The Secret of the Eternal Eye

Izuna was injured? Uchiha Gen was somewhat stunned, though it was also within his expectations.

In the original history of the Hokage, Izuna had indeed died from grievous injuries. Uchiha Gen knew this very well. What stunned him was that, even with all the ninjutsu intelligence and logistical supplies he had provided, history had still returned to its original course.

"Take me to see him!"

When they arrived at the third-floor hospital in the Clan Land, Uchiha Gen saw Madara standing outside the glass doors, still wearing his armor.

"What happened? Did Tobirama do this?"

"Yes!" Madara's expression was terrible. His heart was filled with mixed emotions—on one side was his brother, on the other was his dream. Things had actually developed to this point. "I didn't see the exact circumstances. I don't know what technique Senju Tobirama used."

Uchiha Gen nodded. If he was right, it had probably still been the Flying Thunder God. Izuna had still failed to escape this calamity.

At that moment, the door opened, and a clan member in a white coat emerged, drenched in sweat.

"Clan Head, Acting Clan Head, Lord Yuan, he..."

Uchiha Gen ignored him. He had to personally examine Izuna's injuries. Madara followed close behind. Izuna lay on the hospital bed, his face pale, his frail appearance making their hearts tighten.

Uchiha Gen gestured, and the clan member beside him promptly handed over the report.

"Hmm... half his intestines are charred, his spleen is ruptured, his stomach is torn... his entire internal organ system is a complete mess..."

Just listening to it made Madara's thoughts churn in chaos.

"Gen! Can he be saved or not?!"

Uchiha Gen did not answer as he looked over the report. He walked to the bedside and looked at his foolish second brother, who was usually the best at livening the atmosphere. It would have been impossible not to feel heartbroken.

"With current medical technology, organ transplants are impossible. Besides, Second Brother suffered injuries in multiple places. In other words, even more organs would need replacing."

"...There's no hope?"

"I'll examine the exact situation first."

Uchiha Gen stretched out both hands, covering them in Chakra as he extended it into Izuna's body. He slowly closed his eyes and sensed the flow of Chakra.

"What's going on? Why is Izuna's cellular activity so low? Didn't he learn my Chakra Breathing Method?"

Madara opened his mouth, somewhat regretful that he had not pushed Izuna harder.

"Izuna said that technique demanded too much control, so he never learned it."

"Without sufficient cellular activity, he can't endure the process of screening for compatible organs. Under the current conditions... there's nothing I can do."

Izuna had been pierced through by the Thunder God Sword. Most of the tissue in the wound had been carbonized and necrotized. To treat him, nearly all his internal organs would have to be replaced.

Izuna had no secret self-healing technique. The Uchiha Clan had never excelled physically, aside from being somewhat more agile. And Uchiha Gen had only established the medical department a few years ago. Technology for replacing organs had not even been developed yet, much less an organ bank.

"Cough... cough!"

As they spoke, a flush appeared on Izuna's face, and his breathing briefly stabilized.

"Where... is this?"

"Second Brother... you're home."

Madara silently walked to the other side of the bed and took Izuna's icy hand, trembling uncontrollably.

"Second Brother!"

"...Big Brother, don't cry. Third Brother... I..."

Tears began falling from Uchiha Gen's eyes of their own accord. Was this outcome really what he had wanted? Looking at Izuna, who was having a final burst of life and stood at death's door, he could no longer tell.

"Second Brother, say whatever you want. We're listening."

"Cough, cough! Tobirama... that bastard, cough, cough! Tobirama has mastered the Flying Thunder God! You must... be careful. He's a treacherous and cunning..."

"Yes, yes. I'll definitely avenge you."

"...No, Third Brother, that's not what I meant."

"I understand. I'll definitely preserve Tobirama's head and let you see it with your own eyes."

"..."

Izuna held his mouth half open, nodded, and slowly tilted his head toward Madara.

"Big Brother, I know your eyes... are nearly blind. We have the same eyes. You can't fool me. Big Brother... I'll leave my eyes... to you."

After entrusting his final words, Izuna's eyes nearly closed. He felt terribly sleepy, but Uchiha Gen forcibly poured a surge of Chakra into him, stabilizing his heart and meridians.

"Second Brother, don't die just yet. I still have something to ask you."

"..."

Madara: ...

Izuna pursed his lips and said dryly:

"Ask."

"It's like this. If you had a chance to be revived in the future, but it might be separated from now by several decades, what would you think?"

"Revived?"

"Yes!"

Madara also raised his head to look at Uchiha Gen. This third brother of his always said startling things.

"Forget it. Death is death. What would be the point of coming back to life?"

"Alright, then I'll take that as your agreement."

"Huh? I..."

Before Izuna could object, Uchiha Gen had already cut off the connection. Then he raised his head and said to Madara:

"Replace the eyes while they're fresh. Are we doing surgery or something?"

"Sigh... no need. I learned that technique of yours."

Madara sighed and raised a hand to touch his own eyes. The Mangekyō Sharingan would go blind, and that had everything to do with his unrestrained overuse of them. Even if he replaced them with Izuna's eyes, how long could they last?

"Big Brother, don't hesitate. Replace your eyes while they're fresh, so I can quickly preserve Second Brother's body."

"...You really have a way to revive him?"

"I can't guarantee it. I can only say there's a chance. Besides, even if he can't be revived, I can still be buried with Second Brother when the time comes, right?"

"Fine."

After Madara spoke, he swiped at his eyes with one hand, dug, and a pair of eyeballs came out on their own. Uchiha Gen watched closely. There was not even blood spilling from this manual eye removal, which was a little unscientific. Still, he offered some guidance:

"When removing Second Brother's eyes, use Chakra to seal the blood vessels in advance. That way, the eyes won't be damaged by stress stimulation."

Madara nodded, raised his other hand, and placed it over Izuna's face. He hesitated for a moment before removing the eyes. However, Izuna was already dead. When the eyeballs were dug out, blood splashed all over Madara's face. That was scientific again.

Even without eyes, Madara was not hindered from observing his surroundings. After taking Izuna's eyeballs, he placed them into his empty eye sockets and gave them another swipe. The eye replacement was complete.

"This method is really convenient. What a pity it probably can't be used clinically."

"Gen, eyes are not actually controlled by the brain. They only have a one-way nerve for transmitting information, so they aren't difficult to operate on."

"So that's why those two forbidden techniques can't be spread around?"

"Yes. If someone with evil intentions learned them, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for the Uchiha Clan."

Hearing this, Uchiha Gen once again pictured Danzo with an entire arm covered in eyes. He wondered whether he should eliminate Danzo in the cradle while he was still just a brat.

"I wonder whether my Mangekyō Sharingan has changed after receiving Izuna's eyes..."

Madara slowly opened his eyes and activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, but his eyes began spinning out of control. He was slightly surprised by this sudden change, but then he sensed that the Mangekyō Sharingan was developing in a positive direction.

"Big Brother?"

Hearing the call, Madara raised his head and looked at Uchiha Gen. The Mangekyō Sharingan pattern in his pupils seemed different from before. It was also Uchiha Gen's first time personally seeing the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. The surprise on his face was no act—he truly found it astonishing.

"Big Brother, do you feel anything different?"

"I... my Mangekyō Sharingan abilities haven't changed! And also... my vision has recovered. I can clearly sense my eye power now! It's recovering on its own!"

"What? Its eye power is recovering on its own?!"

"That's right!"

Madara summoned a Susanoo arm in the empty space beside him and felt his eye power draining away. Then he felt a warm current. His eyes really were restoring their eye power on their own!