The Curse of the Mangekyo

Naka River Shrine, Underground Training Ground.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball roared out and slammed into the distant rock wall, bursting into a dazzling shower of sparks.

Shisui Uchiha flashed away, reappearing in the smoke as the flames faded. The short blade in his hand sliced precisely toward the throat of a practice dummy.

But just as the blade was about to touch its target, Shisui's foot suddenly slipped.

His strike went wide.

The blade grazed the dummy's neck and left a shallow white mark on the rock wall.

"Hm?"

Xuan Shi, watching from the edge of the training ground, furrowed his brow.

For a prodigy known as Body Flicker Shisui, such a basic mistake was impossible.

Shisui stopped and swayed slightly where he stood. He raised a hand to cover his right eye, and a thread of bright red blood seeped between his fingers.

"Shisui!"

Xuan Shi and Fugaku immediately flashed to his side.

Shisui raised his head and lowered his hand.

His right eye still bore the Mangekyo Sharingan, but its once-bright crimson iris had grown cloudy, as if shrouded in a gray mist.

"Sorry..." Shisui gave a bitter smile, his voice weak. "I've been using a lot of ocular power lately to maintain the mental suggestions on those people in Root. Just now... my vision suddenly doubled."

Fugaku looked into Shisui's eyes and let out a deep sigh.

"This is the curse of the Mangekyo."

There was a kind of fatalistic sorrow in Fugaku's voice.

"The greater the power, the deeper the darkness that comes with it. Every time we use these eyes, our vision deteriorates a little more. Our clan is destined to go blind."

He knew it firsthand. Ever since awakening his Mangekyo, Fugaku had felt his eyesight noticeably decline. If he didn't restrain himself, he might go blind before the Nine-Tails' Attack.

"A curse?"

Xuan Shi looked at Shisui's bleeding eye and shook his head.

"No. It's only because our bodies are out of balance between Yin and Yang."

The Uchiha Clan had inherited the Sage of Six Paths' Yin Release power—the energy of the spirit—but lacked Yang Release power, the energy of the body. Their powerful spiritual energy had no sufficiently strong body to contain it, ultimately leading to bodily collapse and blindness.

In medicine, this was called "rejection." In fantasy, it was called "losing control of one's power."

Xuan Shi closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the system.

[Current Clan Prosperity: 115 points] (S-rank mission reward + daily accumulation)

He opened the option that had always been grayed out—[Mangekyo Optimization].

Now that his prosperity had reached the requirement, the item finally lit up.

[Item: Hashirama Cell Extract (Stabilized/Low-Grade Version)]

[Description: An extract of the First's cells, purified by the system. The violent Wood Release factor has been removed, leaving only the pure life force of Yang Release.]

[Effect: Greatly increases bodily vitality, repairs optic nerve damage, and alleviates (but does not cure) the side effects of the Mangekyo. Increases maximum chakra by approximately 30% after use.]

[Restrictions: Cannot awaken Wood Release or evolve the Rinnegan.]

[Price: 50 prosperity points per vial.]

Fifty points a vial.

Expensive.

But looking at Shisui's bleeding eye, Xuan Shi knew he had to spend them.

"Purchase."

[Prosperity consumed: 100 points. Two vials purchased.]

Xuan Shi opened his eyes. Two sealed glass vials had appeared in his hand.

The vials contained emerald-green liquid that glowed faintly in the dim underground chamber, as if it held some vigorous life force.

"What is that?" Fugaku asked in surprise, staring at the vials.

"Medicine."

Xuan Shi gave the vials a shake. "An extract made from the cells of the First, Hashirama Senju."

At the words "Hashirama Senju," Fugaku and Shisui both changed expression.

He had been Madara Uchiha's lifelong nemesis, and the legendary God of Shinobi, said to possess the Sage Body.

"Can this really be used?" Shisui asked uncertainly. "I heard Orochimaru conducted a lot of experiments. The people implanted with Hashirama Cells all ended up turning into trees."

"Those were the original cells. They were too aggressive," Xuan Shi explained. "This is a specially treated, stabilized version. The violent factors that turn people into trees have been removed, leaving only the pure life force."

"It can neutralize the excess Yin Release Chakra in our bodies and repair damaged optic nerves."

Xuan Shi held one of the vials out to Shisui.

"But there's still a risk. If your will isn't strong enough, or your body rejects it too severely, you could die."

"Are you willing to try?"

Shisui looked at the vial glowing green in his hand.

He thought of Danzo's greedy gaze, the dark underground chambers of Root, and the clan and village he had sworn to protect.

If he went blind, Kotoamatsukami would be useless. How could the Uchiha stand against the darkness then?

"If it's for the sake of protecting them..."

Shisui took the vial, his gaze unwavering.

"Then what does it matter if I turn into a tree?"

Ten minutes later.

On the operating table in the middle of the chamber.

Shisui lay there bare-chested, his limbs secured with straps to keep him from injuring himself if he struggled in pain.

Xuan Shi held a syringe and slowly injected the green liquid into a vein in Shisui's arm.

"Here we go."

As the liquid entered his bloodstream, Shisui's body jolted violently.

"Ghh—!!!"

A stifled groan forced its way from his throat.

Green veins rapidly spread from the injection site, following the course of his blood vessels. Shisui's skin flushed red, his temperature soared, and white steam even began rising from his body.

Worse, bark-like patterns really did appear across the right side of his face!

"Suppress it!" Xuan Shi activated his Sharingan and stared intently at the flow of chakra inside Shisui. "Use your chakra to guide it! Don't resist. Fuse with it!"

"Arghhh—"

Shisui clenched his teeth until his gums bled.

It felt as if countless little snakes were writhing through his veins, as if magma had been poured into his body.

But he didn't give up.

He pictured his Mangekyo in his mind and gathered all his ocular power, using it to envelop and devour the foreign Yang Release energy.

Yin and Yang.

Spirit and body.

Two completely different powers clashed wildly inside Shisui, searching for that delicate point of balance.

One minute. Two minutes.

Every second dragged on like a year.

Fugaku's palms were slick with sweat as he watched. Several times he tried to rush forward and stop the procedure, but Xuan Shi held him back.

At last.

After ten long minutes.

The heat radiating from Shisui began to subside. The bark-like patterns on his face disappeared like the receding tide, and his skin became smooth again, even more lustrous than before.

His pained groans stopped, replaced by the steady, strong rhythm of his breathing.

Shisui slowly opened his eyes.

Buzz—

His Mangekyo Sharingan activated on its own.

But this time, no tears of blood fell.

The cloudiness in the whites of his eyes had cleared completely, leaving them as pristine as the finest white jade. The four-pointed pinwheel pattern in his pupils spun more smoothly than before, radiating a vast ocular power that made the heart quail.

Crack!

Several glass beakers nearby couldn't withstand the sudden pressure of his ocular power and shattered.

Shisui sat up and clenched his fist.

He could clearly feel a constant warm current flowing through his entire body. The dryness in his eyes and the hollowed-out feeling in his body had vanished completely.

"This feeling..."

Shisui stared at his hands in shock, then looked at Xuan Shi.

"It's like a spring suddenly bubbling up in a dried-out well. My chakra... has at least doubled!"

"And..." He touched his eyes. "My vision is completely restored. The world has never looked so clear."

Xuan Shi let out a relieved breath and tossed the remaining vial to Fugaku, who was staring in stunned silence.

"It worked."

Leaning against the wall, Xuan Shi wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled.

"This is the power of the Semi-Sage Body."

"Shisui, now you can use Susanoo ten times in a row without going blind."

"We... can really win!"