Konoha Hospital, Intensive Care Unit.
Tsunade personally treated Lin Ye and Karin. Lin Ye's eyes had suffered severe damage. He had overused his Mangekyo and repeatedly used forbidden jutsu, nearly exhausting his Eye Power. Even with every medical ninjutsu at her disposal, Tsunade could only preserve his basic vision. His Mangekyo abilities were temporarily unusable.
"How much of his vision can he recover?" Kakashi asked.
"Best case, it returns to the level of an ordinary person, but he won't be able to use his Sharingan." Tsunade's expression was grave. "Worst case... permanent blindness."
"What about Karin?"
"She used a simplified version of the Reaper Death Seal and burned through ten years of her lifespan, but she can still recover. She needs a month of bed rest."
Kakashi clenched his fists. Orochimaru... this time, we have to finish him off for good.
In the hospital room, Lin Ye saw countless scenes while unconscious.
The Uchiha's last wishes flashed before his eyes, one after another. The faces of those dead clansmen, their regrets, their hopes. Then came Karin's mother, Kagami's younger brother, Danzo's crimes, Orochimaru's greed...
Finally, he saw a gigantic eye-the Rinnegan. The entire world was reflected in it, along with his face.
"Do you still want to continue?" a voice asked. "Even if you go blind? Even if you die?"
"I do," Lin Ye answered in his dream. "Because there are people who need me, last wishes to fulfill, and curses to break."
"Even if the price is your eyes?"
"Even if the price is my life."
The voice fell silent, then laughed. "Good. Then I'll give you one final chance. Remember, when you collect one hundred last wishes, a surprise awaits you. When you collect one thousand, you'll see the truth. Now sleep, Uchiha Orphan. You still have a long road ahead."
Lin Ye sank into a deeper sleep.
He woke at noon the next day. Everything before him was a blur; he could only make out light and shadow. He tried to activate his Sharingan, but a sharp pain stabbed through his eyes, and it would not activate.
"You're awake." It was Karin's voice, very weak.
"Karin... how are you?"
"I'm fine. Lady Tsunade saved me." Karin's voice trembled with tears. "But your eyes, Lord Ye..."
"As long as I can see light, that's enough," Lin Ye said calmly. "What about Fū? Any news?"
"Not yet, but Lord Kakashi has already taken a team after her. Orochimaru's reverse summoning coordinates were on the border of the Land of Fire, toward the Land of Rice Fields. That's one of his bases."
"The Land of Rice Fields... Otogakure," Lin Ye said. "Orochimaru's stronghold. It's too dangerous for Kakashi-sensei to go alone."
"Lord Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade went too. Lord Third is holding down Konoha to stop the Akatsuki from exploiting our vulnerability."
Lin Ye fell silent. He had been careless this time and underestimated Orochimaru's preparations. But there was still a chance. Fū's talisman held his chakra mark, and he could faintly sense its direction.
"System, scan my status."
[Host: Uchiha Ye] [Status: Severe eye damage (30% vision remaining, Mangekyo temporarily sealed)] [Estimated recovery: 30 days (natural recovery) or 1 day (using the special item "Eye Power Crystal")] [Special item "Eye Power Crystal": Reward for completing 100 last wishes. Instantly restores Eye Power and raises its upper limit, but causes extreme pain upon use.] [Last wishes completed: 380/1344] [Remaining until the 100-last-wish reward: 20 last wishes]
He needed just twenty more last wishes to obtain the Eye Power Crystal. Once he completed those twenty, he could restore his vision and even grow stronger.
"Karin, do me a favor," Lin Ye said. "My eyes need a special treatment, but I have to get a few things done first. There are still last wishes within the Konoha area. Can you help me fulfill them?"
"Of course!" Karin said at once. "But you can't move, Lord Ye. Lady Tsunade said you need bed rest..."
"I won't move. You will," Lin Ye said. "I'll tell you what the last wishes are, and you can fulfill them for me. Once they're done, my eyes will recover."
"Really?"
"Really."
Lin Ye told Karin several simple last wishes he remembered from within the Konoha area: deliver a letter to a certain shop owner, leave a bouquet at the Uchiha Cemetery, find a missing forehead protector...
Karin wrote them down. Though she was still very weak, she insisted on fulfilling them. After she left the hospital, Lin Ye began scanning Konoha with his Chakra Information Vision-which still worked, despite being blurry-to search for more last wishes.
He discovered that several new last wishes had appeared in Konoha, left by genin who had died in the recent battle in the Forest of Death. One Amegakure genin's last wish made his heart tighten.
[Last wish 381: Amegakure Genin Ame's last wish] [Details: Tell Lord Orochimaru that the mission is complete, but I'm sorry.] [Reward: Rinnegan Fragment ×2] [Hint: This last wish is connected to the Akatsuki.]
This Amegakure genin had been Orochimaru's inside agent. The fact that he had left this wish before dying meant Orochimaru had more than one inside agent in Konoha-and a larger plan.
"The mission is complete... what mission?" Lin Ye frowned.
It suddenly occurred to him that capturing Fū might not have been Orochimaru's ultimate objective. The Seven-Tails mattered, but what Orochimaru truly wanted was the Sharingan and eternal life. He might have taken Fū to use her in a trade, or... to draw attention away.
"A diversion?" Lin Ye jolted. "Orochimaru's real target might be Konoha itself!"
He struggled to get up, but his body was too weak, and he fell back onto the bed. Just then, the door opened, and an Anbu rushed in.
"Uchiha Ye, we have an emergency! Large numbers of unidentified ninja have appeared in the Forest of Death and are attacking Konoha! Lord Third wants you to go to the Shelter immediately!"
"What?" Lin Ye gritted his teeth. "Is it the Akatsuki or Orochimaru?"
"Both! There are masked Akatsuki members and ninja from Otogakure! And... Gaara from Sunagakure has gone berserk. Shukaku is destroying Konoha!"
"Gaara's gone berserk..." Lin Ye understood. Orochimaru's plan was to use Fū to lure away Konoha's main forces, then trigger Gaara's rampage to throw the village into chaos. The Akatsuki would exploit that opening and overrun Konoha in one fell swoop.
"I can't go to the Shelter," Lin Ye said. "Take me to the battlefield."
"But your eyes..."
"Take me there!"
The Anbu hesitated for a moment, then hoisted Lin Ye onto their back and rushed toward the Forest of Death.
Along the way, Lin Ye heard explosions, screams, and the clash of jutsu. Konoha was burning.
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