"Ding!"
A sharp metallic sound rang out. A shadowy figure in black appeared behind Uchiha Kai, a ninja blade already drawn and aimed at his back.
Yet the blade stopped short.
It couldn't pierce Kai's body—because at some point, a dark, ominous chakra had wrapped around him.
Kai raised his head slightly, eyes flicking toward the sword—and the assassin wielding it.
Outwardly, he remained calm. But inside, a storm was raging.
This damned old man… Kai thought grimly. Just as I expected. A conniving snake willing to do anything.
He understood the move. It was something Kai himself might have done. But being on the receiving end was another matter. He had known this meeting was a trap, had remained on guard—and even then, he had come close to death.
The side-hall "guards"? Just a distraction. The real killing blow had come from behind.
If I hadn't been alert...
Kai kept his voice steady. "What's the rush, Uchiha Shin?"
Though calm, his words carried a sharp edge. "You were just explaining that the Mangekyō Sharingan is awakened through intense emotion. But do you really know how to open those eyes?"
Uchiha Shin didn't answer. His expression darkened as his gaze flicked to the chakra flaring around Kai.
That chakra…!
It was unmistakably the early stage of Susanoo, the ultimate defense of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Shin's mind reeled.
Susanoo? At his age? Kai was too young. And no intelligence report mentioned the boy suffering the trauma necessary to awaken such power.
Did he kill his teammates on the battlefield? Shin frowned. Possibly. But he always seemed emotionally distant. I doubt he felt anything that strong.
His thoughts turned toward the brothers—Uchiha Yu and Uchiha Osamu. Was it through them that Kai gained this power?
"By killing your closest kin," Kai said coldly, "and experiencing overwhelming emotional trauma, the eyes evolve."
He was speaking to Uchiha Shin, but he kept his gaze on the assassin, whose blade still hovered uselessly.
Within the dark chakra surrounding Kai, a bony arm formed—Susanoo's first manifestation.
"I must say," Kai continued, "Yu and Osamu really were close brothers."
Uchiha Shin clenched his fists. "You...you have the Mangekyō Sharingan? Did you make them kill each other for it? Or... did you steal their eyes afterward?"
"No." Kai smirked. "They both still have their eyes. After all, they're valuable research subjects."
The skeletal arm lashed out suddenly, smashing toward the assassin. But the man flickered away into the shadows just in time.
Kai didn't mind. Susanoo's strength was in its defense and overwhelming force—not speed.
That assassin was clearly a close-range type. Kai knew he'd be back.
"I didn't take their eyes. Neither did Fugaku," Kai said as he stood slowly, his skeletal armor receding slightly. "They're still alive—for now."
"Still alive..." Shin muttered, his eyes narrowing. Then his face twisted. "You do have the Mangekyō. That's why you didn't need their eyes! Or... are you keeping them as spares?"
He took a step forward. "Are you controlling Fugaku? That's it, isn't it?!"
Kai tilted his head. This old man's paranoia was impressive—and not entirely off the mark.
But Kai didn't bother replying. There was no need to explain anything to a dead man.
His eyes began to spin.
The three tomoe rotated faster and faster until they blurred together—forming a new pattern.
A tri-rhombus design, distinct and deadly. The Mangekyō Sharingan.
Uchiha Shin immediately looked away, avoiding eye contact.
But inside, his heart sank.
It's true... the Mangekyō! The boy truly possessed it.
Worse, Shin began to imagine possibilities.
If I kill him… I can take those eyes.
And if Kai had the eyes of Yu and Osamu as well—whether physically or genetically—then he had three Mangekyō Sharingan under his control.
"Kill him!" Uchiha Shin suddenly barked. "He's betrayed the Uchiha clan!"
At his command, the wooden walls around the chamber collapsed, revealing hidden Uchiha ninja waiting in ambush.
Dozens of kunai flew toward Kai, covering every escape path.
Under normal circumstances, without weapons, Kai would've been vulnerable—he had surrendered his gear before entering.
But Susanoo was his true defense now.
He didn't flinch. The dark skeletal ribcage rose again around him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Kunai clattered harmlessly off the ethereal ribs. Kai's chakra surged as he focused, maintaining the barrier around him.
He jumped lightly and caught a kunai mid-air.
His legs weren't protected by Susanoo, but it didn't matter.
The enemy ninja, though shocked by the defense, didn't hesitate. Drawing weapons, they rushed forward.
Kai landed, ducked beneath a swinging blade, and slammed his elbow backward.
A grunt of pain sounded behind him.
With a twist of his wrist, Kai drove the kunai upward—piercing through an attacker's chin and into his skull.
One down.
Without pausing, he sidestepped another strike, pivoted, and stabbed again.
He didn't even need Susanoo to win this.
In fact, Kai intentionally avoided relying too much on it. He didn't want to dull his instincts.
If I run out of chakra in a real battle, Susanoo won't save me.
Though ten Uchiha surrounded him, Kai didn't feel pressure.
Their Sharingan levels were low. Their insight couldn't keep up with his speed.
Even with Sharingan, you need to see what matters.
In this tight room, Kai flowed between them like a flame in the wind.
He evaded multiple strikes at once, then his left hand crackled with lightning.
He drove it into one man's chest—Chidori erupting in a spray of blood.
A scream tore through the air.
With his other hand, Kai grabbed another ninja's wrist, twisted, and stabbed deep.
The smell of blood filled the room.
Five were already down.
Uchiha Shin and the elders retreated, watching in silence.
Is this the power of the Mangekyō? they wondered. Is this Kai Uchiha's true strength?
Kai suddenly seized another attacker by the throat—his grip crushing, but he didn't kill him right away.
His eyes narrowed.
This was only the beginning.