Chapter 175: The Uchiha Kagami Who Cannot Die!
In the border camp of the Land of Fire...
Due to the extremely sensitive nature of the two "dead men," Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Madara, Minato had Keisuke land the ink hawk not inside the main camp, but in the nearby forest—the same one that served as Keisuke's temporary research base.
"I left the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and the White Zetsu here before. It's relatively secluded and safe," Keisuke said as he brought the hawk down for a landing. "Everyone can get off now."
Minato immediately leaped down with the two corpses, landing in a forest clearing. Keisuke then released the Yang Release chakra maintaining the ink hawk, and it dissolved into a puddle of ink.
"Minato-san," Keisuke began, feigning a weak and weary voice. "I'll leave the rest of the work to you."
"Of course, Keisuke. You get some rest," Minato said, looking at him with concern as he took on all the remaining tasks. There's no way he could use that 'giant jutsu' to fight a Susanoo head-on without paying a physical price. Minato was already worried about the toll it had taken on Keisuke; he didn't want him to exert himself any further.
"Kagami-senpai, I will now release the Heavy Seal of the Four Limbs," Minato said, turning to Kagami. "But for safety's sake, and to avoid interfering with the Edo Tensei, I will leave the Four Symbols Seal and the Contract Seal in place for now."
Kagami readily accepted the arrangement and nodded his thanks. "I'm in your debt, Namikaze-kun."
Minato quickly released the first layer of seals, then immediately got back to work. He still had much to do. First, he needed to go to the camp and find a medical container for the eyeball. Then, he had to find Shisui and bring him here for a reunion. Finally, he needed to use the Flying Thunder God to return to the waterfall and retrieve the rest of the ninja tools and scrolls they couldn't carry back in one trip.
He quickly returned with a glass cylinder-like medical instrument, handed it to Kagami, and then instantly vanished again.
"Kagami-senpai," Keisuke said, half-sitting, half-lying in a patch of shade. "Sorry, but you'll have to be the one to dig out Madara's eye."
Hearing this, Kagami, who had been about to act, froze for a moment and gave Keisuke a helpless look. "Nara-kun, you really didn't need to point that out."
Keisuke just tilted his head, leaving it ambiguous whether he was apologizing or telling him to get on with it.
Suppressing the strange feeling in his heart, Kagami extracted Madara's left eye. He cleaned the Mangekyo Sharingan, which had reverted to its normal state, and placed it in the container. Inside the crystal-clear cylinder, the eyeball floated silently, an inexplicably chilling sight.
"Sorry, but can I see your eye?" Keisuke asked.
Kagami sighed and handed the container over. Keisuke took the eyeball, and another notification popped up on his panel.
[A-Rank Ninja Tool Detected: [Mangekyo Sharingan - Uchiha Kagami - Left]!]
[A-Rank Ninja Tool: Mangekyo Sharingan - Uchiha Kagami - Left]
[Description: The Mangekyo Sharingan of Uchiha Kagami! The ultimate Yin-style shape transformation that can become a thousand birds!]
[Effect: 1. Contains A-rank dōjutsu power, which can be transferred between Kagami and other ninja with resonant chakra. Non-resonant ninja can forcibly implant the eye to gain its power, but this will greatly increase their own chakra burden and can be life-threatening. 2. The dōjutsu within can be converted into the A-rank technique [Yatagarasu], creating crow mediums for evasion, flight, and deception. 3. The dōjutsu power, once consumed, cannot be replenished by normal means and will cause severe strain on the optic nerves, leading to vision loss.]
[Evaluation: Those Sharingan... just how far can they see?]
'A standard Mangekyo Sharingan is only A-rank. No surprise there,' Keisuke thought, quickly reading the notifications. 'What is surprising is that Kagami's left eye dōjutsu, Yatagarasu, is only A-rank...'
He handed the eye back to Kagami. "Kagami-senpai, are you planning to pop Shisui's eyeball out?"
"What?" Kagami froze on the spot.
Uchiha Shisui, who had just rushed over after being notified by Minato, also froze when he heard this. "What?"
"Yo, Shisui, you're here," Keisuke greeted him with a cheerful smile. "See? I told you meeting your dad again would be easy."
"Captain..." Shisui quickly flashed over to them. He looked at his father's crack-covered body, a strange mix of emotions swirling within him. After their last parting, he had thought it might be years before he saw his father again. He never expected it would be the very next day. What was going on?! If he had known this would happen, why did he even feel sad before?
"Father." Shisui still bowed respectfully to his dad.
"Shisui, you're here," Kagami said, looking at his son with a gratified expression. He reached out and patted his shoulder a few times. "Don't listen to what Nara-kun just said. I have no intention of taking your eyes. Nara-kun?" Kagami turned to Keisuke, an imploring look on his face.
"You know me, I'm exhausted," Keisuke said with a shake of his head. "If you two want to talk privately, go find another spot."
Kagami nodded, and led a very confused Shisui away for a private conversation.
Keisuke looked up at the sky, his thoughts drifting. 'The Uchiha, the Sharingan, the Mangekyo, the Eternal Mangekyo, the stone tablet beneath the Naka Shrine... that's all they ever talk about. What a pitiful bunch.'
He thought he had it all figured out, but he had missed one thing. Last time, Kagami had been short on time and could only cover the key points. This time, with plenty of time, he told Shisui everything he knew about the Mangekyo Sharingan, including the secrets recorded on the stone tablet.
Shisui listened, and he was deeply shaken. But the idea of needing "intense negative emotions to awaken the Mangekyo," and then "fusing it with his father's eye to achieve an Eternal Mangekyo" all felt too distant. He asked the question that mattered most to him.
"Father, are you going to have to leave again?"
"I was only ever a ghost," Kagami said, his wish now fulfilled, his cracked face serene. "The Pure Land is where I belong."
"Father!" Shisui hesitated for a moment, then revealed his "grand ambition." "The Captain told me that the Edo Tensei was developed by Lord Second. I'm going to ask Lord Third for permission to learn it!"
"...Huh?" The calm expression on Kagami's face vanished in an instant. "What did you say?"
Shisui had no idea what the Edo Tensei truly entailed; all he knew was that it was the jutsu that could bring his father back from the Pure Land. "I said, Edo Tensei."
"Shisui!" Kagami scolded. "That is an evil jutsu of the highest order! Even knowing of its existence, you must never, ever learn it!"
An Uchiha learning the Edo Tensei? The naive Shisui didn't understand the implications, but how could Kagami not? Forgetting everything else, if an Uchiha learned that jutsu and had no qualms about digging up their own clan's graves... a Konoha with dozens of immortal, Mangekyo-wielding Uchiha running around... would that not be the end of the village itself?!
Furthermore, even setting aside the historical Mangekyo users, just considering the modern ones was enough. Uchiha Madara alone was enough to give him a headache. The Uchiha were not a monolith. While no one had followed Madara when he left the village, his will still had its inheritors within the clan. The most radical among them, Uchiha Setsuna, even sought to seize power back from the Hokage. If that faction learned of the Edo Tensei, would they not use it to overthrow the Hokage and the Will of Fire?
'Uchiha Setsuna...' A name flashed in Kagami's mind. He looked at Shisui with a stern expression. "Shisui, do not go near the Edo Tensei! Act as if you never even knew it existed!"
Seeing how serious his father was, Shisui, though he didn't understand why, nodded obediently. Kagami sighed in relief.
"Shisui, never forget this: we are Konoha ninja first, and Uchiha second."
"I understand, Father," Shisui said with a serious nod. His own belief in the Will of Fire was no less than his father's.
Kagami gave his Mangekyo Sharingan to Shisui, telling him to protect it and save it for the future. Then, the two of them returned to Keisuke's side.
"Looks like you're done talking?" Keisuke had shifted from half-sitting to lying on his side, propping his head up with one hand as he watched them. "Now we just have to wait for Minato-san to come back and release your Contract Seal."
The three of them waited for a while. A travel-worn Minato returned. "Sorry I'm late, Kagami-senpai," he said, as humble and polite as ever. "I'll release the seals for you now."
Kagami nodded. He gave Shisui one last look, his earnest gaze filled with a deep love and reluctance to leave. Shisui bit his lip, determined not to miss his father's final moments.
Four Symbols Seal, release!
Contract Seal, release!
With the last two seals undone, Kagami was returned to his normal state.
"Goodbye, Shisui..." he said, closing his eyes, waiting for his soul to return to the Pure Land.
But one second passed. Then two...
The pillar of light that was meant to guide his soul never appeared.
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