"Yami!"
Uchiha Kenta let out a heart-wrenching roar, feeling the surge of an entirely different power within his eyes; everything in his vision seemed to become sharper and clearer.
It was an unprecedented feeling of immense strength!
He glared fixedly at the "Konoha Anbu" who had stabbed his sister, a murderous intent surging forth.
"You... deserve to die!"
Before his words even faded, Uchiha Kenta's figure suddenly blurred!
As if merging directly into space, in the next instant, he appeared behind the "Anbu" impersonated by the White Snake Sage Kōjinja!
Alarm bells blared in Kōjinja's mind, and without a second thought, she attempted to use a substitution technique to escape.
However, it was too late!
"Divine Banishment!"
Uchiha Kenta's icy whisper sounded, the four-pointed windmill pattern in his left eye spinning wildly!
An invisible ocular power, imbued with spatial repulsion force, instantly acted upon Kōjinja.
*Thump!*
Kōjinja didn't even understand what was happening before she felt an irresistible, immense force slam into her body. Her vision blurred, and the surrounding scenery rapidly receded and distorted around her!
"Urgh—"
She vomited blood violently. Her body lost control mid-air, the Transformation Technique dispelling to reveal her original form of a giant white-scaled serpent. Then, amidst spatial ripples, she was directly blasted back to Ryūchi Cave by this force!
The might of this newly tried ocular technique was actually terrifying to such a degree!
Immediately after, Uchiha Kenta's gaze swept towards the several other "Anbu" who were besieging him. The windmill pattern in his right eye's pupil rotated once more!
"Amaterasu!"
Sizzle—!
Black flames ignited out of thin air on those "Anbu," ominous and scorching hot, carrying an aura that incinerated everything!
"Ahhh!!!"
Screams of agony erupted instantly as those clones of Sora dissolved into white smoke and vanished!
Uchiha Kenta frowned, sensing something amiss, but he had no time to ponder it further. The situation had now been completely reversed!
This was the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan!
Uchiha Kenta half-knelt, carefully cradling his sister, whose chest was stained with blood and whose breathing was faint.
"Yami! Yami! Hold on! Big brother will take you away right now! Big brother has power now, I can definitely heal you!"
His voice trembled, his eyes streaming with tears of blood, making him appear particularly ferocious.
"Bro...ther..."
Uchiha Yami weakly opened her eyes, looking at her brother's bizarre eyes streaming with bloody tears. Her heart ached, and she wanted to raise a hand to touch them, but she lacked the strength.
Just then, another sudden change occurred!
A black shadow appeared soundlessly behind Uchiha Kenta.
Stab—!
Uchiha Kenta's body stiffened abruptly. With disbelief, he looked down to see a hand wreathed in azure wind spirals piercing out through his own chest.
In its grasp was a faintly pulsating, blood-soaked heart...
It was his own heart!
The Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes grew blurry, its rotation slowing down.
"Urgh... Bai...hu..."
With great difficulty, he turned his head to look at the cold, tiger-striped mask behind him, his eyes filled with incomprehension.
"Brother—!!!"
Uchiha Yami, shielded in Uchiha Kenta's embrace, let out an utterly piercing scream.
She watched, wide-eyed, as that hand pierced through her brother's chest, watching his life force rapidly drain away.
This scene felt so familiar!
It was like...
It was like the scene she had heard about, where Konoha's White Fang's son, Kakashi, personally killed his comrade Nohara Rin!
Why?
Why would "Baihu," who had just given them hope, saved them, and promised them power, suddenly deliver such a vicious blow?!
Sora coldly withdrew his hand, letting Uchiha Kenta's body slump softly forward.
"Why... why..."
Struggling to get up, ignoring the wound on her own chest, Uchiha Yami threw herself beside her brother, pressing her hands desperately against the horrific wound that continuously gushed blood, tears streaming down like rain.
She raised her head, looking at Sora with eyes full of despair and accusation.
Sora looked down at her coldly and said:
"Why? It's simple. From the very beginning, this was all a setup."
"From the 'Root' attack in the Land of Waves, to the Konoha Anbu's pursuit, to this so-called 'organization mission'... everything was to guide you, stimulate you, to make you open these eyes amidst ultimate pain and despair."
"Your brother, Uchiha Kenta, was merely one of my selected 'cultivation targets.'"
"A perfect vessel... filled with resentment towards Konoha and his clan, extreme in temperament, and possessing the obvious weakness of cherishing his younger sister."
"As for Konoha?"
Sora sneered, adding more fuel to the fire:
"Do you still harbor illusions about them? Though Danzo is dead, the darkness of 'Root' remains. The suspicion and exclusion of the Uchiha by the higher-ups have never stopped. From the moment you were targeted by the Anbu and forced to resist, Konoha had already abandoned you."
The cruel "truth" was like the sharpest kunai, carving into Uchiha Yami's heart one slice at a time.
So... everything was fake.
The so-called lifesaving grace, the so-called organizational shelter, the so-called mission to pledge allegiance...
All were meticulously woven lies!
The two siblings were like marionettes, played in the palm of this demon before them, step by step walking into the abyss he had designed.
And her brother...
He had lived in resentment and being used by others until the very end...
That faint, hazy girlish feelings she had begun to feel towards "Baihu" transformed at this moment into the most profound shame and fury.
Resentment!
Intense resentment!
Why treat them like this?!
What had they done wrong?!
Her brother just wanted to become stronger, just wanted to protect her!
To protect!
She wanted to protect her brother!
To protect all that remained between the two siblings!
She didn't want to lose any more important people!
This ultimate resentment and the obsessive will to protect erupted in her chest, violently impacting her eyes!
A violent burning pain came, even more surging than when her brother's eyes had awakened!
"Ahhhh—!"
Uchiha Yami let out a cry of pain. The twin tomoe in her Sharingan spun wildly!
Finally, they solidified into a beautiful pattern resembling a blooming three-leaf clover, its center dotted with tiny prisms.
Mangekyō Sharingan — Uchiha Yami! Awakened!
A gentle yet firm ocular power spread out, entirely different from Uchiha Kenta's aggressive ocular power.
"Brother... I won't let you die!"
Bloody tears streamed from Uchiha Yami's eyes. She pressed her hands tightly against the wound on her brother's chest, activating the ocular technique she had just awakened!
"Divine Healing — Revert!"