"It was my eyes."
Sasuke's cool voice broke into Shikamaru's thoughts.
The black-haired young man had raised his head. His eyes, once filled with endless hatred and pain, now held a deeper, more complicated light.
He paused briefly, his tone turning cold and certain.
"It was my Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He thought my eyes were still ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan."
After a moment's thought, Sasuke understood the crux of it.
Uchiha Itachi had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan many years ago. According to their father, using that power inevitably caused severe deterioration of the eyesight, ultimately leading to darkness.
After years of wearing down his power, Itachi must have reached the desperate point where he needed to seek "light."
And Sasuke, his younger brother by blood, with a newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan that had not yet been overused, was undoubtedly the ideal choice.
By merging the ocular power of a blood relative, he could attain eternal light and escape the fate of blindness.
What Itachi did not know was that their father Uchiha Fugaku's eyes had already merged with Sasuke's own, quietly completing their transformation into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
This power was no longer a "cure" to be seized, but a blade already firmly in Sasuke's grasp.
At that thought, anger mingled with old wounds and bitter scorn slowly rose in Sasuke's heart.
He came for my eyes?
Just like he slaughtered the entire clan back then to supposedly "test his capacity"?
"Hmph." Sasuke gave a faint, cold snort, his gaze as sharp as a blade about to leave its sheath. "What a complete bastard."
Silence settled over the room.
Watching the dark emotions churning in Sasuke's eyes, Shikamaru knew the turmoil stirred up by Uchiha Itachi's reappearance would not subside easily.
He sighed inwardly. Trouble had come knocking again, just