Eternal Mangekyō

[Item: Mangekyō Sharingan][Contains a large amount of chakra.]

[Can be refined and absorbed.]

[Can also be directly fused into your eyes to grant you the abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan.]

[If the host's ocular power is sufficient, fusion may awaken a unique "Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan."]

[Does the host wish to proceed with the fusion?]

At that moment, Mu hadn't heard a word the system said.

His hands gripped the blood-red eyeball, his body trembling as he stared ahead.

Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto lay in a pool of blood, no longer breathing.

Uchiha Itachi held a bloodied blade, tears falling to the ground.

At the sight of this,

Uchiha Mu's heart sank. Though he had lived two lives, his eyes reddened in an instant.

A feeling of resentment welled up within him.

As he let out a furious roar...

A burning pain seared through his eyes.

The next instant,

The eyes that should have held three tomoe seemed to have the three tomoe linked together by a black thread.

A scarlet comma appeared in the center of each eye.

[System notification: The host's overwhelming grief has triggered the Mangekyō Sharingan's awakening.]

[System notification: The host has obtained two Mangekyō Sharingan. Fusing them will eliminate the Mangekyō Sharingan's weakness. Does the host wish to proceed?]

He didn't hesitate.

He silently confirmed.

The next instant, the bloodied eyeball in Mu's hand disappeared.

Then came an excruciating pain in his eye sockets.

It was enough to make anyone scream in agony.

But at that moment, no one knew the terrifying transformation taking place in Mu's eyes.

The three tomoe, linked into a circle within each eye, gradually grew larger. Inside each enlarged tomoe, a smaller one slowly appeared,

until they were encircled by a black ring.

He thought that was the end of it, but in the center of the black ring, the reflection of a three-pronged crimson blade appeared.

At the same time, the system's notification sounded again.

[System notification:]

[Congratulations, host. The powers of the two Mangekyō Sharingan have successfully fused.]

[You have obtained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.]

[The weaknesses of blindness and usage restrictions have been eliminated.]

[Left eye ability: Domain of Time; Basic.]

[Can slow the flow of time within a certain range around you.]

[The rate and range depend on the amount of chakra used.]

[Right eye ability: Scar of Space; Basic.]

[A method of folding space. It can shorten the distance between two points and cut through space. Its offensive power surpasses Kamui.]

[Congratulations, host. Your chakra reserves have greatly increased, and your rank has risen to jonin.]

Although Mu heard the string of notifications,

he paid them little attention.

He only looked toward Uchiha Itachi, killing intent blazing in his eyes.

His scarlet eyes fixed on Itachi.

His gaze was sharp.

He began to consider killing Itachi.

But Mu knew Itachi was already a jonin,

and not only were his fighting skills superior to Mu's,

he was also far more practiced at using the Mangekyō's abilities.

Killing him quickly wouldn't be easy.

In an instant, Mu narrowed his eyes.

"Itachi, do you know what you're doing?"

"All for that hypocritical Konoha, all for the ambitions of those higher-ups."

Itachi wiped away his tears without making a sound.

Amid that tense atmosphere,

Sanzuko, returning home from school, happened to push the door open.

He couldn't believe what he saw.

His beloved older brother stood there, holding a bloodstained long sword.

And his older brother, the good-for-nothing who couldn't train, knelt on the ground, cradling their mother's corpse.

Anyone could tell what had happened.

But Sasuke still refused to believe it.

He looked at Itachi.

The answer he received was a shuriken that cut across his arm.

Then Itachi activated the Tsukuyomi genjutsu and pulled Sasuke into it.

Within the illusion, Sasuke saw the entire Uchiha Clan being slaughtered.

The unbearable anguish

also awakened Sasuke's bloodline and unlocked the One-Tomoe Sharingan.

But he was too young.

At last, he couldn't withstand the crushing blow and passed out.

Mu, who had been kneeling nearby, had risen at some point. His eyes were the same as Itachi's, and he looked at him with killing intent.

Itachi's expression turned grave.

He didn't know when his younger brother, two years his junior, had awakened eyes even more terrifying than his own.

He cast the Tsukuyomi genjutsu again.

But this time,

the powerful Tsukuyomi genjutsu failed to affect his younger brother, who had been unable to train.

Unwilling to accept it, Itachi poured in more chakra.

But just as the attack was about to hit Uchiha Mu,

a terrifying barrier blocked the Tsukuyomi.

Itachi frowned. "That's your eye's ability?"

Mu frowned in reply.

"Save your breath, Itachi. Your genjutsu doesn't work on me."

"If you want to get out of here, use everything you've got."

As he spoke,

Mu activated the Body Flicker Technique and appeared in front of Itachi in the blink of an eye.

Itachi didn't dodge at all. He took the heavy punch.

Blood spurted from the corner of his mouth as he staggered back ten paces.

He wiped the blood from his mouth.

Itachi used the Body Flicker Technique too, landing a punch on Mu's face.

The brothers traded blow after blow, neither using a single ninjutsu.

Blood spattered.

They fought until both collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"Itachi."

"I promised Father I wouldn't kill you, but I can't promise I'll always hold back. So get stronger."

"Next time we meet, you won't be so lucky."

"Also, don't overuse your eyes. You'll go blind."

"To eliminate the weakness of your eyes, you have to take the eyes of someone close to you and fuse them with your own."

"What do you mean?"

"Heh."

"You'll understand someday."

With that, Mu lifted Uchiha Fugaku in his left hand and Uchiha Mikoto in his right. He vanished from the spot in an instant.

The sight left Itachi lost in thought.

"That was a space-time ability. It was every bit as impressive as the Masked Man's."

"Is this my younger brother, Uchiha Mu?"

"He probably really could have killed me just now."

"He's even stronger at hiding his abilities than Father was."

Sighing, Itachi slowly left the compound.

He went to the Third Hokage's residence.

After personally burying his parents, Uchiha Mu went to the place where Izumi was sleeping.

He looked at the girl, who didn't dare move a muscle.

Mu's gaze was sorrowful.

"Izumi,"

"if you're awake, stop pretending to be asleep."

"Mu?"

"Weren't you unable to train?"

The beautiful, youthful Izumi had only just woken up, and the questions came one after another.

"Didn't your father kick you out of the clan?"

"Why are you back?"

"And why did you save me? Where's Itachi?"

Mu's expression was calm.

He said nothing. He only noticed how Izumi's cheeks flushed at the mention of Itachi.

It was clear that her love for Itachi had sunk deep into her bones.

At that thought, Mu simply sighed and reached into his robes.

He held out a pink card to Izumi.

"Take this!"

Uchiha Izumi took the card, looking completely confused. She was about to ask what it was when—

the card turned into a streak of pink light and slipped into Izumi's body.

In barely three seconds,

Izumi was gazing at Uchiha Mu with eyes full of affection.

The Love Transfer Card had taken effect.

Mu:

"Leave quickly. The Uchiha Clan has suffered a catastrophe, and most of the clan members have been killed."

"Today, the clan head deliberately sent you away from the clan. Why did you suddenly come back?"

"Go!"

Seeing Izumi's desperate cries,

Mu felt a warmth in his heart and pulled her into his arms.

He gently comforted her:

"It's all right, Izumi."

"From today on, I'm no longer the weak, useless man who couldn't train."

"I'll grow strong and become your guardian. I'll stay by your side and never let you suffer."

Hearing this, Izumi's pretty face flushed bright red. She wrapped both arms tightly around Uchiha Mu.

At that moment, moonlight fell through the window and illuminated Uchiha Mu's face.

Izumi gazed dreamily at the handsome young man before her.

For the first time,

Izumi truly took a good look at him.

Never before had the person before her made her feel so safe.

Looking at the beauty before him, Mu swallowed.

He couldn't help feeling guilty.

"Ah, if only I weren't still a kid."

"I want to grow up soon and become a man who can stand tall and protect everyone."

"Oh my god, why am I only twelve?"

"System, hurry up and come out. How do I resolve this now?"

"I'm only twelve!"

"What do I have to do to marry Izumi and complete the system task?"

[Ding;]

[Host;]

[As long as the woman has feelings for you,]

[And both parties agree to marry, the system will notarize the marriage and grant you a Wedding Matchmaking Ring.]

[Once both parties put on the rings, the marriage is complete.]

Huh?

"Is it really that considerate?"

"Looks like this is bound to work out."

After all, given how Izumi felt about me right now, it surely wouldn't be difficult to get her to put on the ring.

Izumi was an S-rank beauty!

And she was worth a full 6,000 points of permanent chakra attributes.

Even if I didn't complete the final step, I could still get the 6,000-point reward.

After all, the reward for completing the task the first time was doubled.

I had also advanced to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, raising my strength to that of an elite jonin.

Wouldn't that mean I had Kage Level combat strength at just twelve years old?

Kage Level at twelve...

It seemed my goal wasn't far from becoming reality...

At that moment, Mu looked at Izumi's face again. The more he looked, the more he liked her.

An intense longing even rose within him.

Of course, more than anything, he longed for strength—for the power to grow stronger.

With that thought, Uchiha Mu stopped hesitating...

His gaze fixed on the beauty before him.