Chapter 330: Directly Replacing the Eyes
If Sasuke's Mangekyō ability had been Amaterasu, he would have spammed it wildly in the short term, every stray dog he passed would probably get hit with a flame.
But his abilities are "Tenkō" (Heavenly Fox) and "Kokūshi" (Void Sight), which focus on long-range vision and projection. Given Sasuke's personality, when thinking about revenge, it was only natural for him to activate them.
And that led to this situation.
Sasuke isn't the type to think of women like fine wine that improves with age.
Seeing that scene, he felt like he was about to get a stye.
Especially since his Mangekyō abilities are heavily vision-based.
Only when looking at Shiromo or related individuals would there be a layer of fog obscuring his sight, unless they chose to reveal themselves.
This trait allowed Sasuke's Mangekyō to resist vision deterioration even without Hashirama cells or replacing his eyes.
When overused, his normal eyesight would worsen, but once he activated the Mangekyō again, his vision would become crystal clear.
It was like quenching thirst with poison.
But none of that mattered right now.
What mattered was that Sasuke could see far too clearly.
Even the steam from the hot water completely vanished in his vision.
This pair of Sharingan could be described as a command-type super Byakugan.
As long as Sasuke designated a target, and that target had no special countermeasures, everything about them would be fully revealed.
And closing his eyes didn't help.
He had to deactivate the ability.
Sasuke cried out and covered his eyes, but in reality, he was still seeing everything.
If he hadn't retained a shred of rationality, he might have gouged his own eyes out.
Even worse, Utatane Koharu was holding a small toy.
Sasuke recognized the brand logo on it, it was the same one he had seen on the toy Naruto used before.
"Is this your Mangekyō ability?"
Itachi held the photograph.
This was his first time seeing Sasuke demonstrate his ability.
Though it seemed to lack direct offensive power, Itachi was very pleased.
An intelligence-gathering ability like this was perfect for the Konoha Military Police Force. There wouldn't be a single case Sasuke couldn't solve, nor a criminal he couldn't catch.
Sasuke could inherit the glory of the Uchiha clan and carry it forward in the police force.
As for the contents of the photo?
Itachi's eyesight was already close to blindness. Unless something was brought right in front of him, everything looked blurry.
He could only vaguely make out a humanoid shape in the image.
But he had already guessed what it was, so there was no way he'd bring it closer just to get stimulated.
"Phew…"
Sasuke finally recovered.
He felt like if he kept getting hit with this kind of stimulation, he might actually die.
When he first woke up, he had been panicking.
Because before losing consciousness, he had seen "Naruto" walking toward him with a sinister grin.
More importantly, after waking up, he really did feel some pain in a certain area.
But before he could think too much about it, he opened his eyes and saw Itachi, who immediately cast Tsukuyomi and told him the truth. Then right after that, he saw Utatane Koharu.
This smooth combo left Sasuke no time to recover.
"The Hokage wants to use us to kill those two?"
Sasuke looked again at the mission scroll.
The middle portion had been covered by the photo and was no longer usable.
But this mission was covert anyway, not meant to be recorded, so the destruction of the scroll didn't matter.
"That's right. Those Konoha elders have become obstacles to the new era. For the village to develop steadily and move toward a happy and prosperous future, this sacrifice is necessary."
Uchiha Itachi confirmed in a low voice.
As mentioned before, Homura Mitokado and Utatane Koharu were extremely pragmatic. When facing a strong Hokage, they stepped back; when facing a weak one, they stepped forward.
After sensing Tsunade's strength and Danzo's death, they became very compliant.
But unfortunately, there was insider knowledge.
Tsunade had learned from Shiromo that these two would live on far into the future, even into the era of the Eighth Hokage, still causing trouble alongside the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
After learning this, Tsunade decided to eliminate them anyway.
Being pragmatic didn't mean they couldn't be killed.
If someone could perfectly avoid all forms of scrutiny, it meant they had mastered it completely.
Likewise, if these two could always avoid any pretext for punishment, it meant they had already considered every possible scenario countless times.
Tsunade could ensure she wouldn't give them any opportunities. Kakashi, her chosen successor, wouldn't either.
If Kakashi was careful, even the next Hokage might manage it.
But who could guarantee they'd be suppressed forever?
Sima Yi survived not just because there was no excuse to kill him, but because he was useful. (Sima Yi, courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.)
These two, however, were useless and contributed nothing. Leaving them alone just because there was no excuse would be like having sand stuck in your shoe.
Unbearable.
So Tsunade assigned this mission to Uchiha Itachi in the name of the Hokage.
At the same time, it served two additional purposes.
If Sasuke chose to let go of his hatred, then Itachi would carry out the mission.
Killing two Konoha elders under the identity of a rogue ninja would be perfectly reasonable.
It would also prevent Itachi from returning to Konoha or developing such intentions.
In Tsunade's view, with Konoha and Amegakure now allies, Itachi remaining in the Akatsuki under Amegakure was beneficial to both sides.
If he returned, it might instead create friction.
And having such a blade outside the village was quite useful.
It might even come in handy again in the future.
If Sasuke insisted on revenge, then he could kill those two to vent his anger and resolve his inner conflict, again, under Itachi's name.
"Have you decided?"
"Yes."
Sasuke clenched his fists. He had chosen revenge.
"In that case, let's transplant my eyes first."
"What?!"
Sasuke looked shocked.
"Do you remember what the strategist told you about the evolution of the Sharingan? Only by absorbing the power of my Mangekyō can you obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Your ocular power will evolve, and you'll be able to use your techniques and Susanoo without restraint."
Itachi reminded him.
"Don't worry. I have a spare pair."
He also knew what Sasuke was concerned about, so he added that.
"Shisui's eyes? If they're not your own, then…"
Sasuke still hesitated.
If they weren't original, they would feel unnatural.
And if overused, wouldn't they still go blind?
"… "
Fortunately, Itachi wasn't obsessed with power.
If it were someone else, they might already be thinking: "Can you just agree already so I can enjoy using the Rinnegan?"
In fact, Itachi had never even planned to use the pair of eyes given to him by future Sasuke.
Unless the Ōtsutsuki clan invaded and he truly needed that power, he wouldn't choose to inherit it.
Because of that, before Sasuke brought it up, Itachi had almost forgotten,
Shisui's pair of eyes had already been recovered.
Taken back by the reanimated Second Hokage using Flying Thunder God before Danzo's death.
(End of this chapter)