The perspective returns to Uchiha Kaien.
Kaien remained sharply attuned to the changing tides of the battlefield, especially the space between him and Namikaze Minato, while still fending off three puppets of his own.
Minato and Senju jonin were each entangled with two puppets, while the three puppets originally meant to deploy the technique were still locked in a struggle with Nawaki. The battle was chaotic, but Minato and Nawaki were clearly having the roughest time.
Things took a turn for the worse when Chiyo suddenly focused her attention on Minato. In a swift, unexpected maneuver, she redirected one of her puppets to lock onto him. Caught off guard, Minato was briefly touched by the puppet, and his chakra was sealed instantly.
Kaien's eyes narrowed.
Now's the time!
As his fighting spirit surged, the power of his Three Tomoe Sharingan boiled to new heights. The tomoe began to flicker, blinking in and out of view—on the verge of evolving at any moment.
And the instant Minato was in danger, Kaien knew—this was it.
Using the effect of the [Vivid Performance] trait, he drew that surge of emotion into reality, feeding it as fuel to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
[Vivid Performance: You gain emotions so vivid they can move others. You can easily mimic all kinds of emotional states to navigate through any crowd with ease. While your true emotions remain hidden deep inside, your outward feelings are no less real.]
Who says a disguised emotion can't be genuine?
If the emotion feels real, then it is real.
That's the true power of [Vivid Performance]—it can even serve as the catalyst for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And with that, Kaien felt it—his ocular power surged again!
The feeling was unmistakable. That boiling force, no longer held back, erupted in full. His upper limit shot upward, the floodgates bursting open.
At some point, the three tomoe had vanished—replaced by the intricate pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Ink-black designs bloomed around his pupils. A perfect hexagon formed in the center, surrounded by six interlocking, boomerang-like motifs that spun inward. The crimson backdrop of his eyes only made the new design feel more arcane, more divine.
The moment his Mangekyō awakened, a flood of new information burst into Kaien's mind—two distinct eye techniques, and... Susanoo.
Unlike those who awaken the Mangekyō in despair, Kaien's came as a culmination of preparation and purpose. From the very start, he was granted two abilities. Though they weren't the kind that could burn the world down or force someone's will to submit, they were exactly what Kaien had hoped for.
Because now—he could fly.
Shinatsuhiko.
Also known as Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami, the ancient god of wind born from Izanagi's breath. A divine figure who rides the sacred wind and defends the nation. That name became the symbol of Kaien's left-eye technique.
It embodied Kaien's deepest yearning—for freedom.
As though he'd been born with it, Kaien activated the power and abandoned his usual teleportation technique. With a single thought, he lifted into the air and soared directly toward Minato's location.
At the same time, water began to swirl in Kaien's hand, taking the shape of a blade. As he closed in and slashed forward, the water blade shimmered—and transformed mid-swing!
A biting chill swept across the battlefield, freezing the chakra threads Chiyo used to control her puppets. Their movements stuttered, halted in place.
By the time Kaien's swing landed, his water blade had already become a blade of ice.
And it was still growing.
In a flash, it extended to several meters in length—a massive ice blade, gleaming in the air!
With a sweep of his arm, Kaien cleaved through all the puppets surrounding Minato. One of them, too brittle to withstand the blow, shattered on the spot, frozen and cracked.
Chiyo gasped and instantly recalled the rest of her puppets to form a defensive wall around herself. Her eyes flickered with uncertainty and disbelief.
What the hell is going on?! Ice Release?!
Since when does the Uchiha Clan have this kind of Kekkei Genkai?!
The abrupt turn of events left Chiyo rattled. But instinct told her one thing clearly—whatever this was, it was dangerous. She reinforced her chakra output just to keep the icy chill from numbing her hands, especially her three fingers still maintaining the chakra threads.
The thread linked to her pinky was already gone—severed along with the puppet Kaien had shattered.
"Now," Kaien said, voice laced with a rare hint of anger. "Let's start round two."
He couldn't let high-quality wool be damaged—that would be a waste. And besides, after all these years, even if Minato was a blond idiot, he was still a friend.
Kaien tossed Minato toward Senju jonin, then reversed his grip on the enormous ice blade. Pointing it directly at Chiyo, he declared,
"You two can stand down. I'll handle her on my own."
Chiyo's face twisted. "What the hell is going on?!"
How had his Sharingan evolved so suddenly?
And even if it did, why would it awaken something like Ice Release?
Could it be that the Uchiha's Sharingan, upon evolution, could gain other Kekkei Genkai?
There was absolutely no precedent for this!
Mizuhame.
Kaien activated the technique in his right eye.
Named after the god of rain, Mizuhame-no-Kami. This ocular ability was direct and simple—it allowed him to manipulate water freely, no hand seals required. Water obeyed his thoughts.
With this, Kaien could confidently claim: he was now a master of Water Release.
The highest good is like water—Kaien never saw himself as someone who liked to fight, so it made sense for him to awaken a power so fluid and serene.
On their own, his eye techniques were straightforward—just precise control over individual elements. But through them, Kaien had taken the nature transformation and shape transformation of both wind and water to their peak.
And with such perfect mastery over wind and water, the first thing that came to mind was the Kekkei Genkai known as Ice Release.
Formed through a specific ratio of wind and water, Kaien had no doubt that, with his current power, he could replicate it.
And he did.
The ice blade he forged was flawless—an extension of his will.
The air around him cooled several degrees, and thanks to the humid climate of the Land of Rain, Kaien's eye techniques were even more effective here than they would be elsewhere.
Several smaller ice blades began to form behind him, each one gleaming with a deadly shimmer. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the massive blade in his hand straight toward Chiyo.
And in that instant, the dozens of blades behind him launched in unison, forming a storm of shimmering ice.
"Fools—witness the power of the Uchiha!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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