At that moment, Fugaku arrived, planting himself firmly in front of Itachi.
"Father…"
Itachi stared at his back, his heart suddenly trembling. For the first time in a long time, doubt cracked his conviction.
"Family…"
Then—
BOOM.
The Spiral Shuriken exploded, tearing through the space around it. A shockwave ripped outward, obliterating buildings and warping the ground for dozens of meters. But even amid the devastation, Kaito didn't celebrate.
His expression hardened.
"Fugaku… saw through my attack?"
Kaito was stunned. Using Mirror Space, he had swapped the location Itachi had escaped to with the one in front of the Spiral Shuriken, dragging him unknowingly into the blast zone.
Itachi, who'd already dodged, had reappeared just moments before impact. The ability required heavy chakra and pupil power, especially for someone of Itachi's strength. And Kaito had already used God's Presence over twenty times in this battle—he was burning through reserves fast.
And yet... Fugaku predicted it.
"No… not just predicted," Kaito realised. "He foresaw it."
His mind flashed to a long-forgotten scene from the original timeline—Fugaku revealing a vision to the Uchiha elders. In that vision, the Uchiha clan had kidnapped Naruto, unleashed the Nine Tails, and tried to seize control of Konoha. It was then that Fugaku's Mangekyō Sharingan awakened… with a gift.
A glimpse into the future.
"So one eye observes the present… and the other sees what's next?" Kaito murmured.
He was right. Like all Mangekyō abilities, Fugaku's were born from overwhelming emotion. The vision of his clan's destruction during the Third Shinobi War—where many friends and elite Uchiha had perished—had etched a desperate desire to protect the clan's future into his soul.
That desire became his Mangekyō Sharingan.
As the dust slowly settled, silence fell over the battlefield.
The Third Hokage watched tensely, heart pounding. Losing either Fugaku or Itachi would shift the balance of power.
Kaito stood still, his senses picking up something... familiar.
Fugaku. Hidden, masked, but alive. And not just alive—evolving.
"You've mastered those eyes completely," Kaito muttered. "Shame they'll go to waste on you. I'll take them myself."
The smoke cleared, and towering over the ruins stood a massive black Susanoo, over twenty meters tall.
Fugaku's Susanoo.
"I didn't expect Fugaku to possess the Mangekyō…" Hiruzen whispered. "The Uchiha truly are a terrifying clan."
Danzo said nothing. But inside, his rage flared.
"Damn them! The stronger they are, the more I need those eyes… Those eyes will be mine!"
Inside the towering construct, Fugaku dropped to one knee, gasping for air. Blood ran from his left eye, trailing down his cheek.
Kaito eyed him coldly.
"So it was foresight. I didn't expect that from you. I have to admit… I respect it."
He paused.
"But that kind of power doesn't come free. It must be draining you. How many more times can you use it?"
Fugaku said nothing. Itachi helped him stand, offering quiet support.
Kaito was right: Fugaku's left eye could see five seconds into the future. Watching didn't cost much. But changing the future exacted a heavy toll—both chakra and ocular power.
And this… was his first use.
Just saving Itachi had consumed nearly a fifth of his remaining vision.
The Mangekyō Sharingan's power is finite. When depleted, blindness is immediate. Sasuke himself nearly lost his sight before taking Itachi's eyes in the original timeline.
At this rate, Fugaku would only manage four more uses—maybe less, depending on the strength of the opponent. Altering the fate of a super-Kage-level foe could cost him everything in a single move.
Kaito watched him with a mix of intrigue and calculation.
"Your eyes are impressive," he said, tone casual—but the threat was clear. "But they're flawed."
Fugaku met his gaze. "And yours… are cursed. Overreliance will cost you. It always does."
Kaito smiled slightly.
"That might be true—for anyone else."
He wasn't worried. His system ensured that every use of the Mangekyō only brought him closer to mastery. Once he reached peak proficiency, the system would evolve his eyes into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan automatically.
Fugaku's warning didn't apply to him.
"I don't care if you predict my next move," Kaito said, voice low and steady."Just make sure you survive it."
As the words left his mouth, Fugaku's face shifted.
Even protected by Susanoo, he grabbed Itachi and yanked him backwards with sudden urgency.
The battlefield warped again.
In the spot where they'd stood, the terrain twisted violently,spacee fracturing under Kaito's next move.