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan had officially begun.

As for what the outcome would be, no one knew.

However, the most important thing right now was to record every condition within Itachi Uchiha's body.

Thus, Ensei Uchiha, standing to the side, quietly activated the clairvoyant abilities of his Byakugan, closely observing everything inside Itachi Uchiha's body at every moment.

The only known side effect of using the Byakugan's power was fatigue, so Ensei Uchiha used it with peace of mind, confident that no issues would arise in the short term.

In the unlikely event of an accident, he could simply follow Orochimaru's example and switch to a new body.

He had prepared so many clones precisely to guard against all sorts of unforeseen circumstances.

Time passed quickly within the illusion, and Ensei Uchiha soon collected data on the changes occurring within Itachi Uchiha's brain.

This change did not originate from the brain tissue itself, but from a surge of special Chakra produced within the brain.

It turned out that Ensei Uchiha had fallen into a misconception; what was required to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan was not some kind of hormone, but a special type of Chakra produced by the brain.

This Chakra likely manifested only under conditions of extreme emotion.

Once this special Chakra appeared, it would actively act upon the optic nerves, causing the eyes to undergo a transformation, thereby forming the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"I have been far too focused on Kekkei Genkai lately, to the point that I actually forgot the reality I have known all along."

"Chakra is the root of all things."