In a brightly lit room at the former site of Root in Konoha, Madara and Sasuke Uchiha lay side by side on hospital beds.
Sasuke was unconscious, while Madara was awake. His Shadow Clone was performing eye transplants on them both.
Although Madara was using Uchiha Itachi's body, he had already fully integrated Hashirama cells into it.
With Madara's regenerative abilities, replacing his eyes would have no effect on him. His Shadow Clone first transplanted his own Rinnegan into him.
Feeling the tremendous ocular power and abilities of his Rinnegan, Madara smiled faintly and sat straight up in bed.
Madara gently closed his eyes, then opened them again.
The Rinnegan, which Nagato had never been able to deactivate, became a pair of ordinary eyes under Madara's control. No one could have noticed anything amiss.
As for Sasuke, Madara first injected some Hashirama cells into his unconscious body.
Thanks to Orochimaru and Kabuto's research, Madara's mastery of Hashirama cells had reached another level.
With Madara personally handling the procedure, Sasuke's body accepted the power of the Hashirama cells almost instantly. Meanwhile, Madara carefully removed Sasuke's original eyes.
Members of the Uchiha Clan who awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan would gain forbidden power, but using that power would inevitably plunge them into darkness.
Unless they could obtain Hashirama cells, or had a brother who had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hashirama cells could repair the damage caused by using the Mangekyō Sharingan, while a brother's Sharingan could help take that power a step further.
Madara had once regained his sight through the eyes of his younger brother, Izuna. In this life, he gave the eyes of his current body to Sasuke, who was now his younger brother.
Sasuke accepted Itachi's eyes without any rejection. With the help of the Hashirama cells, his