Awakening

(These past few days were a small burst of updates—two chapters a day, hehe. I went back to my hometown for a few days, and the novel's backend data looks okay, but nobody's commenting, QAQ. Alright, alright, enough of that. Time to keep updating properly. Keep it up, let's go!!)

The drawback was that the host had to possess immense vitality, as well as the power to suppress Hashirama Cells!!

That was why Improved Hashirama Cells had never seen widespread use. And Josuke was the ideal test subject.

He had displayed extraordinary strength since childhood. At the thought of this, Orochimaru stuck out his long tongue, recalling his first encounter with Josuke.

The Konoha Crush Plan.

That kid had blocked his path to buy time for his teammates to escape.

What a fine little brat.

He just wondered whether the boy could hold out until the end.

What Orochimaru did not know was that beneath Josuke's tightly shut eyelids, his Sharingan-like eyes had vanished, replaced by a pair of bewitchingly crimson eyes shaped like Fūma Shuriken.

Back to Naruto and Josuke's battle.

Their fight had ravaged the ground. Josuke did not want to go head-to-head with Naruto, but he had no choice. With the strength he had displayed so far—

That bastard Danzō would never let him go. He would definitely find a way to drag him into Root, or take his eyes from him.

So he could not remain in the Hidden Leaf Village. Besides, he still needed to grow stronger, which meant he absolutely could not stay there. Just look at the kind of ninja the Hidden Leaf Village had.

Other than Kakashi, Might Guy, and Naruto, who else was worth mentioning? Seriously.

So what if he became a rogue ninja? Josuke could clear his name eventually anyway, so he did not care about that. Besides, although Orochimaru had indeed been something of a bastard in the early days—

He had been completely rehabilitated later on, alright? So Uncle Snake was a law-abiding citizen through and through.

His battle with Naruto had reached its climax. Amid the blur of their fists, one could glimpse every little moment they had spent together as children, but none of it could ever return.

It was not only the pain of the flesh. The torment of the soul was the most agonizing. Josuke finally understood, at least a little, Itachi's pain.

They had almost no chakra left. The final blow would decide the victor.

Josuke gathered Lightning Cutter in his right hand, while Naruto formed a Rasengan. They launched their final clash, but Naruto had forgotten that Josuke was from the Uchiha Clan, and that the Sharingan could use genjutsu.

At the peak of their chakra, such tricks would have been useless against Naruto. But now that both of them were at the end of their strength, it was a gift from heaven for Josuke.

The Sharingan activated. The genjutsu stunned Naruto, and Josuke's Lightning Cutter struck him. Naruto fell heavily to the ground, grievously injured, though Josuke was not in much better condition himself.

His chakra was exhausted, and forcibly using the Sharingan had left blood streaming from his eyes. Naruto's Rasengan had also struck Josuke squarely in the chest.

Josuke seemed to see his life flashing before his eyes: Naruto, Sasuke, his parents, his family... Ino...

An inexplicable emotion surged within him. The Sharingan spun rapidly in its sockets. Though covered by blood, it still could not conceal its terrifying chakra.

By then, Josuke had long since collapsed from exhaustion and was fighting purely on instinct. Without even realizing it, when the battle ended, his Mangekyō had awakened.

It sounded absurd, but that was the truth. His Mangekyō had awakened without Josuke even knowing.

Back in the laboratory.

The Hashirama Cells continued to writhe restlessly, but once the cells within Josuke's body sensed their arrival, they gradually began to fuse with them.

Though the process was exceptionally difficult, Josuke successfully overcame the Hashirama Cells. The process lasted three days and three nights...

Back in the Hidden Leaf Village, after Orochimaru retreated from the battlefield, Kakashi and the others followed in his wake and successfully arrived at the site of Josuke and Naruto's battle.

When Kakashi saw Naruto lying unconscious on the ground, he immediately reported the matter to the Hidden Leaf Village.

After some simple treatment, Naruto's injuries were no longer so severe. It was enough to make anyone marvel at the Nine-Tails jinchūriki's terrifying regenerative ability.

But Josuke was still nowhere to be found. That was a serious problem—the last surviving member of the Uchiha Clan.

Kakashi reported everything to Tsunade, and she was deeply shocked upon receiving the news.

She could not help recalling what her second grandfather had once said: Uchiha children were all evil by nature, evil little Uchiha brats...

Tsunade took the matter extremely seriously and immediately listed Josuke as an S-rank wanted criminal of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Once the news came out, the village was in an uproar. Most of the Twelve young elites found it hard to believe, especially Ino. At first, she refused to accept it. Then Sakura told her the entire story.

Ino froze, as if every ounce of strength had been drained from her body.

Two streams of tears ran down her cheeks.

Why? Why did this happen?

Of course, Ino would not say any of it aloud. She kept those doubts buried in her heart, saving them for the day she met Josuke again.

In a private room at the Hidden Leaf Hospital, Naruto jolted awake from a nightmare. He had dreamed of his duel with Josuke, of being beaten utterly and completely.

Just as Josuke was about to deal the killing blow, Naruto suddenly awoke. Gasping heavily, he looked around at his surroundings and knew that he had failed.

He had not managed to bring Josuke back. He...

"Naruto, you're awake?"

Who else could it be but Kakashi, sitting on the stool beside him?

Kakashi looked at Naruto, his eyes full of concern. Physical wounds could heal, but the scars left behind in one's heart were far more difficult to erase.

Looking at Kakashi's handsome face, Naruto asked him,

"Sensei Kakashi... Josuke..."

Kakashi naturally understood what Naruto was thinking, but he could not talk about it yet. At the very least, not for the next few days.

Seeing that Kakashi did not answer, Naruto said nothing more. He simply stared silently out the window at the beautiful scenery.

Josuke's defection brought joy to some and sorrow to others. The happiest, of course, was Danzō. He had long heard from his subordinates of Josuke's formidable reputation.

He wanted to bring him into Root and turn him into his most loyal death warrior, or perhaps make him offer up his Sharingan. Hahaha!!

The arm wrapped in white bandages looked utterly horrifying. Only a handful of people knew what was truly hidden beneath them. After giving it some thought, Danzō decided to follow through with that decision...