Bonds

"Neji, why haven't you come to see me as often lately?"

"Sasuke, every time, I'm the one who goes to the Uchiha Compound. Why don't you come to the Hyuga?"

"Tch, isn't it because of the Hyuga Main House? You know, those looks filled with contempt, pity, and the way they look at idiots. It's really disgusting."

Hearing Sasuke's complaint, Neji nodded in agreement. Ever since the Uchiha massacre, the Hyuga had somehow gradually gained the title of Konoha's number one clan. The key was that some of their clansmen actually believed it!

Had they not thought carefully about what had happened to those great clans in the past? No matter how formidable the Hyuga were, could they compare to the former Senju and Uchiha? They probably could not even compare to the current Sarutobi clan.

"What have you been busy with lately?" Sasuke pressed again.

Neji raised his slender brows and said seriously, "Sasuke, you're acting strangely. Although I'm your good friend, the premise is that I am a person capable of independent thought. I'm not like some fool who was moved by bonds and could even let go of the hatred of his clan's destruction. As your friend, I'll help you as much as I can, but I also have secrets I don't want you to know. Just as you said earlier, people should live for themselves instead of sacrificing themselves for someone else's dreams."

Sasuke fell silent. During this period, he had indeed become somewhat dependent on Neji. After experiencing the destruction of his clan and his brother's betrayal, he had been wary and suspicious of everyone around him. Neji was the rare person who shared his stance, and without realizing it, he had transferred his feelings onto Neji.

—The familial affection he felt for his brother, the friendship he felt for his companions—the Uchiha bloodline made him overly emotional. On top of that, they shared the same goals and interests. Even false emotions would gradually become solid.

In the manga, Sasuke and Hokage were friends who would risk their lives for each other, but Sasuke currently had no desire to interact with Hokage. Two people with opposing stances becoming friends would only torment each other until those feelings were worn away, unless one of them changed sides.

But obviously, Hokage would not betray Konoha for Sasuke, and Sasuke could not possibly give up revenge.

"I'm really sorry, Neji. It seems I caused you trouble."

"It's all right. I understand."

Once they had spoken openly, the atmosphere returned to normal.

The Byakugan's field of vision extended for one kilometer. Neji said he had recently been secretly learning from others. The secret techniques of Ino-Shika-Cho were very powerful, especially the Yamanaka's Mind Body Switch Technique.

"The Mind Body Switch Technique can interfere with the human mind," Neji said meaningfully.

Sasuke understood. It seemed Neji did not respect that mysterious existence as much as he appeared to. It had inexplicably parasitized their mental world; perhaps mind-based secret techniques could truly work.

"I think the Spirit Transformation Technique would work even better."

"Unfortunately, the Spirit Transformation Technique is a forbidden technique recorded in the Scroll of Seals."

Neji was working hard in secret, and Sasuke felt that his own efforts were still insufficient. He trained even more desperately and finally realized that he could not put all his eggs in one basket. Demon Power was certainly formidable, but he could not abandon the abilities he already possessed.

Sasuke once again attempted to develop the Sharingan's abilities. The One-Tomoe Sharingan disappointed him greatly, so what about the Two-Tomoe or Three-Tomoe?

The Uchiha bloodline came with tragedy. Only intense emotional fluctuations could stimulate the eyes to evolve, yet not even the destruction of his clan had awakened Sasuke's eyes. He had no idea what to do.

After struggling for a long time, Sasuke sadly discovered that he seemed to be able to seek help only from the Black Shadow.

That manga recording the future was extremely useful. Sasuke had always firmly believed that he could grow stronger through its contents, but now he understood that knowing and doing were two different things. Take the Rasengan, for example. He knew its principles, but without anyone to guide him, it was difficult for him to master.

Every Uchiha knew that extreme emotions could stimulate the awakening of the eyes, but very few could actually do it. Otherwise, every Uchiha would have possessed the Sharingan long ago.

The Black Shadow did not refuse Sasuke's request. Indra's Chakra had already been stripped away anyway, so fabricating a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan for him was not impossible.

—As for a genuine Mangekyō, forget it. If he awakened some troublesome and disgusting ocular technique, it would be nothing but asking for trouble.

This time, the Black Shadow made no demands. Chaotic times were approaching, and he needed to give all his pieces more leverage to draw fire.

The Black Shadow seized Sasuke and entered the mental world. Strange colors spread across its body, and Sasuke suddenly began sinking. The mental world underwent a tremendous change as all kinds of colors twisted and blended into a nauseating black, filthy and ominous.

That black gradually settled, forming a small lake. Its surface shimmered with brilliant colors, while the Black Shadow stood at its center. "Sasuke, you should understand. To obtain power, you must pay a price, and paying a price does not necessarily bring rewards. If you want to embrace the Mangekyō Sharingan, then come over."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "I still have value. You won't discard me for now, will you?"

The Black Shadow nodded.

"Then I'll go!" Sasuke endured his instinctive resistance to the black lake and stepped into it one step at a time.

The moment he touched that chaotic black water, Sasuke could not help letting out a muffled groan, as though he were suffering immense pain. The light of humanity seeped out in tangible form before swiftly being extinguished. Thin yet dense black mist wrapped around his entire body. As the black water eroded him, his figure slowly twisted, drifting further and further from humanity...

In the coastal region of the Land of Water, a group of fishermen stood aboard a boat, hauling in a massive fishing net.

"Shunsuke, we caught quite a lot of fish again today," a dark-skinned middle-aged man said loudly.

"Yeah." Shunsuke stared worriedly at the sea. No one knew what had happened this year, but ordinary people were having an especially hard time. Fortunately, the coastal region was rich in resources. At least they had fish to eat and would not starve.

"Where's Kogoro?"

"Who knows where he went? Maybe he saw some unusual fish. After all, deep-sea fish have been swimming into the shallows strangely often lately."

"Ah, what's that?!" A sudden cry rang out from the fishing boat.

Someone pointed toward the deck. "What a strange fish?"

Shunsuke looked in that direction and saw a hairtail fish. Its body seemed to be covered in a layer of red ice crystals, and the red ice was still spreading. Any fish that came into contact with it rapidly turned red and died.

The fishermen were startled. After fishing for so many years, they had never seen anything so strange. An experienced old fisherman immediately made a decision. "Whatever it is, toss it back into the sea!"

Shunsuke and several other young men cautiously picked the strange fish out. They did not dare touch that vivid red directly and used only fish spears to quickly dispose of it.

That night...

A horrifying figure wandered through the darkness. He was Shunsuke, yet he no longer looked human. Red ice crystals covered his entire body, piercing through the skin on his legs. He struggled to move, his voice hoarse.

"I don't want to die!" He still had elderly parents and a crying infant at home. As the family's pillar, Shunsuke absolutely could not fall!

But unfortunately, fate did not favor him.

The waves continued to lap against the shore as if nothing had happened, and the azure seawater gradually turned red...