Mangekyo

"Uchiha Gen?! What are you trying to do?!" Jiraiya shouted after grabbing Sasuke and retreating. But then he sensed something was off. The expression on Gen's face was too wooden. Was he framing someone, or was he being controlled?

Deep within his consciousness, as his wounds multiplied, Ye Yuan's soul grew more and more transparent...

Yet faced with this situation, Ye Yuan's brows gradually relaxed. He could even guess what "Ye Yuan" would do next, and how he would attack.

With a faint smile, he made no attempt to defend himself, allowing "Ye Yuan" to strike at his vital points...

"The wounds are mainly on my arms and thighs. You deliberately left those openings. If I'm not mistaken, you can't kill me—at least, not before the time limit runs out."

When Uchiha Gen made no attempt to defend himself, time seemed to freeze. "Ye Yuan" stopped dead in the act of stabbing him in the forehead, like a statue. The black space around them began to crack and collapse, turning into a blank void.

An electronic screen appeared before Uchiha Gen: Aren't you afraid of dying?

"I'm already dead... And if you could act on your own and replace me, why bother threatening me? Either the price is too high, or you simply can't do it." At the same time, Uchiha Gen looked down at his body. It hadn't turned transparent. A dream within a dream? No, he must have recovered.

The words on the electronic screen appeared and disappeared repeatedly. At last, four characters emerged: Compromise and compensation. (Subtext: Threats and intimidation didn't work, so I'm backing down.)

In the real world, everyone had gathered around Sasuke and was protecting him, restricting "Ye Yuan's" movements. "Ye Yuan" used Body Flicker to leap sideways, dodging a Lightning Blade, then threw two Kunai in return, forcing Kakashi to retreat.

Taking advantage of that brief moment in the air, Jiraiya seized his chance. "Ninja Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"

His white hair surged outward! With his previous momentum spent and no chance to build up new force, "Ye Yuan" couldn't dodge in time. His entire body was instantly bound by the hair, forcing him to his knees. Yet even in this situation, "Ye Yuan" showed no sign of panic. His eyes kept shifting as he gathered information, making him look eerie, like a puppet.

Jiraiya frowned. He had indeed caught the real body, but why did he still feel uneasy? Just as he finished preparing the sealing technique and reached to press his hand against "Ye Yuan's" head, "Ye Yuan's" body bent at an impossible angle, breaking free of the hair.

Jiraiya was startled. When he looked again, he saw that "Ye Yuan" had moved behind him and was heading straight for Sasuke. Jiraiya's brow furrowed. He stopped holding back, gathering blue chakra in his hand as it spun into a sphere, then charged at "Ye Yuan" with all his might!

But to everyone's surprise, "Ye Yuan" abandoned his defense, completely ignoring the Rasengan Jiraiya was aiming at his back as he used Body Flicker to close in on Sasuke!

Had he gone mad?! Almost everyone had the same thought in that instant, and Sasuke was even more terrified.

But just before "Ye Yuan" could reach Sasuke, Uchiha Gen's eyes suddenly cleared as he returned from the consciousness space.

Shit, shit!

What was going on?! This was bad—he couldn't stop! He still hadn't fully regained control of his body.

He forced his left hand to move. The Chakra Threads reeled in, bringing a Kunai into his grasp. Gritting his teeth, he drove it straight through his right hand, which was reaching for Sasuke, pinning it to a tree.

At the same time, Jiraiya's Rasengan slammed into Ye Yuan's back. Ye Yuan was sent crashing into a tree with such force that it left a deep crater. He couldn't feel pain, but after taking several heavy blows in succession, he felt something in his mouth. "Cough, cough..." He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood!

(Skin damage: 28%)

"..."

At that moment, Ye Yuan could only marvel at how powerful this human-skin disguise was.

He had barely made it out of the consciousness space before getting hit with a Rasengan. Having already suffered a wound to his soul, Ye Yuan felt dizzy. He tried to force himself to stay alert, but the scene before him grew increasingly blurry and unsteady. Just a little longer... Just a little longer... Damn, he couldn't take it anymore.

The next moment, he collapsed to his knees in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke "..."

Naruto stood nearby holding a tree branch and cautiously poked Ye Yuan with it. He didn't react. Yep, he was definitely unconscious.

Jiraiya withdrew his hand, completely dumbfounded. Had Uchiha Gen held back at the end? Jiraiya had only just managed to divert the attack away from his vital points. Whether Ye Yuan lived or died was now up to fate.

After who knew how long, Uchiha Gen opened his eyes again. He tried to stand, only to find his hands and feet tied up. Ropes covered his whole body, wrapping him up like a rice dumpling and leaving him looking like a caterpillar.

On the bright side, at least they hadn't gagged him. On the downside, several Explosive Tags were stuck to the ropes, and his chakra had been sealed.

He suddenly heard a door open. Looking up, he saw Sasuke entering. Their eyes met, and Uchiha Gen's eyes immediately turned into little dots. "Aba, aba~"

With their roles reversed, he'd been caught red-handed. He couldn't even pretend to be dead. At that moment, Uchiha Gen desperately wanted to retreat into the consciousness space. He silently looked away and surveyed his surroundings. This was a... hotel? At least it wasn't the Interrogation Department or a laboratory.

Seeing that Uchiha Gen was awake, Sasuke's emotions flickered for a moment. But instead of asking him those questions, he asked, "Do you want something to eat?"

Uchiha Gen shook his head. He was tied up like a rice dumpling. If he wanted to eat, someone would have to feed him. Besides, he couldn't taste anything anyway. Better not to embarrass himself.

"Mr. Itachi, what do you plan to do?" Kisame asked. According to the information they'd gathered in Konoha, Sasuke had already been rescued. Jiraiya, Kakashi, Sasuke, and that Nine-Tails brat were all here now.

Well... Unintentionally, Uchiha Gen had spared Kakashi three days of being stabbed.

"Proceed as planned," Itachi replied without much emotion. Kakashi's presence made no difference to him. Sasuke was still growing too slowly. Was his hatred still not strong enough...?

Uchiha Gen sat on one side, while Naruto and the others sat on the other. Sakura had temporarily gone home to let her family know she was safe, since there was nothing she needed to help with.

Seeing that Uchiha Gen had trouble moving, they changed the way he was tied up, leaving only his hands bound. Naruto had been the one to tie him up like a rice dumpling earlier.

Uchiha Gen's eye twitched. He'd get his revenge sooner or later.

He glanced at the system panel. The notes had become much more detailed. His skin was slowly recovering, and the damage was currently at 20%. If the damage exceeded 50%, his skin would contract, exposing part of his Impure World Reincarnation body. At over 80%, the system would automatically reclaim it.

The mission remained the same: obtain a pair of Sharingan. But the words about being killed if he failed were gone.

The rules for obtaining skin had changed to an exchange rate of ten million ryo.

The system had finally compromised.

Jiraiya had wanted to find Tsunade earlier and have her treat Uchiha Gen, but it seemed unnecessary now. His constitution was on par with Naruto's.

"Who are you now?" Jiraiya asked.

"Uchiha Gen."

"What happened earlier?"

"..."

"Why did you want to take Sasuke away?"

"..."

"Was it Orochimaru's order?"

"..."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Barbecue."

"..."

The conversation went nowhere. Whenever Jiraiya asked about anything important, all he got in response was silence.

"...Fine. Tell me when you've made up your mind. I hope you'll think it over carefully. The Interrogation Department isn't exactly a fun place." Jiraiya irritably scratched his head and dragged Naruto away, forcibly taking him with him. This clan was nothing but trouble.

Kakashi stood outside the room, planning to give Sasuke some time alone while keeping watch over him.

"..." They looked at each other in silence.

Uchiha Gen sensed the seal on his body and was surprised to discover that his skin was eating away at the seal bit by bit as it healed. At this rate, his chakra would be fully restored in less than five minutes. Hmm... He was being treated a lot better now, too.

Sasuke saw that Uchiha Gen wasn't looking at him at all. He hesitated, but in the end gave up on asking his questions and walked out.

Kakashi was a little surprised to see Sasuke come out. "Didn't you want to ask him those questions?"

"He won't tell me. Just like he said, I'm too weak. Kakashi-sensei, is there a faster way for me to get stronger?" As Sasuke spoke, his hands unconsciously clenched into fists, emotions hidden in his eyes.

"Sasuke!" Kakashi's expression turned serious. "I understand how badly you want to get stronger, but there's no such thing as an overnight miracle!"

Sasuke remained expressionless and didn't react. Kakashi suddenly sighed. "I'll teach you everything you want to learn, on the condition that you master everything I teach you without hurting yourself."

Sasuke's clenched fists loosened slightly. He nodded. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei..."

Inside the room, Uchiha Gen heard their conversation but showed no reaction. He simply waited for the last bit of the seal to be eaten away.

Suddenly, a huge commotion erupted from the other side of the hotel. Sasuke instinctively glanced toward the explosion, then suddenly realized what had happened. He hurriedly turned around, only to discover that Uchiha Gen had vanished. All that remained on the floor was a pile of broken ropes.

"..."

Uchiha Gen planned to sneak into Konoha, but he didn't want to do so with this identity, hiding outside. The Three-Tomoe spinning in his eyes suddenly connected.