Death Forest.
After evading Root's pursuit and deliberately circling Konohagakure several times to ensure he had completely shaken off any followers, Shinji directly entered this forbidden area.
He intentionally avoided the central tower, venturing deep into the desolate rocky terrain.
Ahead stood an irregular trapezoidal boulder, precisely the camouflage he had prepared earlier.
Shinji gripped the edge of the rock, tensed his arms, and with a low stance, exerted force to push the boulder aside by over a meter, revealing a concealed downward-sloping opening.
He leaped down, landing lightly on the pre-built wooden ladder.
Below was a cramped space roughly thirty square meters and about two meters high.
This was the secret base he had painstakingly excavated over nearly six days.
The Sharingan scroll originally hidden within the giant tree had already been retrieved and was now neatly placed in a groove carved into the rock wall.
A folding camp bed was set up in the corner, covered with a thin blanket, allowing for one person to rest; a concealed ventilation opening connected to the giant tree's root system was carved into the wall corner. The floor was covered with dry straw and coarse cloth, serving both to dampen sound and resist the damp chill of the underground.
Shinji retrieved a flint from his ninja tool pouch, striking it to ignite three oil lamps hanging on the earthen wall.
Dim yet steady light instantly filled the entire chamber, dispelling the deep shadows.
Looking at the hiding place he had built and arranged himself, Shinji's lips curved slightly, revealing a relaxed smile.
"I'll expand it slowly later, aiming to live in an underground villa within Death Forest."
A joke eased his nerves slightly.
He closed his eyes, sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, and calmly regulated his breathing, restoring his Chakra, mental energy, and physical stamina to their peak.
Once fully recovered, Shinji took three scrolls from his chest and tossed them out. The scrolls neatly unfurled on the ground, each bearing the large characters "Medical," "Medicine," and "Technique," with densely packed sealing glyphs faintly glowing under the lamplight.
Shinji swiftly performed hand seals, simultaneously unlocking the triple seals.
Hum—
The empty base was instantly filled with various supplies.
The "Medical" scroll unfurled, revealing a complete medical toolkit: surgical knives, hemostatic forceps, tweezers, gauze, and Chakra-conducting needles were all present;
Beside the "Medicine" scroll, Military Ration Pills, disinfectant alcohol, hemostatic gel, universal Antidotes, and various healing ointments were neatly arranged;
The "Technique" scroll released a simple folding surgical table and a set of plain medical protective clothing.
Shinji approached, took the protective clothing and put it on, then picked up a thin-edged surgical knife from the medical kit. After a simple sterilization, he rolled up the sleeve of the protective clothing on his left arm and lightly cut the inner side of his wrist.
The blade was extremely sharp; a two-centimeter-long wound instantly opened, blood slowly dripping along the wrist bone.
Shinji merely frowned slightly, his expression unchanged.
His right hand glowed with faint green Chakra, coalescing into a Chakra Scalpel, precisely severing some nerves around the wound.
A slight numbness soon spread through his left arm, sensation gradually dulling.
Twenty minutes later, Shinji stopped, sweat beads already covering his forehead.
"That should be enough."
He slowly walked to the rock wall and opened the sealed container storing the Sharingan.
Inside the container, two eyeballs were immersed in a pale yellow culture fluid.
He took out one of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan eyes; it felt slippery and soft to touch, with fine nerve bundles still attached to the edge of the eyeball. The slippery, cold sensation made him slightly uncomfortable.
"Endure, must endure."
Shinji took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress the discomfort, and directly pressed the Sharingan into the wound on his left arm.
People in this world possessed approximately one hundred thirty trillion cells, each harboring vitality far surpassing ordinary humans. It was this vitality that supported ninjas in performing their myriad Ninjutsu and Taijutsu.
It seemed organ transplantation wasn't as difficult as imagined.
Moreover, the Sharingan could inherently be "hot-swapped."
After Madara Uchiha took the Sharingan from Kakashi's eye, he implanted it into his own left eye immediately and could use it right away.
This point, Shinji remembered clearly.
As the Sharingan embedded into flesh, he immediately activated the Mystical Palm Technique.
Gentle and pure Healing Chakra continuously flowed into the wound, forcibly driving the rapid fusion of the Sharingan with the muscles, blood vessels, and nerves of his left arm.
One minute, five minutes, ten minutes.
A full half hour passed.
Suddenly, a clear perception exploded from his left arm.
Shinji closed his eyes, raising his left arm before him.
The Sharingan embedded in his flesh slightly rotated, the three Tomoe slowly spinning.
He could clearly "see" every corner of the secret base through this eye on his arm.
"Success!"
Shinji's heart surged with excitement, unable to restrain his voice.
"This perspective is utterly unprecedented."
He playfully raised his arm, closed his eyes, and relying on the direction of the Sharingan on his left arm, spun around in the cramped space like a youth with a new toy.
"I truly wonder what it feels like for Danzo with an arm full of Sharingan eyes—probably genuine 360-degree coverage without blind spots."
He muttered a low complaint.
Shinji took two Military Ration Pills from the medicine kit and swallowed them. The medicinal potency swiftly transformed into a warm flow, restoring his depleted Chakra.
In the base, the oil lamps flickered dimly; the successfully transplanted Three-Tomoe Sharingan on his left arm quietly rotated, clearly reflecting every part of the chamber.
He took a deep breath, gently placing his right hand over the eyeball.
It was time.
"Sealing Jutsu: Transcription—Open—"
Faint blue sealing patterns intertwined with crimson ocular light, coalescing into a small, stable jutsu mark on his arm.
"Izanagi!"
A layer of faint white aura suddenly surged around Shinji, Chakra like raging waves rushing toward the Sharingan on his left arm.
But the next moment, that sealing mark began violently shaking, its light flickering; the originally bright Three Tomoe rapidly dimmed.
"Damn!"
A raging ocular power continuously assaults the seal, almost completely shattering the jutsu.
His Sealing Jutsu: Transcription was just entry-level, level too low, completely unable to suppress this Uchiha ultimate Forbidden Technique.
Shinji hesitated not at all; with a thought, he directly summoned the System Panel and used the item in his inventory.
He instantly applied two A-Rank Skill Upgrade Tickets to Sealing Jutsu: Transcription.
[Sealing Jutsu: Transcription Lv0 → Lv2]
A flash of enlightenment surged into his mind; hand seals, patterns, Chakra control—all obscure points suddenly became incredibly clear.
His gaze abruptly sharpened; the originally chaotic, runaway Chakra instantly stabilized, his hand seals becoming faster, more precise, more stable.
The tottering sealing jutsu in his hands was straightened anew, reinforced, and locked tightly, as if forcibly set upright by an invisible, massive hand.
"Sealing Jutsu: Transcription—Seal!"
The Three Tomoe on his left arm spun at high speed, crimson light surged for a moment, then steadily converged.
The power of Izanagi sufficient to rewrite reality was finally completely sealed within the depths of the ocular core.
Everything returned to calm.
Izanagi, successfully sealed.
Shinji knelt, half-kneeling, his whole body soaked with cold sweat, yet couldn't uncontrollably laugh out loud.
"Ha ha ha!"
"Success!"
He sat back on the bedside, panting, gazing at the quietly rotating Sharingan on his left arm, his eyes slightly narrowed.
The Izanagi sealed within this eye had only one trigger condition: automatically activate at the instant life force vanished.
Just like Madara Uchiha at the Valley of the End back then, clearly on the verge of death, he forcibly survived from the brink of death by relying on this forbidden jutsu.
And what he needed to do was to replicate this scene.
Shinji raised his hand again to form a hand seal.
"Summoning Technique!"
A light puff of smoke scattered, a sturdy Ninja Crow landed in the center of the base, tilted its head and looked around.
Shinji reached out his hand and gently stroked the Ninja Crow's feathers, his smile harmless:
"Little crow, want a Sharingan?"
The Ninja Crow shook his head blankly, looking innocent.
Cough cough, no objection means you agreed."
He gently pressed the Ninja Crow's head, the heavy pressure in his heart finally eased a little.