Chapter 119: The Eye That Reflects the Heart

Chapter 119: Chapter 119: The Eye That Reflects the Heart

In less than twenty minutes, every member of Team Eleven had assembled at the village gates.

The first to arrive wasn’t their captain, Kakashi, but Shisui.

Shisui had always felt that he bore some responsibility for Uchiha Shinichi’s defection. Because of that, he had made up his mind the night before—even if he had to use Kotoamatsukami, he would bring Uchiha Shinichi back safely.

But before he could even leave, the Third Hokage had confined him to the Uchiha clan grounds.

So when Shisui received word early this morning that Team Eleven’s suspension had been lifted, he was overjoyed.

He wasn’t entirely sure why the Third Hokage had suddenly reinstated his ANBU status, but none of that mattered to him.

The only thing he cared about was whether he could still save Uchiha Shinichi.

Kakashi wore a rarely seen serious expression as he addressed the group.

"This mission will probably be extremely dangerous. Everyone, stay alert!"

At that moment, Shisui bowed deeply to the others.

"I’m sorry. We Uchiha have caused trouble for all of you."

Guy laughed heartily.

"We’re all comrades here! There’s no need to be so formal. Don’t worry—with Team Eleven on the job, we’ll definitely complete the mission without a hitch!"

Hyuga Kagami said calmly, "Whatever there is to say, let’s talk on the way."

Everyone nodded. Wasting no more time, they immediately set out.

Along the way, Kakashi recounted everything that had happened during his battle with Uchiha Shinichi the previous day. Then, emphasizing the most important point, he said, "He can summon a gigantic chakra phantom shaped like a skeleton. It’s extremely troublesome to deal with!"

Shisui calmly replied, "That’s an ocular technique of the Mangekyō Sharingan. It’s called Susanoo."

Kakashi froze for a moment.

"Susanoo!?"

Although Shisui had used Susanoo several times before, it had either been inside the sealed cavern while fighting the monster Mōryō, or against the Kumogakure shinobi after Kakashi had already fallen unconscious and been carried away by Guy.

As a result, Kakashi had never personally witnessed Shisui using Susanoo, and Shisui had never mentioned it to him either.

Therefore, when he heard Shisui say that Susanoo was an ocular technique of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Kakashi was momentarily stunned.

After all...

He possessed a Mangekyō Sharingan too.

Seeing Kakashi lost in thought, Shisui assumed that he was worried about Uchiha Shinichi’s Susanoo and said, "Don’t worry. I can use Susanoo as well."

"Then this will be much easier!"

After confirming that their side also had someone capable of using Susanoo, Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, he became even more convinced that using an Uchiha to deal with an Uchiha was the right approach.

After a brief pause, Kakashi also brought up Uchiha Shinichi’s bizarre regenerative ability.

Hearing this, Shisui immediately fell silent.

Throughout the Uchiha clan’s thousand-year history, countless strange and unusual forbidden techniques had been developed, and who knew how many Mangekyō Sharingan with wildly different abilities had awakened?

For the moment, even Shisui couldn’t determine exactly what ability Uchiha Shinichi’s Mangekyō Sharingan possessed.

At the side, Hyuga Kagami was also silently analyzing the ability of Shinichi’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

The so-called Sharingan was an eye that reflected the heart.

Therefore, the abilities awakened by the Mangekyō Sharingan weren’t entirely without rhyme or reason.

When Obito awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had fallen into utter despair toward the entire world. Holding Rin’s corpse in his arms, he desperately wanted to escape from the cruel reality before him.

And so, he awakened Kamui—a space that allowed him to escape from everything.

When Shisui awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, the conflict between the Uchiha clan and the village had been growing increasingly severe. He desperately wished to change people’s wills so that everyone could reconcile.

And so, he awakened Kotoamatsukami, an ability capable of manipulating the will of others.

When Itachi awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village had already deteriorated to the point where one side had to be destroyed.

Thus, one of his eyes awakened Amaterasu, the black flames capable of destroying everything.

Yet deep within his heart, Itachi still clung to a faint trace of hope.

And so, his other eye awakened Tsukuyomi, an ability capable of reconstructing an illusory world.

When Sasuke awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, both his body and mind had been consumed by his desire for revenge.

As a result, he awakened Amaterasu, along with Kagutsuchi, the ability to control and reshape the black flames.

Thinking up to this point, Hyuga Kagami said, "Shisui, tell me again exactly what happened when Uchiha Yui was killed."

Shisui didn’t ask why and immediately recounted the entire incident surrounding Uchiha Yui’s death in detail.

Kagami listened carefully before suddenly interrupting him.

"Wait. You’re saying that when Uchiha Yui was lying in Uchiha Shinichi’s arms, she didn’t die immediately?"

Shisui thought back carefully, then nodded.

"Yeah. According to Shinichi, before Yui died, she said one last thing to him—’Be careful.’"

Kagami pondered silently, "The woman he loved breathed her last in his arms, yet Uchiha Shinichi was completely powerless to do anything. He could only watch helplessly as his beloved died... So after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he gained an ability that could instantly heal his injuries? This... actually makes sense."

Kakashi seemed to remember something else and added another warning.

"Right. Uchiha Shinichi’s genjutsu has also become much stronger. Quite a few jōnin were caught by it, so everyone needs to be especially careful!"

Guy suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hahaha!"

Shisui looked at him curiously.

"Guy, what are you laughing about?"

Guy rubbed his nose and declared smugly, "Lately, in order to defeat Kakashi, I’ve been practicing a secret technique that lets me judge my opponent’s movements without looking at their eyes! When we run into Shinichi, just leave him to me!"

Kakashi sighed helplessly.

"You’re the one I’m most worried about."

Shisui chimed in as well, "Yeah. When we encounter Shinichi, it’s better to leave him to me. When it comes to genjutsu, I do have a little bit of experience..."

Halfway through his sentence, Shisui turned his gaze toward Hyuga Kagami.

Kagami smiled. "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you hesitating?"

"Senpai, please promise me!" After a brief pause, Shisui continued, "If possible, please try to spare Shinichi’s life. He isn’t a bad person by nature!"

Kakashi and Guy both turned toward Kagami at the same time.

They found Shisui’s request to Kagami rather strange.

From the way Shisui spoke, it almost sounded as though Hyuga Kagami could kill Uchiha Shinichi with ease.

But Uchiha Shinichi was a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder who had rampaged through Root’s base and then defeated three entire ANBU squads.

Although both of them knew that Kagami was extremely strong, neither believed that he had reached the point where he could simply crush Uchiha Shinichi.

Kagami shook his head.

"The abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan are far too unpredictable. If I fight him without the resolve to kill him, then in the end... I might be the one who dies."

In the shinobi world, no one had the right to become careless or underestimate their opponent.

Not even the "Progenitor of Chakra," Kaguya ōtsutsuki!