Bathed in triumph atop her Susanoo, Uchiha Izunai reveled in the joy of such overwhelming power.
Driven by her desperate will to survive and countless other emotions…
For the very first time, Izunai had unleashed Susanoo's might—leaping in a single breath from skeletal frame to full armor, straight into the form of the Karasu Tengu Susanoo!
The massive, deep-blue warrior loomed tall, clad in heavy armor, brandishing a chakra blade seething with murderous intent.
No one in the world could rival it!
Even Senju Hashirama, upon first witnessing this legendary Uchiha power, had worn an expression of shock and grave solemnity.
This had shattered the very limits of a conventional shinobi…
"Tremble before the Uchiha clan's ultimate power, Senju Tobirama!" Izunai laughed aloud, her Mangekyō Sharingan sweeping the battlefield, locking onto Tobirama's position.
"What, you haven't fled? Have you already given up resisting before my strength?"
High above, Izunai looked down on him. She wanted to hurl venomous words of imminent death, yet strange thoughts flashed across her mind…
Her thoughts lingered on the things Tobirama had said earlier.
In truth, now that the battle had reached this point—
Though Izunai would never say it aloud, Tobirama had already earned a measure of her recognition.
That bastard really had been hiding a frightening amount of strength!
Without her Mangekyō Sharingan, Izunai had to admit she would not be his match… Whether in kenjutsu or in ninjutsu, Tobirama had concealed far too much of his true ability.
If, on any of their past battlefields, Senju Tobirama had truly intended to kill her—
Then it would not have been just a shallow cut across her shoulder, followed by bandages and quiet recuperation…
To be honest, Tobirama had more than enough skill to take her life with a single exploited opening.
As these thoughts spread, Izunai's emotions stirred. The insults and curses she usually flung at Tobirama rose to her lips—yet for some reason, she could not bring herself to utter them…
"Yield, Senju Tobirama. I admit—you do have some skill. As for peace talks between the Uchiha and the Senju, well… perhaps it isn't impossible to sit down and discuss."
Izunai's heart skipped, her face tinged faintly red for no reason at all.
She herself could not explain it. By all logic, with the advantage fully in her hands, she should have cleaved Tobirama in two without hesitation. So why, at the height of her dominance, was she speaking so courteously?
Forcing down the strange stirrings in her chest, Izunai glared at Tobirama with feigned indifference.
Yet in that very glare, meant to mask her inner turmoil—
She saw something that left her utterly dumbfounded!
Within Tobirama's crimson eyes, at some unknown moment, black patterns had appeared—linking together into an intricate, profound design…
"Wh-what is this? Why do you have a Mangekyō… a Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Izunai was stunned. She stared fixedly at the Mangekyō Sharingan in Tobirama's eyes, her mind blank as if it had been scorched by Amaterasu itself.
No matter how hard she tried to think, her thoughts refused to turn.
This white-haired Senju actually had a Mangekyō Sharingan? How could that possibly be?!
Hearing Izunai's outcry, the young Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were both dumbstruck. The two of them rushed forward at once to Tobirama's side, desperate to see for themselves what in the world was going on…
Tobirama stood utterly still, as composed as ever, watching the stunned crowd with calm eyes.
Meanwhile, the Uchiha stationed around the perimeter for security felt as if their hearts had been struck by a hammer, each one overcome with indescribable confusion.
That conniving bastard of the Senju clan… actually had a Mangekyō Sharingan?
What did this mean?
Did he possess Uchiha blood? Or had that bastard invented yet another forbidden technique?
In that instant, the Karasu Tengu Susanoo that had just moments ago seized everyone's attention was instantly forgotten…
Every gaze was fixed on Tobirama's Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Senju Tobirama! You—you dare!"
Uchiha Madara snapped open his own Mangekyō Sharingan, roaring furiously: "Stop playing your tricks! Whose eyes are those, hidden within the Senju clan? Which Uchiha ancestor did you desecrate?"
"Speak clearly! Otherwise, even if Hashirama shields you today, I will kill you!"
In the blink of an eye, Madara felt he had already grasped the truth.
Senju Tobirama, an Uchiha? Clearly, that was impossible…
Then only one explanation remained!
During the long centuries of strife, the vile Senju must have defeated some Uchiha elder who bore the Mangekyō Sharingan, plucked out his eyes, and sealed them away…
After Senju Butsuma's death, when Tobirama inherited the clan's resources, he must have implanted those eyes into himself.
With his mastery of bizarre forbidden arts, such a feat was hardly beyond him!
Madara recalled Tobirama's earlier movements.
He had removed the membrane beneath his eyelids—only then had Izunai seen those Mangekyō Sharingan. Which meant these eyes could not be shut at will. They were transplanted!
Young Hashirama's expression grew severe.
If Tobirama had truly seized those eyes from the Uchiha… then the matter was unspeakably vile!
On one hand, he spoke of peace talks with the Uchiha. On the other, he had stolen and kept for himself the clan's most precious bloodline limit. Especially for the Uchiha, nothing was more taboo than an outsider possessing the Sharingan.
For a thousand years, countless shinobi clans had coveted the Sharingan's power…
Yet throughout the entire Warring States era, none had dared to act on that desire.
In truth, the Sharingan was not compatible with outsiders.
Those without Uchiha blood bore an immense burden in using it, unable to close the eyes at will, their chakra drained ceaselessly…
But in reality, these drawbacks were trivial.
Compared to the Sharingan's might, such costs were hardly worth mention.
The real reason was simple: if anyone so much as hinted at such a notion, the entire Uchiha clan would launch a frenzied assault without hesitation.
Except for the Senju, no clan could withstand that kind of pressure.
And even for the Senju, to offset the negative effects of transplantation, they would at least need a Sharingan of three tomoe or greater…
But therein lay the problem: in this blood-soaked era, any Uchiha who awakened three tomoe or more invariably possessed Izanagi…
Until today.
Senju Tobirama seemed to have broken that stalemate, actually producing a Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Tobirama… what in the world is going on?"
Young Hashirama's expression hardened, sweeping away his usual softness. His tone was severe: "You owe me an explanation—you owe the Uchiha clan an explanation!"
"Is this what you call peace talks? To deepen the conflict instead? Tobirama, I remember what you told me—that you wanted to end this age of chaos!"
At his side, Uchiha Madara's rage eased slightly at seeing Hashirama's reaction.
He had no doubt—if Tobirama failed to give a satisfactory account…
Then flaunting a Mangekyō Sharingan at peace talks was an open provocation, and Hashirama would never tolerate such an insult to the Uchiha!
"I think you've all misunderstood something."
Looking at the three of them flaring with anger, Tobirama smiled, eyes narrowing in amusement. He tapped the corner of his eye and said lightly: "Watch closely…"
In an instant, the Mangekyō pattern dissolved, reverting to three tomoe.
The tomoe spun as they faded, until his eyes returned to their usual crimson.
A heartbeat later, the crimson once again birthed tomoe—black tomoe linking together, the Mangekyō pattern blooming once more!
The shift was seamless, fluid as flowing water.
Even Madara and Izunai, who had wielded the Mangekyō for years, had to admit that not even they could use it with such smooth control!
And fluency was only one side of the problem…
The true issue was this: if Tobirama's Mangekyō Sharingan could close at will, then it was not transplanted.
Which meant—
Senju Tobirama possessed Uchiha blood?!
But wasn't he the son of Senju Butsuma?
In that moment, Izunai, Madara, and young Hashirama were all struck dumb.
They had no idea how to react…
Should they console Hashirama for his clan's misfortune, or denounce whichever Uchiha ancestor had strayed? Was this the collapse of morality—or the distortion of human nature?
The heir of the Senju clan, actually an Uchiha—if this news spread, the entire shinobi world would be left speechless!
"Izunai, look into my eyes."
Tobirama chuckled softly, ignoring Hashirama and Madara, fixing his gaze on Izunai. He released his ocular power, colliding with hers.
Izunai instinctively met his eyes.
Their ocular powers crashed together! Yet rather than a clash, it felt almost like an introduction—a meeting anew.
As Tobirama's power washed over her, Izunai felt her whole body reel.
No—how could his ocular power feel so much like her own?
What in the world was happening?!
To her, Tobirama's ocular power seemed almost identical to hers—aside from a faintly more forceful edge, its essence was nearly the same!
Within the Uchiha clan—
If a young man and woman's ocular powers resonated in harmony, they were considered a pair fated by heaven, blessed by the entire clan.
It was an ancient tradition, handed down for a thousand years. It was said that two whose eyes resonated so closely would bear children of purer and stronger blood.
Setting everything else aside—
The way this bastard's eyes resonated with hers already placed them at the level of being a pair fated by birth!
If the clan elders knew of this, they would come knocking on her door again and again to arrange a match!
[Detected intense emotional fluctuation from Uchiha Izunai; a portion of alien temporal aura has been extracted.]
[Your dōjutsu: Amaterasu has been unlocked.]
[Your dōjutsu: Kanrō has been unlocked.]
Tobirama looked at Izunai's crumbling expression with a cheerful smile.
How could his ocular power not resonate with hers? These eyes of his came directly from Uchiha Izuna!
"No way—how is this even possible?"
Madara's Mangekyō Sharingan widened to its fullest, his whole body muttering in disbelief: "Something's wrong… truly wrong… Tajima, did you do something behind my back?"
"You old bastard—dying was easy for you, but you've left behind such a mess!"
The aura of this ocular power almost made Madara feel as if he had gained another younger brother! If the Mangekyō wielder before him weren't Senju Tobirama, Madara would have rushed forward to recognize him as kin…
At the side, young Hashirama also fell silent. He began recalling certain faint hints from Butsuma's household.
Had things really never been… out of place? Could it be that—
"Let's settle this, Izunai." Tobirama called her name without the slightest restraint, his ocular power surging wildly. Chakra condensed by his ocular force took shape, manifesting into a towering warrior deity—
A Karasu Tengu Susanoo, identical to Izunai's!
"Or do you intend to surrender? Giving up means you still keep half—that's acceptable too," Tobirama said with a grin.
This time, Izunai did not snap back at him for daring to call her name so casually.
Whether from sheer shock or some other reason, she forgot entirely…
"Surrender? Don't even think about it!"
Izunai drew a deep breath, her voice firm—at least outwardly: "Parlor tricks! I'll see whether your Susanoo is as much of a sham as you are!"
The deep-blue Karasu Tengu Susanoo charged at him savagely.
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