[Read up to Chapter - 82 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]
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"Come on, try using your ocular technique," Kanzou said.
He had brought Mikoto to the Uchiha clan's private training ground. Since it wasn't open to the public, only the two of them were present.
Mikoto stood across from Kanzou and activated her Mangekyō Sharingan.
The moment she did, Kanzou swiftly performed hand seals.
'Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!'
A massive fireball surged toward Mikoto.
Calmly, Mikoto activated her Mangekyō Sharingan. As the fireball neared her, it was instantly absorbed—vanishing without a trace.
"How much chakra did that cost you?" Kanzou asked.
Mikoto replied, "It's manageable. The chakra cost is much lower than using Tsukuyomi. But the consumption of Kuninotokotachi isn't fixed—the stronger the jutsu I absorb, the more chakra it drains."
This was her first time using the ability in a real scenario. With continued practice, she would better understand and master its mechanics.
"Alright," Kanzou nodded. "Now try absorbing visual prowess."
Kanzou took out a pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan.
They had originally belonged to Uchiha Haruto. After Kanzou killed him, he had ordered Shin to extract the eyes. At the time, Kanzou had planned to transplant them into one of the Kunoichi that might end up joining the Zodiacs and hadn't yet awakened her Sharingan—but once Shin handed them over, Kanzou simply forgot about them.
Besides, Hazuki has also not presented him with any new members for the Zodiac at the moment.
Now, they served a new purpose: to help Mikoto test her ocular technique.
"These eyes…?" Mikoto asked, looking at the pair of Sharingan stored in the glass capsule, her expression filled with surprise.
"They're Uchiha Haruto's," Kanzou replied casually. "I killed him and kept the eyes for later use."
He took them out of the bottle—they were perfectly preserved, without any sign of damage, highlighting that he has done so with many pairs of Sharingan over the years.
Mikoto stared at the Sharingan but didn't reach for them.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling uneasy?" Kanzou asked gently. "Don't worry. The more you go through things like this, the more normal it'll feel."
Kindness can be a flaw in this world—and Kanzou was never a good man to begin with. His system further ensured that he could only walk the path of villainy.
As the saying goes, marry a chicken and be a chicken; marry a dog and be a dog. Kanzou intended to gradually reshape Mikoto's character to better suit his world.
After all, she intends to marry a villain… she too needs to become a villain.
And Kanzou wasn't too concerned about whether it would be difficult to influence an adult woman who already had her own values and morals. That might have posed a challenge with others—but not with Mikoto. Unlike most, she had one distinct trait that set her apart: she was extremely obedient.
After a moment of hesitation, Mikoto took the pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan that Kanzou offered and activated her ocular technique, Kuninotokotachi.
Unlike when absorbing ninjutsu, which consumed visual prowess, absorbing the visual prowess from Sharingan required no such cost.
In fact, not only did it spare her the consumption of visual prowess—it even replenished what she had previously spent using her Mangekyō Sharingan.
As a result, her eye power was not only restored but enhanced.
This meant that even without transplanting Hashirama Senju's cells, Mikoto could use the Mangekyō Sharingan without the typical risk of blindness.
Of course, that advantage came with a condition: she needed a steady supply of Sharingan to absorb.
As for whether the visual prowess of the Byakugan can be absorbed, Kanzou wasn't sure. Perhaps he could have Mikoto test it out someday.
But to even attempt that, they would have to target the Hyuga clan… and there was a problem with that.
It's not that Kanzou was afraid of the repercussions that might come with attacking the Hyugas… rather, he wasn't certain if attacking them would be useful…
After all, the branch family of the Hyuga Clan bears the Cursed Seal of the Caged Bird on their foreheads. This seal is specifically designed to protect the Byakugan—it automatically destroys the eye and the brain tissue upon the user's death or if the eyes are forcibly removed.
Additionally, members of the main family of the Hyuga Clan can activate the seal at will, effectively killing the branch member or destroying their brain, rendering them brain-dead and their Byakugan destroyed.
In essence, the life and death of the branch family are entirely in the hands of the main family, so extracting Byakugan for Mikoto to absorb will be very difficult.
Which meant that Sharingan was the only option.
'If there's an opportunity in the future,' Kanzou mused, 'we should collect more Sharingan for Mikoto. I'd like to see if her Mangekyō can evolve into an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan after absorbing enough visual prowess.'
He couldn't help but feel it was possible—after all, the branch members of the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon had once united their entire lineage to awaken the Tenseigan.
Unfortunately, even if this method proved successful, it couldn't be replicated—it was an evolutionary path unique to Mikoto alone.
'Forget it, let's not think about that for the time being…' shaking his head, Kanzou turned his attention back on the woman who was quietly standing beside him.
"I'll perform several Fire Style techniques I've learned. You can try copying them if you don't know already," Kanzou said to Mikoto.
"Understood, Kanzou-sama…" nodded Mikoto.
He then demonstrated both Great Fire Annihilation, Blazing Fire Annihilation, Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, and other Jutsu one by one to her by deliberately slowing down his hand seals to make them easier to follow.
One of the basic abilities of the Sharingan is the power to copy ninjutsu and taijutsu. The techniques that others spend years mastering can be instantly copied by the Uchiha clan, which is one of the reasons behind their formidable reputation.
However, unlocking the Sharingan is not easy. Even now, many in the clan have yet to awaken it— in fact, the majority still haven't.
Anyway, Mikoto had managed to successfully copy all the Fire Style Jutsu he had shown her.
Though she'd need to do a bit of practice performing them to build up some experience of using them.
But that was not an issue.
Once they were done with the training, the two returned home. Meanwhile, Kanzou summoned Hazuki.
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"Patriarch, do you have a mission for me?" Hazuki asked respectfully, genuflecting before him.
"Go to Ren's residence and bring me his eyes," Kanzou ordered.
Kanzou had already decided to cultivate Mikoto.
Given her character and how she revealed the abilities of her Mangekyō to him without hiding anything, he was confident that she would never betray him.
Since Mikoto's eyes had the potential to evolve into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Kanzou saw no reason not to invest in her growth.
It's important to understand that the Mangekyō Sharingan and the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan are entirely different in nature. Only the Eternal Mangekyō allows access to the fully developed Susanoo—the true God of Destruction.
"I understand, Patriarch," replied Hazuki.
Although Hazuki herself was still only a Chūnin by rank, that was only because she had never bothered to take the promotion test… In reality, her strength, being the leader of Zodiacs, is as high as an elite Jonin…
Meanwhile, Ren had already been crippled, despite having once held Elite Jōnin-level strength; he could no longer use it, making him weaker than even an average Genin.
Abandoned by Fugaku's faction, Ren had become a useless burden—no one had any use for dead weight.
Since he was of no further use, Kanzou decided there was no harm in putting Ren's eyes to good use—to further improve Mikoto's strength.
Standing beside Kanzou, Mikoto watched it all unfold with a somewhat hesitant expression.
She clearly understood why Ren's Sharingan was being retrieved.
Her loyalty to the Uchiha Clan and its members made her want to object—but at the same time, she knew Kanzou was doing it for her.
In the end, she could only sigh in silent acceptance.
Kanzou glanced at her and immediately recognised the unease in her eyes.
That was simply who Uchiha Mikoto was—gentle and considerate to her own people. But Kanzou was confident that, with time, he would mould her character into what he envisioned.
Under his guidance, she would eventually become his most dependable and capable ally.
This was already evident from the way she silently accepted what was about to happen without saying a single word.
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Drop power Powerstonessssssssss!
[Read up to Chapter - 82 on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley]