The situation was now under control.
The Lightning Style: Lightning Illusion Flash of Lightning formations surrounding the Daimyo Palace,
as well as the remaining three formation points, had all been taken over by Anbu.
The Guardian Shinobi, originally led by Kazuma,
had completely fallen apart after Kazuma was killed.
Among the Guardian Shinobi's elite, the Twelve Guardian Ninja,
all had perished except for Asuma Sarutobi and Chiriku, who had left midway, and the Lightning Style Four-Man Squad, who had been captured.
The remaining ordinary Guardian Shinobi had also been taken into custody by the Anbu,
where they would await Konoha's subsequent judgment.
"Is that... the Eight Inner Gates?!"
Even the Anbu elites, who had seen their fair share of trials,
couldn't help but look shocked as they watched someone wrench the enormous iron tower out of the ground with brute force,
then slam it heavily into the earth.
"This Taijutsu... it's beyond anything we could have imagined..."
"As expected of Might Duy's son!"
In the middle of the field, Might Guy lay sprawled on the grass like a fish out of water.
Even the slightest breeze
caused pain throughout his entire body.
It was the side effect of forcibly opening the sixth gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
Kakashi, who knew this well, crouched nearby,
taking the opportunity to flip through his manga, Death of a Ninja, which he had no idea how many times he'd read.
He stayed by Guy's side,
making sure no one touched him and caused him more pain.
Kakashi patiently waited for Guy to recover.
Though the side effects of the Eight Inner Gates were severe,
they would disappear on their own after a while.
There was no need for excessive outside interference.
As for Yatsuhashi's Mangekyō Sharingan,
the three of them were confused by his special request,
but agreed to cover up the fact that he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
They agreed on a story and swore never to reveal the truth.
Uchiha Itachi's admiration for Yatsuhashi soared.
His eyes now held unmistakable awe.
After all, the Mangekyō Sharingan was a legendary power of the Uchiha Clan.
He had always believed
that in the Uchiha Clan,
only a genius like Uchiha Shisui
could possibly reach that legendary realm.
But Uchiha Itachi had never imagined
that someone else could wield this power, too.
And since each Mangekyō Sharingan had its own unique ability,
and Uchiha Shisui's was Kotoamatsukami, which could freely twist another person's will,
Uchiha Itachi looked at the enormous iron tower lying silently on the ground
and understood: Yatsuhashi's Mangekyō Sharingan ability must have something to do with strength.
"So cool... This is the true power of the Uchiha Clan!"
Uchiha Itachi's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
He had become Yatsuhashi's number-one fan.
As for Kitane, once the Thunder Group had disappeared
and was no longer of any use, Uchiha Itachi had been ready to execute him on the spot.
But at the last moment, Yatsuhashi stopped him.
He had already witnessed Uchiha Itachi's ruthlessness,
and didn't want the boy to plunge into endless killing so soon.
Yatsuhashi wanted to start trying to change his behavior now.
Perhaps this could prevent
the Uchiha Clan's tragic night of annihilation.
After Uchiha Fugaku had reprimanded him,
Yatsuhashi had already abandoned his plan to have Uchiha Itachi die in a mission accident.
After witnessing Kazuma and the Guardian Shinobi's defeat,
Kitane had long since lost all hope.
He was entirely willing to admit defeat.
Kakashi didn't even need to say anything more;
Kitane gave up resisting without a fuss.
Kakashi was able to place the Cursed Seal of Tongue Eradication on Kitane with remarkable ease, preventing him from leaking information about Yatsuhashi.
Back in the village,
Kakashi had personally seen the Yamanaka Clan use the Cursed Seal of Tongue Eradication several times.
As the Copy Ninja,
he had only glimpsed their hand seals and the way their chakra flowed by chance.
But thanks to his photographic memory,
Kakashi had somehow mastered the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique,
the Cursed Seal of Tongue Eradication.
The method to undo the Cursed Seal of Tongue Eradication,
however, was said to be known only to the Yamanaka Clan's leader, Inoichi Yamanaka.
Since Kakashi had never seen it, he couldn't undo the seal.
But what he knew was enough for now.
The Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, still had plenty of state business to discuss with the Daimyo,
including the enormous military budget that had yet to be allocated to the village,
as well as what to do with the Guardian Shinobi after their disbandment.
So Hiruzen Sarutobi had no plans to return to Konoha right away.
As for Might Guy and Uchiha Itachi's mission to escort the Third to meet the Daimyo,
it had been a winding journey, but they had completed it successfully.
After a brief rest,
the four of them set out on their return to Konoha.
On the way, Yatsuhashi took out a set of notes he had written by hand.
His years of working in a laboratory
had left him with the good habit of taking notes.
Though he had already handed the Uchiha Clan's ocular jutsu scroll back to Uchiha Fugaku,
his earlier notes allowed him to easily make another copy.
The notebook contained not only basic training methods and techniques for using the Sharingan, from one tomoe to three,
but also Yatsuhashi's own unique insights into wielding the Mangekyō Sharingan.
In particular, it explained his trick for activating and deactivating it in an instant,
a thrifty habit that ensured he never wasted a second of its activation time.
"Kakashi."
Yatsuhashi handed over the material he had reorganized based on his notes.
Kakashi took it with some confusion. "What's this?"
"My notes on using the Sharingan," Yatsuhashi said calmly. "And information about the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Kakashi's pupils contracted.
Until then, he had thought the Sharingan was only a tool for copying jutsu.
He had never considered that it might hold deeper secrets.
It wasn't until he saw Yatsuhashi's Mangekyō Sharingan that Kakashi had begun to suspect there was more to it.
But before he could find time to study the matter in the village archives,
Yatsuhashi had already given him information about the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"When you used Chidori to cut through the lightning that day,
it was only for a moment,
but I still sensed a resonance between our Mangekyō Sharingan."
Kakashi froze.
"But you're not part of the Uchiha Clan, and you never received systematic training in the Sharingan."
"You don't know the Uchiha Clan's legendary secret: the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Yatsuhashi continued, "This information might be helpful to you."
That was also why Kakashi, despite having awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, had never learned how to use it.
So after weighing the pros and cons,
Yatsuhashi decided to give Kakashi the material on the Uchiha Clan's ocular jutsu.
He had even included information about Susanoo, the ultimate power that could only be used by those who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, which he had only recently obtained himself.
After all, besides Uchiha Itachi, there was another key figure who had played a part throughout the Uchiha Clan's night of annihilation.
That person was Uchiha Obito.
Besides interfering with Uchiha Itachi,
Yatsuhashi was also looking for a way to stop Uchiha Obito's plan.
Only then could he truly change the Uchiha Clan's tragic fate.
Only then could he ensure the safety of his parents, Uchiha Uruchi and Uchiha Tesho.
And if Kakashi could become familiar with his Mangekyō ability, Kamui, sooner,
that would make Yatsuhashi's future plans easier.
After all, Uchiha Obito's seemingly invincible intangibility
could make him immune to all physical attacks.
Even Yatsuhashi wasn't certain he could beat him.
But with Kakashi, it was different.
After all, they shared the same Kamui dimension.
Uchiha Itachi watched the entire exchange in silence.
Seeing Yatsuhashi share his experience without holding anything back
deepened Uchiha Itachi's respect for him.
The admiration in his eyes burned brighter than ever.
Before you continue