The Awakened Mangekyō Sharingan

Once the medicine was quickly poured into the mouths of the other five poisoned victims.

The bluish-gray deathly aura beneath their skin rapidly faded from their faces, and their breathing became strong and steady.

"Lady Tsunade, the poison has been neutralized! The corrosion has stopped! Their vital signs are recovering!"

The medical ninja in charge of monitoring shouted excitedly. The entire medical unit erupted in restrained cheers, their gazes toward Tsunade filled with pure admiration.

As expected of Konoha's princess, who was said to have single-handedly stood against Sunagakure's poisons.

Yet Tsunade's expression remained unchanged. Smiling would not have suited her image.

Before the medical unit's subdued cheers had fully died down, the tent flap was lifted again.

Three ninjas wearing dark blue shirts emblazoned with the Uchiha Clan crest strode in.

At the front was the stern-faced, sharp-eyed Uchiha Tetsuka, followed by the concerned Uchiha Daosui and the somewhat nervous Uchiha Inada.

"Lady Tsunade!"

Uchiha Tetsuka respectfully bowed to Tsunade, his voice low.

"Thank you for saving Captain Lan! Please allow us to move him to a separate tent for recovery. The three of us will personally watch over him."

Tsunade had just used medical ninjutsu to stabilize a severely injured patient. She was tiredly rubbing her brow when she looked up at the three Uchiha brats.

"Do whatever you want. That kid won't die anyway."

Tsunade's voice carried obvious impatience. As her second uncle used to say, every last one of these Uchiha was a lunatic. The best way to get along with them was not to get along with them at all.

"Yes! Thank you, Lady Tsunade!" Uchiha Tetsuka answered deeply, while Daosui and Inada also nodded solemnly.

Though the Uchiha were arrogant, loved showing off, and were overflowing with confidence, among other flaws, they still knew how to be grateful.

Very soon, the unconscious Uchiha Lan was carefully transferred to a relatively quiet, isolated tent at the edge of the camp.

Tetsuka and the other two quickly arranged security measures and set up a simple sensory barrier inside and outside the tent.

It was not that they were overly vigilant. They simply wanted to slack off and let the barrier stand watch in their place.

Night fell, and scattered campfires dotted the camp. Only a dim oil lamp was lit within the tent.

Daosui and Inada kept watch near the entrance, resting with their eyes closed while remaining highly alert.

Uchiha Tetsuka sat cross-legged in a tree, keeping watch.

The moon hung high in the sky. Its cold silver glow streamed through the tent's ventilation opening, casting a small, hazy patch of light that happened to fall across Uchiha Lan's face.

Then, at that moment!

Uchiha Lan, who had been sleeping soundly on the bed, suddenly shuddered violently without warning!

He sharply sucked in a breath like a drowning man breaking the surface, his chest heaving fiercely!

His tightly shut eyes snapped open!

There was no warning, no transition!

A crimson light instantly tore through the darkness of the tent!

The three black tomoe within his pupils spun at an unprecedented, almost frenzied speed!

They tugged at one another and distorted, as though trying to break free from some restraint, vaguely outlining the embryonic form of a twisted, unstable windmill pattern!

A pair of cold, sinister patterns radiating destructive pressure were clearly imprinted within those scarlet pupils!

The patterns were intricate and symmetrical, woven from several black, twisted sickle blades. A deep black dot lay at their center, and the entire design slowly rotated beneath the cold moonlight.

A storm of icy, violent spiritual power, filled with despair and unwillingness, swept outward uncontrollably!

The air inside the tent seemed to freeze instantly. The oil lamp's flame was suppressed by an invisible force until it nearly went out, its light flickering violently!

Meanwhile, Uchiha Inada and Daosui outside were sleeping so soundly that drool ran from their mouths, completely unaware of what was happening inside the tent.

"Damn, my head... hurts so much. Am I growing a brain?"

"Hiss~ No, my eyes hurt even more!"

After recovering for over ten minutes, Uchiha Lan finally understood what had happened.

He seemed to have accidentally been struck by that puppeteer's poisoned needle and poisoned smoke. Unsurprisingly, he had been poisoned.

He just happened to have little defense against toxins and had nearly been done in by a cheap trick. When he was at death's door and his eyes were about to fully awaken, it seemed that a blonde, curvy woman had drawn something out of his body and injected a burst of chakra into him.

But that pure Yang Release power had also suppressed the Yin Release power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, which was why it had only fully awakened now.

The only thing that confused him somewhat was that the people who had died were teammates completely unrelated to him, yet he had still awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

That was not scientific. Could he actually be a compassionate person with a low tear threshold?

Although he did want to be a compassionate person, the targets would be pretty girls. How could it possibly be a bunch of rough men?!

After ruling out every possibility, Uchiha Lan finally understood. There was only one truth!

His Mangekyō Sharingan had not awakened for anyone else. It had awakened for himself.

When he was driven into a desperate situation, his powerful desire to survive had successfully awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The abilities he comprehended afterward also confirmed this. His left eye possessed an ability called Jizo God, also known as Spirit Rescuer. Its power was to summon souls that had fallen into hell and use them for himself.

It was somewhat like the Sage of Six Paths' technique in the late stages of the Fourth Shinobi World War, when he summoned the previous Five Kage. (Using Summoning Jutsu to recall Naruto.)

His right eye possessed an ability called Tenman Tenjin. Its abilities were soul stabilization and protection. Soul stabilization could steady dying souls and his own soul.

Its greatest use might be immunity to the bizarre ability of the Human Path of the Six Paths of Pain to extract souls.

Protection allowed him to resist most genjutsu aimed at the soul.

"Damn, why do these all feel like survival skills? Don't I have some powerful genjutsu like Amaterasu or Tsukuyomi?"

Sharingan: Kid, do you think I don't know you? You look brave, but you're actually scared stiff.

Uchiha Lan was still immersed in mocking the abilities of his newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan—

"Jizo God" and "Tenman Tenjin." The names sounded pretty intimidating, but they were all skills for staying alive and hiding. Was this Sharingan a little too familiar with him?

At that moment, hurried but restrained footsteps and low orders suddenly came from outside the tent.

"Emergency assembly! All Jonin, Special Jonin, and Chunin squad leaders, report to the command center immediately! Move!"

"Logistics team, prepare to break camp! Medical unit, pack up the equipment and medicine!"

"Keep it quiet! Stay alert!"

The once-silent camp instantly became like a pond struck by a stone, with ripples rapidly spreading outward.

The sleeping ninjas were awakened and began moving in a disciplined manner. There was no clamor, only swiftly moving shadows and short commands.

"What's going on?"

Uchiha Lan's heart tightened. He immediately composed himself, concealed his newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan, and returned his eyes to ordinary black pupils.

The icy, violent storm of spiritual power that had leaked out when his eyes awakened had long since calmed.

The two drooling fellows outside the tent, Inada and Daosui, also noticed the drastic change in the nearby tent and the commotion throughout the camp. They jolted awake.