Chapter 641: Awakening the Eyes
Twelve-year-old Uchiha Obito was already a Ninja with real accomplishments.
During his time at the Ninja Academy, he had repeatedly taken first place in his grade during practical exams.
His graduation internship had ended with an astonishing S-rank Mission, leaving countless teachers and students stunned.
Less than a year after graduation, he participated in the Chunin Exams and successfully became a Chunin, gaining a certain reputation in Konoha Village through his excellent performance.
During that period, he had taken on all kinds of dangerous missions, some of them as thrilling as the stories in Ninja novels.
There was a mission to protect a princess that eventually turned into a major battle against rebel forces. The only regret was that the princess was not very princess-like and had a terrible temper.
There was also an investigation into a minister in Rōran, only for them to discover that he harbored rebellious ambitions, allowing them to save another country.
That time, he had even encountered something as unbelievable as time travel, which had also given Obito some deeply unsettling information.
After that, he accompanied Mugetsu to the East Bank Battlefield of the Land of Fire, fighting alongside him against the Hidden Mist forces invading the Land of Fire.
On the battlefield, Obito's formidable strength further raised his reputation. He was not only known among Konoha Ninja, but even many Mist Ninja had heard of him.
With the significant merits he earned on the battlefield, Obito became a Jonin at the tender age of ten.
Obito also participated in a Martial Arts Tournament that gathered many geniuses from across the Ninja World. Although he did not take first place, he came second, and Nagato, who had taken first, was several years older than him.
Many Konoha Ninja and villagers called him Konoha's super genius, while some Uchiha elders said he was the future of the Uchiha Clan.
Obito enjoyed being praised, but he never truly took those people to heart.
Because those people only appeared after he became strong.
Only one person had appeared before he was strong.
And it was that person who had helped him become the genius everyone saw now.
Before fourth grade, Obito's title at the Ninja Academy had been "the Uchiha Clan's dead last." He was a headache for teachers, and in the eyes of some people, a good-for-nothing.
Although some of Obito's grades were not actually that bad, the other Uchiha students' excellent grades made the difference obvious by comparison.
Within the Uchiha Clan, while no one directly called Obito a dead last, none of his peers interacted with him either. He was like an outcast living inside the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Obito had not been particularly bothered by any of that. If his Uchiha peers did not want to play with him, then he did not want to play with them either. It was not as if he had no friends.
However, deep down, Obito had never been willing to remain a dead last.
He had a dream in his heart.
He wanted to become Hokage.
As the leader of the village, how could the Hokage be a dead last? No matter how one thought about it, the Hokage should be the most outstanding Ninja.
The turning point came during the first semester of fourth grade.
Even now, Obito still remembered every detail of that afternoon clearly.
Because that afternoon had truly changed his life. It was the beginning of something that felt like a dream.
He was very grateful to Ikeya Yu. If Ikeya Yu had not needed Mugetsu to substitute teach his class, Obito would not have met Mugetsu. He would not have gained the opportunity to receive extra lessons, and he might never have become Mugetsu's disciple.
Mugetsu's teaching seemed to possess a magical quality. Under his guidance, Obito's strength improved rapidly, and his theoretical grades steadily rose as well, from failing to passing, and eventually even reaching an average level.
Just like that, Obito left the ranks of the dead last and became a genius.
However, Mugetsu's help did not stop there.
When Obito was disheartened, Mugetsu would notice it immediately and comfort him.
When Obito wanted to participate in the Youth Ninjutsu Competition to save face, Mugetsu specially designed a training plan for him.
On his birthday, Mugetsu not only personally forged Kunai for him, but also specifically traveled to other countries to take scenic photos of places Obito had wanted to see.
Obito had more than one teacher.
But his master was only Mugetsu.
The all-powerful Sage Mugetsu in Obito's heart.
Yes, in Obito's heart, Mugetsu was a figure like the Sage of Six Paths. There was nothing he could not do.
Otherwise, how could anyone explain how Mugetsu, despite being a Chunin teacher, possessed such immense power and could transform him from a dead last into a genius?
How could anyone explain how Mugetsu, at such a young age, had developed so many incredibly powerful secret techniques?
But when Obito saw blood splatter from Mugetsu's body after the blue longsword fell, reality seemed to cruelly tell him that there was no all-powerful Ninja in this world.
That Sage Mugetsu's omnipotence was false.
That Sage Mugetsu could also be killed.
"Impossible!"
Obito instantly denied that conclusion.
"Sage Mugetsu is all-powerful. He won't die..."
"The truly false one is this world!"
Large tears continuously fell from Obito's blood-red Three-Tomoe Sharingan, like an endless spring from some myth, dripping without end.
Suddenly, Obito could no longer feel the people around him.
Mugetsu was gone.
Kakashi and Shisui were gone.
The enemies were gone.
He could feel nothing, as if he were alone in some desolate wasteland.
At that moment, Obito felt a burning sensation in his eye sockets.
Was it because of the tears?
Why was he crying?
Sage Mugetsu was not dead!
Obito's Chakra flowed uncontrollably around his eyes. His perception gradually returned.
Mugetsu's body appeared.
Kakashi and the others appeared.
The black-robed Uchiha also appeared.
Obito looked up at the black-robed Uchiha, and the black-robed Uchiha was looking at him as well.
"As expected of the one I chose."
Madara watched the tomoe pattern in Obito's blood-red pupils transform into a shuriken-like pattern, nodding inwardly.
Not everyone could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, and even among those who awakened the Mangekyō, there were differences in ocular power.
The reason Madara chose Obito was because he valued Obito's rich emotions. Once such strong emotions fell into darkness, they would generate ocular power far beyond the ordinary.
Just as Obito awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and his aura grew powerful, another strong aura rose from another direction.
Madara turned his head slightly.
It was his backup target, Uchiha Shisui, whose Sharingan had also changed.
To prevent accidents, Madara's target had never been just one person. In addition to the emotionally rich Obito, the exceptionally talented Shisui was also part of his plan.
His original plan was that if problems arose with Obito and the plan could not proceed, he would switch to Shisui. However, he had not expected both of them to become Mugetsu's disciples.
"Teacher Mugetsu..."
Shisui stared blankly at Mugetsu's lifeless body. Blood tears flowed from his eyes, and he could not accept this outcome.
Shisui generally did not use the word "most," because it represented absolute first place. It was too sharp and too direct.
But if Shisui had to describe Mugetsu's place in his heart, he would have only one answer.
Mugetsu was the most important person to him.
Without a doubt.
Shisui was ten years old now, but he had already been with Mugetsu for four years. It could be said that nearly half of his life had been spent under Mugetsu's guidance.
His parents had died very early. Shisui only knew what they looked like from photos. He did not know what their voices sounded like, and he could only learn about their character and deeds through the words of others.
For Shisui, his only true relative was his uncle, who occasionally came to take care of him.
But his uncle had his own family and his own Ninja missions, so he could not devote too much attention to Shisui. Shisui understood that and felt only gratitude toward him.
Before meeting Mugetsu, Shisui was alone most of the time.
Training alone.
Studying alone.
Living alone.
After meeting Mugetsu, everything changed.
After school, during what should have been his own rest time, Mugetsu was willing to squeeze out time to teach him.
From then on, his solitary time gradually became less.
Even when he did not want to study the useless courses at the Ninja Academy, Mugetsu would arrange a Shadow Clone to guide him instead of simply assigning him a task and leaving him to train alone.
October 19th of his sixth year was the most unforgettable day of Shisui's life.
October 19th was Shisui's birthday.
Because Mugetsu had been very busy at that time, handling both his Ninja Academy work and their training, Shisui had not told Mugetsu about his birthday.
"A birthday is just the day someone is born. It isn't especially special, and there's no need to celebrate it much."
That was how Shisui had comforted himself back then.
Of course, it was only comfort.
In truth, Shisui had really wanted to celebrate his birthday with Mugetsu, his understanding teacher.
But Shisui did not like troubling people, and Mugetsu was already so good to him. He did not want to trouble Mugetsu even more.
So Shisui could only swallow his bitterness, and after training ended, silently return home alone.
At that time, he had even envied Obito.
Because Obito definitely would not overthink things. He would naturally tell Mugetsu about his birthday and invite Mugetsu to celebrate with him.
Just when Shisui had been at his lowest, a miracle happened.
Although he had not told Mugetsu about his birthday, Mugetsu somehow learned about it and had decorated his home in advance, giving him a huge surprise.
At that moment, Shisui truly felt that Mugetsu was the embodiment of his deepest fantasies.
Otherwise, how could he so precisely strike at Shisui's deepest desires and fulfill his needs?
The surprises did not stop there.
Mugetsu had learned to forge Ninja tools not because of some special need as a powerful Ninja, as Shisui had thought, but to prepare his gift, even injuring his hands for it.
Shisui, who rarely cried, almost shed tears that time.
Shisui often heard people talk about the greatness of paternal love and maternal love.
But he had never experienced either, so he had no real sense of what they meant.
After receiving Mugetsu's gift, Shisui suddenly understood what those people were talking about.
Mugetsu was not his father.
But Mugetsu's love for him was no less than the paternal love others spoke of.
From then on, Shisui had actually regarded Mugetsu as a father-like figure.
"No. Teacher Mugetsu can still be saved. That secret medicine. Yes, the secret medicine!"
Shisui remembered the secret medicine Mugetsu had given them and quickly pulled a black pill from his Ninja tool pouch.
Whoosh!
Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan stared intently at Madara. He erupted with Chakra, used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive beside Mugetsu, swiftly placed the black pill into Mugetsu's mouth, then helped him pull out the Wood Release branches.
Madara did not stop Shisui. He merely watched coldly.
His Sharingan saw it clearly.
Mugetsu was already dead.
Completely dead.
There was no secret medicine for resurrection in this world. At most, such medicine could restore a little stamina or Chakra.
With Shisui's help, the black medicine flowed down Mugetsu's throat and entered his body.
The healing secret medicine took effect quickly. Mugetsu's body visibly recovered, his wounds healing rapidly without leaving any scars.
Soon, he looked as if he had never been injured at all.
Only, he did not wake up.
"Wasted effort. He is already dead."
Madara shook his head and spoke faintly, using a voice-changing technique.
Shisui doing this could only make Mugetsu's corpse look better. Nothing more.
"Teacher Mugetsu isn't dead! He's just tired and hasn't woken up yet!"
Shisui stared fixedly at the black-robed Uchiha with his blood-red Mangekyō Sharingan, as if he wanted to carve every detail of the other party into his mind.
He would definitely find a way to save Mugetsu.
Since Uzumaki Naruto and the others could travel through time, there was no reason he could not.
Even if he might lose himself in some timeline, he would definitely save Mugetsu.
Shisui not only wanted to revive Mugetsu. He also planned to take revenge on the black-robed Uchiha who had killed him.
"Instead of deceiving yourself, why not find a way to revive him?"
Madara withdrew his gaze. His Chakra erupted, upgrading his Susanoo into a twenty-meter-tall blue giant that walked toward Rin.
The backup plan, aside from killing Mugetsu, who had obstructed the plan, also involved major changes to several other steps.
However, Rin was still a crucial figure.
As long as Rin was alive, Obito would not be able to fully fall into darkness.
Of course, Madara was not going to kill Rin here. Doing that would only make Obito hate him, the mysterious black-robed figure, with no other effect. He only wanted to take Rin away.
Rin's death had to be twisted enough to make Obito realize that this world was cursed and beyond saving.
Only creating a new world could save everything.
"Die!"
Obito's hatred for the black-robed Uchiha reached its peak, and he instinctively condensed a massive amount of Chakra into his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Just as Madara controlled Susanoo to reach a large hand toward the injured Rin, who had fallen to the ground, a distortion suddenly appeared where Susanoo was located.
"Hm?"
Madara reacted extremely quickly and jumped away at once.
The next moment, the distorted area expanded, and half of the tall, mighty blue giant's body vanished into thin air, as if it had been directly erased.
"Is this his Mangekyō ability? Not bad."
Madara showed an interested expression as he watched Susanoo instantly lose half of its body.
The Mangekyō Sharingan had many different abilities. Some people's abilities could overlap, but most were different. The ability Obito had just displayed was considered one of the stronger Mangekyō abilities Madara had seen.
Whoosh!
Shisui placed Mugetsu's body down and attacked Madara.
He had already gathered enough Chakra in his Sharingan.
.....
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