On a hill not far from the battlefield…
Several White Zetsu were watching in surprise as Uchiha Kaien suddenly erupted into action.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. That kid's gotten even more terrifying. His fighting style just keeps evolving."
"Forget that—shouldn't the real shocker here be that he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"Well, he was always eligible to awaken it."
"Sure, but isn't it a little early for that? He's not even eleven yet, right?"
One of the White Zetsu scratched its head. Kaien was still just a kid. Awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan this young seemed... premature.
"Should we report this to Lord Madara?"
Another White Zetsu hesitated.
Their mission was to keep an eye on Kaien and make sure he didn't go off the rails. But this… this felt significant. So, should they report it?
"Of course we should! Kaien awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan is huge!"
The clever White Zetsu who usually accompanied Kaien spoke with authority.
"Then… who's going?"
None of the White Zetsu wanted to miss the show.
Normally, Kaien bullied them for fun. Today, he was finally bullying someone else. No way they were gonna pass that up!
"Enough! Useless idiots—I'll go."
Black Zetsu, who had silently merged with one of the White Zetsu, finally lost patience.
Thanks to the unique situation in the Land of Rain, Black Zetsu was present too—not just to observe Kaien, but to monitor the Rinnegan. As long as the Rinnegan existed, the Eye of the Moon Plan could continue. That was why Nagato was of such vital importance to him.
But now, Kaien's significance in his mind had just leveled up.
A ten-year-old with the Mangekyō Sharingan? Unheard of.
Was it Madara that helped push it forward? Or was it the sheer depth of Kaien's emotions? Or maybe both?
This child… could he be the one to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan in Madara's place?
Black Zetsu's mind was spinning with possibilities.
Right now, Madara was using the Sharingan from Kaien's father. And he already catalyzed them into Mangekyō-level eyes.
Which meant Kaien's path was all but laid out.
A path of eternal brilliance—the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
If they could just get those eyes back and have Kaien transplant them, they'd have a new pawn, one that wielded the Eternal Mangekyō. Just a few years of cultivation, and when Kaien unlocked the Complete Susanoo, capturing Tailed Beasts would be as easy as plucking apples from a tree.
Of course, that was the ideal. Reality… was a different story.
The biggest hurdle? Kaien didn't trust him. Not even a little.
Black Zetsu sighed internally.
Ever since Madara had told Kaien that he was "a manifestation of my will," the kid had been completely dismissive of him.
Worse yet, Kaien had said—with conviction, no less—"So, you're Madara's will? That means you've got no combat power, right? Great. That makes you fair game for bullying."
Black Zetsu had nearly exploded from rage when he heard that. But he'd forced himself to stay calm. He couldn't curse someone's mother. Not when he technically didn't have one.
Still, when had Kaien's personality turned so twisted? Was it really a side effect of Madara's Genjutsu?
Black Zetsu found himself deep in thought.
He'd long stopped thinking of Madara as just a pawn. But now, with Kaien in the picture, things were shifting again.
Black Zetsu had never seen Madara wear such a soft, grandfatherly smile before Kaien showed up.
Sometimes, when Kaien wasn't around, Madara would show a side that was indistinguishable from any ordinary elderly man. And for the first time, Black Zetsu began to doubt his understanding of Madara.
If he were to abandon Madara now, there might be consequences—unpredictable, terrifying ones. After all, the Uchiha were infamous for their emotional volatility.
So Black Zetsu made up his mind: stick to the plan. No detours. When the time comes, reap the fruit of victory.
Kaien's growing strength only worked in his favor. Besides, the kid wasn't the reincarnation of Indra. His ceiling was the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan at best. Without both Indra's and Asura's chakra, awakening the Rinnegan wasn't impossible… but the odds were astronomically low.
Even Madara, Indra's reincarnation, had taken decades of nurturing his Sharingan—plus the added boost of Asura's cells—just to awaken the Rinnegan in his twilight years.
The typical Uchiha's limit was the Eternal Mangekyō. And those with diluted bloodlines? No chance of achieving the Six Paths' power.
With that chain of cause and effect sorted out, Black Zetsu immediately set off to report the good news to Madara.
Until now, Madara had been wracking his brain trying to figure out how to help Kaien awaken his eyes.
Well, problem solved.
Now his biggest headache would be: how much of a handful Kaien was going to be after awakening them...
...
The battle between Uchiha Kaien and Chiyo raged on.
Ever since Kaien had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, the gap between them had almost completely vanished.
Namikaze Minato had been pulled to safety by Senju jonin, and now stood beside Nawaki, silently watching the fight unfold.
The intensity of the battle had skyrocketed to a level none of them could even hope to match.
Kaien's strength had spiked. Even against Chiyo's nine fully intact puppets, he didn't lose ground for a second.
"Kaien's power… it shot up out of nowhere..." Nawaki gulped.
"That's the Mangekyō Sharingan," Minato said, sharing what he knew. "The same eyes as Kagami-sensei."
"Kagami-sensei once told me, it's the ultimate ocular jutsu of the Uchiha. Any Uchiha who awakens these eyes can rival a Kage in power."
"And Kaien's already pushing Chiyo back…"
"But why did he awaken them now?" Nawaki still didn't get it.
"It's emotion," jonin suddenly spoke up.
As Nawaki's personal guard, he knew a lot more hidden history than your average elite jōnin.
"The Uchiha and the Senju were mortal enemies during the Warring States era—until your grandfather, Hashirama-sama, defeated their leader, Uchiha Madara. After that, the two made peace and founded Konoha together."
"Back in those days, the Senju had seen this power firsthand. Only Hashirama-sama could match Madara. Everyone knew that."
"And Tobirama-sama spent years researching the Uchiha, trying to uncover their weaknesses. He found that their eyes are triggered by powerful emotions."
"Maybe when Kaien saw Minato-sama about to die, the emotional shock was too much—and that pushed him over the edge."
Jonin, however, still wasn't sure. Tobirama's notes said that the Mangekyō Sharingan was a "cursed eye," only awakened when an Uchiha lost their capacity for love.
But Kaien had awakened his in order to save a comrade...
Minato didn't think that hard about it. Right now, all he could focus on was one thing.
Kaien had awakened those eyes… to save him.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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