Warming up: The origin of that eye

Their destination was the hideout housing one of Orochimaru's special test subjects.

Kabuto handled the rowing.

Sasuke sat at the stern, keeping his White Cursed Seal released.

"Uchiha Shin... Naruto and I fought him before. He had dozens of Mangekyō Sharingan transplanted all over his body, and his ocular power let him mark and manipulate objects. Strictly speaking, though, that power fell short of a normal Mangekyō's standards..."

Orochimaru sat at the bow, his eyes never leaving Sasuke.

"Shin's eyes were mass-produced clones, after all. Besides, Shin isn't really an Uchiha. He was born into the Yasha, and his constitution allows him to adapt to foreign bloodlines without any rejection. He admired your elder brother Itachi so deeply that he named himself an Uchiha and willingly became my test subject."

Sasuke asked, "So the 'template' you used to clone those eyes wasn't one Shin awakened himself, was it?"

Orochimaru replied, "Correct. You never asked before, so I never mentioned it. The template for Shin's cloned Mangekyō was the right Mangekyō Sharingan awakened by Uchiha Ke!"

Sasuke lowered his head in recollection. "Ke... I think I heard my Father mention that name. He was one of the Uchiha heroes who died during the Second Shinobi World War..."

Smiling, Orochimaru revealed an astonishing truth. "Ke was Obito Uchiha's Father..."

After a moment of surprise, Sasuke understood. "So that was it... No wonder."

Orochimaru continued, "Ke's Mangekyō possessed a space-time ocular technique called Blade Reversal. It allowed free 'transposition' between marked objects. While it lacked Kamui's intermediary space-time dimension, it offered certain conveniences Kamui didn't. Uchiha Shin's ability to manipulate objects was precisely the result of Blade Reversal's degradation!"

Sasuke said, "I never imagined that eye had such a history..."

Orochimaru replied, "Indeed. Letting Shin use that eye was far too wasteful. The Mangekyō carries a risk of blindness, after all, while hashirama cells can negate that side effect for a single Mangekyō. To make use of that eye, I specifically created a miniature person from hashirama cells to serve as a vessel for its continued use."

The mention of that miniature person brought a fleeting look of reminiscence to Sasuke's face.

Because... his daughter Sarada had smashed both that miniature person made from hashirama cells and the Right Eye of Blade Reversal with a single punch!

Tucking Sarada's voice and smiling face deep within his heart, Sasuke did not dwell on the past. "You have Ke's left eye as well, don't you?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Of course. Like Kamui, Blade Reversal's Dōjutsu come as a pair. And in terms of combat effectiveness, the left eye's ability is more powerful than the Right Eye's."

Sasuke looked thoughtful. "Obito's Father... Perhaps those eyes could prove very useful in the future!"

The boat docked at the shore.

The three stepped onto the unnamed island and headed toward the cave that served as Shin's lair.

Along the way, Orochimaru asked, "Sasuke-kun, how would you like to acquire that eye? Disposing of Shin and taking it by force would be the most straightforward method, but I'll defer to your wishes."

Sasuke said calmly, "Let me talk to him. It's not just about the eye. There are a few things I need to clear up with him face-to-face."

As they reached the cave, boys with onion-shaped heads appeared along the rock face, their youthful Mangekyō Sharingan glaring menacingly!

"Intruders...?"

They were all too familiar: Uchiha Shin's clones.

Sasuke checked their numbers. There were only twelve, far fewer than the hundreds he had encountered before.

Orochimaru said, "At this point, Shin doesn't yet possess the technology to clone himself. These few clones were all created by Kabuto and me, but they don't seem to recognize us..."

"Protect Father!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Shin's clones addressed him reverently as their Father. They leaped down from the rock face, ready to fight for him!

"Don't be rude..."

A short-haired young man strode out of the cave, wearing the Akatsuki Robe Orochimaru had left behind from his time in the Akatsuki.

This was a full eighteen years before their previous encounter, after all. Shin was not yet bald, nor was his body covered in transplanted Sharingan.

"Father..." Shin's clones dropped to their knees to greet him!

Orochimaru said, "Shin, it's been a while."

Shin approached and bowed slightly. "Lord Orochimaru, forgive me for not coming out to greet you. If you've come here with such an entourage, you must have something important to discuss with me?"

Even before Orochimaru, Shin did not kneel. In his eyes, only one person deserved that degree of reverence: Uchiha Itachi, who had exterminated the entire Uchiha clan and become a member of the Akatsuki!

Orochimaru said, "I do have business with you. But first, let me introduce someone. His name should be familiar to you..."

Shin coldly watched the boy step forward. "You are...?"

"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke introduced himself.

Shin's gaze immediately turned vicious. "Ah, so you're the sole flaw in Itachi's masterpiece! Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's little brother, a weakling who only survived because he showed you mercy. Instead of being grateful, you made killing Itachi your goal. You really have no idea how out of your depth you are!"

Sasuke's expression remained utterly calm. He was no longer that inexperienced child. He had weathered life's hardships, and his eyes had seen through far too much.

He said evenly, "Shin, just like the Itachi I once hated, the Itachi you worship is a false image he deliberately created, not his true self. In other words, your blind worship is a tremendous insult to him..."

Uchiha Shin snapped angrily, "Huh? What are you talking about? You're a brat who hasn't even experienced war, yet you act like you understand Itachi!"

Sasuke raised two fingers of his right hand before his chest. "Words won't settle this. Let's let our strength speak..."

Shin reacted as though he had heard a tremendous joke. "You mean you want to fight me? Hey, do you have any idea how weak you are?"

Sasuke said, "If you win, you can do whatever you like with my life. But if you lose, you must abandon your obsession with Itachi's name! And return the eye you used as your cloning template to us!"

"Hahahahahahaha..."

At those words, Uchiha Shin threw back his head and laughed wildly. "Fine! I won't spare anyone who dares speak such nonsense about Itachi. The last Uchiha... I'll clean house for Itachi!"

Kabuto asked with concern, "Sasuke-kun, will you be all right?"

Sasuke replied, "I'll be fine. I'm gradually getting used to the pain from the White Cursed Seal. Besides, a fight at this level couldn't be better as a warm-up for the Ten Battles..."

Bzzzt!

The inverted-triangle Mangekyō in Shin's eyes shone brightly!

"Sasuke Uchiha!!!! Let me show you the true power of the Mangekyō Sharingan!!!"

Clatter! Countless blades spilled from his sleeves and rose into the air under the control of his ocular power!!

"Die!!!!"

Uchiha Shin swung his sleeves with a vicious grin, sending the blades shooting forward!!!

Bzzzt!

The Mangekyō spun in Sasuke's eyes. After forming hand seals with one hand, he spat out a pillar of pitch-black fire.

Blaze Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Kabuto Yakushi exclaimed in shock, "He's using Amaterasu's black flames like an ordinary Fire Release technique!?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Freely wielding Blaze Release is an ability of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, yet Sasuke is doing it effortlessly. It seems Sasuke-kun is adapting to the white Cursed Seal's power faster than I expected..."