Eyes, the Curtain Rises

After Taiichi served as their instructor for three days at the front-line Camp in the Land of Rivers, Yohei and his team finally completed their mission and returned to the Konoha Camp.

Taiichi received the news immediately. Looking at the Medical Ninja around him, who were many years older than him, and their eyes filled with thirst for knowledge, he decisively created a Shadow Clone to stay behind and continue teaching, while his main body headed towards the mission handover area.

Yohei and Saori were accompanying the Team Minato on a patrol mission, but the patrol area was quite large, covering the entire territory of the Land of Rivers.

It was less of a patrol and more of a show of force.

After being driven back to the Land of Wind by the First Shinobi World War with Konoha Sunagakure, the nobles who had previously sided with Sunagakure, as well as those who wavered between right and wrong, naturally needed to be dealt with one by one.

However, before that, it is also very necessary for an Elite Jonin to lead a squad of elite ninja on armed patrols. This will greatly reduce the workload of the subsequent investigation and make it easier for Konoha to negotiate subsequent mission assignments.

Although this mission didn't involve much actual combat, it was just as mentally taxing as any battle. It also made Yohei and the others realize that the Ninja World is a place where the strong prey on the weak.

Those who are weak can only be slaughtered at will; only the strong can do whatever they want.

Therefore, when Taiichi saw Yohei others again, although their appearances remained unchanged, their demeanor had undergone a complete transformation, as if they had grown from children into adults in just a few days, and had come to understand the dangers of the world.

However, when their eyes fell on Taiichi walking towards them, Taiichi could sense that these were still his comrades and friends. Their relationship had not changed; in fact, it had become even more dazzling, like a diamond, because of the trials of life.

"Ah~ Ha, Senior Disciple Brother Minato, Yohei, and everyone else, I've been waiting for you at the Camp for three days."

"Taiichi, you're back so early. Didn't you say it would take a month?" Yohei said happily. Of course, he knew who Taiichi was waiting for when he said he would wait three days.

Knowing Taiichi's plan, he was naturally very happy, as it showed that Taiichi's Yang Release had indeed been greatly improved, and his eyesight was one step further away from going blind.

Taiichi looked around and saw that there were quite a few people here, especially since he was a celebrity, and the passing ninjas would greet him from time to time.

"Come on, let's talk inside the tent."

After saying that, he gave everyone a wink and led the way forward.

Seeing Taiichi's mysterious demeanor, everyone was very curious about what news made Taiichi need to be so cautious in the Camp.

"Let's go, it's a good opportunity to rest. We've been traveling all day." Minato led the way, following behind Taiichi.

Taiichi chose a larger tent, and after everyone else had entered, Taiichi was the last to step inside. As he pulled down the tent flap, Taiichi didn't forget to add an Isolation Barrier on top of it.

Now everyone was even more curious: what news could have made Taiichi so cautious?

"Jiraiya- sensei didn't tell me to keep this a secret, so I figured it shouldn't be a problem to tell you all, just don't spread it around."

Everyone nodded in agreement, their curiosity thoroughly piqued by Taiichi.

"The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure —is dead!"

"What!"

A gasp escaped their lips. Luckily, Taiichi had anticipated this and released Isolation Barrier. Otherwise, someone would have come to Scout immediately.

"Why are you so agitated!" Taiichi glared at Yohei, who was the one with the strongest reaction.

Although Minato was surprised, he was a calm and collected person.

Saori and Kakashi were also surprised, but they managed to control themselves.

Obito and Rin, on the other hand, were still unaware of the enormous impact this had on them and remained completely bewildered.

"That's... the Kazekage!" Yohei stammered, pointing at Taiichi, then at himself, looking completely flustered.

Not long ago, they were fighting to the death with Sunagakure, and now they've heard that the Kazekage is dead. Anyone would be shocked.

"Taiichi, what exactly happened? How do you know so much about it?" Minato was quick to grasp the key point and got straight to the point.

"I saw it with my own eyes!" Now it was Taiichi's turn to brag; he had been holding back his desire to tell this for a long time.

Then, Taiichi embellished his mission experience and told everyone about it, leaving everyone stunned, including the mature and composed Minato.

By the end, everyone's gaze towards Taiichi had changed. "Your luck is just too incredible! You've encountered such a terrible thing, such a huge misfortune, and you've managed to snag it all!" Even Minato was a little envious of Taiichi.

But after the initial excitement subsided, a sense of unease crept into their hearts. There wasn't a fool among them; everyone knew that with the Kazekage's death, the war would likely resume.

"Everyone, seize this last bit of time and train hard. Once the war officially breaks out, there won't be such leisurely days anymore."

Minato, as expected of Jonin instructor, seized every opportunity to educate his team. Of course, this was mainly directed at Obito, who always couldn't control himself and was always thinking of slacking off whenever he had a spare moment.

That one sentence really struck a chord with everyone. Kakashi was the first to get restless. He said, "You guys chat, I'm going to train!" and got up to leave the tent.

Rin watched Kakashi leave, then stood up. "I'll go check on him."

At this point, Obito couldn't sit still any longer. He shouted, "Rin, wait for me!" and chased after her.

With three people suddenly missing from the tent, Minato was now in an awkward position. "Was I too harsh in my lecturing?"

Taiichi smiled and shook his head, "Senior Disciple Brother Minato was just doing it for our own good."

Minato scratched his head, then got up and walked out of the tent. "Never mind, I'll go check on them. As their instructor, I should teach them more."

Seeing Minato leave on his own, leaving space for Taiichi and the other two, Taiichi couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Senior Disciple Brother Minato is truly insightful, knowing that there was still something to discuss within their team.

Now that there were no outsiders in the tent, Yohei had no more reservations. "Taiichi, are you ready?"

Taiichi chuckled and nodded, "I only finished the upgrade a couple of days ago. If you had come back two days earlier, I would have disappointed you."

Upon hearing this, Yohei immediately became happy. If it weren't for the limited space in the tent, he would have jumped three feet high, and might even have done a few more somersaults.

"Taiichi, shall we start now? I can't wait."

Saori, standing beside him, looked at Taiichi with anticipation. She was genuinely happy for Yohei. Even though his blindness couldn't be completely resolved yet, it could greatly delay the onset of his blindness, giving Yohei ample time to train.

"Of course, come over here."

Yohei immediately rushed to Taiichi, then sat cross-legged with a serious expression, relaxing his whole body and waiting for Taiichi's treatment.

Seeing Yohei's eagerness, Taiichi also suppressed his smile, rubbed his hands together, and prepared himself to be at his best. Whether his guess was correct or not, he would know the answer today.

With his hands Hand Seals, a ball of Chakra, even more emerald green and warmer than before, condensed in his hands. Taiyi Taiichi pressed his hands towards Yohei's temples, carefully sensing and nourishing Yohei's eyes as the Chakra permeated them.

First, there's the issue of wear and tear on the eyeballs and nerves. It seems Yohei has indeed taken my advice to heart, and hasn't overdone his practice and use of the Mangekyo during this period. There's also no abnormal damage to his eyes.

Next is the unique power of the Mangekyo. Although there is no standard for comparison, compared to Yohei's power when he first advanced, his current power is almost half again as strong.

This speed is quite rapid. Even ordinary Chakra Quantity increases don't happen this fast. It's clear that the Mangekyo Sharingan's power is exceptional, and that Yohei's training was also exceptional.

Fortunately, the increase in pupil power did not further oppress Yohei's eyes. On the contrary, due to regular exercise, the previously restless pupil power now appears more calm and peaceful.

Taiichi estimates that this may not only be due to the ease with which one can perform the task through frequent practice, but also to the user's mindset.

Consider the several evolutions of Yohei's Sharingan; although there were twists and turns, there were few life-or-death situations, which made his eye power not seem so dark and cold from the beginning.

From the current perspective, such Mangekyo are not as harmful to the eyes as imagined.

"Yohei, activate your Mangekyo and use your Dōjutsu," Taiichi instructed.

"Okay!" Yohei completely trusted Taiichi, and upon hearing Taiichi's words, he activated the Mangekyo without the slightest hesitation.

As the Mangekyo was activated, the previously calm pupil power suddenly surged, rapidly circulating through the meridians of the eyes according to a specific pattern, causing a noticeable increase in pressure on the eyes.

As Yohei used his right eye, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the power in his right eye suddenly became violent, frantically impacting the structure of his right eye. At this moment, Taiichi's Yang Release Chakra flowed down, not conflicting with the power of the eye, but rather enveloping every cell in the eyeball, acting like a lubricant to reduce the pressure of the power of the eye on it.

This is the wonder of Medical Ninjutsu; although it is Taiichi's Chakra, it does not cause any rejection with other people's Chakra.

Furthermore, Taiichi could sense that if Yohei possessed Taiichi's current Yang Release and medical skills, he might be able to solve his blindness problem.

"Alright, put the Mangekyo away."

As the Mangekyo closed, the power in his eyes gradually returned to calm. After five minutes of nurturing, Taiichi withdrew his Chakra and lowered his hands.

"How's it going, Taiichi? How's the effect?"

Saori was the first to ask a question; having watched this unfold, her anxiety was no less than Yohei's.

Taiichi Yohei, who was still sensing with his eyes closed, and raised his index finger to his lips in a "shh" gesture to Saori, signaling her to calm down.

At this moment, Yohei felt a cool sensation in his eyes and an unprecedented sense of ease. Although he hadn't opened his eyes yet, he knew that the treatment was definitely effective.

When he opened his eyes, the view before him, as if washed clean after a rain, brought tears of emotion to Yohei.

"Taiichi —your eyesight is clear again—your treatment is very effective!"

Saori also covered her mouth in excitement, genuinely happy for Yohei.

"Don't be too happy yet. These are just symptoms. The fundamental problem hasn't been solved. This clarity will only become more blurred as you use the Mangekyo."

However, this treatment has proven my idea to be correct. Whether it's your own improved abilities or my Yang Release Chakra advancing further, both can effectively curb or even completely eradicate the problem with your Sharingan. So, you must not lose your fighting spirit!

"Yeah, never again!" Yohei wiped away the tears in his eyes, straightened up, and couldn't help but laugh out loud. He put his arms around Taiichi and Saori's shoulders, looking as arrogant as could be.

When Saori saw Yohei like this, she knew that his mentality had completely recovered, so she didn't indulge him and slapped away his hands that were hugging her.

"You want a beating, huh? Watch out or I'll electrocute you!"

As he spoke, a flash of lightning appeared around him, clearly indicating that not only Taiichi and Yohei had made progress during this period, but Saori had also improved considerably.

Their gaze rose, leaving Konoha's camp in the Camp of Land of Rivers, and looked out over the entire Ninja World.

The changes in the Land of Wind eventually caused ripples. Sunagakure dispatched ninjas across the country to search for things, and this activity was first Scout by Iwagakure, which was located nearby. Not long after, Cloud Village also received the news.

--

At this point, no one realized the seriousness of the matter; they all thought it was just a routine operation by Sunagakure.

Two more days passed, and news gradually spread throughout the Ninja World —the Third Kazekage had disappeared.

Silence, astonishment, disbelief, and stunned silence—these were the reactions of the villages upon hearing the news.

That was the leader of a village, and the Kazekage of Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Such a person simply disappeared in his own country. This makes one think of the saying: reality is often more absurd than fiction.

Iwagakure, Tsuchikage's Office.

The Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was engrossed in reviewing documents when his office door was rudely pushed open.

The loud "bang" startled him so much that he jerked his pen across the scroll he was reviewing, leaving a long scratch.

A series of furrows appeared on Tsuchikage's forehead as he roared, "Kitsuchi, what are you doing?!"

To his surprise, Kitsuchi completely ignored him and excitedly rushed forward, waving the scroll in his hand.

"Father, it's huge news! It's incredibly big news!"

"You bastard, you should call me Lord Tsuchikage here!"

Ōnoki reprimanded him without any politeness, but still took the intelligence scroll from Kitsuchi's hand.

Kitsuchi was still excited, so he ignored his father's scolding, only muttering, "Yes, yes, Lord Tsuchikage."

He pointed to the scroll in the Tsuchikage's hand, and without waiting for the Tsuchikage to examine it, blurted out, "The Third Kazekage has disappeared!"

"What!" Ōnoki was stunned, thinking he had misheard. He immediately opened the intelligence scroll to check it himself, and after confirming it several times, he said, "So, the Sunagakure was searching for was their Kazekage, then."

Kitsuchi nodded firmly, his smile unwavering. "Father, this is going to throw Sunagakure into chaos. Should we—"

Ōnoki rolled his eyes at his son, seemingly annoyed by his careless use of the term. "Missing? Sunagakure is just deceiving themselves. At the Kazekage's level, disappearance means death."

As an observer, he clearly saw things more clearly than the people from Sunagakure.

The people of Sunagakure still harbor wishful thinking, believing they can bring back their Kazekage. In reality, the longer they delay, the more dangerous it becomes for them.

Having considered this, Ōnoki, a decisive man, looked at Kitsuchi and ordered, "Convene a meeting of all senior executives immediately."

There was no bickering, no nonsense. Everything was so natural and straightforward.

In less than half an hour, the high-level meeting approved the Tsuchikage's decision to wage war against Sunagakure.

The reason is simple: this is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The disappearance of the Kazekage and the loss of the village's strongest fighting force will inevitably cause violent turmoil within the village.

Moreover, a portion of Sunagakure's forces are now scattered throughout the country, further weakening Sunagakure's border defenses.

If you don't accept what Heaven has given you, you will suffer the consequences.

Such a good opportunity, Iwagakure would naturally not let it slip by.

On the very day the meeting ended, Iwagakure's massive war machine began operating at full speed, with all sorts of weapons and supplies being rapidly mobilized.

In just one day, Iwagakure had assembled a ninja force of 1,000.